Day Off

Even though it’s a gorgeous day for a run, and Zumba Fitness can be pulled up on a moment’s notice, rest is just as important as exercise in a healthy lifestyle.  So, with my muscles aching, I decided to take a pre-planned day off from working out today.

There isn’t much that changes when I don’t work out. It’s not like I work out five hours a day. It’s generally between an hour and an hour and a half that now fits in around most other activities, like, say WORK and FAMILY plans.

So one might ask, when one doesn’t work out ON PURPOSE (pre-planned that is), what does one DO with that, say, hour or hour and a half? I give you…..

….RUMPLEDOODLES!

My Dear Child has a “minor” thing for Pooh. And the minor thing has turned into a major thing for Pooh’s entire cast of characters, especially Lumpy (the heffalump) from Pooh’s Heffalump Movie. Our evening plans presently look like PHM for 30 minutes before Dear Child goes to sleep. And “to mix things up,” we now have The Heffalump Halloween Movie to alternate viewing pleasure.

Cover of Pooh's Heffalump MovieWhich brings me to rumpledoodles. As anyone who has watched PHM more than once knows, Lumpy loves rumpledoodles. I’m sure every parent is asked what they are, where can we get them and when can we have them. Hopefully Dear Child will have them as a surprise snack later this afternoon.

They’re actually a made up thing. A new recipe, if you will. The DVD has the recipe in its additional features section. They include baking must haves like salt, flour, coconut and sugar, among many other scrumptious ingredients. Upon making a batch, one finds that the basic recipe is a wee bit runny and tastes a bit odd. The addition of vanilla, chilling the dough before the great bake and allowing them to sit for a couple of minutes before taking them off the baking sheet correct for any inadequacies.

So what do they taste like? Upon biting into a hopped up version (see below), one is reminded of English toffee, but somewhat different and, is it possible, better? And with the inclusion of raisins, they seem somewhat healthy if one is fantasizing in the hazy sort of way.

Hopefully they hold up for the post-afternoon nap and don’t seize up and become too hard. But then, that might be a great reason to dunk them in an ice cold glass of milk.

Lumpy’s mummy would be proud.

***

Hopped Up Rumpledoodle Recipe

1/2 cup rolled oats (ie oatmeal)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 heaping tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp molasses
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

½ tsp vanilla

1 tbsp boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cookie sheets. I fit about a dozen cookies on a regular sized sheet. This recipe makes about two dozen cookies.

Mix the oats, sugar, flour, coconut, raisins, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

Combine butter, molasses, vanilla and water separately. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well-mixed.

You can chill the dough for 10-30 minutes before using if you’d like, but it’s not necessary.

Drop teaspoon-sized amounts of dough onto the cookie sheets. I use a teaspoon sized measuring spoon to portion out the cookies. Use it like a melon baller, but level the scoop before putting onto the cookie sheet. I find that larger amounts of dough make for much too large cookies, as these cookies spread; they do not rise.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to a plate.

Enjoy!