and THIS is why the Lake is so much better than Kos….:)

My favorite cookies have a crisp 100.00 bill baked into them.

Is that the Food Network’s recipe collection or the Cindy McCain family recipe collection? I can never tell them apart.

Good morning!~ Since I’m on the East Coast this weekend, I’m so excited to be awake to drop by PUAC. And I want to say right here and now that my favorite cookie any time of year is Christy Hardin Smith. Mornin’, darlin’

My favorite cookie is really a brownie that has cheesecake sort of filling, with almonds on top. If anyone wants the recipe, I’ll dig it out.

So nice to have you on this side of the country Teddy.

ba dum bum….

I don’t do the baking. I’ve limited myself to consuming.

But are they FDIC insured?

I made some ginger snaps with candied ginger. Recipe was on the ginger container. Got good feedback. Have a recipe of dough in the freezer to take to relative to bake for Xmas.

Hope where you are is not too cold, Teddy — up here where I am, it was 10 degrees at 7 a.m. I know how it is for you folks from the West Coast..

Morning, Teddy!

Okay gang — I’m digging out my cookbooks and will share a few faves. In the meantime, take a peek at this raspberry shortbread recipe from Food and Wine. Uh mah GAWD, that looks nummy…

Oh my, that Chan Lowe cartoon about Jeb! really says it all….

Chocolate almond toffee bars

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 tsp fine salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup Skor toffee bits
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup sliced almonds
1 can sweetened condensed milk

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Grease and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper so that the paper hangs over the sides of the pan.
• Stir the oats, graham crumbs and salt in a bowl to combine, then stir in the melted butter.
• Press the crumbly oat mixture into the prepared pan.
• Sprinkle Skor or Heath bits evenly on top, followed by chocolate chips and sliced almonds.
• Pour condensed milk evenly over pan (it will sink in as it bakes).
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbling.
• Cool to room temperature in the pan, then chill for at least 4 hours before slicing into bars.

Store toffee bars in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Oooooh — that sounds nummy. Does it cut well into small bars? I try and do bite-sized goodies for folks — makes it easier to munch with coffee… :P

Oooooooh — that sounds tasty!

Here you go, Viennese Brownies:
Brownies with a Cheesecake Center

I hope that Marion pops in. She sent me a few recipes that sound yummy and a special recipe for gingerbread.

Yes..they cut very nicely and I’ve even seen them ‘packaged’ up in little white frilled holders for presentation..though at my house, they tend to disappear ‘like snow off a dike’ as they say and have even been used for breakfast(the whole cream cheese thing being the protein rationalization).

Crikey! FYI, barbara is allergic to chocolate (cue chorus of oh NOOOOO), but I might have to risk all for these hummers.

Can they be made ahead and frozen?

Heh..they never last that long…I wouldn’t though; I think the cheesecake part might weep when they were defrosted.

Right now, the old mattress might be just as safe.

They are! I made them the day before Thanksgiving. Here’s a cell phone shot of them during cutting.

For my first Christmas as a newlywed, my friend and I decided to bake Christmas cookies. I got all of my aunt’s wonderful recipes and started bright and early for my first baking experience.
The first recipe started “nine cups of flour” (she apparently baked for an army) but what did I know? I dutifully dumped in those nine cups. We had one cookie tin, a small oven and we were up to our elbows in dough. 8hrs later, we still hadn’t finished baking the first type of cookie. We dumped the unbaked cookie dough, vowed to change the remaining recipes and laugh about it to this day.

*Poof* Hi! I’ll start off with the easy chocolate drop cookies:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix all ingredients together. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake in a moderate oven (375° F) 8 to 10 minutes. A hazelnut-sized spoonful of dough will flatten out into about a 2 to 2½ inch cookie. These bake beautifully on those silicone baking sheets.

These really couldn’t be easier. I usually let the batter sit for about 10 or 15 minutes to let it “tighten up” a bit.

Spice cookies

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp cloves
3/4 tsp ginger
Dash of cayenne (optional, but a pinch, maybe 1/8 tsp, adds a bit of “zing”)

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and mix. Mix soda and molasses (this will foam up a bit) and add to the butter mixture. Stir in dry ingredients and blend. Cover the dough and refrigerate for several hours, or overnight. (I always chill it overnight.)

Keeping the dough cold, pick off small pieces (about the size of a hazelnut in the shell for smaller cookies, and up to a walnut for larger) and roll in the palms of your hands, forming balls. (I put the dough back into the fridge after each pan or two.) Roll the balls in granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheet and bake in a 325° F oven. Cookies will look darkened, crackled, and flattened when done.

