Living in a Cereal World

Ok, so I'm just now getting to this after stashing it away for nearly three months because the week before I found out about it I had just opened a box of Pumpkin Spice Cheerios. Apparently I didn't realize how large that box was until it took me two and a half-ish months to finish it. Anyway, finally , Maple Cheerios. I wanted to categorize this as a "limited edition" cereal but the website  clearly states that this is a "new, permanent addition" to the Cheerios lineup. But a permanent seasonal addition, maybe? Eh, we'll see. So, flavor. It's a recognizable "maple-y" flavor at first taste, but upon further reflection it reminds me of a Honey Nut Cheerios without the "nut" undertones. You know what I mean. Honey Nut Cheerios taste like two things: 1. honey, and 2. something else that's not any specific nut. So if that "nut" flavor bothers you, I would recommend trying these Maple Cheerios instead. (Maybe

Since we went away for Thanksgiving this year, we had a backup turkey sitting in the freezer, meaning it was time for Second Turkey Dinner. 😁 And most importantly, the pies I didn't get last month. Pie #1:  Easy Lattice Apple Pie . Because it had "easy" in the name and I had enough stuff to do leading up to Christmas. It's very spice-heavy and not overly sweet: perfect for topping with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Pie #2:  Best Ever Healthy Pumpkin Pie . Ok, maybe not best best but very good. And I'm always looking for pumpkin pies that don't call for sweetened condensed milk because I cannot handle that stuff. You might have pumpkin pie fanatics in your family who are sticklers for that gelatinous/custardy consistency who wouldn't like this but they'd have to really be sticklers. And all new sides for me:  Slow Cooker Stuffing (it makes a lot --I had to jam it in my 5-qt Crock Pot);  Cranberry Orange Sauce (of course it's delicious

Umm...how did it get to be so late in December already? I completed and handed out my gift cookies two weeks ago! Blame it on the season. It seems like I spend all my free time baking or wrapping. 😵 But I still wanted to share what I included in this year's cookie tin. Soft Batch Pumpkin Gingersnap Chocolate Chip Cookies . I made (and froze) these back in November so I was still on Pumpkin Time. It might be a bit heavy on the ginger for some tastes once you roll them in the sugar-ginger mixture, but that wasn't an issue for me. 👍 Next, I attempted a snickerdoodle for the first time ever. The only ones I'd had before were thick and pillowy but these from  Two Peas are a more typical cookie. Sweet and cinnamon-y and do they spread . I gave away the smallest and neatest cookies and kept the weird giant ones. Finally, I browsed my collection to find these  Snowy-Topped Brownie Drops (also from Two Peas). People love chocolate, right? And these are basically just a br