It is that time of year again when my thoughts turn toward cookie baking. But this year, I’ve got a head start, because I saved last year’s list of cookies — and annotated it as to which ones were easy and which were a pain in the ass from start to finish.
And the truly annoying ones are not making the list this year, I don’t care whose favorites they are. Well, not quite true, if they are my faves, they are probably getting made anyway. (Being the cookie baker in the family has to have some perks, right?)
Last year around this time, we talked cookies and candies and all sorts of delightful holiday yummies. And a lot of you shared some amazingly tasty family recipes. Some of which made it into my computer recipe file, and then onto the list…and will likely make it onto this year’s list again.
But there is always room for one or two more, isn’t there?
So this morning, it’s a bit frosty outside here. The Peanut is watching some Bugs Bunny cartoons with Mr. ReddHedd. Somehow, the snide bunny one-liners never, ever get old. And I could watch that Wagner snark and laugh every single time, let alone the “open Saskatchewan” genie spoof with Daffy Duck.
I’m curled up in a comfy arm chair with an ottoman – laptop on a lap desk — with a fresh mug of coffee and a couple of trusty cookbooks on one side of me and a snuggly miniature dachshund on the other. The cat is curled up on the tree skirt under our Christmas tree in the sunroom, peering up at the birdfeeder’s many feathered visitors and wishing she weren’t stuck on this side of the glass. (Not that it would matter, she’s so pampered, those birdies would kick her behind…let alone the evil, taunting squirrel that likes to wave at her and laugh.)
Let’s kick back a bit and relax after the crazy Thanksgiving travel and family bonanza, pour another cuppa coffee, talk about some treats and sweets and homemade gifts and whatever else is on your mind this morning that won’t send our blood pressure through the roof. Pull up a chair…
(Photo of some yummy peanutbutter kiss cookies — Mr. ReddHedd’s favorites – via ciboulette.)
PS — If you enjoy the news offerings, analysis, live chats with political figures and authors, and the entertainment that we try to throw in around the edges here at FDL, please consider a donation to the blog. It’s an enormous amount of work to pull this off 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, including holidays. And paying for servers and defraying other costs takes a bit, too, as we continue to grow and add improvements to the site. Every little bit helps — so if you have a little bit to spare, we promise to put it to very good use. Thanks so much.
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G’MORNING CHRISTY~
me gets the zedunofitzeroo !
I love Bugs Bunny!
Good Morning Christy.
Good morning Christy!
Cookies…..mmmmmm. Gonna go with thin butter cookies cut in Christmas shapes, with all sorts of colored frosting and sugar thingies. Recipe from my grandmother.
Good Morning Christy!
it always smells so good here *g*
Thank you so much for all your wonderful work. I kicked in a few bucks last week.
Who doesn’t love a swimming squirrel story
Squirrel’s epic swim across lake
My cookie recipes tend to very closely resemble my recipes for lasagna and other gourmet
cookingmicrowaving.Hillbilly Hare
I had the most delicious chocolate mousse pie for dessert Thursday, I’d be thankful to have it again at Christmas.
Good morning Christy and everyone. Today is our family’s Thanksgiving. Yesterday my daughter and I made pumpkin pie all day. She makes 10 — count them — 10 pies. And everyone just rotates jobs.
There is the master chef job which always goes to my daughter, the dishwasher who is in constant motion, the oven manager is the 14 yr old, the ‘assistant’ chef reading the directions from the cookbook, the automatic bowl turner person (usually the 8 yr old), the ingredient ‘getter’ is the 6 yr old who is learning to read, and grandma is the ‘floater’ who moves to the job the younger set no longer are willing to do.
The ‘husband’ in this scene is on standby in case we need an emergency grocery run to the store (just in case a dozen eggs get dropped by the ingredient ‘getter’). And we ended up with 10 pies and a clean kitchen at the same time. WooHoo.
Let’s see how this organizational structure works on the Christmas cookies. And my favorite cookie is gingerbread crinkles. A thinner cookie than the normal gingerbread man that is decorated. This is just rolled and sprinkled with sugar. Melt in your mouth. I will go look up the recipe.
please consider a donation to the blog.
still sweatin’ the rent every month – but I got a little ahead a couple of months ago and shot a few bucks at ya.
I’ve got a line in the water right now – hopefully I can land it Monday; if I do, you’re at the top of the list.
Dried Pig skin with the fat still on and Mexican pasteries is what my dad drove 50 miles to Chicago for for our Chirstmas:) that and hot chocalte.
Last year I decide to bake Christmas cookies, which for me is real challenge. I love to cook, baking not so much, the whole measuring thing is beyond me.
I ended up baking my brother’s favorite cookies, which I did not know, and he said it made it holiday to be surprised with them. It was nice to hear that.
My dads last Christmas I made Tamales with deermeat, mushrooms and peppers. We tried to drink tomatoe juice from a jucier with jalepanoe peppers but that was a little to much for both of us.
Juciers unleash the full power all at once we both went through 1/2 a glass before we gave up.
Chocolate Chip — tollhouse and M&M, chocolate pixies, spritz, gingerbread men, decorated cut-outs, the brother always had to have Russian Tea Cakes, snicker doodles, those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey kiss pressed in the center, and sand tarts
and the gingerbread houses
This is a partial list of what my little sister made at Christmas when the kids were little
I know there are more
I can’t bake a cookie to save my soul, but I’m good at eating them.
My cookie cooking normally is the roll kind you slice or a mix but peanut butter is the big fave around here.
ps. Wanted to thank the ladies of the lake, and gents also for such a good home to visit everyday. sent what I could via paypal, hope to send more for Christmas.
These cookies are one of my mother’s traditions. At age 85, she’s still making these for her nieces and nephews and now their children. This recipe is one of the reasons we bought her a great new range for the holidays.
Have many happy childhood memories of “helping” her to make these.
If you need help with using a cookie press, here is a good site:
Good cookie press instructions
Christmas Tree Cookies
Time: 10-12 min. Temp: 375 F Yield: 6 dozen
1 Cup Shortening
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Egg, beaten
2 1/4 Cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
Green Food Coloring
tiny candy sprinkles (optional)
1. Cream the shortening and add sugar gradually
2. Add the egg and almond extract and beat the mixture very well.
3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and gradually add to the first mixture.
4. Stir until blended well.
5. Fill a cookie press.
6. Form cookies in desired shapes onto cookie sheets, decorate with candies and bake.
Bake 10-12 minutes.
Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
My mother used to work her fingers to the bone, baking fruit cakes & cookies before Christmas. Sugar cookie variety, complete with different color frosting, colored sugar, sprinkle, etc. decorations. Made baskets full. Way too much work. Bummed me out on doing same.
One year when we were little my mother spent a lot of time putting together lady finger pudding for our dessert. And as my snarky father prepared the first serving, he said “you kids aren’t going to like this!” And so we wouldn’t even try it.
My mother never forgave him that one :)
I re-read my comment above and noticed that I implied that I *make* cookies. Umm, no.
My recipe is as follows: Go to grocery store – select cookies. Return home. Open bag. Insert hand and select an appropriate (or not) number of cookies. All done.
Geez, hangin’ out at a notorious fem-blog can be rough – how’s about a Pull-Up-A-Chair sports post?
Any Mountaineer fans around here? *g*
Did a lot of backpacking in my younger days, & some rock climbing & bagged a couple of peaks with guides.
Good morning everyone. Been a long time away from the Lake. It feels like I’ve just been driving by these past weeks and glancing out the window into the reflections, but this is the first morning I’ve been able to wiggle my toes in the water.
Mmmmm…cookies.
‘Morning, Christy, FirePups.
Dangnabitall, I am very much behind in my “subscription” fees to the site…and I know there are some very fun and important things in the works that need our financial assistance. Will check my business account balance and see if I can make my “subscription payment” today. ;-)
Hi Rick!
Help – I’m surrounded by people who actually BAKE!
Rick DeVille @ 22
what tops your cookie hit list?
Good morning Christie and all! Hmmm, cookies. To bake madly, or to bake sanely this year? I know what my friends want: they want boxes of cookies for holiday presents.
jayt @ 24
my mother didn’t bake either, her job when my sister made cookies was unwrapping the Hershey kisses.
