Bun in the Oven cookies are cookies with a brownie hidden inside!  I didn’t like the original name, Pillow Cookies.  Or the alternate, Brookies.  Of course I asked for help from my facebook friends on a much cooler name!  Tyler said I should just call them Cookies with brownies inside.  Sigh…no fun! I was looking at them and thought, it looks like a cookie is carrying a brownie love child.  I know, I know….. So I must give credit where credit is due!  Thanks to my old high school friend, Michelle (McKeal) Stafford, for the name of this cookie!  I didn’t invent the idea of the cookie though, I got it off of Bakerella’s website.  But the recipes I’m going to share with you are ALL ME!  Like I said, I give credit where credit is due.  I made Heath Toffee chip cookies with a Blondie brownie inside.  Really though, you could use any combo of cookie and brownie flavors.   Oh, and these guys are really big, they only make about 8-10 cookies.

So, first you need to make a cookie dough.  This is my tried and true basic recipe.

2-1/4 cups All Purpose flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside

1 cup Butter flavored Crisco Shortning

3/4 cup Brown sugar

3/4 cup White sugar

2 tsp Real Vanilla Extract  (if you use imitation, I can not be held responsible for the results, hehe)

Mix above ingredients with an electric mixer until, well, it’s all mixed.  Now you need 2 eggs.  Add them ONE AT A TIME  not sure why but it makes a difference.  Mix well before adding the 2nd egg.  Then slowly add the flour mixture until it’s all incorporated.  I actually needed to add a bit more flour, only for the purpose of these particular cookies.  So maybe about…..  1/4 cup or so.  You don’t want these puppies to spread out too much.  Then add in your Heath Toffee chips (or whatever you chose) then put all the dough in an air tight bowl and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.  I left mine overnight and it was fine.

While that’s chilling, make your brownies.  I used a Butterscotch/Blondie type recipe.

1/4 cup Butter flavored Crisco

1 cup Brown sugar

2 tsp Real Vanilla

1 egg

3/4 cup All purpose flour

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350.  Grease 8×8 pan.  Add brown sugar, vanilla and egg into mixer, melt the shortening then add that in the bowl and mix together.  Stir in flour and baking powder.  Pour into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Sometimes it seems like it’s still undercooked but the outside keeps getting darker and darker.  Be careful now, take it out before it burns, trust me, if it still seems not done, just wait till it cools.  It’s fine :)

Ok, so brownies are cooled and cut into  little 1 inch squares, and cookie dough is chilled.  Now for the fun!  Turn on the oven to 375 and cover your baking sheets with parchment.  Take a 1/3 cup measuring cup and pack it full of dough, use a spoon.  Then turn out the dough onto your parchment and make an indent with your fingers.  Place a brownie in the indent and just kind of squish it down, bring the sides of the dough up and roll it all until the brownie is covered and you have a big dough ball.  Don’t place any more than 4 onto the sheet or they’ll stick together.  Bake for about 15 minutes, then let cool on sheet.  Place on cooling rack once you can get it off the sheet without it totally falling apart :)  And then eat!  But if you eat more than one, you’ll probably get sick, I’m just sayin’.  Let me know if you make these and what you think!  Like I said, any kind of cookie and brownie combo will do!  Ok, now for some pictures!

1/3 cup of dough blob

Top row is dough ball with brownie inside, bottom row is dough with brownie getting ready to be stuffed, and ball with indent!

See how big they are!

drool......

This past 4th of July weekend we took a trip down south and went to Gangala cave.  As I’m typing this, I’m kind of thinking I need to post pictures of stuff as soon as we’re done with our trips, because my mind is going blank right now on what exactly we did :(    Well, it was a cave anyway, a pretty cool one too!  I’ll bet I have such a hard time remembering is because the tour was conducted in Japanese, so I’m not 100% sure what we were seeing!  Oh well, so here are some pictures anyway, enjoy!

Going down down down...into the waiting area....

There is a little art gallery in the waiting area

These were like prehistoricly huge leaves!

I didn't know bamboo could get that big!

The roof of the cave, it had fallen in many moons ago, so we were still "inside"

Those are the roots!

They believed this tree was a god and protected the area, I think :)

300 year old tomb

Yum!

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Army week.  The Ball kicked it off, but I’m now just remembering I didn’t blog about the rest of the weeks festivities!  We started off with a big family bbq at the beach followed by dragon boat races then kayak races.  That was hilarious!  Each battalion on the island (there are about 5 or so) needed to come up with a team.  Most of these guys and gals had no idea what they were doing, much to our amusement :)

Readysetgo!!

They're supposed to be going in the same general direction...it's a race...

That's Logan, wondering where the heck they think they're headed

Um, I think they're supposed to be IN the boat!

Coral that looks like a fish!

Again, supposed to be IN the boat...

