HAPPY NEW YEAR {for real this time}

Happy New Year everyone!  For real this time!  I didn’t plan on posting again for a day or three, but sometimes ideas just happen.

This one came to me while I was doing my pre-New Year dinner shopping. My oldest son LOVES beans. However, the younger two, not so much. Pinto beans are pushing it, so any parent can imagine their HORROR when I mentioned black-eyed peas were on the menu. As soon as I dropped the bag into the basket the yearly, ” I am not eating THAT,” whine-fest began.

Normally, this would have irritated me, but on this particular day, it gave me the BEST idea. I would TRICK them into eating their New Year staple!

This is what I came up with…

They are black-eyed peas, so they ought to cover the tradition, right?

*Don’t panic mom, I will make them eat at least five real ones*

Seriously, that was the plan all along.
*BRIBE THEM*
 My kids will do almost anything for a cookie.

I was all around unsure about this cookie when I started. First of all, I didn’t know how well a black-eye pea would translate to a cookie. There is a very fine line between creative and UGLY. So, before embarrassing myself, I sent a quick phone pic to my buddy, L, and got the thumbs up.  She knew EXACTLY what they were.

Luckily, I happen to own a jelly bean cutter, and even though it always looked like a kidney to me {there IS such a thing as a kidney cookie} I knew it would work perfectly as a bean.

On a BAD note, I might have broken my resolution for no ugly cookies.  Bottom line, black-eyed peas just aren’t cute…unless maybe I gave them a face…but, um, not today.

However, since I was experimenting, I tried out a recipe I have been dreaming up for a while now.  I made lemon poppy seed cookies, with lemon royal icing.

*Hope no one is too disappointed that my black-eye pea cookies aren’t black-eye pea flavored*

I wasn’t sure about the combo at first, but they are Bern Dogg’s new favorite, so I KNOW they are pretty darn good.  But, just to double check, I might post my recipe soon, so I can get outside input.

Happy New Year, everyone, be safe and make it a good year!