Update on the furnace, ways to keep warm

Our heating guy rocks: He fixed the heater until at least spring (hopefully). Thus we can hold off on getting gouged for a new furnace. This also means that DH and I can have a real Christmas instead of our wan, "Merry Christmas, honey" as we gave each other the gift of heat. Ech.

In celebration of coming home to a warm house, I made cookies from Cooking Light which also count as 1 point each on Weight Watchers. They are YUM and will sit for a short while in our gorgeous cookie jar we received as a wedding present from Ouiser and fam. Consider it my contribution to the 12 Days of Cookies that ol' Scarlet's putting together.

Ooh, also tried Billy Blanks Tae Bo today. That guy is nuts, but I certainly got my workout. What I loved was the equally overenthused chick who militantly counted out each set and would randomly yell out, "YEAH!" during the workout.

Here's the cookie recipe:


Brown Sugar and Spice Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg (or egg substitute)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cooking spray

Topping:
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
Dash of ground allspice

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cookies, combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking powder, and next 4 ingredients (through 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until well blended.

Shape the dough into 30 balls [a little bigger than a large gumball]. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray; flatten cookies with bottom of a glass.

To prepare topping, combine 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, and allspice in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over cookies.

Bake at 350° for 9 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on pans. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Yield: 30 servings (serving size: 1 cookie)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 64(32% from fat); FAT 2.3g (sat 1.3g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 1g; CHOLESTEROL 12mg; CALCIUM 10mg; SODIUM 46mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 0.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10.1g