So, as you saw in the last post, we got a beautiful Christmas tree, and everything was going swimmingly. Even Zelda was (mostly) leaving it alone. I took the plunge and strung up the lights and garland, and Palmer put the angel on top.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83441679@N00/15732262249
Pretty nice, right? (I’ll give you one guess why I didn’t take the garland down to the bottom.) Well, that lasted for a couple days, then THIS happened:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83441679@N00/15933247475
And that was not the worst of it. I was minding my own business, watching TV, when I heard a creaking sound. Zelda wasn’t involved because she was lying on the sofa right next to me. I look at the tree, and it’s leaning so far forward I thought it would topple over any minute. I went over there and leaned it against the wall, but not before the angel fell forward, losing her head as she hit the floor. I thought the adjustable leveler had come undone, which I could fix myself, but one of the screws around the base had come loose.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83441679@N00/15747222499
Awesome. Even more awesome is the fact that Palmer won’t be home to fix it for almost two weeks. MEH.
In more pleasant news, I made some fantastic gingerbread muffins, and I’m totally going to share the recipe. You really should try these. There are lots of weirdo recipes floating around Pinterest right now (one of which I was stupid enough to try), but this one is taste-tested and approved, guaranteed bs-free.
And they’re SO easy to make – as are most muffins. They’re also pretty sweet. For me, anyway.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83441679@N00/15747854499
Mix brown sugar, molasses, milk, canola oil, unsweetened applesauce, and an egg with a mixer, which brings us to the Ugly part of this recipe:
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In another bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, ginger, salt, baking soda (are both really necessary?), cinnamon, and allspice.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83441679@N00/15311644904
You might want to add a tiny sprinkle of black pepper because said pepper is always good in gingerbread. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and you end up with a batter that looks suspiciously like peanut butter…or that uber-tasty Biscoff butter. Yum.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83441679@N00/15747857519
Aww, yeah. I could have eaten ALL of that with a spoon.
And that’s about it! Dump it into a lined muffin tin, and pop it in the oven for about twenty minutes. You’ll be impressed with your Christmas baking skillz.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83441679@N00/15311646994
I’ll take twelve, please.
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- ⅓ cup milk
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by lining the cups with paper cup liners or by spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, molasses, milk, oil, applesauce, and egg until well blended.
- In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Batter will still be slightly lumpy, which is fine – do not overmix.
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups (use an ice cream scoop!).
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
Recipe heavily adapted from The Seasoned Mom.
