So Many Cookie Cups!

okay, before delving into the wonderful world of cookie cups, we got two things to talk about. babies and turtles. 

first things first: BABIES. i'm 1 week into my ob/gyn rotation at wakemed, and am currently "post-call" after my first 24 hour shift.

holy. freaking. god almighty.
         i am so. so. tired.

literally, my whole body aches. i slept for a total of 2.5 hours during my call night, but was otherwise on my feet the entire time. i worked with two residents while i was there, both of them really smart women who are awesome at their jobs. i don't know how they manage it all, but they're pretty stoic. they've got the added stress of actually making decisions about patient care - that is a scary thought for me. as the med student, i get to pretend to come up with a plan that eventually has to get a stamp of approval from someone else. and since i know so little about obstetrics (though the learning curve is steep!), my stress comes from helping out the residents, getting things done in time, and learning in the process.

i did get to catch a few babies yesterday! which was awesome. my biggest fear was the little bugger slipping through my hands, but you'll be glad to know that i didn't drop a single one (cue: grinning).

anyway, in all my tiredness, i still wanted to make something to take into the resident lounge tomorrow. seems they've got a culture of bringing food -- someone brought cupcakes earlier this week, and someone else brought pumpkin marshmallow peeps. so, apparently everyone likes sugar - how can you go wrong?? since i'm about to pass out just writing this, i clearly had to find something that was easy to make. in come the TURTLES - turtle cookie cups, that is.

cookie cups are awesome and simple -- all you need is a cookie and a filling. they're insanely easy to make, especially if you're a slacker like me and buy refrigerated cookie dough. these days, the refrigerated aisles in groceries stores are stocked with a variety of pre-made doughs. gone are the boring days of just having sugar or chocolate chip cookies -- now they've got peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and best yet: turtle cookies. with a delicious mix of chocolate, caramel, and pecans, these turtles crawl all over your taste buds till your mouth is coated in its sweet salty goodness. i couldn't help myself, so i bought them, even though i had an inkling that they might not be the easiest to bake into cups (see below). either way, they turned out stellar.

turtle cookie cups (makes 24 mini cups)

• refrigerated turtle cookie dough 
• 24 Rolos, unwrapped (or any chocolate-caramel candies)

1) separate the cookie dough into 24 pieces (the dough came precut for 12 big cookies, so i just split them up. if you buy tubed cookie dough instead of the pull-aparts, just roll the dough into 1-inch balls). 2) place the pieces of cookie dough into an ungreased mini muffin pan - don't worry about shaping it to the tin, just make sure its not hanging over the edges. 3) bake at 325F for 12 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. 4) remove from the oven and press a Rolo into the center of the cup. the chocolate will melt a bit to fill the center! 5) allow to cool completely, then use a knife to loosen up the edges. twist the cups to help ease them out of the tin. then sink yo' teef. 

you can use tons of other fillings for cookie cups - like these babies below that i made during my second year, that are just plain sugar cookie cups filled with milk chocolate and white chocolate pudding. mmmm :) 

or, these sugar cookie cups with layers of peanut butter, chocolate chips, and banana slices, topped with a dollop of banana whipped cream pudding and chocolate shavings. 

better yet, these throwback snickerdoodle cookie cups that are stuffed with a golden oreo truffle, topped with white chocolate and cinnamon. yeah, these were baked during the good ol' days of first year. so much time on my hands. 

okay, enough salivating -- it's bed time. gotta prep for more babies!