Monday, January 03, 2011

TWD: Midnight Crackles

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

How has this happened? I wasn't even used to saying twenty-ten yet, and now we're already on twenty-eleven. (Cue old-lady grumping about the passage of time and kids these days.)

We had an exciting New Year's Day. I'll give you a hint: it involved giant dragons...

...and marching bands...

...and horned frogs (ew)...

...and Paula Dean, y'all!

Yes, we had front & center seats for the Rose Bowl Parade! We live about 3 blocks from the parade route so we got together with some friends and camped out the day before and staked out some prime real estate. Let me tell you, people here take their parade viewing verrrry seriously.
Dibs started at 7am the day before the parade, and folks basically stayed in their spots for the next 24 hours on the street. It was pretty surreal to be camped out in front of the local Indian buffet at 3:30 AM, playing games, warming our hands by the fire in the BBQ, fending off cotton candy and bacon-wrapped hot dog vendors, and watching the next group over dance to salsa music all night. I love this town.

It was totally worth it, though. Where else could you see such a marvelous idea for a float?

But oh no, that's not all. For New Year's Eve our friends had a "Minute to Win It" party featuring ridiculous stunts, feats of strength, tests of skill, and general daring-do. It was delightful.



But enough about how well Jason juggles balloons, let's talk about cookies! I brought these Midnight Crackles to the NYE party, where they performed poorly in the Feats of Strength category but earned high marks in the Edible and Delicious category.
To make them more festive, I topped the cookies with edible gold star confetti. (From Michael's--expensive but pretty awesome.) They just needed something to make them pop visually, something that screamed Happy New Year!


Taste-wise, they were a little less exciting. I was hoping they'd have a soft, gooey center, but they were more cake-like. The flavor was nice, but it just wasn't the texture I was hoping for--adding some chunks of chocolate might also have helped.
But they were still tasty, and they still helped us ring in the new year on a sugar high, so what more can you ask for?

14 comments:

  1. I don't think I've posted here before - I make those cookies every Christmas, and I love your confetti idea, so I may steal it next year. Happy New Year, looks like a good time was had. :)

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  2. How wonderful that you were able to be front and center of the parade.

    That is something that I have always wanted to see.

    Your cookies look great.

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  3. I went to the Rose Bowl parade when I was seven years old, and it was a complete thrill. Every float was more beautiful than the last. Parade marshals that year were a group of astronauts, and I couldn't believe I was seeing them with my own eyes.

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  4. Anonymous7:27 AM

    Your cookies look great! The Rose Bowl Parade pics are fun. Happy New Year!

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  5. Fun to go to the parade!
    I thought the cookies needed a little something on top, too. And thought they were just okay. But still fun to make!
    Happy New Year!

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  6. You had me at gold glitter. Your cookies look beautiful!

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  7. What a fun NYE! Happy new year! And the cookies look great!

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  8. wow, that is WAY more fun than my new year's!

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  9. I love the gold stars! So cute and they do make the cookies pop.

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  10. Haven't been to a parade since kids have grown up. But did love them.

    Love the golden cookies. They would have been perfect prizes for the feats of strength and daring!!!!

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  11. Anonymous7:48 AM

    Where the heck do you go to the bathroom when you're camped out on the street? Anyway...it does look like a good time, and the cookies look quite festive!

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  12. The parade always makes me delightful! Everything is so pretty! I missed attending it.

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  13. Did you also camp out for 24 hours? WOW!
    The gold stars look exactly like the one I used to get from my teacher in nursery school! I love :)

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  14. Claire12:32 PM

    Did the Indian Buffet stay open all night? Now that would have been good business!

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