The Cookie Baking Begins

I baked cookies today for Thanksgiving. The tally includes 5 dozen each of Butterfinger Cookies, Toffee Cookies, and Snickersnaps, as well as 3 dozen Sugar Cookies. I mixed up a batch of Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. I also have a batch of Sugar Cookies.

It'll feel better at Camping

Buck and I started camping with the grands when Brayden was three and Joe and Abby were two. Brayden is now nine. Joe and Abby are almost eight. Cayson is four. Little Brody's two and a half.
One night when Abby was about three, she told her Papaw she didn't feel good. She had a tummy ache. Then that sweet baby girl looked at her Papaw and gravely said "it'll feel better at camping."
Buck and I took the grands camping again this weekend. All 5. By ourselves. No parents. We all had a blast. Our favorite campground is Kincaid Lake in Kisatchie National Forest.
Buck bought a fishing license so he could help them fish. No fish were harmed in the venture, but all the worms drowned. I helped him ready the poles until the hooks were tied on. Brayden, Joe, Abby, and Cayson fished for several hours. They got pretty good at swinging their baited hooks back into the water without snagging anything or anyone.
While the others fished, Brody and I walked back to the camper for snacks. He enjoyed climbing up and down the trail to the lake. I pointed out a hole so he wouldn't fall in it. He didn't. He jumped in with both feet and a very loud "oh, no! I fell in hole!"  It's fun to be two! Of course, he found it again on the return trip.
The kids rode their bikes a lot. Cayson could be heard from the other side of the campground as he rode because his training wheels are hard plastic. That plastic and the asphalt road made a lot of noise.
Brayden and Joe tossed a football around with Buck. Abby and I sat in the sun for a lesson in crochet.
We roasted hot dogs and toasted s'mores. And no campfire is complete without hot cocoa.

Butterfinger Cookies

I made two batches of Butterfinger cookies today.  I use the recipe found on the back of the Butterfinger baking bits bag. This is some seriously good cookies. Adults in my family have been known to hide these cookies.

Butterfinger Cookies

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 bag Butterfinger Baking Bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Stir the flour to loosen it before spooning it into the measuring cup.

In a small bowl combine the flour, salt and soda. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Scrape the bowl after each ingredient is added. Add eggs, and then vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture. Mix in Butterfinger bits.

Using a a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop, drop cookies onto baking sheets. Separate the cookies by 2 inches.
Chill the cookies 10 minutes.

Bake cookies 13 or 14 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets until the sheets are cooled enough to handle with bare hands. Leaving the cookies on the parchment paper slide them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

The cookies can be made ahead and frozen prior to baking.  Scoop the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze. After frozen, cookies can be put in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months. To bake after freezing, place cookies on parchment lined baking sheets. Allow cookies to thaw before baking.