A couple of days later we went back up to the beach to watch the chariot races.  I was asked to judge the races, I guess that’s what happens when you stand around and look like you have nothing else to do :)  Oh yeah, Tyler’s place of duty (meaning where he has to be everyday for work) was the beach.  Every single day that week.  It was awesome!  So anyway, each BN had one team.  Except one, who had 5 teams because they misunderstood the directions.  Whatever.  Then those teams were tasked to make their own chariots.  Those were interesting!  Here are pictures of some of them…

That's our BN, and yes, our rider is dressed like a baby....

This won best design!

We won by the way!!  Because of skill, not because I was the judge, promise :)  This was all over and done by 7:45am.  Then later in the afternoon was the tug of war.  Now this one Tyler was on a team so we were all pumped about watching this one.  Until they set up the ropes, and then the heavens opened up and rained.  Big time.  But the show must go on, and boy did it!  Tyler’s team did at least 6 pulls, and came in a very close 2nd place.

Tyler's in the grey shirt and sunglasses

Evan in his protective cocoon trying very hard to stay dry!

This last Saturday we had the chance to go to the Army Ball!  It was great to get all dressed up and have a fun evening :)  Well, I think it was fun to get all dressed up anyway…..

This last week we celebrated the Army’s 235 birthday, and also the 65 Anniversary of the Battle on Okinawa.  Of course that was all addressed at the Ball and it was really the best presentation we’ve ever seen!  They had special VIP guests, members of the Japanese Military were there with their wives, and also a few soldiers who were actually present here on the island during the battle.  That was just really special, what would it be like to come back to a war torn place that you fought so hard on?   To see the progress made and what the people are like now.  Just very cool!  But not the coolest part, haha!  OK, the coolest part was the Streamer Ceremony.  Battle streamers are something the Army earns every time they are in a battle.  I may be simplifying that a bit, but that’s how I understand it.  So in the ball room, they turned the lights all the way down, and in walks a man dressed the Revolutionary war uniform.  He slowly marched over to the flag to place a few streamers on.  As he’s marching, the announcer explains what war he’s from, names a few of the battles, the year it took place, things like that.  Oh, and how many battle streamers the Army earned for that particular war.  They did this with Revolutionary War, Civil War,  War of 1812, WWI and WWII,  Korea, Vietnam, one I forget….Desert Storm/Shield, and of course ended with OIF/OEF.  I wish I could have gotten pictures of that, but for one, my camera battery died, two…we were not cool enough to be seated anywhere close to the ceremony, and three…it was dark anyway!  So you’ll just have to picture it!

Of course the food wasn’t all that great and we left hungrier than when we got there.  But they did have a real live band playing while we were eating, so that was awesome!  Of course when it was all said and done and it was time to let loose and dance….it was the “Smoove and Hypnotic rhythms of DJ Somebody…”  OK, if you’re going to actually say “smoove” then we’d better go!  So here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

That would be me and Katie

Me and Heather

Me and my handsome SSG!

Here on Okinawa, I think they are completely obsessed with the word “Coco’s”  There is Coco’s the curry restaurant.  There is  Coco’s Convenience store and then the best one of them ALL…..Cocok’s (the K is silent, haha!) Nail Salon and Spa.  Now this is the one I’m going to talk about!  It’s a little slice of heaven here in paradise :)    So ever since our first day on the island, I’ve seen ladies walking around with these toe nails.  Not just painted…but like tiny little works of art.  At first I thought they were so tacky, but then the more I saw them around, the more I started wondering what the deal was.  We have an Army Ball coming up and someone mentioned “Hey…..we should all go to Cocok’s!”  Yesterday was the day and I’d been looking forward to it for a long time!  Everyone said how it’s so much better than back in the States, and they do so much more.  I’ll have to just believe that, seeing as how, you know, I’ve never done this kind of thing before ;)

They sat us all down and gave us this big book (70 pages to be exact) of nail art to choose from.  Oh, and we sat in these huge, overstuffed comfy recliners!  So as we’re flipping through, these awesome ladies got to work buffing and clipping and massaging our feet AND calves!  With coconut oil……..Anyway…….I don’t even know how long that lasted, maybe 20-30 minutes! It was so relaxing!   We then showed our lady what we wanted done and she ran off to get her palate, paints, glitter, jewels, whatever was necessary to make your design.   The women who work in there are truly artists.  The details they can put on a pinky toe are just out of this world!  As per tradition, I’m sure one that has been passed down from generation to generation,  since the beginning of time, we put all of our feet in a circle and took a picture to post on facebook :)  Now my toes look amazing for the ball, and I think when this wears out I’ll take Emma in with me!  She’s always begging me to do her nails.  When we go there, heck, she can get Spongebob on her big toe if she wants! 

Bamboo covered lights!

Kim and Connie trying to decide what to get...

Maggie and Wendy!

All preped and ready to go!

