Cookie #2 & lots else.

Last night I finally got around to making cookie #2 of my 50 for the year. The delicious cookies my step-mom had brought over for my birthday were officially a week old, so it was time to throw out the remaining couple of them (couple of pieces of them, I should say -- believe me, they were too good for anything but a few odd chunks & crumbs to be left uneaten) and make a new batch. Coincidentally, I also happened upon a recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies! You can guess what happened next.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Cup Cookies from Six One Seven.

Modifications: None were made intentionally, though I did have slightly less than 20 mini Reese's cups because there were only 20 in my package and...well, could you look at 20 mini Reese's cups without eating at least one of them? Yeah, that's what I thought. Also, I had to sprinkle a lot of water into the dough as I was trying to form it because it was much too dry and crumbly.

Review: It's hard to go wrong with Reese's cups! Still, I think I'd change a few things about this. Like I said, the dough was very crumbly & really difficult to form without adding lots of water. In my opinion, the resulting cookie is a little too crunchy. It's nice dipped in milk but I'd prefer something chewier and softer and will probably aim for that next time. Finally, if you're going to make these be sure to take them out of the oven when they're barely beginning to look done! I took mine out when I thought they still looked somewhat underdone and the bottoms taste a little burnt even though they're a very light brown. Strange but true. Despite my minor complaints, though, these make for a very satisfying cookie! I'll probably make them again, though like I said I might try changing up the recipe to make them a bit softer.

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You might remember Marj kindly listing me at her blog just the other day, on her list of "10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland." Now it's time for my list, though making it only 10 is a HUGE challenge! I'll try to stick only to crafty blogs to make it a bit easier on myself (though not too easy, because I have a whopping 46 blog subscriptions in my "crafty" folder on Google Reader). Here we go!

1. Yarn Harlot: Ok, this was an obvious one, but how could I not include her? If you've ever read her blog or one of her books, you'll know what I mean. She's roughly the funniest woman on the planet and I love seeing her creations.


2. Diane's Yarn Addiction: Diane may be slightly less well-known but I get excited whenever her blog's updated, too. :) She knits with me on our Tuesday Knit Nights (the ones I haven't been to in much too long!) and I'm amazed at all the great stuff she's constantly turning out.


3. Colorjoy!: I only found Lynn's blog a month or two ago but it's a particularly good one. Her knitting is very impressive but I mainly enjoy the thoughtfulness of her entries. The experience of reading her blog is really enhanced by the fact that she responds to blog comments with personal emails, giving you a chance to continue the conversation & interact in a way I really appreciate and haven't seen other bloggers do.


4. Peachcake Knits & Eats Gluten Free: I found Alex's blog a few months back because of her adorable patterns for cute little knitted fruits and quickly got hooked on following her posts. She's a very creative person and her baking, knitting, sewing, and other endeavors never fail to impress & inspire me. (The quilt she's working on right now is particularly awesome.)


5. My Knitting Island: Svetlana is amazing! I don't even understand how she does the things she does, churning out complicated sweaters & even dresses by the minute, often without a pattern. Go look, you won't regret it!


6. Hasbu's Hideaway: I only found Hasbu a few days ago, through Marj, but I loved looking through her blog & at her projects on Ravelry. I'm particularly enamored of her tweed skirt, which might be one of the most perfect knit skirts I've ever seen.


7. How About Orange?: This blogger doesn't knit, as far as I know, but she's a great designer who posts all kinds of cool & useful things, from printable greeting card templates to amazing cupcake recipes. I've found lots of good stuff through her posts.


8. Short & Crafty Sista: I love Sonya!! She's from Knit Night, too, and she's wonderful. You might want to check out her pink ribbon illusion scarf pattern, it's really cool.


9. Gluten-Free Girl: Ok, this one isn't crafty at all, but it won't get out of my head until I include it here. Shauna is probably the best blogger I've ever read, period. My interest in gluten-free eating/living is basically non-existent but I devour her posts nonetheless. Her enthusiasm about food and life is absolutely contagious, and if you can read through any of her very sweet entries about falling and staying in love with The Chef without crying...well, then you are not me. I'm getting her book as soon as I can, but for now she's honestly the best writer I've ever read online.


10. Knizzle fo Shizzle: Last but not least, Marj is amazing! I promise I'm not only listing her because she listed me, but because this list would be incomplete without her blog on it. Not only does the title crack me up every time, but her posts are often downright hilarious and her knitting extraordinary. Beyond all that, she's a really fun person to knit with, has helped me out kindly on some of my projects, and will probably be one of the main reasons for my eventual conversion to "the dark side," a.k.a. sock knitting.

Wow, that took ages! Sorry this is getting so long, but I had to say something about each of your wonderful blogs. Also don't feel left out if your name isn't on here -- it was tough to narrow down, but if I've ever so much as left you a comment you can safely assume I think your blog's the bee's knees. (And Aunt Andrea SOMEONE would surely be on this list if she would only ever update...)

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In other news, I'm making lots of progress on my cardigan! That first sleeve took me something like 2 weeks, but they were distracted weeks where I wasn't even knitting on it regularly. I finished that sleeve Friday night & promised myself I'd pick up the pace. So far I'm sticking to that, and as of last night I'm halfway through the back. I'm hoping to make some more progress on it today and I'll definitely be sharing pictures soon. One thing that's helping a lot is the fact that I'm taking my first-ever online course this semester. It wasn't really my first choice, but a bunch of classes that I really wanted were canceled or full, I was somewhat curious about how online classes even work, and it would save me quite a bit of gas money & commuting time, so I went ahead & did it. So far it's not bad and the truly great thing is that I can knit while I listen to lectures!! I have to pause occasionally to take notes, of course, but it's the perfect thing for a miles-of-stockinette project like this cardigan. The lecture keeps me from getting too bored with the knitting, the knitting keeps me from getting too bored with the lecture, and by the time the hour's up I've learned something interesting and made knitting progress. Not bad!

This post has already reached novel length and there's more I could say, but I'll leave you with one last happy bit of news: I won a blog contest!! It was the first time ever and I absolutely cannot wait to find out what the prize will be! The contest was over at Hasbu's and you should stop by today and wish her a happy birthday.