Back in the day, I had a friend who made Alice B. Toklas brownies. She also put MJ into hot ‘n sour soup.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A…..rn_culture

Ah Ha! That explains a lot. You’re the one who gobbles and paws right through the cookie dough as well as the freshly baked stuff. Mind yer manners, honey. Dawgies are wise to that by now. *g*

I don’t have a recipe to share, but a story.
Last night, we had our Hanging of the Greens and Potluck at church.
There’s a family there. The couple didn’t meet until they were 40, dated and married. She wanted to have children so very much. They became foster parents of three beautiful sweet ones, two boys and a girl. Age range 8 – 12, all siblings. After living with them for a year, they got permission late this year and have officially adopted Alex, Elizabeth and Peter. Sweet and charming kids who are coming out of their hurt and protective shells.
Beside taking my famous chili and rolls, I baked sugar cookies and took them with frosting and sprinkles and the two younger ones sat for a long time decorating them. I never knew you could get that much frosting on one little cookie! And the artistic and creative jobs they did with the sprinkles bowled me over.
Of all the fun we had last night, I will remember Alex and Elizabeth’s works of art, and how much joy those three are bringing to their new “parents” lives.

Rocks (fruit and nut cookies)

Rocks

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup hot water
1 cup each of chopped dates, raisins and nuts

Cream butter. Add next 3 ingredients and beat well. Add the combined dry ingredients. Then add the water, and mix well. Stir in the fruits and nuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake in a hot oven (400° F) 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies don’t get flat. They’ll be a lovely golden brown when done,

The only hints from personal experience I can give about these cookies is if you have a Kitchen Aid or similar mixer do use it. This batter is stiff if you’re trying to stir it by hand. I have arthritis in my hands and had given up making these until the Kitchen Aid, but now, no problem!

How did you do that??? (The photo incorporated into your comment.)

Sincerely,
Technically Challenged in MN

Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Sift together into a smallish bowl:

1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar

Then add:

1/2 cup quick cooking oats
2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/3 cup melted butter (for this recipe it must be butter, margarine won’t work right)
1 Tbsp vanilla

Mix until well blended, then drop on ungreased baking sheet 4 inches apart, using 1/4 to 1/2 tsp measuring spoon as a measure. Bake in a moderate oven, 350° to 375°, 6 – 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Let stand for a few minutes before removing from the pan. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Oh, what a neat story, (((Demi))).

I just linked to the photo which is on flick.com.

staid, steady-as-she-goes, boring economist? NOT!

Hi eCAHN. A friend, you say? Whatever. heh heh.

Sort of, “I’ve heard that some people….”

Subtleties are lost on me this morn. Just dive right in!

Gingerbread

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
2-1/2 cups flour
1 cup molasses
1 cup hot water
1-1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten egg. Sift dry ingredients. Mix molasses and hot water. Add to butter mixture dry ingredients alternately with liquids. Beat well. Bake in an 8 or 9 inch square or round pan in a moderate oven (375°) 45 to 60 minutes, until a broom straw or a toothpick comes out clean.

This recipe comes from Marie, the family’s cook when my mother was a child. Marie never measured anything, except by “a handful” or “a bit,” so mother stood with her when she made this once and measured everything before it went into the bowl. It’s the best gingerbread I’ve ever put in my mouth.

Got it. No I don’t. Your photo? Posted there? I am the queen of obtusery (about some things, anyway).

Lemon Meltaways

Cookies:
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cornstarch
1/3 c. powdered sugar
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon peel

Frosting:
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. finely grated lemon peel

For cookies: in lg. mixer bowl, combine all cookie ingredients. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 2 to 3 minutes. Shape dough into two 8×1 inch rolls. Wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut rolls into 1/4-inch slices. P,ace 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 12 minutes, or until set; cookies will not brown. Remove immediately; cool completely on wire racks. For frosting: in small bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Spread on cooled cookies. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

I’m hoping Santa is reading this thread, you know he adores Christy’s spirit like the rest of us, and will bring me a tin of those cookies this year.

That’s so lovely. So glad they get to adopt — wonderful for the kids and for them. You have to love the occasional happy ending, don’t you? :)

Sweet indeed. Thanks Demi. Sounds as if they’re in a good place.

I’ve already passed the gingerbread recipe along.

Amen to that, sister!
It’s indeed sweet to witness, which is why I shared it here. It’s a good and right thing to acknowledge that there are good things happening, too, also (ha!)

Nope. Never did it myself. Both occassions that she prepared the laced food turned out quite funny. In neither case did she tell us in advance. She served the brownies to 4 rock climbing couples before we went to dinner at the 4-U motel diner (the best food for 60 miles) in Seneca Rock, W.VA. We turned incredibly obnoxious to the locals (sorry about that Christy). The hot ‘n sour soup was served as a second course in a 8 course Asian meal. Again 4 couples, this time seated on cushions on the floor, with a low table. I just keeled over & fell asleep after the next course, pissing off the hostess no end. Several years later I finally figured out that’s what MJ does to me, and didn’t bother with it again.

Good Morning Christy.

Wow. All this sugar and refined flour. I’ll try to behave today, but can’t promise.

Looks as if you and Marion in Savannah have been cooking all night. Woo Hoo!

This is a traditional Swedish Christmas cookie my wife used to make. Delicious and addictive.

Pepperkakor
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup water
7/8 cup water
1 tablespoon orange zest-grated
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon ginger
1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cardamon
2 teaspoons baking soda

Boil sugar, syrup and water in small saucepan. Put butter and spices in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the hot sugar mixture. Stir until butter has melted. Stir together baking soda and flour. Mix all ingredients together to make a smooth dough. Cover and let stand overnight. Roll out one portion of the dough at a time, with a light touch. Cut out shapes from the dough with cookie cutters. Place cookies on cold, greased cookie sheets. Bake cookies at 400F for 5-8 minutes in the center of the oven. Check often, as they burn easily.

flickr.com is a site that lets you upload, store and organize your digital photos – for free.

