Taking It Easy

By taking it easy I mean I’'ve made some super simple stuff lately…fabulously easy cookies and a cute little tiered stand to put them on.

Actually, this particular stand is one I made last year; it’s more spring-ish than my latest one, so it’s the one I’m showing you! I found myself with a few mismatched juice glasses and didn’t want to just throw them out, but didn’t really have cabinet space for them. In addition, every time Target has new melamine plates, I crave them. Alas, I already have plenty of non-plastic plates, so I really don’t need more. We have lots of different melamine ones the kids use for holidays, too. I put on my thinking (also known as my justification for more plates) hat and came up with this use for them.

All you do is use E6000 (yes, I should be their paid spokesperson) to cement the plates together with the glass as a pedestal. Glass candlesticks also make a great pedestal, but mine are still in unbroken pairs, so I used what I had. I wash this by hand, but it’s holding up perfectly so far…and it’s made it through a cross-country move

I think I’ve mentioned that I send treats in every Friday with my GI Joe. More often that I care to admit, I remember this at bedtime on Thursday night. This happened last week, so I was madly searching my pantry. I found a box of Krusteaz Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookie mix from Costco, which was perfect but not enough for the whole office.

Then I remembered a recipe I came across on Pinterest called “HolyC#$%TheseAreAmazing Cookies.” Who wouldn’t be tempted to try those? The original post can be found at the Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy blog.

HolyCowTheseAreAmazing Cookies

(aka Peanut Butter Cornflake Balls)

(Makes about 3 dozen cookies)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 jar (18 oz ounce) peanut butter, crunchy or smooth (I like creamy.)
• 6 cups corn flakes
• 3 oz good quality chocolate of your choice (OK, so I used Nestle semisweet chips ‘cause that’s what I had and it was bedtime)

Directions

1. Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until the mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in the whole jar of peanut butter. Mix well.
2. Add corn flakes to a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and mix well, taking care to coat all of the corn flakes.
3. With a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop out and form into 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference, and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
4. Put the chocolate in a Ziploc and melt in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Smoosh it until it’s smooth. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies.

It’s a very good thing I made these at bedtime, or I probably would have eaten a large portion if not all of them. They were…yes, amazing!

Hope you have a take it easy kind of day!