At Thanksgiving dinner this year, a conversation broke out concerning oven-cleaning.
I abstained.
Here’s what I did last night :-)
It’s another one of my light drawings, in which I use light-generating objects at low light to create shapes and patterns with long exposures. This one was a 2 minute, 21 second exposure. It used two objects: a glow circle and a rainbow light wand. I would put the glow circle down and then move the light wand around, then move the circle and do it again, five times. While this was going on, a truck passed on the road behind me, creating that line of light you get in the background.
The reason part of the lawn was really well-lit was because of the bright moon shining over the roof of the house.
JulieWaters @ 29
Oops– forgot that I can’t post photos in comments here. The picture’s at:
http://juliesmagiclightshow.com/?&pic=2563
Mornin’ Ms Christy,
Sorry to be a PITA but in your description of Bugs you have “Sakatchewan.” Methinks you mean “Saskatchewan”.
Unfortunately, I did not inherit the baking gene so I’m kinda with jayt on this. But if nothing else, I will pick-up a tin or two of Danish butter cookies during the holiday season. And some peanut brittle of course.
Cookies are my daughter’s dept. Says she finds it therapeutic to decorate the little suckers (that’s right, her degree is in clinical psychology), so I usually stick to things like this Buche de Noel, which is traditional in Quebec province where my Mom was from-
BUCHE de NOEL
5 eggs, separated
2/3 c. sugar
3 tbsp. really good cocoa (Ghirardelli’s a good choice)
2 tbsp. cake flour
1 c. heavy cream, whipped
Walnut pieces
Batch of milk chocolate frosting
Grease a standard size jelly roll pan & line bottom with wax or parchment paper, grease and flour paper. Beat egg yolks until foamy. Gradually beat in sugar until light yellow and thick. Beat in cocoa and flour at low speed. Beat egg whites until soft peak stage, then fold into yolk mixture until smooth. Spoon batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Turn out onto cloth sprinkled with powdered sugar. Cut a 1/4″ strip from one short side. Slowly roll up cake and towel together; cool on wire rack. Unroll cooled cake. Spread with 3 tablespoons milk chocolate frosting, then spread with whipped cream & re-roll. Frost roll with remaining frosting. Roll up the trimmed edge. Press into log to form a “knot” (a skewer or long toothpick will help until refrigeration does the trick). Draw fork down frosting for a bark effect. Sprinkle with walnut pieces. You can garnish it w/chocolate dipped tiny mushrooms if you like- they’re tasty IMO.
Morning, gang -
I’m considering heading out to the stores for a last visit before mid-January but will leave this with any interested pups and check back later for the usual Saturday enjoyment. (And see if anyone has questions about the directions.)
POPPA’S PEANUT BRITTLE
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. white karo syrup
1/4 C. cold water
2 C. raw shelled peanuts (do not toast)
1 T. baking soda
Combine first three ingredients in heavy saucepan & bring to boil. Stir in peanuts & continue to boil ‘til thermometer reads 295 F on candy thermometer.
Stir periodically to prevent scorching.
Remove from heat & stir in soda.
Pour on greased (with butter) marble slab.
Break into pieces when cold.
Notes:
• For saucepan I use a old pressure cooker pot.
• When temp. hits 295, you gotta work fast. Pull the pot off heat, remove the thermometer, dump in the soda, stir QUICK! and the mix will puff up. Equally quickly, spread out on the candy marble scraping from bottom and sides of pot.
• If you don’t have a marble, you could try the back side of a greased cookie pan (chill in frig/freezer first).
• Store in an airtight cookie tin.
• As soon as you’ve got the brittle on the slab, fill the pot almost full with water and boil. This stuff sets up like concrete in your pot as it cools and boiling out the remnants makes washing up much easier with minimal scrubbing.
• Best to make during dry weather.
• This is my standard Christmas present to vet, groomer, hairdresser, friends, etc. Everyone says it is the best brittle they’ve ever eaten.
• Enjoy…..and send Poppa a little prayer of thanks.
Oh, and a bit of the folding coming FDL’s way via PayPal, as per your reminder, CHS.
Hi all and a belated happy thanksgiving – my excuse – been too busy to get the bastards out here – got there and we’re out of Iraq and should be out of Afghanistan bc the only way we can ever be there is to kill, kill, kill, kill people like you and me and your children and my daughters and just humans.
I am not ecstatic – I don’t trust Rudd – I got no problem with his xtian religiosity but I don’t appreciate it being shoved in my civic face. I appreciate that was a political stratagem, nevertheless, it was alienating.
I have always been a diehard supporter of organised labour but am so disappointed to hear nothing about rescinding draconian refugee/immigration edicts from the the incoming Labour/Rudd government. I want to be proud to be an Aussie rather than feeling ashamed at continuing the tradition of racism.
Perhaps he would apologise as a Prime Minister to the indigenous peoples for all the dreadfully unforgivable wrongs done in past times as a true believer. I can only hope ….
My mom bakes, and Sarah is a terrific baker, which works well, becasue I love to cook, but do NOT get baking. I liken it to painting versus chemistry. In baking, if you don’t follow the recipe, something might explode. I like to throw stuff around, and have a somewhat impressionist approach in the kitchen.
Fave cookie: Toll House. Fave small cake-like baked good: Brownies. Fave pie: Chocolate Cream Pie, but Sarah made an insane Lemon Icebox Pie with Ginger Snap crust for our Thanksgiving that kicked ass. We polished the last two pices off yesterday. Yum.
Goodmorning everyone, my wife makes what she calls Mexican Icebox Cookies. Not sure whatall is in them exept more coco then you would believe possible and cayane pepper. And they are SOOOOOO good she can only make them a couple of times a year or I’ll OD. And how bout salmon dotted with gingerbutter and dried cherries that have been soaking up brandy for a week wrapped in pastry dough and baked till golden brown? That was MY contribution. Didn’t spend almost 20yrs in kitchens fer nothin ya know!
dakine01 @ 31
You know, if you have an IKEA near you, they always have all kinds of great X-mas treats. They have these wonderful butter cookies and these super thin ginger crisps that are as good as homemade. Some years they have glogg mix, you just add red wine and heat, and voila, you have glogg. Great for after snow shoveling
Water, Water Every Hare is a great ‘tune to watch.
For any English toffee freaks out there, this stuff is the absolute best! Made on-site in the mountains of NC:
http://www.steeplechasetoffee.com
It isn’t shown on their website but you might ask if you can buy a bag of (forget what they call them) the little broken bits. I got one yesterday in the store and can’t wait to use in some kind of cookie or cake recipe.
Good morning folks,
Continuing my studies of Cardiofeedback and Internal Coherence. I’m beginning to understand that it’s almost as if over the past 7 years the whole world has been forced to listen to a really bad radio station. Like 24/7 Limbaugh or something.
Radio is an amazing thing. It’s waves on all bandwidths pass through us unnoticed all the time, but it isn’t until we turn on a radio receiver that we can hear the frequencies.
Internal harmonics work the same way. One of the things that I discovered and quantified is that a person’s internal rhythms automatically adjust to whatever music a person is listening to. This goes for the heart as well as the brain.
Point being is that it seems to me that the laws of physics that determine the behavior of radio waves are the same for all other wave forms.
So if a broad spectrum of folks are disturbed by the waves they are tuned in to, it would be logical that they could just get up and change the channel (frequency) to something more enjoyable.
Imagine the “Maharishi Effect,” where a number of people equal to the square root of 1% of a population can practice a focused intent exercise and literally lower the crime rate simply through focused intent.
Yet those people practicing the focused intent (in this case Transcendental Meditation) are like flashlights. Take those flashlights and concentrate the waves with the power of a computer and they all become lasers.
Take those lasers and connect them globally over the internet and you have Weapons of Mass Compassion.
I find this all fascinating.
hey wait a minute – there *is* one thing I can bake – Chex Mix. And Wednesday, my mother called ME for the recipe (beams proudly).
She was asking how many cups of the different ingredients to use – I said “hell mom, just keep throwing stuff in until it’s about 2/3 full”.
So I guess my unit of measurement for baking is – height.
Morning all — beautiful day here. Got sidetracked with The Peanut sitting on top of me to watch cartoons. *G*
Christy Hardin Smith @ 43
:-)
Yesterday, I bought my sweetie a 50th anniversary edition of “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”
Good morning Christy. Morning all.