Barbara – here’s one for you and the other ‘no-choc’ folks. Even for people who do not like fruit cakes, these are really nice.

Fruitcake Bars

You’re a treasure. The canary in the MJ mine. When you tipped over, the others knew to slow down. Would have been nice if they’d shared a bit of background info. *g*

I’m taking your jello song to some of my friends to enjoy.
The potluck was great. So many fabulous casseroles and soups and hot apple cider and super fellowship and conversation. But, I’m telling you, there was not a single jello dish! I have to admit, I was a little disappointed.
But, I thought of you and your song, dear. :)

Very touching story. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah. As I said, I didn’t figure it out until several years later. Liquor is my drug of choice, so didn’t pursue MJ. But several years later, another friend passed around a toke after dinner at his apt. About 15 minutes later, I asked if he minded if I went into another room and lie down as I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Woke up enough later to get home with my husband, but the next day I slapped my forehead, remembered both occassions and figured it out.

These are fantastic with a caramel icing — I cheat and just buy a can of it from the store when I’m in a hurry, and it works just fine. Plus, The Peanut has fun frosting them with it rather than a thinner caramel drizzle.

Slice-n-Bake Pumpkin Cookies

3 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
1 c. solid packed pumpkin (NOT pie filling, just plain pumpkin)
1 egg yolk

In medium bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, ginger and salt; mix well to completely combine and set aside. In large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add pumpkin and egg yolk; mix well. Blend in dry ingredients; mix well. Cover. Chill dough until firm. Divide dough into four parts. Place each part on 14×10 sheet of plastic wrap and wrap loosely around dough to cover. Shape dough into a roll about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Freeze four hours until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet. Cut rolls into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place on cookie sheet. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Frost with cream cheese or caramel frosting.

To make them into a pumpkin shape, spread slices slightly by tapping with fingers once on cookie sheet. Reserve some slices to make stems — cut into quarters, then attach to top of cookies, pressing into the top to attach. Bake as above. Frost with a cream cheese frosting tinted with orange food coloring, and use a green frosting to make a leaf and stem. (If you use a pastry bag to pipe, they can look really pretty.)

Yum! Thanks. (The music is hilarious!)

There is much better food down that way these days — they’ve gone a bit more upscale now that folks from DC come out to ski. *G* Or at least, did until the economy went south…

Oooh, meant to also say that when I have pumpkin leftover from making these cookies — because you don’t quite use a whole can if you make one batch of them — I use it in my morning oatmeal or to make pancakes. Very yummy.

That was Thanksgiving weekend of 1978. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Ooooh — those look nummy!

Oh wow — I bet those would be incredible with a dark chocolate drizzle. Yummy!

Caller on WJ: I’m not Joe the Plumber, I’m Charles the Welder.

Funny! Can’t ever get enough of that lime jello marshmallow cottage cheese surprise! Brother G and I are hosting a comfort-food dinner tonight. Yup, your worst fears confirmed. Tuna hotdish, jello and (okay, non-traditional) Italian peasant bread. And btw, he’s going home tomorrow. Hasn’t been there since last week in October. And not a moment too soon. He’s been beating the cra* out of me at wii bowling and I have absolutely no self-esteem left. *g*

What – no scalloped potatoes?????? In my house ‘comfort’ doesn’t even come close without those. But tuna hotdish definitely qualifies..

Ahhhhh! It’s like walking thru a Bakery with a Cup O’Joe on a chilly morning!

Hi Christy!

Sounds yummy!

Thanks for the suggestion. I haven’t eaten scalloped potatoes for I can’t remember how many years. Smashed potatoes is one of my comfort food favorites (no fancy stuff like garlic, please), but scalloped is a close second.

I love those shortbread thumbprint cookies with the nuts around them, but having to deal with a whipped egg white, dipping the dough, then rolling in nuts and everything get all gooey and disgusting? Way too much effort these days with a five-year-old helping me. I found this recipe last year, and it’s easy as can be and The Peanut and I can do this together easily.

World’s Easiest Preserve Thumbprints

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 c. chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar in large mixing bowl at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla, and beat in to combine. Add flour and baking soda, and mix well. Add in pecans and mix to combine completely. Refrigerate dough 30 minutes. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Indent centers with your thumb; fill each with 1 tsp. preserves (we like apricot or peach and seedless raspberry, but you can use any fave!). Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes 6 to 7 dozen cookies.

Good Morning Christy and Firebakers !

