Almost the end of September

I'm not sure exactly where the last 4 months have gone. Something about not working full time just makes my brain melt into nothingness. Also, it's possible that time has just decided to speed up so that I can be 30 sooner. That would suck.
But what doesn't suck is my baking frenzy last night. I decided to make some peanut butter bars, pretzels, and tasty pull-apart bread. I've recently discovered an obsession with foodgawker, so I've been trying their recipes.
The peanut butter bars are your typical Nestle ones with this recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups peanut butter, divided
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups (8-oz.) Nestle Toll House Mini Morsels, divided

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Directions

GREASE 13 x 9-inch baking pan. 

BEAT 1 1/4 cups peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. With hands or wooden spoon, work in remaining 1 cup powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 cup morsels. Press evenly into prepared baking pan. Smooth top with spatula. 

MELT remaining 3/4 cup peanut butter and remaining 1 cup morsels in medium, heavy-dutysaucepan over lowest possible heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Spread over graham cracker crust in pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until chocolate is firm. Cut into bars. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

The only change I made to this is to add fewer morsels because I don't like the thickness of the chocolate coating. Otherwise, these are pretty easy. The only thing to watch out for is the inconsistent texture. Watch it like a hawk to make sure that it's creamy enough to stick together, but not creamy enough to not be able to be pressed down. If yours is grainy, add more creamed peanut butter and sugar. If it's too creamy, add more graham crackers. Then, refrigerate and enjoy. :)

I make these for work frequently and this recipe is usually enough for about 20 people. Unless I happen to be working with people who love peanut butter and chocolate. Then, it's enough for 10.

Aggression Cookies

I read a series of books called "Hannah Swensen Mysteries". Not so much because they're fascinating and wonderfully well written, but more because of the recipes. Anyway, I found a recipe for some cookies called aggression cookies in the book and ended up with an awesome recipe for light, crispy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies. Because this is a library book, I'm going to transfer the recipe onto here. You're welcome, future Valerie. I made very few changes to this recipe except making it much smaller. I especially love it because you can pound this and feel better.

Oven Temp: 350 degrees
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten-ish
1 cup of butter or 2 sticks
2 cups of oatmeal
1/2 cup of chocolate chips or raisins. Or both or neither.
1/4 tsp salt

Grease two cookie sheets. All you need to do with this is throw all the ingredients into a big bowl, make sure your hands are clean and squeeze and stir the cookie dough with your hands. Make sure the dough is smooth. Think angry thoughts. Stir some more until it's mostly smooth. My dough was really soft, so I was concerned for a bit, but it ended up making some tasty crispy-edged cookies, so I guess it was alright. I didn't like the cookies as much with added flour, so don't make that mistake.

Scoop the dough into rounded balls with a tablespoon and coat in granulated sugar. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Cool them on the sheets for a few minutes, then put onto wire racks.

And you're done. So, if you're ever short on time but craving some cookies, try these, future Valerie. Try these.

I may have finally have gone crazy.

If anyone hasn't read the Hyperbole and a Half ""Sneaky Hate Spiral", they should do so right now. I feel full of anger and unhappiness. For no particular reason except that I was sitting on a sofa eating with my parents, then my plate fell over and I was full of HATE. Apparently, this caused me to swear violently and audibly for about 5 minutes while I complained about the plate and the fact that the world was out to get me.
And now, I'm watching the Apprentice. This sucks so very very much. It apparently consists of weird men saying "Octane" over and over again until it has lost all meaning. God. I want to shoot myself now.
On another note, I guess it's weird that I named this blog snickerdoodles and sunshine. Am I happy? Am I full of tasty cookies and gladness? No. No, I'm not. Generally, I'm fine and stare vacantly off into space, but for some reason, I feel like just smashing the tv and Donald Trump's stupid toupee and the stupid runner up for California who graduated from Stanford Law and got a job but quit because it wasn't her "passion".

I recently realized that I may be completely crazed. I sometimes work with my boyfriend, not very often and I have a lot of stuff to say, but realize that work probably isn't the apropriate place to say those things. No, they're not sexual things because I work in a mental health facility so that would be weird and gross to be thinking of sex during work. I mean, I'm sure that our clients think about it, but that's totally beside the point. Because really, who wants to think about people having sex? I don't get porn. I think it makes little sense. Like vintage porn? Those are people's parents. Who wants to think about people's parents having sex? Thousands of people, according to the statistics on that particular video. Maybe it's about being part of a simpler time (the 70s) where people were in love when having sex. Actually, I doubt it. But seriously, if I came across people randomly having sex, I'd be all disturbed. I hope most people are.
I digress. I'm not thinking about sex. Or porn. Or waiting to talk to bf about them.
Now, I can't remember what I was thinking about. But, sometimes, I think about things and then I stare at him and laugh, then he looks at me creepily (no, wait, I'm the one being creepy, due to the laughing for no reason) suspiciously is the word I'm looking for. Then I laugh more and turn away and all the clients stare at me because it seems like their captor (I'm not really a captor because I have very little say on where or when they go - Yay community! - but they feel that way it seems) is way worse than they are. Then, amidst all the staring, I turn into a giant puddle of awkwardness and just look really intently at my computer screen while pretending nothing ever happened.

I need a hug.