Hey, it's tradition!

Check out that detail!

Whoa, so we’ve lived on the island for 6 months now!  Well, technically, June 6th was the date, but I was busy, ha!  I’ve wanted to write this post for a while, but now my mind is blank!  It has been a blast out here so far.  The heat is still manageable too!  We keep hearing “It’s usually so hot by now!”  Hey, we’ll take it for as long as possible! 

 Things are going well, the kids will FINALLY have their last day of school on June 17.  Our first adventure will be…..cleaning their bedrooms!!!  I’m excited, are you?  We’ll see what sort of fun things we can do, and try to check out parks and beaches as much as possible.  It also did dawn on me…. I have a 12 year old now.  That means I don’t have to drag all 4 kids with me to the commissary/PX or whatever boring errands I have to run.  Score!   

We’re also preparing for a Ball next Saturday.  Well, I’m doing the preparing, Tyler’s just along for the ride!  I’m borrowing a dress from a friend from church (thanks Melissa K!) and another friend will be doing my hair, yay!  I’m actually going to get my first pedi too, so that should be fun!  I have a whole blog post prepared in my mind for that experience too, ha!

That about covers it for now!  No pictures to post this time around, I’m on the *wrong* computer for that.  Tune in next time I should have some fun things to show!

I know this is a little backwards….but Emma’s 8th Birthday was May 1st.  Obviously that happened before she was baptized.  But anywho…….She decided she wanted to go to the Aquarium to celebrate!  Evan decided to celebrate in his own special way too, buy throwing up all night and into the morning, hooray!  Since we didn’t get to celebrate my birthday properly, Tyler was not going to have Emma’s birthday sidetracked too.  So he said, and I quote “Grab a bucket and some towels, were going to the aquarium!!”  And that we did :)  Evan actually did pretty ok, only throwing up in the car trip up there and one time outside.  SCORE!

So, moving on then…..We had a great time!  They had this awesome dolphin show, and it just made it all the better because the trainers all spoke Japanese (duh).  There are times when I wish there was more English speaking, but really, aren’t WE the ones who should learn their language?  Anyway….here are some very cool pictures, enjoy :)

A view from the drive

Emma took this, I love the view of the jungle!

Mist for cooling off

nice!

This dude got into a fight!

Not sure what the gargling one is all about

Emma was baptized today, hooray!  It took some convincing, but she chose to do it at Toguchi beach, in the East China Sea.  It was beautiful out there, you could really feel the spirit!  We had great weather too, considering the day before it did nothing but dump rain on us all day long.  She was so happy for the chance to finally wear the awesomely beautiful dress her Grandma Hardy bought here when we went to visit in November :)  After the baptism, everyone who came brought snacks and we enjoyed each others company and the view!  We came home after that and just relaxed.  Emma decided she wanted to have A&W and go bowling,  so that’s what we did.   It was a lovely day, but we missed all of our friends and family back in the States.  We love you guys!!!  Enjoy the pictures :)

Where has the time gone, jeez!  Yesterday (April 18th) was my birthday, it’s really shocking sometimes to think that I’m already 32.  Other times I’m shocked that I’m ONLY 32 ;)  The day started off lovely enough.  It was Sunday so we made our way to Church, and Emma gave a talk during Primary.  She’s always so cute up there!  We got home around 12:30 then found out Tyler had been called into work at 3pm.  What the crap man!!  He’s missed my last 2 birthday’s because of Deployments, today was supposed to be different!  It was absolutely mandatory, so there was no getting out of it.  Our plans were to go out to Dinner, and he told me I still HAD to do it.  He wasn’t going to let that ruin everything.  So we made a deal if he wasn’t back by 5, the kids and I would head out.  By 5:15 no word, so I moseyed to the car, then on to Post because I needed Yen.  Time killer!  We made it to the restaurant by 6pm and he called just then, he was still waiting on his 1SGT to talk with him….who knows how much longer that would take.  Blech…So the kids and I ate Mike’s Tex Mex and had a good time.  Of course we brought back some delicious food for Tyler.  I told the kids we would not be having cake and ice cream without Dad.  They were mad.  It’s my birthday gosh dang it I’m waiting for DAD!!!!   They were fine with it after that :)  Thankfully he made it home by 8:30, still a decent hour, we grabbed the kids out of bed and sang and ate!  I made a maple walnut cake with maple frosting, it was VERY good!  Made with real maple syrup too, so it was the real deal man!  I received the game Farkle and a book,  Dawn of the Dreadfuls.  It’s a prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies :)  Aside from Tyler having to leave *giant eyeroll* it was a very nice day.  I love facebook, I got so many messages from friends, it was wonderful and I appreciated every single one!  So here are a few pictures, enjoy!

In case any of you ever wondered how it all “goes down” in the other public bathrooms, wonder no more!And there you have it folks :)