Sand Tarts:

2 Cups Cake Flour (measured before sifting)
4 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 lb butter
2 Cups Ground Walnuts*

Pre Heat to 250

Mix well, roll in to small balls ( 2x size of marbles)

Bake 1 hour

when cool, dust 3 or 4 at a time in a ziplock with powdered sugar

*doesn’t have to be Walnuts – pecans and cashews both work well. In my 25 years playing with this recipe, I’ve learned to really grind the nut meats down to almost flour (coffee grinder is great for this) but putting a bunch in ziplock, covering it with a tea towel and hammering the crap out of them works equally well.

sometimes I put a little ground star anise in a quarter of the batch just to mix things up

note to Prairie Sunshine – it’s an old country recipe from Fargo :D

OT: And W saying the war had not gone according to plan. Sounds like an apology for forgetting a name instead of being a world class murderer. Maybe I should go back to bed..or have a good cry. Good Morning to the pups.

OK — I’m suggesting this now and hope someone takes me up on it. We’ve had so many wonderful recipes here and great ideas for saving money, etc. I would like to suggest a cookbook – and we can call it “Eating Liberally”.

I thought ovens were for storing paperwork….

that humungous recipe of gramma’s was a subtle warning to those who think it would be fun to become famous for a certain type of cookie.

gramma’s are smart, as well as nice.

There was no plan for the war. Remember Rummy saying “we don’t do nation building.” Probably good they didn’t have a plan. With their skills, a plan might have been worse.

don’t give shooter any new ideas….

We’s with the cookie monster, we do’z not MAKZ cookies, we EATZ cookies, mmmmmm ;-)

Yeah, they are delicious. Haven’t had them since my wife died. She was the baker.

Hooray! A volunteer! Thanks, Toby!

I would like to suggest a cookbook….

I’m in.

heh.

Sadly, we didn’t get that not doing nation building included the U.S.

Same thing here re jams and jellies and world’s best applesauce. David’s thing to do. Probably won’t happen in this house again.

Barbara, we did get the screwed-up version..I’d say.

Excellent point! W should call himself The Destroyer, not The Decider.

mMmmorning!
sure smells good in here.

Russian Tea Cakes were obligatory in our house at Christmas:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
2. Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on wire rack.
5. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack. Roll in powdered sugar again.

Like Shiva, but with a bicycle instead of all the arms.

Ordered flutes yesterday. Now I’m really pumped. I noticed a comment when I first brought this up by aquarius74, I think, who told a story about his childhood and is gonna order one his own self. Now that’s really cool.

Hope it’s not too late to post. Everyone else seems to have been up for the sunrise. If you have some time and are looking for something a little lighter (but still as tasty, promise!), I recommend meringues. The cooling for a few hours part is added by me, I discovered it after several failed attempts at these things. Also, don’t scrimp on oven time. The meringues get chewy and may flatten out.
Cocoa Meringues
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* Pinch of salt
* 3 large egg whites
* 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300°F. Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with foil or parchment paper. Sift 1/4 cup sugar, cocoa and salt into small bowl. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large bowl until soft peaks begin to form. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tablespoon at a time and beat until medium-firm peaks form. Add cocoa mixture 1 tablespoon at a time and beat until meringue is stiff and glossy.

Drop meringue onto prepared baking sheets by rounded teaspoonfuls, spacing 1 inch apart. For chewy soft cookies, bake meringues 25 minutes. For drier, crisper cookies, bake meringues 40 minutes. Turn oven off, but keep the door shut. Cool cookies on baking sheets in the oven for a few hours (until cool and light). Sift powdered sugar over cookies.

Couple of oldies but goodies, coming atcha:

Forgotten Kisses

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2 egg whites, beaten stiff
3/4 C. sugar, added gradually
Beat ’til shape holds and peaks form

6-ounce pkg. chocolate chips; fold in
1/2 C. chopped nuts
Pinch o’salt

Drop from teaspoon onto greased and floured cookie sheet.

Turn off oven and leave in overnight (or) for four hours.

Have tinted the batter red and green with food coloring.

I have to take all mine out of the damn thing every time I want to make cornbread or biscuits. That and fish is the limit of my baking expertise.

Hey, hey, hey! We’re here together!! Must be Saturday.

I just scrolled thru last years thread.
Yikes. I even remember having those “conversations”. Seems like yesterday, but oh my, what a year we’ve had!

Mornin’. Yep, no tag teamin’ on the weekends.

Slightly OT but I wanted to recommend a movie called The Visitor.
It’s about a professor who is suffering from depression after his wife dies and goes to New York City for a conference. He discovers an immigrant family living in his apartment and befriends them. It’s quite good.

I’ve got a large apple tree that was loaded with apples this year and I wished I had made applesauce with all the fruit. It’s “wild” and didn’t do anything until I was forced to take out a diseased tree that was shading it for many years. Now it’s prolific although the fruit is less than photogenic.

Speakin’ of Saturday gotta go hang out da laundry. brb

I’m excited for ya.
And, yes aquarius74’s story was cool.
Isn’t it just the bestest that we remind each other about tender and beautiful things?

i often wonder if he’s REALLY as dense as he appears, or if he just hopes we won’t find out.

then the stories surface about poppa’s crying jags, momma’s ulcer (from which I hope she’s recovering nicely in every sense of the word). and laruh’s smile becomes ever more frozen- possibly in amazement at what tumbles from hizzonah’s lips….

mebbe they’re all clueless victims of wayward ethers of unknown origin.

mebbe not.

speculation about them and theirs bores me witless. let it be done. *poof*

Here’s One for You Non Bakers

quick, easy, and they look impressive as hell.

you can use different color icings to mix it up.

