squishing macaroons into brownie batter

Though it feels like my days have been a nonstop cycle of planning for storytimes, giving the storytimes, walking the dogs, sleeping (barely) and rushing to squeeze in chores, I've also been spending a fair amount of time in the kitchen.

For a coworker's birthday I made pumpkin-oat chocolate chip cookies that another coworker made a couple times when we both worked at the same branch.  I think it's ok to say the cookies were just as good as hers.  This is the exact recipe, and I wouldn't change a thing.  They're super moist, with just enough chocolate, and they were gone by the end of the day.

That same morning, because I'm insane, I also made cinnamon rolls from scratch, which is something I've always wanted to do.  Let me start by saying I can live without cinnamon rolls.  They don't really have any of my favorite sweet flavors - lemon, chocolate, or coconut.  And there's other breakfast foods I'd rather eat - eggs or oatmeal to name a couple.  But I've been wanting to make them for a few reasons. First, Robert loves cinnamon rolls.  Second, I love the whole idea of making them - covering a rectangle of dough with stuff and then rolling it up and looking at the swirls after it's been cut.  It's darn-near magic!

Anyways, the cinnamon rolls were pretty good as far as cinnamon rolls go.  The icing this recipe called for was atrocious though.  Even Robert wasn't a fan.  So next time maybe I can talk Robert into orange and chocolate rolls?  We'll see.

This is the recipe I used.  I have no idea what magazine I found it in.

I also made a so-so beef and vegetable soup from a recipe I wouldn't use again, pumpkin coffee creamer that is far too good, biscuits I totally messed up and refuse to say anything else about, and these things called coconut macaroon brownie cupcakes with chocolate ganache, which came from the book, Bake It in a Cupcake.  It was a very long-winded recipe that I think I've figured out an easier way to make next time.  Next time I will bake a thin sheet of coconut macaroons.  Then I'll make a brownie batter that has a bit more chocolate flavor (because I'm a chocolate monster).  Then I'll fill a pan halfway with brownie batter, then add the sheet of coconut macaroons, and another layer of brownie batter.  And because the brownie batter will have a better chocolate flavor, the ganache can be skipped.  But the cupcakes I made were pretty great, and I would have never come up with the idea on my own.  

Squishing the macaroons into the batter was surprisingly cathartic and brought me much joy.

Once again, I'm not sure what magazine this is, but this is the pumpkin creamer we've been using.  As you can see, it is incredibly sinful.  

Next time I'm in the kitchen I'm going to make biscuits that actually look like biscuits!