We tend to do break-and-bake from the toll house package.
My stepmother was calling me a cookie monster before Sesame Street was an idea. Never been any good a baking but can sure put a hurtin’ on any goody from the oven. This year I’m gonna attempt a cherry pie and am fully prepared for a number of disasters before I get it right. I was always good at eating edible mistakes but carbonized baked goods not so much. I’ve got a couple of really old cookbooks with lots of from scratch recipes so how hard can it be? My gorgeous calico was just diagnosed with keratoconjunctivitis with corneal ulceration in her right eye so I’m pretty much stuck at home for the duration anyhow. She’s also diabetic so meds six times a day leaves me lots of time to putter around the kitchen. I can see the flour covered kitchen and cats now. Oh. My. Gawd.
The Rethugs are coming to town next Wednesday for the YouTube debate so I’m gonna sneak out for a couple hours and join the other DFH’s down by the waterfront to show our displeasure with the morons. Definitely have to stay away from any confrontation with the heat, though. Yang can’t be medicated from jail. I like to pick my battles and this ain’t the time. I’m definitely not happy that they decided on the day before my birthday for this fiasco. I’d much rather be sittin’ at home knocking back a few single malts with a couple of friends than marching in the streets, but duty calls. Happy hour will just have to come a little later.
Peace, firepups.
looseheadprop @ 38
Ah, fortunately, I don’t have to worry too much about shoveling snow in San Antonio.
Julie, those light shows are great!
TexBetsy @ 48
Thanks! I’ve been having real fun with all this. It’s something very new and different from anything I’ve done before. Plus, it gives me an excuse to dance around in my yard with light sabers. What 40-year old sci-fi geek could resist such a thing? :)
When I was growing up (and later when Littleprop was small) the tradition in my family was to give all the teachers, bosses, etc these big platters of home baked cookies. We would do a good 25-30 varieties and bake every night after school/work for at least 2 weeks.
Littleprop does not like the bringing in the cookies things (thinks it’s uncool) and I don’t need the extra calories, but we still make a gingerbread house every year. And we still make at least 5 or 6 kinds of cookies, just because
Also nice, and really easy to make are homemade marshmallows. You can color them and flavor them as you choose and if you make them with a pastry bag, you can make all kinds of pretty shapes
You make them just like you would make meringue, except instead of egg white you use dissolved gelatine. If you use plain gelatine and add some vanilla (actual fake vanillan works better if you want them to stay a pure white) you end up with a regular marshmallow. But if you add a little cocoa and pipe them in a small blob attached to a bigger blob and add sliced almonds for ears and licorice whips for tails and then dust them with a mixture of cocoa and confectioner’s sugar and corn statch (you can add royal icing eyes and nose)
You end up with little mice.
Our you can put tips on your bag and make all sorts of pretty shapes. Before it sets up, the mixture will pipe like a soft frosting. Then you dust with cornstatch or sanding sugar and let them sit out to stiffen up
You can make pretty shapes for decorating the top of hot chocolate. And if you make your own, you can add more vanilla, to make them more intense, or you can make other flavors, like peppermint (nice if you want to cover in chocolate).
dakine01 @ 47
Cold rain just up the road from you Dakine.
g’morning all… COFFEE goes great with cookies! Splurged and bought a pound of Christmas Blend at the Starbucks store…
help yourselves…
Hey, this is pretty tame stuff for a radical far-left bomb-throwing fem-blog. Tasty…but tame. I expect more radicalism from my smear merchants.
[Hmmph]
gwood cwookies, though. Tathty. Got milk?
-
Christy,
Mr. ReddHedd’s favorite cookies are also my family’s favorite. My name would be mud, if there were no kiss cookies at Christmas.
Every Christmas, I make a triple batch and put them in a big tin in the freezer. The kids, now grown, and their dad used to eat them straight from the freezer and eat them all before Christmas. I soon learned not to bake them too far ahead.
Now straight from the freezer is everyone’s preferred way to eat kiss cookies.
Awww *blush*
*kicks ground*
*g*
I made quite possibly the best pecan pie ever. Not quite a cookie or treat, but I do have it handy here. From a newspaper clipping my mom had for years and never got around to trying till I nicked it. The crust is pretty easy and tastes fabulous:
Pecan Pie with Spice Crust
Crust:
2 c. flour, sifted
2 Tbsp. sugar
pinch salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. shortening
6 Tbsp. ice water
1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and spices in mixing bowl. Cut shortening
into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually
sprinkle in ice water while lightly kneading dough by hand just until
dough holds together. Gather dough into a ball, wrap in wax paper, and
refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Line greased 9 inch piepan with
dough, trimming excess from edge.
Filling:
1-1/2 c. pecan halves
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 c. dark corn syrup
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
1. Spread pecans evenly over bottom of dough-lined pan. Set aside.
2. Gently whip together melted butter, sugar, eggs, corn syrup, vanilla
extract and orange peel in mixing bowl until well-blended. Pour mixture
over pecans in pie pan.
3. Bake pie at 375 degrees 15 minutes. Then lower temperature to 350
degrees and cook 35-40 minutes more. Remove and cool on rack.
TexBetsy @ 51
Here as well…
OldCoastie @ 52
Yay! *Holds cup out*
Bill in Portland Maine @ 53
morning, Bill – you gotta get it right – foul-mouthed fem blog… ;-)
dakine01 @ 47
Snow shoveling is not an absolute prerequisite for glogg. I really like glogg. All the joys of spiced tea, with red wine to boot.
peanutbutter @ 55
Yum! I just love Pecan Pie, and that spice crust sounds delightful with it. Thanks!
looseheadprop @ 50
We need TexBetsy to find pics of these creations.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Korova Cookies (Sables Korova) – google the recipe
Rugelach (my fave)
anise biscotti (hubby’s fave)
beth at 26 — I have the same problem. I started making cookies as presents one year when we didn’t have much (during the law school years). Flour and sugar and baking stuff was cheap that year, and I had time between classes to do some baking…and so I baked a lot. Everyone got a big tin full of homemade yummies and they loved it.
And then…I got busier, but people still wanted their cookies. And I hate to disappoint. But the past couple of years, I’ve honed the list down to several easier to make cookies — some refrigerator cookies, the kind you make into a roll and then slice off to bake. Some drop cookies. Some roll into a ball ones. Very few that require a lot of fussing. So I can still find time for the cookies, and they are yummy and homemade, but less work for me.
And every year I wonder if I’ll have time…and I manage to find the time every year. *g*
I want cookies if I can catch me a wascally wabbit signature gatherer! I was so disappointed yesterday that I couldn’t find a single one. But maybe we disrupted them and that would be good…
For an effort that has been so infused with cash, you would think there would be zillions of the kids on every corner.
How about these?
And this is cute too.
This one is more likely for my house though.
Bill in Portland Maine @ 53
Here’s some milk; maybe a spot of tea, too?
Can’t even taste the polonium, can you?
j/k — but what would you expect here? ;-)
Peanut butter kiss cookies are definitely a Christmas goodie must at our house. We like them even more after hershey’s came out with dark chocolate kisses.
Time to make the Christmas pudding here in Turkey…(dried fruit, breadcrumbs, molasses, butter, dark beer and spices, steamed for six hours)
TexBetsy @ 65
Knew we could rely on you. Those first ones are really great, but the edible dradle (sp?) flips me out. Edible Xmas tree link didn’t work for me.
sona @ 35
Morning, All.
Interesting little snippet from the BBC
“Participating in elections is compulsory under Australian law and more than 13.5 million people were expected to vote.”
Imagine that. Apply that to the US, and try to imagine the consequences.
lhp at 50
No such thing as too much vanilla.
eCAHNomics @ 69
This tree more your style?
Thanks TexBetsy.
looseheadprop @ 50
i am SOOOOO making those mice! thanks!
some years we strung popcorn and berries to decorate the bushes outside for color but really for the birdies and our other wild friends.
and let’s here it for the aussie’s win and voter turnout and the french in the streets, always in the streets, this week! does your heart good, don’t it?
