It's cold outside, not that I need to tell you. With winter upon us, it is getting harder and harder to convince myself to leave the house. Tonight it is supposed to get down to -40 degrees F with windchill out here in North Dakota. Can you really blame me? I have a hard enough time convincing myself to leave the house when its above zero. It's so cold I'm afraid my nose might freeze off and wouldn't that just be a sight.

Did you know that -40 degrees is the same in both Fahrenheit and Celsius? It's the only place on the temperature scale where we can finally find some common ground.

I have become a happy homebody in my pajama pants and thick sweaters. By day, I watch the flakes fall from the comfort of my warm home, the smell of hot and fresh cookies filling the house. By night, I snuggle up with a heavy blanket next to the fireplace and watch a movie with a bowl of home-cooked popcorn. Remind me why winter is so bad, again?

Today I made a mug of hot cocoa to complement these cookies. The rich, thick cocoa offsets these little pillows perfectly. With a cookie that's lighter than air, you might just find you don't need those marshmallows anymore.

These cocoa almond meringues are absolutely addictive. They may look like rough, jagged stones but they are lighter than air. The meringues have a rich chocolate flavor with a hint of almond. These cookies are crunchy and chewy, with bits and pieces of chocolate chunks and almond mixed within. These meringues have a deep flavor and texture; it would be a shame not to try these.

I got into an argument with a squirrel. Not just any squirrel, but the very same cheeky bugger that stole my spatula. Even with all of my verbal acuity and panache for pronunciation, I was defeated. I lost a battle of wits to a squirrel.

Let me explain.

I left a very small bag of garbage hanging out on the balcony. I didn't think much of it, until Mr. Squirrel walked his way around the balcony railing. He was cold and shivering and looked at me with such hopeless eyes that my heart reached out to him. For a brief moment, I seriously considered inviting him for a cup of tea. So when Mr. Squirrel started pawing his way through the trash bag, I almost encouraged him.

That is, until I realized he was going to make a mess.

By then, he had sliced open the bottom of the bag and spilled out graham cracker crumbs. I politely knocked on the door and asked him to leave. He dashed off and I returned to working in the kitchen. I saw him approach out of the corner of my eye, creeping along the balcony's ledge once again. I knocked on the door just as he was back to prancing about in the garbage. This time he didn't scamper off. He looked me dead in the eyes, picked up a banana peel and threw it across the balcony, as if to say What are you going to do about that?

I gasped. He tossed around some egg shells with an air of nonchalance. I was being taunted by a squirrel! I opened the balcony door and yelled at him. He scampered off looking terrified. I felt smug. That's right, Mr. Squirrel, run away, run away.

I underestimated the intelligence of Mr. Squirrel.

Instead of approaching along the balcony's edge (where he knew I'd see him), he trudged silently through the deep snow, keeping out of sight. He was back to making a royal mess. When I finally spotted him, I flung open the balcony door and let out a yell that would make Tarzan proud. Mr. Squirrel glanced up from his meal, but couldn't be bothered to move. I made loud warrior noises. Mr. Squirrel went back to munching. I pleaded a solid argument as to why he should leave using full and complete sentences. He didn't even look my way. Mr. Squirrel made it clear that he was going to do whatever he pleased and there was nothing I could do about it.

And that, my friends, is how I lost a battle of wits to a squirrel. He took away my spatula and then he took away my pride.

I flavored my candy striped meringues with a bit of almond extract. Like a good meringue, the cookies are crunchy with a soft interior. The chocolate ganache filling perfectly complements the almond meringues, providing the meringue sandwiches with a smooth texture. These cookies are small and gorgeous and so easy to make. I dare you not to eat 12 in one sitting.

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