Me want cooo...kieee....

Raise your hand if Cookie Monster is the character you can most identify with on Sesame Street.

Yep, me too. Who wants to bother COUNTING cookies when you could just be GOBBLING them all up?!

I confess, I make way too many cookies. And ever since our family went (mostly) gluten free, it's been quite difficult to find a good gluten free cookie recipe. I've tried quite a few, some better than others, but nothing quite seems right in terms of taste and texture when compared with "real" cookies. I often end up making two batches of cookies, one gluten free for the kids and one secret stash of "real" cookies for me and Robert. Yes, I know. Don't judge me. Okay, go ahead and judge me. I judge myself...but I keep on doing it. I tell myself I'm doing it for my marriage. Robert likes my "real" cookies.

The other day I was over at Mom's house hanging out with my two delightful youngest sisters, and we ended up making cookies, of course. I used a recipe from her one of Mom's old cookbooks, but I adjusted it to use gluten free flour. They turned out to be the BEST gluten free cookies I'd ever made!Even Robert (who has the most sensitive palate known to man and can detect a single grain of gf flour in any recipe) didn't figure out they were gluten free. In fact, we finished them off (without the kids ;-) and yesterday I had to make some more to give to my mother in law - since she is now gluten AND dairy free, it's hard to find good recipes to make for her! 

My mom asked me to post the recipe so you all can share in the goodness, so here you go!

GF Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup milk (to make them dairy free also, use coconut milk. I did and I couldn't tell any difference)

1 2/3 cups of gluten free oats (rolled, not steel cut)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or raisins, if you prefer)

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (I used Pamela's bread mix, not baking mix; I haven't tried it with other gf flour blends, but you can play around with it.)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 t cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugar until combined; then add eggs and milk and mix. Add oats, chocolate chips, and vanilla. Combine remaining dry ingredients and add slowly to mixture until a thick dough is formed. Drop teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean. The cookies should be pretty thick and not spread out a whole lot. They are cakey and soft and the chocolate melts a little..mmmmm.

I will now leave you to 

OMM NOMM NOMM NOMM!!

{things I've said}

A short list of things I've actually said to my children this week:

(to Joseph) "Take that camel out of your mouth and finish your reading lesson!"
(Note - I was talking about a plastic piece of the nativity set, not a cigarette, in case you're worried)

(James) "We do NOT pee in plastic bags and then hide them under the table!!"

(Gabriella) "Please take your finger OUT of my ear and do not put it in there again!"

(to Robert) "I have to go clean the dried tuna fish off the piano before Mom comes to give Joseph his piano lesson."

(to myself) "Why is there peanut butter all over the piano keys AGAIN?!"

and, lest you feel that Elora is being left out, here's my anecdote about her this week. She talks in her sleep. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever. A few nights ago, she rolled over in her sleep, sang/said "Di-e-go! Go, Diego, go! I watch Diego?" and then fell instantly asleep again. (Diego is her favorite tv show in the whole entire world. It's kind of like the boy version of Dora the Explorer. We're all quite sick of it...but she loves it.)

Then last night, James came in to tell us he'd had a nightmare about bears. Elora was asleep in my lap and she suddenly sat bolt upright, said "Bears?!" and then fell back asleep. I almost woke her up again, I was laughing so hard.

Yes, life with these little people is many things...but it's definitely never boring.

Status Update: Married!

In case you couldn't tell from my absence, the month of December was quite a busy one for me! Hosting a bridal shower in early December, tons of family in town for our FOUR separate Christmas celebrations (yes, it was excessive), and, finally and most notably, watching my little brother get married! That thought in and of itself is crazy and difficult for me to wrap my head around, but in a very happy way. It was a lovely wedding, a testimony to God's faithfulness, and a very VERY joyful day, especially for my brother and his lovely new wife, Melissa! It's exciting to have a new sister and see my brother set off on this new and exciting stage in life.

Here is a GORGEOUS professional photo of the newlyweds. More goofy and probably less professional photos to follow soon!