Sorry, this photo does not do this tasty cookie justice.  It is light and moist and flavorful and looks a lot better in person than this, I promise.

HONEY I’M GOOD COOKIES

“Want to enjoy some natural honey? Want to enjoy a moist cookie that celebrates Autumn with a rich spicy flavor? Well, I have the cookie for you.

This past week, I was encouraged by my bee keeper friends Phil and Shawna Allen, as well as my bee keeper sister Kathy Carlin, to give natural honey flavored cookies a try. Thinking a bit about the concept, I figured that molasses was a nice natural sweetener comparable to honey, so instead of molasses based ginger snaps, why not “Honey Snaps?” Why not, indeed? These cookies turned out soft and spicy with a gentle touch of honey, while avoiding that dominating molasses kick.

Looking for a cookie that’s perfect for this time of year? Look no further. ‘Honey I’m Good.’”

2 cups Brown Sugar

½ cup Crisco

2 Eggs

½ cup Natural Honey

5 cups Flour

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Ginger

1 teaspoon Cloves

½ teaspoon Salt

4 teaspoons Baking Soda

Sugar for coating

Cream the brown sugar and Crisco.

Mix in the eggs and honey.

Mix in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda.

Don’t worry if your mixer struggles. You just added a lot of flour.

Divide the dough into two disks and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is preferable.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take Tablespoon sized chunks of dough and form into balls.

Roll the dough balls in the sugar to completely coat.

Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake for 8 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown.

Be careful not to overbake, since these cookies will easily burn on the bottom.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet.

Remove and allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about 65 cookies.

Revised Source: “Honey & Spice Crinkle Cookies” as found on www.food.com.

Inspiration:  Thanks to Phil and Shawna Allen and Kathy Carlin. May your bees continue to make flavorful honey, my cookies are certainly better, as a result.

Sometimes in life you are confronted with major dilemmas. This evening, that’s where I found myself.

Entering the dining room to clear the dinner table, I saw a most troubling sight. Our beagle Kirby with his neck strained over the table and tongue fully extended onto the inside edge of the spreadable butter container. Only minutes before that same spreadable butter graced our corn on the cob. That same spreadable butter container that was still half full had provided taste enhancement. Now, our butter was contaminated. Or was it?

I had only seen him licking the inner edge of the container, not the creamy layer below. Could I clean the edge and clear my mind? Could I purge the vision of him enjoying a buttery snack out of my head? I love my dog, but I’ve seen what he eats. I’ve seen where his tongue has been. I love my dog, but I don’t want him anywhere near my butter.

I am a civilized man. I have been born and raised to make hard decisions. Decisions to protect my family. Decisions promoting the betterment of man and the advancement of society as a whole. Only one thing to do, cast off the butter.

My dog had forced me to make the tough call, but(ter) I am a better man for it.

8-year-olds don’t have a lot of cash. They have a lot of passion. They have a lot of joy. They have a lot of love. They are however often short on cash.

Well, my 8-year-old son Sam really wanted to get me a birthday gift, but being short on cash left him with limited retail options. As a result, the claw machine at the arcade seemed like a logical shopping alternative.

With a great deal of focus, sixteen quarters, and a little bit of luck, my son got me the best birthday gift ever…

One thing’s for certain, it’s not short on rhinestones or the love of my son. #JustMyStyle

As a kid, birthdays were always fun, but they also signaled an unwelcome change in the Upper Midwest. For a birthday at the end of August meant the end of summer. Soon the nights would grow cold. Soon school would begin. Soon shorts would become a thing of the past. Yes, birthdays were fun, but it was what always came next that was unwelcome.

Now firmly entrenched in middle age, I see something quite different. My birthday surrounded by loving family and friends both old and new reminds me of fresh opportunities. Yes, birthdays mean that I have been given a new set of downs. A new opportunity for adventure and another chance to enjoy life. Yes, birthdays mean the fresh blessings that come with a new day. A beautiful and wonderful opportunity to embrace life, even as an Autumn chill descends.

Birthday cake and my favorite pastime, my cookie blog.

PS – I could however spend a little more time combing my hair, just sayin’.

CARYN’S CRAISIN COOKIES

“One of the many benefits of my cookie blog empire is having friends bring me amazing cookies. Well last week, my friend Caryn introduced me to and baked for me a batch of these tasty craisin and white chocolate chip cookies. Soft with a tender chew, these cookies score high on the yum scale, while also featuring newly introduced Pomegranate Craisins. Fun for the taste buds and an adventure down the grocery store’s craisin aisle. Sink your teeth in and enjoy!”

