When I'm stressed I...

Eat.  Bake. Okay, who am I kidding, I do both.

Chocolate is my go to stress reliever. Not the healthiest of options, but you do what ya gotta do to get ya through.

Just last week these two yum-o-licious recipes debuted in the Frieling household. Yes, I made two batches of cookies in one week and we won't discuss who ate most of them. If you ask me I'll be sure to blame it on the kids! 

This first recipe is named appropriately...Brownie Crackles. I'm going to rename them Brownie Crack because that pretty much sums it up. With very few ingredients, not to mention items I typically always have on hand, they're dangerous, I tell ya.

Recipe from Taste of Home

Brownie Crackles

Ingredients

• 1 package fudge brownie mix (13-in. x 9-inch pan size)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• Confectioners' sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the brownie mix, flour, egg, water and oil until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Place confectioners' sugar in a shallow dish. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls into sugar; roll to coat. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 4-1/2 dozen.

With brownie crackles attaching themselves to my hips settling in our tummies, it was time to search for the next stress reliever sweet tooth fix. Turtle cookies...yeah, that should do the trick.

Turtle Cookies

Hop on over to The Kitchen is My Playground for this delicious recipe. 

This time I had a teensy tiny bit of self-restraint and I managed to take a handful up the street to my dieting friend, Katie, before I devoured the entire batch. You see, Katie doesn't need to be on a diet at all, so I was actually doing her a favor.

These cookies turned out exactly like the picture! They'd make a great addition to your Christmas cookie/baking plans. It's never too early to start thinking about that, right?

And just so you know, I'm NOT endorsing eating like a pig as a way to manage your stress. Prayer and exercise are MUCH more effective!

What do you do when you're stressed? Will you be trying my Brownie Crack or Tasty Turtles? ;)