Who is going to win the big game today? I just hope that it’s not a blow out.

I’ve been told by someone whose family runs an apple orchard that the wormey ones taste the best because the worms know what a good apple is.

You’ll notice a trend in my recipes — the refrigerator slice-n-bake sort are easy for little hands to put on the baking sheet and then frost later for added sprinkle goodness. *g*

Slice-n-Bake Ginger Wafers

1/2 c. butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. light molasses
1 egg
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 c. all-purpose flour

Beat butter, sugars and molasses in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg, ginger, orange peel, salt, cinnamon and cloves; beat until well blended. Stir in flour until well blended. (Dough will be very stiff.) Divide dough in half, and roll each half into an 8×1 1/2-inch log. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 5 hours or up to 3 days. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until set. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks to cool.

We like these with a cream cheese frosting — sometimes I add some grated orange peel to it for a little zing.

LOL. I’ll remember that next fall when I begin processing the apples.

May the new year bring new and wonderful traditions!
Glad you’re brother is feeling well enough to return home.
Barbara, you get the angel of mercy award.

We have a few apple trees (among them, an old, old, old Mackintosh that wants to give up but can’t quite manage it), a pear tree, some plum trees, an apricot tree, and (new the year before David got sick), a peach tree. Yes. Right here in MN. No yield yet, though. And everything that was out of reach from the ground froze on the branches. Somewhere in the great beyond, David is rolling his eyes, and might be thinking, ‘I was afraid of this!’ *g*

Oh, and since people were sharing cookie stories, I thought I’d add:
Every year, my grandparents threw a big New Year’s party. The whole family would be there, plus all the friends they had accumulated in their 50 years of marriage. The highlight of the party was always my grandmother’s monster cookie display. She’d spend weeks baking these things, and there were dozens of different kinds.
3 years ago, my grandfather passed away. He died in early September, leaving my grandmother alone for the high holy days. My father told me he had made sure not to pass away on the 6th so that he wouldn’t disrupt my birthday. Not that I felt like celebrating that year. Anyway, December came, and my grandmother was still feeling really lonely. Nobody knew what would happen to The Party. But we should have realized that NOTHING would stop my grandmother from getting everyone together for that one day a year. My sisters and I came up early to help set up for the party and, sure enough, the entire kitchen smelled like sugar, chocolate, peanut butter, and tradition. I even got to help make the cookies, which I had done before, but never understanding how special they were for my family. They remind us that, even if it’s only once a year, we need to celebrate together, because who knows who will and won’t be there next year. As always, the cookies were the highlight of the year, all the better because there was a certain spirit hanging over them.

Well, you know what they say . . . the only thing worse than finding a worm in your apple is half a worm. *g*

Oh, c’mon. You guys don’t really get papers in the oven do ya? Really? Must be a bachelor thing.
(There’s these things called file cabinets.)

Oh, darlin’, you’re right. We can’t be sure. That’s the only certainty, I guess. (Well, that and George W. Bush embarrassing himself and us.)

Thanks for sharing your story!

LOL. I’dd forgotten that one.

We have an apple tree in the yard that is doing the same thing..hanging on by its toenails. We never had any luck with peaches – I even planted one right next to the brick chimney and it strugged for three years and gave it up. but then again, we live in Siberia on the Susquehanna here, so not much goes here. Ask me sometimes how many times we’ve planted blueberries…

we had a hard time getting “regular” eating apples to grow in our lawn.

But our crabapples are a joy in several ways. Pretty flowers in the early spring. One of them a stalwart producer of delicious juice, and those with the tiny “useless” apples attract tons of birds all winter long: cardinals, chickadees, titmice, cedar waxwings, blue jays, goldfinches, house finches, siskins, etc. etc. and, last but not least, our friendly local Cooper’s Hawk.

Yes, a multi-tiered bird feeder. Browser beware. ;->

Oh, what a lovely story! I started baking cookies for Christmas presents when we were in law school — because I could get flour this time of year fairly cheaply and could take the time on weekends to bake that other folks didn’t have. Kept it up through our early legal practice years because I’s learned to be thrifty and squirrel away baking ingredients through the year to be ready for the holidays, and frankly folks started to expect them year to year from us.

The year I had my first miscarriage in early December, it was really tough to make any cookies because I didn’t feel like celebrating at all. But I did anyway, because folks anticipated them as gifts by then — and the routine of it really helped pull me out of my funk that year. It’s amazing how much love and emotional happiness gets invested in little bits of dough and sugar, isn’t it? And yet…

Awwwww. Fabulous story. And, your point is well taken.
Thanks for sharing that.

Donna Edwards is going to be on Q&A on cspan Sunday 8pET.

The occasional worm hole is one indication the fruit hasn’t had the beejeebers sprayed out of it with pesticides. Back in the 60’s, some wise souls were suggesting shoppers avoid “perfect” fruit, in all honesty.

I mean, I mean, I mean
You gotta lotta gall asking me… (apologies to Arlo) *g*

Go Gators!!!!

