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I know everyone hates it when bloggers come back after some time away and say “I’ve been gone so long! I’m so sorry! Wow, I’ve been so busy! I need to get things rolling again!” so I won’t 🙂 (but it’s true!).

We haven’t actually been so much busy as we have been contaminated with plague.

Someone who may or may not work at Mike’s place of business may or may not have decided to head into work sick a couple of weeks ago, and it’s ripped through our household like wildfire. We’ve had two separate rounds of antibiotics, prescriptions for coughs and sore throats, and as many over-the-counter pills available for sneezing and runny noses. And we’ve been dealing with this alongside a pretty sick 13-year-old dog as well.

In other words, it’s been loads of fun around here.

Anyway, I had meant to do this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie (brownies!) but just didn’t have the stamina to stay upright in the kitchen over the weekend, so I had to give it a pass.

And today has taken any energy I’ve had in reserve since it’s my oldest daughter’s 14th birthday. It’s been a caffeine-filled day as I’ve not only been baking for Thanksgiving tomorrow, but juggling the above birthday cake and birthday preparations as well.

Can you tell what she (we) is currently into? It’s an interest I am trying to encourage since I’ve wondered if any of the girls would be bitten with the science fiction bug (they all have!). The cake was heavily inspired by this picture, and as you can see I’ve got a little bit of temporal distortion happening along the bottom there. That blue is strong willed.

Anyway, I just made a basic old pumpkin pie alongside the cake (but I did get my spiced pumpkin cheesecake fix a couple of weeks ago),

And we’ve got the turkey prepped and ready to be lowered into some Alton Brown brine,

And tomorrow I get to wrestle with stuffing, potatoes and all the rest of it.

I hope all my American friends have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie is Buttermilk Crumb Muffins, and is hosted by Alisa.

These muffins were, by far, the easiest TWD project in the last little while! They took all of ten minutes to throw together, and even clean-up was a breeze. There was no mixer used, and I had everything on-hand to make them, aside from the buttermilk which I “made” by mixing milk and a splash of vinegar.

The muffin top was my favorite part. It crept up over the cup and onto the pan, and had a wonderful crunch. When I make these again (they’d be fantastic for breakfast — did I mention they’re quick?) I’ll add a little bit of cinnamon to the topping mixture instead of just the batter.

When I was grocery shopping last week I spotted a bag of Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips (this is not a sponsored post) in the baking aisle. I’m a bit wary of Hershey products anymore because their chocolate has gone way downhill over the years, but I figured there was no chocolate in these chips and it would be fun to try something new.

Yesterday I remembered that I had them in the freezer and decided it was time for some experimenting. They were as easy as any other chocolate chip cookie to make, and while I was actually short half a cup of the oatmeal, I think they actually turned out better than if I’d used the full amount the recipe calls for. I did add half a cup of mini chocolate chips, and next time I’m going to try them with some chopped walnuts.

They flattened out a bit more than they normally would have because of the missing oatmeal, and though I’m not usually a fan of flattened, crispy chocolate chip cookies, these are pretty great!

These are perfect for a fall treat, and the cinnamon will make your kitchen smell amazing.

Keep an eye on them in the oven for the first batch of two — they brown up quickly.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies
adapted from Hershey’s

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 10 oz package Hershey Cinnamon Chips

Heat oven to 350° F.

Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats and cinnamon chips (batter will be stiff). Drop by heaping teaspoons unto ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen.