Cookie Mania & an important cause!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

This post is lacking recipes & I'm lacking motivation to wade through New York photos & food notes, but one thing it's definitely not lacking is COOKIES!

I've never considered myself a cookie person. Sure, cookies are tasty & as a child I consumed them in mass quantities, but these days if I'm going to be naughty, I tend to go all out & reach for decadent cakes. I've been recipe testing for Kelly & Garrick who have an upcoming cookie cookbook & with all the cookies hanging out around the house, the tide may be changing!

I love how quickly a batch of cookies can be thrown together, not to mention, they're portable, easy to share, & people love them! Ryan has been taking various desserts to work & the cookies never last long. I think there's a nostalgic feeling people get from biting into a homemade cookie; hooray, you're a kid again! Cookies are versatile as well, a decorated sugar cookie is a canvas for so many options, it's insane!

Some of the cookies I've made so far are Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bakes, Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Cookies with Golden Raisins or Chocolate Chips, Amazingly Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies, Snickerdoodles, & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip! These have all been tester recipes, but I've been checking out various cookbooks for other options, especially with the holidays coming up. Let's face it; the holidays are meant for cookies!

So, what's my favorite cookie? Right now it's SNICKERDOODLES! I thought I'd be all about chocolate, but the cinnamon sugary soft & chewy 'doodle has a hold on me. The recipe from Kelly & Garrick's book is phenomenal & will be a staple in my house hold for years to come!

***

On a serious note, I'm currently volunteering for Californians for Humane Farms. Better conditions are needed for the farm animals that provide to our nation, they should be able to lie down, turn around freely, stand, & fully extend their limbs with ease in their enclosures, which is not currently the case.
The Humane Society, Farm Sanctuary, & many SPCA chapters are working together to move this initiative to the ballot for next year. We have to gather 650,000 signatures from California registered voters! If you're registered to vote in California, I urge you to sign the petition, consider circulating a petition in your area, post about this on your blog or myspace, & do whatever you can to help these animals. Please visit www.HumaneCalifornia.org to learn more about this exciting ballot initiative for farm animals!