Jo, It's amazing how the minute you cross the state line prices jump across the board no matter what the purchase. On one of our trips to White Flower Farm we stopped at a grocery store to see if the western part of the state was any different. Nope, the Litchfield Hills are, if anything, higher. Yeah, I'm sure Guilford has to be pretty similar to Mystic; maybe, even higher since you're closer to the City. Cloud swift, I just checked the Costco website to see if they perhaps had a new store but, alas, there's no store within 50 miles of Mystic. :( It's a zoning thang...Mystic doesn't even allow fast food restaurants except the one McDs at the entrance to I-95 & that's because of the large numbers of tourists visiting the Seaport & aquarium (McDs is basically right across the street from the aquarium). Walmart tried to get a store in...holy cow, you'd have thought it was a adult toy store the way voters responded! So, even our closest Wally World is a good ten miles away...over in the inland part of Groton. Doesn't really matter 'cause DH & I don't shop there anyway...personal protest thing. New England zoning laws discourage competition from large national stores...it interfers with the Norman Rockwell'ness of the area. There was a fire in downtown Mystic about six years ago & we lost an entire building. An out-of-state developer purchased the shell with the intent of rebuilding with the first floor retail & the upper floors high-end condos. Every plan they've submitted has been shot down by either the voters or the Historical Committee. I 'almost' feel sorry for the developers...they seriously underestimated the power of the New England Town Meeting! :) The whole issue revolves around windows. The developer wants to put large windows in the back of the building that overlooks Mystic River & the Seaport. They say buyers want large windows. The Historical Commitee & the voters say, "We don't care what your buyers want. Large windows are NOT appropriate to a first quarter 19th century New England building. They must be small." (So small...you can't meet fire code!) So, the building sits boarded up. I understand there's another "plan" to be presented sometime next spring. We'll see... It's not just groceries or gas or housing costs...once you get the flour home then the electricity rates to bake the bread are the 3rd highest in the nation behind only Hawaii & our dear neighbors Rhode Island. All of New England has a high cost of living. We used to ask about it when we first moved here but were always met with a blank stare & a response of, "Yeah, and your point is???" So, we don't ask anymore. We've just adjusted. When I look at these electric rates it's almost funny how much cheaper they are outside New England. All that said, I love living in New England & I wouldn't leave easily. So, maybe after living here for twenty years I finally understand all of those blank stares about the cost of living followed by the, "And your point is???" /tricia

Yes, it's dough that I colored with food coloring. I have some cookie cutters in little leaf shapes and one is a holly leaf. The "berries" I just roll into balls. I cut them a little thick this year and boy did they spread a bit. Those are some big holly berries! Anyone have any good tips on coloring dough? I use my hands to knead after putting drops of color on, and of course end up with a mess.

From the looks of those cookies, I think you're making a pretty good showing of your cooking skills! I wouldn't turn down the sweeter chocolate either, and I just love shortbread, so there's that. My old boss, Chrystal, said cookies and coffee were a perfect breakfast, and I couldn't argue with her, she was the boss. (grin) All in all, those look like they'd be a pretty good breakfast with coffee. Ah, the fun of experimenting.... Annie

I wanted to try this but realized I didn't have any chocolate chips. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out without the chips. So, I looked online for a recipe that didn’t require chocolate chips and made it for my husband. I didn’t want to make two just in case it was a bust. He really liked it and saved two spoonfuls for me. I thought it was good too. Instead of chocolate chips mixed throughout the batter, it called for a blob of Nutella or peanut butter or Biscoff Cookie Butter plopped in the center. I used peanut butter and reconstituted whole milk powder. I only cooked mine for 65 seconds since my microwave has more wattage than the blog writer’s. I got distracted and didn’t get around to serving it to my husband for about 10 minutes. So, it wasn’t hot. But it was still moist, and the peanut butter was still a bit warm. All in all, I was really quite pleased. It went together quickly and was a tasty treat. My husband thought it was a cross between a chocolate cake and a brownie. The blog writer has other mug cake recipes that I might try too. I like the fact that it was quick, easy, and made a single serving. Thanks BBSTX for reporting on your experiment. https://www.tablefortwoblog.com/the-moistest-chocolate-mug-cake/