cookie monster

these have become my newest addiction:

mini mint chip meringue cookies!  they aren't perfect, and with those cracks that i can't seem to avoid, certainly aren't pretty.  but they sure are tasty.  i don't even remember what blog it was i was reading, but once i caught sight of them, my mouth started watering and i couldn't stop thinking about 'em.

luckily, my friend google turned up a recipe that was so easy, i skipped into the kitchen immediately to make a batch.  i separated the eggs, put the bowl and beaters in the fridge, and let the whites come up to room temperature.  it didn't take too long, and the meringue mixed up quickly and painlessly.

i poured it into a disposable decorating bag (which i stood up into a glass for easy filling, i'm such a genius):

and then i piped out a little army of cute little cookies.  yeah, yeah - my piping skills need some work.  okay, a lot of work.

they're seriously so delicious, i can't stop munching on them.  and i've actually made, uh, three batches of the damn things in the last couple of weeks.  heh.

yesterday, i decided to try out another recipe that caught my attention - for peanut butter bacon cookies.  baconfest is never over, people. 

and this recipe was so simple - only a few ingredients.  peanut butter, brown & white sugars, a bit of baking soda, and an egg.  it's actually a thumbprint-style cookie, with a big dollop of chocolate in the middle, but although i love chocolate more than most things in life, i don't really dig a big blob of it on top of a cookie.  i much prefer spreading the love, so i decided to throw my own little twist on it.

i was a little alarmed at how oily the cookie dough seemed to be, but i knew it was due to the natural peanut butter it called for. 

and once they were all baked, they dried up quite a bit.  and my twist - i melted some dark chocolate, poured it into a ziploc, snipped off a corner, and drizzled it on top.

pretty, right?  and i was pleased to find that they taste as good as they look.  for you baconphobes, i gotta say that the porky goodness really wasn't very noticeable.  they're just a super moist and chewy cookie.  in fact, the hub (who never comes near any of my bacony sweets) spied the cookies on the counter and ate one, and just thought it was a regular ol' peanut butter cookie.  he was pretty surprised when i figured out that he'd snacked on it and told him what it was that he'd eaten.

and then i laughed my ass off.  heartily.  for about ten minutes.