No thanks to me, the house is still standing, although it’s permeated with the smell of burnt sugar.

Tonight was our family’s annual Fall Freeze Picnic. It was kind of a crazy day and I was baking the cookies for dessert right up until the very last minute. Then we gathered everything and everyone and dashed out of the house. A picnic this time of year is cold enough without doing it after the sun goes down. We invited Mr. Hot Stuff’s parents to come (they live with us), but they politely declined, saying something along the lines of, “We’re content to eat our stew in this warm house.” They might have said something about having “to be crazy to eat in the cold on purpose.”

We had a great time. Our daughter, Ms. Electric, came with her husband and kids. They have a 7 year-old daughter, Sparkler, who was so excited to be there for her second time. Sparkler is from Arizona originally, and so she’s loving all the new family traditions she gets to be a part of now. We love having her here and are excited that her adoption into the family will soon be official.

When we got home, we discovered that I had forgotten about the last batch of cookies in the oven. OOPS. My in-laws were in the kitchen trying to air it out after turning off the oven. Ms. Electric suggested we save the blackened cookies for bad children at Christmas, but after some thought, I think they might be a good trick for Halloween (haha). 

These are my overbaked amaretti morbidi cookies. The two at the bottom of the picture are what they were supposed to look like. I’m putting the recipe at the bottom of this post. They are a favorite around here when baked properly. 

I’m glad things didn’t get any worse than they did. Hopefully by tomorrow we will be rid of the smell. 

Here is my quick devotional reading thought today: 

“Ask the Father… for what things ye… need…. And come unto the Lord with all your heart.”  Such wise counsel. 

Mormon 9 “27 O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.” https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/9?verse=27&lang=eng#p27

Meigi says these cookies are very much like the ones she had in Italy. I take some shortcuts that other recipes online don’t, so you may want to compare and decide how you prefer them. 

Amaretti Morbidi Cookies (gluten free!) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

4 cups almond meal (almond flour)

4 egg whites

1/4 tsp salt 

1 1/3 cups sugar 

1 tsp almond extract or vanilla extract (we prefer vanilla) 

Mix everything together so that it forms a sticky clump of dough, and scoop into ping-pong sized balls. Roll in powdered sugar and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and slightly flatten the dough balls. (I recently ran out of powdered sugar, so I’ve been pressing them down with the bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar. Everyone still loves them!)

Bake at 350 F, for 12-14 minutes.