Danish pastry

1 C. flour (or fkiye if you touch type and miss the zone)
1/2 C. butter
2 Tbsp. water

Cut together flour and butter; sprinkle water; mix w/fork; roll into ball; divide in half

Pat into two 12×3 inch strips; place on ungreased cookie sheet, 3 inches apart.

In saucepan:
1/2 C. butter
1 C. water
Combine; heat to boiling; remove from heat

Stir in 1 tsp. almond extract
Quickly beat in 1 C. flour
When smooth, beat in 3 eggs, one at a time
Divide in half and spread evenly over the pastry base

Bake about 60 minutes at 350 degrees until topping is crisp and lightly browned

Confectioner’s sugar glaze:
1 1/2 C. confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp soft butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-2 Tbsp. water

Beat smooth; tint with food color if desired; spread on cooling pastry

some celebrity (?) is making a small fortune with homemade applesauce infused with fresh lavender – sounded horrible but intriguing enough to try – unbelievably good. put them in smartly decorated jars with handmade labels and gave away as gifts . . . big, big hit

Toby I have blueberries plants that were filled this year. I would pick a half of cup every morning for my breakfast. A few of them were filled and I was just waiting a few extra days to make sure that they were ripe. Unfortunately, the birds were too and they cleaned them dry.

Go Sooners

THAT’s Danish pastry? Hunh – what’s those jam and cheese filled things that get sold, then? These sound much much nicer..

With global warming that peach tree just might have a chance, even in Minnesota. Great recipes and great stories of celebration, community and tradition.

i make goodies for christmas presents every year.. that’s what everyone wants…

we have looked for this recipe for years. i found it going through my mom’s stack of southern living christmas cookbooks recently. we think it is a re-print it appears to be the right one, though the method for the ‘kiss’ is different.
when we made them, it was the first batch of cookies we made that day, we had to make more by the end of the cookie baking session, we had eaten almost all of them. no kidding.

i think we used chocolate chips instead of kisses, after we took them out of the oven completely, but noone else remembers that-they only remember that we ate them all and had to make more.

Christmas Cookie Peppermint Balls

3/4 c butter or margarine, softened
3/4 c sugar, divided
1 egg yolk
1 t vanilla extract
2 c sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 c crushed hard peppermint candy-(candy canes will work)
1 (8-ounce) package milk chocolate kisses.

Beat butter at medium speed until creamy; graduall add 1/4 c sugar, beating well. Add egg youlk and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour and crushed peppermint, beating well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in remaining 1/2 cyo sygar; place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Press a chocolate kiss into center of each cookie; bake 8 more minutes. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire racks, and let cool completely. Yield: 3 dozen.

======

====jam kolaches====my favorite–you can make this dough ahead, i make at least a double batch, one batch isn’t enough. and dough can get soft if it’s one of the later batches of cookies when kitchen is hot.
there are a kazillion variations of this recipe, play with it. my favorite is apricot, or a pecan mixture. yum yum yum. with a cup of tea. oh my.

Jam Kolaches

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
about 1/4 cup strawberry jam–OR APRICOT!!!! or rasberry, etc.
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese; beat until light and fluffy. Add flour, mixing well.
Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface to 1/8 thickness; cut into round with a 2-inch cookie cutter (or glass or something). Place on lightly greased ookie sheets. Spoon 1/4 t jam on each cookie; fold in opposite sides, slightly overlapping edges in the middle. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Yield: 2 dozen.

I think, along with the ‘Siberia’ problem, we also have a drainage problem as well…we replanted twice and lost everything twice..we gave up and did our picking at the berry farm which is just a quarter mile down the road…

what time is the game ?

and oh yeah, I’m rooting for dem Gators

Wow. The effort of following tradition pulled you through the funk. There’s something profound about that. I suppose some could say their tradition is to sit around and do nothing but grumble, but I think tradition holds something more. The effort and care that go into following family traditions may be the glue that holds our lives together.
You’ve got me contemplating, again.

The ugliest tomato always tastes the best. That was the mantra around my house growing up. My dad was into organic gardening in the late 60s. And how I knew the figs were ready to pick was when I saw the ants attacking the tree. There were so many figs that it didn’t matter if the ants got a few.

At least we knew they weren’t in the house.

Morning Pups! Sitting in the office enjoying some coffee and listening to the 5 month-old dinosaur in her saucer.

Sounds like a Martha Stewart gambit.

Cover and let stand overnight

Is that in or out of the frig?

Great story. Togetherness is something we need now more than ever and it isn’t restricted to relatives.

If you’re so inclines, try infusing vodka with lavender.

Oh Look, The W Snowman !

BTW, Christy, I did the diary,
http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/2249

Had two peach trees when I lived in OK as the fruit began to ripen the birds would invade. Wound up covering the entire trees with fine netting. Not that I minded sharing it was that the birds didn’t want to share. Let them have at it after I got my share.

Hilarious!

Best of my recollection it was on the counter. There isn’t anything in the batter that would go bad i.e. eggs or milk. I thought someone might ask.

I saw that first thing today, eCAHN. THANK YOU!

Hey, Bro. Who says we’re not related?
We are, in so many ways.

eggsellent idea !

