Cookies Without White Sugar

I had such a desire to make chocolate chip cookies the other night after dinner. I pored over my cookbooks for THE ultimate chocolate chip recipe, grabbed my mixing bowl, melted my butter and WHAM! I had no white sugar! Every recipe called for white sugar!

Easily defeated, yet still completely unsatisfied, I settled onto the couch to watch Grey's Anatomy and drink my wine. When I awoke yesterday morning, the desire to make cookies was still there. Wide awake at 5:30am (an absolute first for me this fall!), I flipped through my book again and found it. A recipe without white sugar:

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies courtesy of Agnes Bregman from Bruce County!

1 small C butter (not sure how you can have a small cup.. but whatever)

1 1/2 C brown sugar (I only used 1 1/4 and you could likely get away with just one)

1 egg

1 C all-purpose flour

1 1/4 C oatmeal

3/4 C coconut

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

I added 2/3 C butterscotch chips.

Bake on greased cookie sheet or parchment paper for 7-8 minutes at 350 degrees F.

These were amazing! I took them to work and everyone raved about them. They spread out a lot when they bake, so they are these delectable, thin cookies. Be sure not to over bake and they will maintain some softness too!!

YUM!

Happy Birthday To Me!

1 year old!! It's hard to believe Savvy Homegirl is one year old today! That also means my home is another year older as well.. yikes!

I am a little disappointed I have not completed as many of the 'fix-it' tasks I wanted to in the past year, but I'm looking forward to a more successful year in 2010. With eight weddings this year, I'm going to give myself a pass - well deserved, in my opinion. With a new job (I got a promotion!), my Pampered Chef 'fun money', and hopefully, a little more time, that office and basement should be easier to tackle!

I am also looking forward to a stronger net worth in the coming year. With my budget tactics somewhat working (some months are definitely better than other), I am confident I can put a bit of money aside, now that my pay cheque is bigger.

Finally, this little blogging adventure has definitely been an interesting learning experience! It's amazing how many times I have the urge to blog about what's on my mind, but I don't have a computer handy to get it all out. My life is hectic at best right now- work, travel (also work), Brownies, Pampered Chef, and of course, the weddings! Luckily, the weddings are nearly done, so Savvy Homegirl should be back more often this fall and winter.

Thank you to everyone that's been reading over the past year! Cheers to one more!

Random Ramblings...

Some 1 AM random thoughts bouncing around in my head right now...

• My cat loves grapes, peaches, tomatoes, berries and pretty much any other soft-skinned vegetable or fruit. My floors are covered with the purple skins of concord grapes. Yah, that stains.
• One of my favourite times of year is when the air smells like snow.
• I'm shopping for the best deal on pumpkins. In the past few days, I've driven by eight places with pumpkins for sale at the road and have yet to buy one.
• I should probably do something with the mountain of cardboard boxes in my garage.. the downside of a home business, unless I move in the near future.
• On the other hand, UPS dropped off 2 shipments this week. It was like Christmas. Boxes and papers flying everywhere and oodles of new products (even if they weren't for me)!
• Hate is a strong word. This week, I HATE driving.
• Why do my cats insist on acting like rabid animals on steroids when I get home at 11 pm?
• i also hate doing wash. Those 2 full baskets should grow legs and walk themselves into the washing machine.
• If you plan an office costume party, you should wear a costume. It's a rule. I don't know how people missed that memo.
• What do you know? My blog is almost a year old! This calls for a celebration... I'll get back to you on that.
• Reverting back to my college day sleeping patterns does nothing for my working day job.

I think that about sums it up for now! Have a good weekend!!

Happy Thanksgiving / Fall!

OH My Gosh! It's already Thanksgiving- well, it was! I can't believe it's over and October is nearly half over! Where did summer go? Wait, when did it start?!

I planned to post all weekend, but between turkey and weddings (yes, I had a wedding on Thanksgiving), and catch-up coffee with friends, the celebration of harvest was done before I knew it! It did occur to me over the course of the weekend that Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays. With nowhere to go except my own family's dinner, it is normally quite relaxing. Even with a wedding this weekend, the drive north of Toronto, through the Oakridge Morraine was beautiful with the hills and trees awash in autumn colour. We were even blessed with some sun and blue skies for both our trip out and home the following day.

There is also never a shortage of things to do around my parents' farm on Thanksgiving. I thought perhaps we might be able to take a nice walk through the bush on our property, pull out a hay wagon for a hay ride maybe even. Ha! I was dreaming! With the weather barely cooperating, I arrived home to a yard full of tractors, trucks, fertilizer wagons and the harvester, just waiting for a sunny day. By Monday, when the sun emerged, they were ready to go! Regardless, it's still refreshing to spend a weekend away from the hustle and I enjoy the still, crisp air on a frosty morning on the farm. It was certainly a nice holiday after a few very busy weeks!