This week has been the hermity-est hermit week of our entire lives together, and it’s frankly felt amazing. Fox has never been more pleased with our performance, which he basically just grades based on how available our hands our for scratching him. Save for an hour here and there, they’ve literally not been more than 250ft away from him for like 5 straight days, so we’re seriously acing this whole dad test he’s giving us.

I’d really love it if I could say that we’ve used our time wisely. We definitely intended to, but it’s basically turned into a crooked picture of gay domesticity where we just hang out in a little pile of 2 boys 1 pup, make fun of the heteronormative values reinforced by Finding Prince Charming, and try to challenge each other to make the most disgustingly delicious snack dish imaginable.

Does this count as a stay-cay? I feel like no. It’s mostly just sounding sad. I promise, it’s not sad, and we’re totally just staying home because we want to! Every day we ask each other where we should go and what we should do that night, and then we both kind of laugh as if we’re too good for the world outside our doors, and then we both kind of cry because in reality people have totally stopped responding to our texts. Jk we’re fine we swear! *nervous laughter*

We also swear that we’ve eaten more than just this mandel bread this week. Admitedly not that much more, but hey, it’s freaking amazing. When Molly Yeh, who’s one of our absolute faaaaaaaaaavorite ladies of the foodwebz, sent us a little sneak peak of her forthcoming book Molly on on the Range, we were super stoked. Her recipe for mandel bread definitely stood out because the photography in this book is just *gorgeous* and we’re fans of any kind of bread, but it did leave us with a couple of questions like 1. What is mandel bread? 2. Why does it look so perfect? and 3. How fast can we eat it all? We did the hard work for you, and we have the answers, mmk? 1. Perfection in the form of a what is basically a sugar cookie bar, 2. See answer 1, and 3. VERY VERY FAST.

Okie doke, now we're off to go judge a fried chicken contest because we're obviously on a mission to see how much we can lower our life expectancy in one week! Recipe below, sweeties!

Mandel Bread with Marzipan and Sea Salt from Molly on the Range

Prep time: 15 minutes // cook time: 1 hour // makes 28(ish) cookies

7 to 8 ounces marzipan
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup flavorless oil
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Pearl sugar or sprinkles, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Cut the marzipan into ½-inch pieces and toss with the powdered sugar. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil until combined. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, and then whisk in the vanilla and almond extract. Use a wooden spoon to gradually mix in the flour mixture, marzipan, and cacao nibs or chocolate chips. (This dough can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and place on the lined baking sheet. Mold the dough into two 14 x 3-inch rectangles about 3 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops with a few pinches of sea salt and pearl sugar or sprinkles.
Bake until the centers are set and the bottoms are lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 250ºF. Let the mandel bread cool slightly and then use a sharp serrated knife to cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Turn the slices on their sides and bake for 20 more minutes, or until desired crispness. Let cool slightly and enjoy with coffee, hot chocolate, or tea.

Mandel Bread from Molly on the Range