2/3 cup Butter

2/3 cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1½ cups Old-Fashioned Oats

1½ cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Salt

5 ounces Pomegranate Craisins

2/3 cup White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter and brown sugar.

Mix in the eggs.

Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Stir in the pomegranate craisins and white chocolate chips.

Place rounded Tablespoons of dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Revised Source: My friend, coworker, and fellow cookie lover, Caryn Marcus.

Oh and by the way, the Paulsen boys gave their thumbs up to Caryn’s cookies, as my M&M biscotti were shoved to the side. Alas, my ego was bruised, but my boys were well fed.

Double the cookie options equals happiness for the Paulsen boys.

Taylor Swift and Oprah together…  in a cookie.

The “Celebrity Double Cookie”

Kathy creating Hollywood cookie magic.

CELEBRITY DOUBLE COOKIES

“My beloved sister Kathy has discovered an epic cookie. Celebrity star power? Got it! Powerful flavor? It’s a plenty! Flakey texture and smooth topping? All there! Well, Oprah and Taylor Swift, get ready for cookie magic. A little bit shortbread and a little bit Rock and Roll, this sugar cookie is both savory and sweet. No ‘Bad Blood’ included, but rather Oprahlicious, and all my amazing sister Kathy, ‘Celebrity Double Cookies’ are worthy of paparazzi coverage. So grab your cell phone, take a picture, and enjoy!”

Kathy with “Cookie Ears” (patent pending)

Cookie Ingredients

½ cup Butter

½ cup Vegetable Oil

½ cup Sugar

½ cup Powdered Sugar

1 Egg

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 teaspoons Oprah Chai Tea

2 cups Flour

½ teaspoon Baking Soda

¼ teaspoon Salt

Glaze Ingredients

1 cup Powdered Sugar

¼ teaspoon Nutmeg

¼ teaspoon Cinnamon

3 Tablespoons Milk

Chai ain’t chai without Ms. Winfrey.

Cream the butter, vegetable oil, sugar, and powdered sugar.

Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.

Mix in the chai tea.

Let rest for one hour.

Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Refrigerate the dough for four hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place Tablespoon sized balls of dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Let rest on baking sheets for five minutes or until completely cooled.

Mix together the glaze ingredients and spoon onto cooled cookies.

Allow glaze to set.

Makes about 24 cookies.

Revised Source: Taylor Swift and Kathy Carlin.

Trying to eat healthy is a sad sad endeavor.

There I was trying to select a healthy snack.  Not fun to begin with and the pickings were slim.  Finally, I settled on a granola bar.

Sitting down with my “snack,” I came to the sad realization that my only competition for this food selection, the only other living thing that would want to eat it would be a squirrel.

Yes, my new foodie competition is a rodent of the trees.  My granola bar, my sad snack.  A squirrel, my primary competition for survival.

You don’t want to miss this…  coming soon to www.CookiesbyDave.com, “Celebrity Double Sugar Cookies” by my beloved and talented sister, Kathy Carlin!  Stay tuned…

It has been one of those days, one of those wonderful type of days.  One of those days, when you reach the end and all that you feel like doing is smiling.

Blessings abound and blessings surround.  Thank you God for each and every one.

One of the lesser known features of CookiesbyDave.com is its much neglected and underutilized partner Twitter account (@CookiesbyDave), which by the way is “The official Bad Poetry site of CookiesbyDave.com.”

Well, you can imagine my excitement, when I was cleaning my briefcase and I found a Post-it note containing a little gem of a poem. Lickety-split, I went to my Twitter account, only to find (sigh) that I had posted the poem way back in April. Ugh. I guess my briefcase really did need to be cleaned out. Never the less, I still am proud of that little nugget of a poem. Enjoy…

“Crestfallen Bureaucrat”

Got spreadsheet

I’m so proud

But ain’t getting no luv

from this crowd

There you have it, the Lost Poem of Dave, which was actually more a Rediscovered Poem of Dave that just so happened to be available for several months on the Internet and therefore really makes it more of a Long Forgotten Poem of Dave.

You’ve been so good to read this far, let’s craft a new poem for you right now (hopefully, I did not write the same thing back in April).

“Post-It”

Sticky paper scrap

Yellow in hue

Perfect place to jot

thought that’s new