Good morning! Christy, those Peanut Blossoms look amazing. And thanks for the Peanut Brittle recipe Waccamaw, I’ll have to see if I can talk my wife into trying it (she doesn’t like me making messes in the kitchen).
And how ’bout those ‘Neers? If Ohio State and West Virginia end up playing for the National Champioship, yer gonna have fires breaking out on furniture throughout the midwest!
can’t believe christy has her tree up. i’m still trying to get my wreath to hang right. we do it all here, lots of cookies, annual solstice party (a real morale booster in maine), homemade white chocolate mint candies my daugheter is mistress of, but i can’t wait to try those marshmallows. I’ve always wanted to make those and am totally psyched.
Not quite a cookie, but yummy this time of year anyway hehe…
Zwetschgenknödel
(Plum Dumplings)
2 medium sized potatoes (about 1/2 lb.)
1 cups flour — (1 to 1 1/4)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tbs. sweet butter — melted
12 fresh plums — (12 to 14)
12 sugar cubes — (12 to 14)
Breadcrumb topping:
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 bar sweet butter, melted (1/2 to 3/4)
Wipe plums clean and dry. Cut them along their natural seam, just enough to remove the pits, and replace the pits with a sugarcube.
Cook unpeeled potatoes, preferably on the previous day, then peel. Grate them on a floured pastry board and combine with flour and salt. Make a well in the center and break in egg and butter (amount of flour depends on the mealiness of the potatoes). Start with a small amount of flour and work ingredients together; if necessary, add more flour until you achieve a medium-soft dough.
Work dough with floured hands into a roll about 2 inches thick. Cut into 3/4 inch slices. On a generously floured board and with floured fingertips, pat slices lightly into rounds about 1/4 inches thick.
Place a plum on each round. With floured fingertips bring edges of dough toward center, pinching together firmly. In palms of lightly floured hands or on a pastry board, roll to an even ball. Make sure that each dumpling is tightly closed to prevent opening during cooking.
Lower dumplings gently into a large kettle of slightly salted, boiling water. Reduce flame after water resumes boiling, and with a spoon loosen dumplings gently from the bottom of the kettle. After they have risen to the surface, let boil for about 10 minutes. Remove dumplings, and while hot, roll in browned, hot bread crumbs and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
more edible dreidels
Here’s the family recipe for Pecan Tassies. Guaranteed to be yummy — my great aunt has been making these every year for as long as I remember. And they are fantastic with coffee. Mmmmmmm…..
PECAN TASSIES
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 c. butter or margarine
2 c. flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans
Combine cream cheese and margarine, mixing well until blended. Add flour; mix well. Chill. Divide dough into quarters; divide each quarter into 12 balls. Press each into the bottom and up sides of a miniature muffin tin. Combine eggs, brown sugar and vanilla; stir in pecans. Spoon filling into pastry shells, filling each cup. Bake at 325 F, 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans. Sprinkle with powedered sugar, if desired. Makes 4 dozen.
For an incredibly easy recipe that makes a ton of cookies, this one is hard to beat — and it’s awfully tasty, too. I modify it a little bit and add orange zest along with the lemon zest.
CREAM CHEESE APRICOT COOKIES
1 1/2 c. unsalted butter or margarine, softened
slightly. 1 1/2 c. sugar
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
4 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Apricot preserves
Powdered sugar
Combine butter, sugar and cream cheese, mixing until well blended. Blend in eggs, juice, and zest. Add combined flour and baking powder; mix well. Chill several hours. Shape level tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; flatten slightly, indenting centers with your thumb. Fill indent with preserves. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Cool; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes approximately 7 dozen cookies.
Sad to say, I’m not doing much baking (except what I must) this year. I’m crocheting … working on a lacy table runner for my sister, scarves, jewelry and shawls for friends and relatives, an afghan for my daughter.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 80
ooo! those sound really good!
And these are maybe the easiest cookie in the history of cookies. But man are they good!
HELLO DOLLIES
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. flaked coconut
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt butter in 9×13 pan. Remove pan from oven and spread melted butter evenly over the bottom of pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs evenly over melted butter. Sprinkle walnuts, then chocolate chips, then coconut, in even layers. Then pour sweetened, condensed milk evenly over the top of the coconut. Return to oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Cut into small squares when cooled.
Last night I had the greatest stuffing I’ve ever eaten. Thursday was the regular T-giving at inlaws’ place. Last night one of my girlfriend’s daughters was here, and made dinner for us. The bread was good and toasted in olive oil with good turkey bits, there was proscuitto and goat cheese and cherries. With the turkey and gravy and mashed potatoes that had sour cream and chives blended in it was wonderful. I had to wait for four hours to squeeze down a slice of pumpkin cheesecake, which she also made. Girlfriend’s daughter works at a Bay Area upscale bakery.
It was wonderful.
I’m still stuffed.
“Participating in elections is compulsory under Australian law and more than 13.5 million people were expected to vote.”
Imagine that. Apply that to the US, and try to imagine the consequences.
Don’t know that I’m in favor of making it compulsory, but I would very much embrace the idea of giving a tax break to those who vote…
Kurt @ 79
OH>>>>MY>>>>GOD!!! you get to eat these regularly???
Christy Hardin Smith @ 85
And they look like this?
OC at 84 — They are the best. It’s like a tiny pecan pie. The hardest part is shaping the dough into the mini-muffin tins. But if there is a kitchen store (like a Williams-Sonoma or a Sur La Table) near you, you can buy a sort of dowel thing that pushes down into the dough and makes perfect tart crusts — all you have to do is roll it into a little ball and then push down to make a little pie crust.
Years ago I found this fruitcake recipe in a novel and tried it. It was so good that I made it in mini loaves for friends as gifts that year. Had a lot of hesitation but everyone who received one, asked for the recipe. This cake is light and the fruit is “real”.
Favorite Christmas Fruitcake
2 cups of dried fruit from the health food section, mix dried apricots, apples, pineapples, cranberries, dates, figs,etc. Chop into small pieces
1 cup raisins [I mix with 1/2 yellow & dark]
1/2 cup slivered almonds, walnuts or pecans
2 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs separated
1 tsp lemon peel or lemon extract
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup [approx] Irish whiskey or rum
Dust dried fruit and raisins with flour to prevent them from sticking and sinking to the bottom of the cake.
In large mixing bowl, cream together butter & sugar. Beat in egg yolks, lemon peel until mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in fruit, raisins and nuts.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Sift together 2 cups of flour, salt & baking soda. Add dry mixture to batter alternating with egg whites. Mix well.
Pour batter into well greased loaf pans. Place loaf pans into a larger pan with water, at least an inch.
Bake in 275 degree oven for 1/2 hour then remove from water and continue to bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
After cake is cooled, wrap in cheesecloth and place into a tin. Poor a “goodly” measure of whiskey over the cake and allow to season. Store in a cool dark place.
**Instead of the whiskey or rum, I used 1 tsp of rum extract and that worked great.
Bob in Pacifica — That sounds fabulous!
anybody got a good lemon bar recipe? I just lurve me some lemon bars!
Christy Hardin Smith @ 89
good tip!
Old Coastie~ Regarding your search for the mysterious signature collectors.
The Secretary of States Office (Debra Bowen)
says that Initiative 1250 regarding Electoral College Revision has until next Friday until submission. But often the SOS office suggests that campaigns submit the signatures early IF there is going to be issues relating to qualification. If the vote is close to qualifying then the Committee pushing the measure need to allow for time to hand count every signature, rather than sampling.
If they are really not collecting signatures it means one of two things.
1) They aren’t even close to passing…and they are giving up this effort to focus on the next Primary election and their parallel initiative #12698 (also see the site above). That one has signatures due February 4th, 2008.
2) Or they may be over what they think is reasonable, but believe that it will be close, within the 90-110% signature verification standard (the number set by some sort of formula to predict fraudulent or erroneously submitted signatures). One issue is that the signatures obtained were themselves not of fraudulent voters, but were legitimate voters deceived into signing.
But the early submission might make the group think that they are going to require a hand tally. I don’t know what the SOS Office will do if there are problems in certain areas with complaints about deceptive practices. They might block submission of those initiatives that evince a rubber band mark on the edge, or those in which people request their names be removed, or take other measures.
If they do that could reduce the number of overall signature according to the formula.
