Internet Cooking 1- Brown Sugar Cookies

 I come across interesting recipes when scrolling YouTube. Sometimes I'm looking for something quick and sweet. Other times I'm looking for alternate ways to prepare a vegetable.

This time I was looking for something sweet and came across, 3- Ingredient Brown Sugar Cookies at Steph's Stove.   The recipe is as follows;

Brown Sugar Cookies ½ cup butter - softened to room temperature ½ cup packed brown sugar 1 cup All-Purpose flour Preheat oven to 375° In a medium mixing bowl add softened butter and brown sugar. Using a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, on medium speed blend butter and brown sugar until well combined and fluffy. Gradually add the flour (all-purpose flour) to the butter mixture and blend just till combined and the mixture forms a dough without any flour streaks visible. Do not over mix. Using a 1- tablespoon cookie scoop (or your hands), form cookie balls, place onto a parchment or silicone lined cookie sheet, and flatten each cookie ball. This will allow the cookies to be thin and crispy when baked. Place into the pre-heated 375° oven and bake for approximately 8-minutes. The cookies should be golden brown with set edges and the center will appear soft. Remove from the oven and drop the hot pan onto the counter (or hard surface) immediately. This will allow the cookies to spread, create a chewy center, and a crinkle effect on the cookie surface. After “the drop” place the pan onto a wired cooling rack and allow to cool for 5-minutes. Transfer cookies from the pan to the cooling rack after 5-minutes and allow them to cool completely. After the cookies have completely cooled, place in an airtight container, on the counter, and enjoy for up to 5-days. If you would like to create a “just baked” cookie after storing, pop into the microwave for about 8-10 seconds. Enjoy! Tips - For a thicker cookie, chill the dough for about 20-30 minutes before baking.

This recipe was a bust for me. They were thin, hard and ended up more like Peanut Brittle without the peanuts. Human error on my part is possible. I won't be trying this again.   👎😞

That's it***

Boxing Boxes

 I shop online periodically.  I always save the boxes for a while to determine if I can use them for something else. (I've been trying to declutter and organize lately.) 

I've made a pact with myself that if I don't use them within 30 days, I break them down and take them to a recycle station. After all, more boxes will be on the way...eventually. 

Being that I frequent fast food restaurants, (Don't judge me.) I accumulate a lot of paper napkins. (Why throw them away when I can use them in the car or at home*?)

 For a while I stacked them on top of the microwave. That stack can get so large, it tumbles over.  I decorated one of the small, cardboard  shipment boxes using one napkin, acrylic paint, felt and air-dry clay to decorate a box to keep them in. I happened to have all I needed in my craft stash. 

* I never buy paper napkins. I use cloth and launder them. I purchase the cloth napkins in good condition from thrift stores.  Since I'm at a vintage age 🙂, I also have vintage 

tablecloths that have matching napkins. 

That's it ***

Costume Jewelry

 

I have organized the necklaces and bracelets. Now comes earrings and brooches.

While decluttering I had to decide what I would give away and what I would keep. Among the jewelry were some pieces that have sentimental value that I am not ready to let go of even if I rarely wear it or not at all.

After setting the “give away pile” to the side, I focused on how to store the “keepers.”

Instead of dumping it all in a box, I decided I wanted to dump it in an attractive box.

I used a decorative contact paper I had recently bought and covered a hinged shoe box with it. Rummaging through my stash I found Velcro, imitation leather, and a lone blue button.

I set to work covering the outside of the box. I then cut out two pieces of leather in the shape of a strap and glued them together for sturdiness. Measuring carefully, I determined where the Velcro should be on the underside of the lid and attached it. Instead of placing the button at the bottom of the strap, I placed it on top just for color. Later I was able to place a title on the box indicating its contents. 

After sorting the jewelry by colors and sets  I placed them inside the box and stored it on a closet shelf.

FOOTNOTE: 

I came across this receipt during my decluttering. As of 2026 this receipt is thirty-five years old.

The Century Plaza Mallhas gone the route of so many malls of today. 

Century Plaza Mall

It no longer exists and has been replaced by an Amazon Fulfillment  Center.

That's it ***