Well, I did it. On Sunday, while at
the local outlets, I slipped into Ann Taylor Loft and while hidden
behind the thick dressing room curtain... I slipped a pair of skinny
jeans over my hips. Figured since I've been constantly pulling up my
size 8 jeans, and since I tried on a pair of 6 bootcut and they fit
well, I should try the size 6 skinny jeans. Of course these are
“curvy” as I do still have quite the hips.
Size 6 were enormous.
Tried on the 4.
I could fit both hands down the front
and there were these unsightly bags on my tush.
And then there were 2s.
And wow. I own a pair of size 2 jeans.
Don't go too crazy saying, “OH MY GOD KATIE I'M SO PROUD OF
YOU!!!” It's seriously a fluke. And if you want to feel good
about yourself rush on our to the Loft and pick yourself up some
curvy skinny jeans. I almost think the size 6 bootcuts are a little
baggy in the lower belly... but generally I like some wiggle room in
my jeans. I'm finding that with this tighter, smaller body I'm
finding many more reasons to wear things that are a little more snug.
But gaining this pair of jeans makes me
feel so good during a time that I've not been able to exercise much.
I've finally gotten over this cold, but it snowed recently and for
some reason the idea of running on untreated sidewalks doesn't really
sound like fun to me, so I'm resorting to all indoor stuff. I feel
chubby and out of shape after 2 weeks of laying around and I know it
isn't the case. It's just a good motivator to have a pair of pants
that leaves so little to the imagination. I can't screw this up.
What do I do next? Oh, I make cookies!
Of course, just like last year, these
aren't for me, so I can't mow them down. And where last year I made
my old, faithful recipes, I wanted to try something different this
year. I made all of my Christmas-time cookies off of Pinterest. So
these recipes I'm about to share are not my own and I'll link you to
the original blog that they come from, but the pictures I post and my
experiences are all mine.
First I made Triple Layer Fudgy Mint Oreo Brownies. I go back and forth on mint & chocolate. I hate
Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies (maybe it's because I don't care for
dark chocolate?). I like Andes Mints and York Peppermint Patties.
And I like these brownies. Fabulous. The original blogger made
their frosting and brownies from scratch, but we all know that my
attention span can't handle homemade, so here's how I made them:
One 7-oz jar marshmallow fluff
1/8 tsp mint extract
green food coloring
1 batch of brownies, from mix
12 & 18 cool mint Oreos
¾ c white chocolate chips, melted
1 container vanilla store-bought
frosting
Preheat the oven according to the
brownie box. In a medium bowl, stir together the marshmallow fluff,
mint extract and 4 drops of food coloring.
Prepare the brownie mix and stir in 12
hand-crumbled Oreo cookies. This is always interesting because the
frosting sort of makes them squishy. Do the best you can. I had a
super helper through all of this and she was a pretty good crumbler.
Once your cookies are mixed in, spread the batter into a prepared
pan.
Drop ½ cup of the marshmallow mint
mixture onto the batter and swirl it through the mix. Bake this for
23 to 30 minutes. Take notice of how your oven does and what the box
of mix says. Cool completely.
While cooling, combine frosting, the
reserved mint marshmallow mixture and the melted white chocolate
chips. Stir in 4 more drops of green food coloring. Spread this
mixture over the cooled brownies.
Sprinkle with 18 hand-crumbled Oreo
cookies and slightly press into the frosting layer. Allow top layer
to fully set before slicing.
Mine were pretty hard to separate...
but wow were they tasty. I wrapped each one separately in plastic
wrap to put them into goodie bags for my coworkers. I've had one
person report back that they're good. Hopefully that'll be the
consensus.
Next up I made two very easy cookie
recipes, a Nutella Cookie and a Rolo Cookie.
For the Rolo Cookie, all you need is 1
package of Devil's Food Cake mix, 1 pkg of Rolos, 2 eggs and 1/3 c
vegetable oil.
My Oreo-crumbling happy helper opened
up the Rolo wrappers for me while I mixed together the cake mix, the
eggs and the oil. You take a small bit of this batter in your hand
and form it around the Rolo. It's hard not to get too much, you
really don't need much. Once you have them wrapped, place them on a
prepared cookie sheet (parchment paper is my preparation of choice)
and bake for 7-8 minutes at 350 degrees.
They won't change too much. It just
cooks the outside and melts the inside. Be careful of the hot,
molten caramel when you bit into a fresh one.
The Nutella cookies were even easier.
I bought store brand Hazelnut Spread because I'm cheap. All you need
is a cup of that, a cup of flour and one egg. The original recipe calls for sugar, but you can leave that out. Mix ingredients together
well, roll it in little balls, schmoooosh the balls with the bottom
of a glass and bake for 7-8 minutes at 350 degrees.
The last cookie recipe I'll share have
gone over rather well... to me they're not terribly sweet but they
have a fabulous texture. I halved the batch of frosting, so I'll
share my calculations with you. These are Root Beer Float Cookies.
Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp root beer concentrate (or
extract, it's found in the store with the extracts)
4 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Frosting Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
6 tbsp butter, super soft (you can also
use shortening or lard, whatever you're into)
¼ cup milk
1 tsp root beer concentrate
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter
and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well as you add
each. Beat in buttermilk and root beer extract. In a separate bowl,
combine remaining dry ingredients. Whisk together then gradually
incorporate into the wet mixture.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared
baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned (I
baked mine for 9-10 minutes). Remove to wire racks to cool.
To make frosting, whip butter and
extract together. Gradually alternate adding powdered sugar and
milk. If you want a different consistency, try adding a bit more of
either of these ingredients. Frost the cooled cookies. Let the
frosting set before you put them in a container.
I've had a number of these root beer
cookies. They're soft and have a great texture. I actually had 3 of
them today alone. Definitely recommend these.
I don't know how I survived or how I
ate new things before the invention of Pinterest.
I have another batch of cookies I want
to make before Christmas. Looking forward to having the time off
from work to spend with some people I love. Can't see everyone I
love this year, but should be a good holiday. Hopefully I'll get in
some quality workout time in.
Make all of these cookies with caution.
I don't want to be responsible for someone's caloric kamikaze.
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