The Scent of a House

Do you ever wonder what your house smells like to other people?
Some houses I go in to smell so odd.
Some smell wonderful.
Some I don't really notice a scent at all.

I wonder what my house smells like to others.
Does it stink?
Smell old?
Musty?
Like dirty socks?
Or laundry detergent?
Or my current favorite candle?

More often than not, it probably smells like cookies.
Because I make lots and lots of cookies.

I get tired of making the same cookies over and over.
Chocolate chip and chocolate waffle cookies mostly.
So sometimes I like to create something new.

One of Brookelynn's favorite cereals is Frosted Shredded Wheat.
There are A LOT of crumbs in these boxes.
And I hated throwing all of those crumbs out.
Apparently, sometimes I'm ridiculously frugal.

Other cereals,
like Honey Bunches of Oats
and Frosted Flakes
or Corn Flakes,
seem to never quite get all eaten.

A year or so ago,
I decided to do something with all of these crumbs.
I started "collecting" them all in one bag.
And when I had what I thought was enough,
I made some cookies.
I've made them several times.
Changing the recipe a bit each time.
I think this time I finally got it about right.

I could not tell you
why the cereal is in a separate bowl from the flour.
But I love all three of my Pyrex bowls.
The smaller two where my grandma's on my mom's side.
And the yellow was my grandma's on my dad's side.

I like the texture of the dough.

Cereal Cookies

2 cups cereal crumbs                           1 cup butter

2 cups flour                                         1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda                                1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder                           2 eggs

1 tsp salt                                             2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips                  1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, combine cereal crumbs, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Beat cereal and flour mixture into butter mixture. Add chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Drop by tablespoonful onto baking sheets. Bake for 8-9 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire rack.

Yield: about 5 dozen

Most people think they look like oatmeal cookies.
But they've got a great crunch to them.

You can, of course, change the kind of chips you use.
I've made them with butterscotch chips
instead of peanut butter.
We just really liked the peanut butter better.

Come over.
Enjoy some cookies.
And, please, tell me what my house smells like while you're here.