BTW Countering the Republican Initiative are a series of Democratic Initiatives 1281, 1282, and 1284 that will Restore the old system, or allow the new one only if a supermajority of other states also introduce the method, or lastly, compel that all of the Electoral Votes go to the winner of the majority nationwide (if a majority of States with a majority of Electoral Votes pass similar measures). The latter would result in the Presidential Election shifting to a majority vote of the general public, rather than Electoral Votes. It would not require a Constitutional Amendment, presumably.
Good Morning Christy and all the gang!
and belated Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Our small brood (2) of frantically busy 30-somethings came for a wonderful day with us. With a sweetie, and an extra friend of theirs who was far from home and about-to-be spending a lonely holiday.
Classical musicians all around, so what do they choose for entertainment? You-Tubes of notoriously disastrous auditions(!) Go figure.
Filled em up with gobs of turkey, gravy & home-cookin’ favorites, then all sat and had a wonderful mellow time together – a rare thing these days.
Even I only mentioned chainey’s wretched name twice quietly with a twist of snark (getting the requisite glare from my sweet spouse each time, well earned. mr. c. is not welcome in our home, especially on a day of Thanksgiving.)
I thank all the bakers and inventive cooks for their ideas and good thots on this thread.
I thank our soldiers for enduring what has been foisted off upon their shoulders.
I thank the senators who are running a tag-team to keep the gavel handy over the holidays.
Morning GrandmaJ!!! You take the prize for most organized and entertaining visions of Thanksgiving feast prep! (#10) What a happy riot you have going there! I hope you are doing well.
Good thots to jayt on the job possibility. We’ve got some of that going on in our clan also. Fingers crossed here for ya.
Thanks to all you dawgs for being our web family. You may just save my sanity, I do believe. Our whole family here knows that, and thanks you also, I have no doubt. The Lake is a wonderful place to be, both at play and at work. ;->
p.s., we have a diabetic in the house. I’d love it if folks who know luscious-tasting treats safe for diabetics would share some hints. Thanks!
OT, CNN reporting a new wildfire in Malibu fueled by Santa Ana winds
jayt @ 87
Hmmm! The wealthy usually vote anyways…while the poor don’t pay income taxes so would get nothing. I’m not so sure about THAT strategy.
Our traditional Christmas cookie was the peppernut, a hard nut like cookie that I can’t stop eating.
In honor of my mom, who died last Christmas morning, here are:
Hulda’s Peppernuts
3 cups white sugar
3 cups brown sugar
1 cup margarine, butter or shortening.
Mix well.
Add
2 eggs
1/2 c Karo syrup (light or dark)
1 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp anise oil or extract
1/2 pepper
8 or 9 cups flour
Mix well. Chill dough. Roll into thin ropes and cut off in small sizes with a table knife. Place on cooking sheets.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. They will get harder as they cool.
My husband prefers them not so hard, so when he is around, I tend to take them out earlier. He wasn’t raised Mennonite, so he doesn’t understand that the harder the better. Poor soul.
Also, sometimes the dough gets sort of sticky, so I have more flour that I put on the surfce
OldCoastie @ 93
this one looks easy
(((NZ Expat)))
may you celebrate the joy and love your mother gave to you over the years when this Christmas Morning dawns…
Before I leave to walk the dogs just wanted to share Meme’s (no accents available on this keyboard, that’s pronounced “meymey”, granny in english) recipe for Christmas fudge. Those holiday visits to the old folks up in St. Anne de Beaupre were never complete w/out plates piled w/pork pies, Mom & aunts’ great sides, & Rollande’s amazing fudge:
Meme Rollande’s Christmas Fudge
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 dash salt
1 cup chopped mixed nuts
2 cups miniature marshmallows
Shot of chocolat liquer to taste
Melt chips with condensed milk, 2 tablespoons of the butter, vanilla and salt. Remove from heat; stir in nuts & liquer. Spread evenly into lightly Pam sprayed foil-lined 8×8 or 9×9 inch square pan. Melt marshmallows with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Spread on top of fudge. With table knife or metal spatula, swirl through top of fudge. Chill at least 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off foil and cut into small squares. It’s rich- increasing the amounts makes a huge ass batch of incredibly rich squares, so watch it. Leftovers will precipitate an additional mile add-on to your daily run or walk.
Great recipes, everybody. Read you all later.
going to try for a little more sleep before the house gets loud.
back later
OldCoastie @ 93
not a bar, but the best lemon cookie ever, guaranteed to put the lbs on.
1 c. sifted flour (i used unbleached all purpose)
1/2 c butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1-3 T cream (or milk is nec)
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
grated rind of 1 lemon and its juice
Preheat oven to 375. In a mixer or by hand cream the butter well. Beat in sugar, egg, cream, vanilla. Add salt, flour, baking powder. Mix well with wooden spoon or mixer thingy. Add lemon rind and juice. Mix in.Dough should be light and a little fluffy feeling. It tastes really good. Drop onto lightly greased cookie sheet (the heavier duty the sheet the better) well apart from each other. Do this with just one cookie to test the batter. It should Melt flat as a pancake when you bake it 8 to 10 min til a slight brown edge (remember brown edge wafers?) forms. If the test cookie isn’t flat, add a teaspoon or so of milk or cream to batter and mix in. It’ll work. When you remove cookie sheet from oven, let the cookies sit on the sheet for a minute before spatulaing off onto cooling rack. This is one of the few cookies you can actually make in a mixer without sacrificing tenderness. Everyone loves these, they have zee je ne sais quoi.
cinnamonape @ 98
You’re right about those at the extreme opposite ends of the economic spectrum. I’m thinking about getting out the *middle* class vote…
If you like pine nuts, here’s a recipe for a traditional Italian Pine Nut cookie.
Pine Nut Cookies
Servings: 36 cookies
Description:
Ingredients: Butter, softened for the pans, if using
1 pound canned almond paste
1 ½ cups sugar
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups pine nuts
Directions: Arrange one rack in the upper third of the oven and the other in the lower third. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Crumble the almond paste into a mixing bowl. Beat with a handheld electric mixer till finely crumbled. Sprinkle the sugar over the almond paste and continue to beat until the sugar is incorporated. Beat in the egg whites, one at a time and continue beating until the dough is smooth.
Spread the pine nuts out on a plate. Roll one tablespoon of the dough into a ball between your palms.
Drop the dough ball onto the plate of pine nuts. When you have formed several dough balls, roll them in the pine nuts to coat lightly on all sides. Transfer them to the prepared pans and press them lightly to flatten them slightly and help the pine nuts adhere to the cookies. Repeat with the remaining batter and pine nuts.
Bake the cookies until lightly browned and soft and springy, about 15 minutes.
Pine Nut Cookies
I’d cut down on the sugar a little since the almond paste is so sweet. I made these last year, and they were very good
c-ape – I’m thinking you could be right… but the effort seems rather pitiful… last weekend, I only found petioners at 1 of 4 possible locations. This weekend, 7 different (and good for gatherers) locations and all I found was a Salvation Army bell-ringer.
They did get a huge infusion of cash last week… what in the world was that for? I also read that ARNO was getting pressure from the AG. I’m wondering if they had to have a little meeting with the kids and a bunch of them quit (they didn’t look like the most stable, long-term kinda kids).
Something’s up, but I sure can’t guess what.
jayt @ 87
Voting is compulsory also in Costa Rica. We were with a travelling group of Americans there, and all of us were downright embarrassed for our country’s shame.
Adie @ 108
What is the penalty for not voting?
Marie Roget @ 102
and THIS i am making today!
Christy — what a great idea. i am printing the entire thread today and plastering it on my kitchen wall. BTW Jane was wonderful on cspan yesterday a.m. it was a nice surprise to wake up to her smiling face on the tv. Her composure and knowledgeability was admirable and a credit to the nation.
and now i’m gonna go bake.
kittykitty, those cookies sound good!
this sounds pretty good for lemon bars AND it has pictures!
For those who are baking challenged but want to have/give homemade treats for the holidays, here is the easiest recipe I’ve ever seen:
Chocolate Haystacks
Melt bag(s) of chocolate chips. (You can even do it in a microwave.)
Stir in Chinese Noodles.
Scoop out spoonfuls onto lightly greased sheet.