I’ll either be dancin’ a jig or picking up the pieces of my teebee by the time your game comes on. Have to miss your game though cuz it’s “Live From BayWalk…it’s Saturday night!”

Driving by on the way to the store. Question. If I start cooking today will I be able to make all the cookies before Christmas 2009?

Demi… what a great adoption story, bring tears to the eyes it does.

Where the hell is the link to the FDL Cookbook?

My ex and I sold our house last May and I purchased a smaller house to re-do. The other day I was baking cookies and somehow my son new that it would be the perfect day to drop by for a visit. He still thinks that the best thing about the holiday season is to sample the cookies that just come out of the oven.

Funny how when other things get planned for the holiday season that just being together is the best part…….

I go in for series two on Monday and this weekend I have the pleasure of my oldest son who lives in Seattle….. for three while days…… if my oncologist has his way…. I will be receiving series three the week of Christmas……

(((katymine!!!))) Family rocks. So glad for you!

I look forward to reading your posting today. Economics was never my forte in school. Thanks for the primer.

Hate to go all sour and political but you know what’s ticking me off during all these mea-culpa interviews? No one’s asking him about the fact that he’s still at it. Has anyone asked about all the damage he’s doing right now with his last minute assault on the environment? No, of course not. They’re talking about all his past fuck-ups but ignoring the fact that he’s not done inflicting his hateful agenda on this country.

We all appreciated your posts during your last round of chemo. I hope that you are feeling good enough to keep us informed again.

Army-Navy – noon – NBC
Florida-Alabama – 4 – CBS
Missouri-Oklahoma – 8 – ABC (and oh gawd I pity the viewers if Brent Mooseburger is doing the game – absolutely the worst. broadcaster. evah.)

I went to school with a girl who was the eldest of a very large family and it was her job to start cooking when she got home from school The only way she had to slow her brothers down from eating all the cookies as they came out of the oven was to put raisins in them…she put raisins in everything, including chocolate chip cookies. But apparently it worked well enough that others were able to get a few cookies. :)

Oh — yay! Thanks so much!

Gee, the ACC might not be strong this year but they at least deserve a mention. VA Tech-Boston College at one on ABC.

We gladly share our abundant crabapple-drop supply with the friendly local woodchuck. He, in turn, leaves our veggie garden alone. (latter which I find AMAZING, given how destructive those lil fellas can be if they want to.

We also have families of cottontail rabbits active all year ’round, right near the vegetables. They LOVE eating our dandylion flower stems like spaghetti – hilarious to watch; AND they also leave the veggies alone. I don’t really understand why, unless it’s our multicrop lawn, plus letting the tender grasses grow up a bit longer than the rest of the lawn right next to the veg. garden. Whatever, we have no reasons to resent their company.

You’re absolutely right. “So, George, what’ve you done for us/to us lately?”

Oh BTW….. my parents are moving into their rebuild home on Monday….. more things to celebrate…..

There is something about the sense of smell, isn’t there? When my son got off the school bus late yesterday afternoon, I was just finishing getting the chili and cookies packed up for our potluck. He came in the door and asked, Why does our house smell like grandma’s kitchen?
Some days I actually feel like I’m doing something right.

Ooops, sorry. Didn’t see it.

I know. *g*

Make mine in little teeny tart tins and serve with a wee dollop of raspberry jam.

Look who is doing the interviewing and asking. Celebrity “journalists.” Would be different if people like Jane Hamsher, Christy, David Sirota, Thomm Hartman, Rachel, Marcy Wheeler, etc. were doing the asking but then we can’t have that now can we?

BC is in tough but their defense will prevail. The BEST game of the day is UNH vs Northern Iowa at 7pm!

Thankee, luv…….if there’s cardamon in them, they’ve gotta be good!

Martha Stewart has a nummy-sounding key lime thumbprint cookie in the Dec issue. We’ve just gotten our first real blast of winter so Key Lime, Key West, Key anything warm sounds delish.

Still catching up on thread…

and someone was looking for cranberry recipes-this one was stuck in a cookbook at mom’s, cranberry-cherry relish….i had copied it many years ago, along with-

cranberry-glazed brie
egg drop soup
minnesota wild rice soup
oven-baked stew and easy cheddar biscuits
blue cheese-walnut wafers
gouda-cashew bouchees
golden apricot jam made from dried apricots.

was pretty neat finding that stack of recipes already copied! from a long time ago. i’m hungry.

Cranberry-Cherry Relish

1 (16oz.) can Whole-berry Cranberry Sauce–or just cook down your own with cranberries and sugar. works either way.

1 cup fresh or frozen pitted dark cherries

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup minced onion

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 T minced fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients in a heavy non-aluminum saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes or until thickened. Store in refrigertor. Yield 2 1/2 cups.

i will post the cranberry-glazed brie later, it is soooooo good.
will take a while to type it out….

if anyone wants any of the others, i will be glad to share.

