Dessert to kick off (ok, continue…) holiday weight gain in style

Deep in the throes of last-minute holiday shopping, my family and I stopped for lunch at Gullifty’s, a sports bar and all-American eatery in the Main Line outside of Philadelphia.

As the waiter came over to clear our lunch plates, I saw the look in my dad’s eyes. He wanted dessert.

Now you have to understand that a long, leisurely lunch with coffee and dessert doesn’t happen all that often in the Pappas family household, but when it does, it is usually a decadent experience—think pecan pie and ice cream, or chocolate molten cake. So I wasn’t surprised when my dad asks for the cookie Sunday: a fresh-baked chocolate chip walnut cookie topped with mocha oreo ice cream, chocolate sauce, bananas and whipped cream. The description said “made for 2” but even with four of us we all felt a little sick/overly gluttonous afterwards, even though we clearly didn’t have any trouble finishing it.

(the before shot)

(and after...)

But hey, isn’t that why the holidays were invented … to provide incentives for New Years resolutions? I think so.