Let cool.
That’s pretty simple, huh?
Thanks, Elliot. She was quite ready and I got to say my goodbyes to her before returning to NZ in mid-December.
She was the gentlest of women, a skilled seamstress and an artist with embroidery thread. For her faith, Christmas the a high holiday and the idea of dying and going to heaven on that day was her dear wish. I don’t feel the holiday is in any way marred, but it will be poignant this year in particular.
hey, Demi… how’s tricks?
demi @ 113
TOTALLY TRUE! I have made these. they are really simple and delicious! i forgot about them. thanks for the reminder. Now i have to go to the store.
That’s pretty simple, huh?
Morning all. Cold rain here, too, inbetween TexBetsy and Dakine. Good cookie baking weather. I used to bake my fingers to the bone when Gnomette was little. Now Mr. Gnome has taken over in the baking department. It is wonderful. He uses all my old family recipes because is family was such a mess they couldn’t even celebrate Christmas without fighting, nevermind baking cookies together.
kittykitty @ 116
You can also use cheerios instead of chinese noodles.
eCAHNomics @ 109
Strange sounding, I know, but I don’t know that there IS any penalty!?! That was the amazing thing. Our Costa Rican guide just said, “I have to,” and smiled, after group members told him we wanted him to vote at their national election that happened to be held during our trip, and that we would wait on the bus while he did so. He looked very relaxed about it, but also it was quite clear he WANTED to, and he absolutely would be sure he did so. Maybe, like much we found there, it’s as simple as that. Wonderful country. Wonderful people.
(FANTASTIC birding!, heh. Highly recommended that all you elder citizens check out the Elderhostel trip possibilities there. Seriously, we’ve been there twice, and want to go back.)
Baking incredible Christmas cookies in vast quantities and giving them away is a tradition that runs in my family. My Italian paternal grandmother was famous for her cookies. She made thousands and gave them away each year. People clamored to get on her cookie list. During the depression, she scraped together enough money to buy the expensive flour, butter and sugar and still made her cookies.
My favorites were little finger-like maple pecan logs, maple walnut horns and her candy cookies. This time of year when you came into her kitchen it was filled with dough, flour and wonderful smells. She baked non-stop from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
My father told the story of how he went to take a coffee break at work with a colleague who offered to share some cookies. My father stared at the cookies and asked him — where did you get my mother’s cookies? And they were — his friend knew someone who knew someone who was on the cookie list and he thought he would try to fool my Dad.
I carry on that tradition and bake Christmas cookies by the thousand every season. I make some of my Grandmother’s tradition recipes but I have added many, many more. There are some standbys that I make every year, such as Chocolate Chip Peppermint Crunch Crackles, Mexican Wedding Cakes, soft gingerbread cut-outs, gingersnaps, cookie press butter cookies, but I also try some new recipes every year. I would say that I make at least 25-30 different kinds of cookies and dozens of each of them. (Did I mention I don’t sleep much during the season?)
Here is one of my Grandmother’s traditional recipes that I have adapted (her original recipes said something like, “add enough flour to make a nice soft dough….” etc)
Grandma’s Candy Cookies
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag of semisweet mini-chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts
5 egg whites
1½ cups brown sugar
1. Line an 8×11 pan with non-stick aluminum foil so that the foil stands up at least 3 inches on each side.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder & baking soda.
3. Cream butter and sugar. Beat egg yolks with water and vanilla. Add to creamed sugar & butter. Then add flour mixture to make a cookie crust dough.
4. Press cook crust into the bottom of the pan using your fingers to make it smooth.
5. Sprinkle dough liberally with chocolate chips and chopped walnuts..
6. Beat 3 egg whites with 1 cup brown sugar to make a soft meringue. Spread meringue on top of the chocolate chips and walnuts using a spatula.
7. Bake at 375 degrees about 30 minutes until the meringue top becomes golden brown.
8. Cool completely. Carefully lift the cookies out of the pan using the aluminum foil on the sides. Use a serrated ling knife to cut into one inch squares, wiping the knife off after each use.
Oops I just looked at the time. I’ve got to get myself ready and head into SA in a bit. So I will see you guys later. Don’t drool too much on the keyboard!
More good news from Oz! Apparently not only has Howard’s Party lost the General Election…but as of an hour ago he was facing defeat in his own Constituency.
Howard Losing To McKew With 77% Counted
After a Grassroots campaign in Bennelong, political neophyte Maxine McKew looks set to throw PM Bob Howard right out of Parliament. It would be one of the most shocking upsets in Australian elections. Even earlier in the evening during his concession speech to Labour leader Mark Ruud, Howard suggested it was “very likely” he would be just the second Australian prime minister in history voted out of Parliament. Howard, who for 33 years has been the local member.
McKew, untested and inexperienced as a politician, has secured a firm lead of 6%, with more than 77% of the vote counted. She said the support was based on an “old fashioned grassroots campaign” that included knocking on the doors of 26,000 homes, appearances in the shopping malls, and calling public forums.
This came from a demo at Williams-Sonoma. They’re a bit of a pain if your kitchen is warm but they make the best plain chocolate cookie; which you may then decorate as you choose. I made these as part of a game dinner and made chocolate moose (ha, ha).
Valrhona Chocolate Cookies
Pre-heat oven to 350F
¾ pound of soft butter (3 sticks)
2 ½ cups confectioners sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups of Valrhona Cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Mix until combined. Gather dough together, it will be sticky, and wrap in plastic, press into a flat disk and refrigerate for 2 hours. Once firm, roll to ½ inch thickness and cut out with your favorite cookie cutter. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, depending on cookie size.
Good morning. I don’t see anyone around here sabotaging Christmas. Hmmm. Strange.
As a librarian, I need to pass this book on to you:
1001 Cookie Recipes by Gregg Gillespie, published 1995 (but still active as a special print order), standard ISBN number 1884822355. Amazon.com is showing it.
OldCoastie
Hey woman.
Tricks. After baking and cooking my butt off on Wednesday, packing and driving on Thursday, we got the the campsite and…
Park Closed – Flooding.
Yes, I had confirmed my reservation.
Even called ReserveAmerica on Tuesday to get a verbal confirmation. Don’t always trust the internet.
The camp hosts were there and told us that the ReserveAmerica folks have known for three weeks.
We turned around and came home.
:(
OldCoastie @ 107
Another possibility, if these guys aren’t committed to the campaign, and aren’t politically bright…maybe they simply decided to shine off the signature collections for the weekend to partake of the “Black Friday” sales. They may not have been smart enough to realize that they could have swept in at 4AM and had a captive audience of several hundred victims in line waiting for the doors to open.
bummer, Demi!
truly sucks… where did you end up having TG?
Ooh, late to this thread, but thanks, Christy.
I remember that thread from last year – I made your rum balls, and my rum-loving Navy son who was home just loved them! Another thread I’ll need to print out.
He’s been home this week (came home for Thanksgiving and my wedding) so I won’t have him for Christmas, but I think he might have to get some boxes of homemade “inspired by the Lake” goodies!
great lemon sqs:
Lemon Squares
Crust:
1 cup unbleached flour
2 T Almond Paste
½ cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
Pinch of salt
1 t grated lemon zest
Filling:
2 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 T grated lemon zest
5 T fresh lemon juice
2 ½ T unbleached flour
½ t baking powder
Topping:
½ c sliced almonds
Confectioner’s sugar
1. Preheat 375. Lightly butter 9″ sq. pan
2. Prepare crust: place all crust ingredients in food processor until it begins to form into a ball. Pat evenly into prepared pan and bake until lightly brown (about 15 min). Remove from oven. Reduce heat to 350
3. Prepare the filling: place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth (~1 min). Pour the filling over the crust. Sprinkle the almonds evenly over the filling.
4. Return to oven and bake until filling is set, nuts are lightly toasted. (~20 min)
5. Cool completely. Sift a dusting of confectioners’ sugar over the top and cut into 24 squares
that’s my fondest wish, c-ape… they are having a little “labor” trouble *g*
Just resurrected an old memory. My mom would always make cinnamon rolls and lay them out on baking sheets in the form of a Christmas tree (about six trees). Then we would frost them and put cut up colored gum drops on them. One was for our Christmas morning and the others were for neighbors. We would go to the Christmas eve service (over about 8:30 pm) and then take them to the neighbors, caroling at each house until they came to get their Christmas morning rolls.
