Cookies and stuff

Here's a picture of the (yes, small) cookie tray I took to work on Tuesday:



That's chocolate chip, with pecans and M&Ms, pretzel treats and peanut blossoms. We also made Swirled Holiday Snowball Cookies (recipe is on the back of the package, too), but I really like those, so I didn't share. :) The pretzel treats are really, really easy and very festive.

Pretzel Treats
(shamelessly stolen from someone in my quilt guild)

1 bag of pretzels
1-2 lbs of candy-making disks, any color/flavor
1 bag of M&Ms

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Lay pretzels on a single layer on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. A layer of parchment or waxed paper underneath makes cleanup really easy, especially if you overbake them. Place one candy-making disk on each pretzel. Bake 7-10 minutes or until disks in the center of the tray are soft. Remove from oven and immediately place one M&M in the center of each disk, pressing lightly to make sure they stick. Cool completely.

I used Snyder's of Hanover Snaps pretzel, white chocolate disks and red and green milk chocolate M&Ms. I've tried mixing and matching milk and dark chocolate disks and dark chocolate M&Ms, but I prefer this combo. The white chocolate really shows off the M&Ms and adds a nice contrast in flavor.

Last year I was making these for a bake sale and didn't have holiday M&Ms. I just pulled the red and green ones out of a regular bag, along with the blue and yellow ones for Hanukkah. They were very pretty. You can get those disks in all kinds of colors, so these would be great using school/team colors. If you want to get really fancy, you can order M&Ms in a whole rainbow of colors here.

I promised some crafty content, and here it is:



That's my first sock. Sixty stitches on size 2 (2.75mm) needles, using Red Heart's Heart and Sole yarn in Toasted Almond. I'm mostly following the free pattern for the yarn. According to them, I should have cast on 52 stitches instead of 60 (didn't have the pattern at the time), but I have wide feet and thick ankles, so I'm hoping it works out ok. I also used 3x3 ribbing instead of 2x2. Again, I'm hoping it'll be ok. Only time will tell, I guess. If it doesn't fit, I'll have to find someone who can wear and appreciate them.

Finally this was the view at my house last night. For the record, Blue was there first and Emma jumped up later. She also let him spend a good 5 minutes licking her head without swatting, growling or otherwise complaining.

"I still hate those stupid, stinky kittens."