So Cool

Ben. Again.

It's time for a history lesson, kids. Let's jump in our wayback machine and review this post from December 2011 - ten years ago.

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I've heard that it pretty much sucks to have a December birthday. To that I say, "Waaaaah. Waaaaah. Waaaaah," because January is just like December except without the sparkly stuff and cheer. Us January babies still end up with combined birthday and Christmas gifts, after all.

I digress.

This isn't about whining about birthdays being lame. It's about how sometimes people make birthdays magical.

This is Benjamin.

Benjamin is a December baby. Except, you know, he's not really a baby anymore. In fact, he *just* turned 8 years old. And that basket full of games he's sitting next to? Those are his birthday presents.

Well, not really.

But sort of.

Benjamin's mom contacted me about a month ago to ask if there was a way that Benjamin could donate his birthday presents to Christmas Crazy.

Hold on. Let me repeat that. Benjamin wanted to donate his birthday presents to Christmas Crazy.

So, that's what he did. He asked his friends to bring a toy he could donate instead of collecting as many gifts for himself as he could when he had a birthday party last week. His friends came through by showing up with what I would guess is about $300 worth of toys and games.

I got to meet Benjamin and his mom and little brother on Friday because they wanted to deliver that pile of toys to Womansplace. They wanted to see a difference being made. They wanted to give.

So, that's what they did. Instead of complaining about gifts being combined or his birthday getting overlooked in the holiday rush, Benjamin happily hauled a bunch of toys to Womansplace so that kids who wouldn't otherwise get a gift for Christmas can find a little joy under the tree next week. Then he stood in the middle of a giant pile of toys and helped us sort them in between moments of running around and playing and generally being a really happy little man.

Benjamin, you are amazing. Thank you for your generosity and awesomeness and for putting up with my requests for a zillion photographs of you. And thanks for being you.

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And back to the present. This is Ben now.

Feel old yet? Hahahalololsob. Me, too.

ANYWAY. Ben is now 18 years old and is going to be graduating from high school this year. (Ain't time grand?) So much has changed as the years have gone by (Womansplace has changed its name to Center for Victims, for example), but one thing has not. Ben has over-and-over again dedicated his birthday to making sure Christmas Crazy is a success.

The magic came together again this year, this time in the form of boxes and bags and enough stuff to fill the back of my Nissan Rogue.

Good job, Ben. Thanks for being the best year after year and thanks for making sure kids who maybe didn't have the best of days along the way get to have at least one good day around the holidays.

Turtle Pecan Tassies

Chocolate, caramel, and pecans were meant to be together. It's true. No matter how you combine them, the results will always be fantastic. And, thus, here's a cookie that makes good ont hat promise.

They are basically plain sugar cookies filled with chocolate and caramel and then topped with pecans. They are amazing. Perfection. Everything I had hoped for and then some.

The only challenge with them is making the tassie shape, and the magic trick to that is a round measuring spoon.

It's really easy to make a hole for filling with a measuring spoon, plus it makes a nice clean scooped out spot for the chocolate and caramel.

Turtle Tassies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bag caramels (the ones in the clear plastic wrappers)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup chocolate chips (approximate)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Your first step is to make sugar cookie dough. You could use the stuff in the tube, but I found that it was a little sweeter than I wanted for this purpose. So, on with the sugar cookies!

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small mixing bowl.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar at low speed. Add the egg and mix some more. Then add the vanilla and mix a little more yet.

5. Toss the dry ingredients in with the wet and mix until you have a crumbly cookie mix.

6. Spray mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. You're making 48 cookies, so plan accordingly.

7. Make little balls with the sugar cookie dough and leave a ball in each mini muffin spot. The balls should be about 1" in diameter, or just under. FYI-there is no point in shaping the balls perfectly. A lump of cookie will suffice.

8. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. They won't be done. That's exactly what you want.

9. While the cookies are baking, toss the whipping cream and unwrapped caramels in a nonstick saucepan. Turn the heat on low and start melting that caramel. Make sure you stir it often so you don't end up with burnt caramel because that would be sad.

10. Pull the cookies out of the oven and turn them into little cups using a measuring spoon, your fingers (be careful! they're hot!) or whatever seems to work for you.

11. Put the cookies back into the oven for 2-3 minutes, or until they are very lightly browned. Don't forget to keep stirring your caramel.

12. While the cookies are still hot, drop 4-5 chocolate chips in each cup.

13. By now, your caramel should be pretty much melted and gooey.  Spoon some into each little cookie cup, right up to the top.

14. While everything is still hot, sprinkle some crushed pecans over top of each little cookie.

15. Allow the Turtle Tassies to cool. They should slide right out of the muffin tin, but if you have trouble, use a fork to force them to spin a little and then they will come out easily.