I may not have time to do the rolls from scratch (that is my husband’s job and we don’t know if he will be back for Christmas or not), but I can buy them and lay them out in that fashion and share them with neighbors here.
pma @ 124
H’mmm. Had to think about how to react to this in he least tasteless way.
So let’s go multicultural. We’ve already had Jews respresented with pics of dreidels. Anyone got any faves for Muslim sweets recipes?
We ate at home. But, we weren’t in a very good mood.
The thing that saved the day was that my son and I had gone to see my mom and sisters earlier that day. Took a loaf of home-baked bread, turkey (shaped) nameplace nutcups I made and some other goodies. We took the traditional group photo.
thanks, Ruffian – sounds good!
I keep thinking a little spot of dried cranberry on top of lemon squares would be festive AND tasty!
pma @ 124
I think that’s what “black friday” was for…
or maybe i’m confused… i remember something about a cardboard turkey last year… or was that the year before… there was a cod and a piece & a banner in one pic… *shudder*
whew! no more nightmares today. try another blog. we’re seriously bizzy baking cookies here ;->
eCAHNomics @ 133
No need. I already put down Molitov Cocktail and asked wife to find spice cookie recipe.
pma @ 137
that’s a start. now, how about gettin’ up off’n the couch & at least grabbin’ a dustrag ‘r somethin’. mebbe send in a contribution to FDL. AND to yer local food bank. empty the cat box… yeah! that’s the ticket. hup hup.
Adie @ 138
No need to respond on FDL, Hon. I’ll look for the recipe myself.
well here’s a recipe for Moravian Spice Cookies, wafer thin molasses spice delectables
for the advanced cookie maker imo
I baked a bunch of cookies this week. Shortbread cookies (some plain, some with pecans, some with dried blueberries) and oatmeal-cornflake cookies. I had a couple of friends chip in and make peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. I packaged up 460 cookies in 7 priority mail boxes and sent them to my son in Iraq to distribute to the men he serves with. He’s an NCO and has a company of about 100 marines he is supporting administratively and logistically.
I feel good in supporting the troops. I’m opposed to the war, but giving the men a taste of home baked cookies is not supporting the war, it’s supporting the troops, not the policy makers.
Funny, but just this morning I was thinking of whipping up a batch of Grandma’s Christmas Cookies. The principal ingredient is vodka.
You see, my Grandma worked up an excellent recipe for homemade coffee liqueur, aka Kahlua. It’s easy to make, but takes some time, as you use whole vanilla bean for flavor and it has to steep for about a month. She’d make up big batches of the stuff, bottle it in cute little bottles, and give them around at Christmas. We called them Grandma’s Christmas Cookies.
Some grandmas make cookies. Mine made Kahlua. Tells you something about Grandma, doesn’t it? She was quite a gal.
Thanks Elliott. You’re a prince! ;->
wmd @ 141
Good for you.
Italian anise seed cookies
Peffernusse (more or less correct spelling)
Florentines (my fav)
Spiced cashews
Sugared almonds
And a big box of English toffee from that place in Colorado whose name I never remember.
Let the cookies begin . . .
I once brought peanut-butter-kiss cookies to a new workplace at the holidays. The system administrator, a woman of profound social lackofskilledness sat across from me on the corner of a desk and took one of the cookies my wife had made by hand.
She bit off the chocolate kiss, and threw the cookie in the trash.
Right in front of me.
I actually lost it. I didn’t go ballistic, but usually I can remain detached and businesslike in the workplace. But in this case I just interrupted what I had been saying and exclaimed, “You don’t do that!”
She looked at me, nonplussed.
“You don’t bite the chocolate off the cookie and throw the cookie in the garbage! My wife MADE those cookies by hand! She didn’t make them so you could throw them in the trash!”
Oddly enough, the system administrator and I? Not friends! Imagine that. I try to teach her the basics of social graces that her mother should have taught her, and for some reason she resented it. Hmmm.
Bush losin Aussie and Polish troops in Iraq. Brits are down to two cooks and a bottle washer. The coalition of the willing has become the joke of the leftovers.
rwcole @ 147
Hey, don’t give leftovers a bad name. They’re one of my favorite foods.
Now off to my Chinese leftovers for lunch.
Bush has a new fave foreign leader- the french guy- who still isn’t sendin any troops to Iraq—otherwise he’s down to feelin up Frau Merkle.
OT – Kasparov seized by Russian police
He and other critics of President Vladimir Putin were arrested as police broke up a rally in Moscow organised by Mr Kasparov’s Other Russia coalition.
Any comments Egregious?
“Any comments”
Check?
Not everyone who claims to support “Democracy” actually cares about democracy. I think that covers more than one nation.
What are the Repugs gonna campaign on when they’re out of power? Think about it.
Albatross,
That is some story. And, you have to work with this woman?
Oh, my.
I can only imagine what a miserable person she must be on the inside.
You handled it well, though.
Me? I woulda…oh, never mind.
Sorry to be a drag. I fear for the “leftovers”.
I want EVERY soldier outta Iraq, NOW! That won’t fix all the distress and destruction chimpy has caused over there, but I want them home, safe.
cheeney’s oil ain’t worth the powder, much less the blood…
DANG! Cookies. Must think cookies. *sniffle*
Sorry Christy. Wonderful thread.
But I do hate, will always hate what this awful administration has done… every single thing they have touched has been injured in some dreadful way… I am counting the seconds until they leave in disgrace… already in disgrace… just LEAVE!
Cookies are an antidote for the moment. But we in this household will never forget…
Morning all! Who asked for Lemon squares?
oven 350
1 c all purpose flour (or whole wheat)
1/2 c butter/margerine
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp gratedlemon peel
2 TBS lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Mix flour, butter,powdered sugar. Press into ungreased 8×8 square baking pan, building up 1/2 inch edges. Bake 20 mins.
Beat remaining ingredients about 3 minutes, pour over baked crust. Bake 25 minutes,until no indentation remains when touched in the center. Cool, cut into 1 inch squares.
Enjoy!
It’s not time to pop the corks- but it’s near time to start layin in supplies for the celebration of the decade- When GW Clustefuck boards Air Force One for the last time and gets out of the White House for good. Watch the champagne specials and be sure to lay in enough.
new thread
rwcole @ 151
good one mate!
Adie @ 143
I think that should be a princess*g*
rwcole @ 156
Bless your heart. All I can think of is grabbing figurative brooms & shovels to try to clean up some of the mess, so it’s not all left for the next generation. We have a duty to do what we can. It happened on our watch, even if in spite of our best efforts…
Steve-AR @ 159
oops! heh. always learnin’ somethin’ new at this place. s’cuse!
((((((PEACE))))))
My co-worker made these for us right before Thanksgiving. They are called Pumpkin Muffins, but they went like Hotcakes!
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 TBS pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups peeled, finely chopped apples
(my co-worker also added finely chopped walnuts, tho’ the recipe didn’t call for them)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan with vegetable oil (she used madeleine pans
Otherwise the actual recipe calls for mini Wilton pans
In large bowl combine first five ingredients; set aside.
In medium bowl combine eggs, pumpkin and oil
Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients; stir just until moistened.
Stir in apples (and walnuts if you choose).
Spoon batter into greased pans, filling 3/4 full.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (when using mini baking pans)
Makes 12 mini muffins or 24-36 madeleines.
If you use the madeleine pans my friend says to bake 8 minutes max. Hers were a little crunchy which made them that much tastier.
Enjoy with a cup of tea!
No recipe to offer, so I sent a little “cookie dough” via PayPal. Thanks for all your hard work!
-jexter
My mom used to make the peanut butter kiss cookies every year. To this day, it’s not Christmas for me till I bake some, too.
Here’s another recipe of hers that’s easy, delicious, and goes well with coffee.
Evelyn’s Cinnamon Coffee Bars
Cream thoroughly:
1/4 cup soft shortening
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
Stir in:
1/2 cup strong hot coffee
Blend in:
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts
Sift together and stir in:
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
Frosting:
few drops of coffee
1 tsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar
Stir together till mixed well
Spread in greased 13”x9” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. Spread frosting on top; cut into bars.
Happy Holidays to all at FDL!
-S
As usual, I am late to a thread. Thanks for all the recipes – I’ve copied them down to look over. And since Rick mentioned the Lemon Icebox Pie I made for Thanksgiving, I thought I’d post the recipe:
Aunt June’s Lemon Icebox Pie
(clipped from a magazine – More, I think)
Gingersnap Crust
4 ounces gingersnap cookies, finely ground (1 cup crumbs) [note - I used gluten-free Mi-Del brand but you can use any kind]
1/2 cup finely ground almonds or pecans
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I might use a bit less butter next time but then again, I might not!)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Stir the gingersnap crumbs & almonds together in a medium bowl; add melted butter & stir until crumbs are moistened. Turn crumbs into a 9″ pie pan & press evenly over bottom & up sides. Bake pie crust on a center rack for 8-10 minutes, until it feels dry & firm. It will still feel soft; it will firm up as it cools. Let crust cool to room temperature before filling.
Pie Filling
Grated zest of 3 lemons (I used 4 teaspoons dried)
2/3 cup lemon juice
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 prebaked Gingersnap Crust (recipe above)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the lemon zest, juice, & yolks in a medium bowl. Add condensed milk & sugar & whisk until well mixed. Pour filling into prebaked crust & bake on center rack for 15-20 minutes until just set. Cool to room temperature; cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 4 hours until firm & chilled. (note: ours only cooled about 2 hours & was fine).
Whipped cream topping
1 cup heavy cream
1/8-1/4 cup sugar
Beat cream & sugar with mixer until it forms soft peaks. Remove pie from refrigerator & spread whipped cream over top. Serve chilled.
(And it’s almost even better the second day!)
SadieSue,
You’re not late. Pull Up A Chair is open all day. More dessert recipes = good.
I used to bake 8-10 varieties of cookies every year for Christmas but sometime around 10 years ago, life got too complicated, or I got too busy (or some combination of the 2) & I stopped. Last year I started again & I couldn’t believe how much fun it was – from choosing the recipes, to baking the cookies, to arranging them on holiday tin trays to “wrap” for friends! It was so successful, for both me as well as for my friends, that I’m doing it again this year. Here’s one of the recipes I made last year:
Yuletide Toffee Squares
from Nestle via my friend Cindy (who’s husband was instrumental in writing the original FISA bill – see? everything ties into politics!)
4 1/2 cups of Quick oats
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) margarine or butter, melted
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
2/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Heat oven to 400 degrees; grease 15×10 inch jelly roll pan. Combine oats, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, & salt. Mix then add butter & mix well. Press mixture firmly into prepared pan. Bake 13-18 minutes or until mixture is brown & bubbly. Remove from oven.
Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over toffee. Let stand 10 minutes; spread melted chocolate over toffee. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired. Cool completely & cut into squares.
Makes about 6 dozen.
My notes: the nuts look nice for giving but they don’t really add any flavor to the cookies so I usually leave them off. Watch the edges of the toffee while baking until you know how fast they will take in your oven – it’s easy to burn them until you know how long to bake them.
egregious @ 166
Well, good! Because I have quite a few other cookie recipes to share. =)
I do love collecting & sharing recipes.
Here’s another recipe I made last year:
Chocolate Chip Meringues (these were a HUGE hit)
3 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon raspberry liqueur or vanilla (I used vanilla)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/3 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with waxed paper; in a medium bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar, & vanilla. Beat until soft peaks form. Continue beating while gradually adding sugar until whites are stiff & glossy.
Sift cocoa powder over meringue & beat until just combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in chocolate chips. Drop heaping tablespoons of meringue onto backing sheets (or spoon meringue into a reclosable plastic bag, seal, snip off a corner & “pipe” into desired shape).
Bake 30 minutes, then turn off oven heat & leave meringues in the oven for at least an hour (or overnight).
Apologies for preaching to the choir PW, ICYMI, New York Times yesterday went front page above the fold with “progress” in Baghdad thanks to the surge. On cue today
Bomb at a Market Shatters Lull for Baghdad.
Bush has destabilized the entire Middle East and Pakistan. He’s done more to increase Russian and Iranian influence than anyone could imagine, but the New York (@#$%^&*) Times wants to put a story on the front page above the fold about “progress” in Baghdad. Even today, after the latest bombing, on the web site, they have another story about the Democrats pulling back because of “progress.” As long as the Vichy Democrats allow Bush to talk about Iraq as though it’s not a part of the larger disaster he precipitated in the ME, the price of a barrel of oil will continue to rise and the blood will fertilize more who hate us for very understandable reasons.
Here’s yet another recipe I made last year:
BTW – I only made 5 kinds of things last year & most of them were really easy so I think that’s what made it fun for me. I had the pleasure of creating without any of the stress of all the rolling, cutting, or decorating that I used to do.
Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows
(note: I used storebought but you could certainly try LHP’s homemade recipe – yum!)
1 or 2 bars of bittersweet chocolate (I used Baker’s brand but any good bar works fine)
Chop or break bar into smaller pieces & place in heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water; stir just until melted. Dip marshmallows in melted chocolate (I dipped on end in) & place on tray lined with wax or parchment paper. For faster setting, refrigerate for about 20 minutes, then keep at room temperature until ready to serve, up to several days.
These are great to eat on their own or plopped into mugs of cocoa.
Ok – here’s one more from last year:
Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons
1 14-ounce package of flake coconut (5-1/3 cups)
2/3 cup of sugar
6 tablespoons of flour (I used rice flour to make the gluten free but regular works fine)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 package, 8 squares, of Baker’s semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
Mix coconut, sugar, flour, & salt in a large bowl. Stir in egg whites & almond extract until well blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased & floured cookie sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes until edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.
Dip cookies halfway into melted chocolate. Let stand at room temperature or refrigerate on wax paper-lined tray 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Makes about 3 dozen.
Store in tightly covered container up to 1 week.
Craft stores, like Michaels or Hobby Lobby, sell containers that look like Chinese food containers only in colors and prints. They’re perfect for boxing up cookies.
My favorite recipe from last year was Rice Krispie treats, but with roasted pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries thrown in. I cut them out in the shape of snowmen and then used sprayable food dye and the stencil that came with the cutter to add features and a scarf.
And here’s one I’m trying this year (my friends & family are big macaroon fans):
Coconut Macaroons
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups (about 8-1/2 ounces) shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with baking parchment. In a large bowl, use wooden spoon to combine flour, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon, & salt. Sir in coconut, coating it well.
Drop rounded teaspooonfuls (or use a 1-1/4 inch scoop) 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake in the center of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until nicely browned at the edges. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, than transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies.
Craft stores, like Michaels or Hobby Lobby, sell containers that look like Chinese food containers only in colors and prints. They’re perfect for boxing up cookies.
Hi Lea – that’s a good idea. I might try that this year instead of trays. I suppose it depends on how many types of cookies I make!
I love the recipe mornings here at the Lake.
Orange Pecan Ice Box Cookies
Yield: 3 dozen
2 sticks butter
1/4 c. plus 2 T. each white granulated and brown sugar
1 egg
2 T. orange juice
1 T. orange zest
2 3/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 c. chopped pecans
Beat butter with white sugar til light. Add brown sugar, egg, OJ and zest. Stir in flour and soda. Stir in nuts. Shape into 2 9″ x 2″ x 1/2 ” bars, wrap and refrigerate 8 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees, cut bars in thin slices (about 1/4 inch), bake til edges turn brown, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
I like to drizzle a little chocolate icing over the tops of these using a small tip on the icing bag.
Mainly, watch for them to brown so they don’t over bake. Easy. Great in the mix of holiday cookies.
Also, these are easy, a tiny bit fussy to shape, but worth it.
Sesame Seed Cookies
1 c. butter
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. sesame seeds
Cream butter and powdered sugar together well.
Sift flour and salt together. Add vanilla to seeds, then mix all ingredients together. Chill 20 minutes. Pinch into crescents or finger shapes. Bake 325 degrees until brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
A few years ago I got into Royal Icing. That is a lot of fun, and kids love to decorate, and add a lot of googaws. Of course on gingerbread, this season.