I have a bunny in my fenced back yard. I was concerned that the mutt would get it and created a safe place in my garden for it to escape. What normally happens is the mutt digs and looks for the rabbit on one side of his hole and the rabbit just comes out the other side. The rabbit runs a little bit and then just stops and watches the stupid mutt.

o/t
kinda, sorta

Toby Wollin invites you in to her warm, cozy kitchen and offers you fabulous advice – at a time when many of us (who me ?) are being overtaken by fear
a common sense reminder chock a block with great tips

and she makes a mean cappuchino to boot !

I digg cookies

reddit too

Hey, DWBartoo, if yer lurkin’ I got some news for you.

That’s right out of a cartoon. *g*

thanks dahlin’ !

had my fingers crossed as I am working till 3

(((((Katymine!)))))

We hope all goes well for you. Suggest you could reschedule your holiday to suit yourself and your family. It’s been done. And it worked for us in the past. After all. You’re a grown-up. Take the calendar as an option and celebrate when you feel like it. ;->

We too will have a “different” sort of holiday this year. My honey’s getting the present of a brand new knee. Santa might manage to slip in some luscious truffles and an “Opus” book on the side.

Heh…thank you, thank you(bowing and showing proper obeisance)..but there are no cookie recipes over there…

Yuummmmmmm…key lime. Haven’t gotten the Dec. issue yet and will be on the look-out for that one.

This just in. Whilst FDLing this morning, barbara has been pawing through the lopsided stacks on her desk. The desktop has just come into view! You heard it here first. (Was just getting to the place where the oven was going to become my out box, Demi.)

I think I’ll be a shapeless blob in front of my TV by day’s end. Gotta pull for my Gators to beat Alabama by a lot so that the BCS doesn’t do a rematch of Texas and Oklahoma. (Sorry, Mike, but I’ll probably be pulling for Mizzou just to prevent that outcome…)

And just to prove that I know this isn’t Marcy’s trash talk thread, this looks to be what I recall as my favorite cake my mother would bake. I managed to pull it off a few times myself. In my opinion, it’s the only reason to ever have Crisco around the house…

I’ve heard it said that smell is the most basic & primitive sense, which is why it appeals to the emotions so strongly. It was only after we stood upright that seeing replace smell as the most important sense.

Chocolate-allergy-woman needs a killer fudge recipe. Got one?

sounds about right. when they sit still, even cats regard them as invisible. there’s a bit of wisdom there, maybe just a tiny bit, but enough.

Good bunny. Sit. Stay. munch munch munch heh heh.

(((katymine)))

Santa really does have a flex sked in addition to a magick sled.

Did you guys see the NBC Nightly report or the newspaper article about Happiness…how it’s good for you? Of course, we all knew that anyway.

FDL makes me happy. PUAC makes me verrrrrrrrrrry happy!

nope, no recipes – but you have no idea how perfectly timed a reminder it was. made me think of the Amish and their “up and the doing” . a loving, friendly smack to the forehead – got a much needed dialogue going here. thanks so much

Heh..yes, it’s around someplace, but I haven’t made it in a long time because…it requires goat’s milk. Heh.

Whoot! Barbara! Could you please show me how to accomplish that. I am so-o-o jealous!

Ain’t it da truff? I spent half a morning going through the yuck corner in my bedroom this week. Books, papers, sheet music, photos and um, er, clothes. Found some interesting things I’d forgotten about.

Teething puppies who chew leather shoes…happy not so much.

Little girls getting their daddies home from Santa per CNN makes me happy…and sad that so many daddies and mommies are still too far, far away.

the prospect of January 20. Now that really makes me happy.

In the past…. my house is the one that starts decorating before Thanksgiving…. 1000’s of lights outside, lawn display….. garlands up the handrail of the stairs….. 7ft tree with hundreds of “family” ornaments….. living room coffee table with the mini village….. You get my drift…… I’m the person with the 20 boxes of Christmas decorations in my storage space….. and takes me all of January to put it all away……

This year….. they will take a vacation….. I don’t have the energy to deal with it all……. but it makes me enjoy my neighbor’s displays all the more…..

Well it’s time to get busy and do some baking. Have a good day all.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens …

Good morning, Christy and FDL Friends!

Given that I can’t cook any better than I befriend Republicans, my favorite cookies are the kind my son and I cook… The kind were you smack the tube on the counter, the little Pop-and-Fresh dude leaps out — how *does* that never seem to shock and scare the crap out of people? — you slice them up and throw them in the oven.

Of course, I *am* from Nebraska, where white bread and Oscar Meyer are still top drawer at wedding receptions so, I may work in New York City, but I haven’t strayed far from my trailer-dwelling roots.

Three cheers for tube-based cookies for bachelor Dads!

:-)

Puppies be happy, though.

You know, they make a sort that are pre-scored squares, now — so all you have to do is pop ‘em on the tray. In all sorts of different flavors. If you buy some pre-made icing and sprinkles, it can be a fun afternoon. We’ve done that for a little kids party a time or two for the kiddie table at family dinners. *g*

I did…… every offer to help….. support…. are not turned away….. since Elmore has to work the next two weekends….. I’m lining up my brought in food service to survive the hospital….. even if I can drive myself to my MD appointment, I take the offer of a ride…… besides I get time with my friends….

You are so wise to conserve your energy!! And FWIW, I second whomever it was who suggested postponing Christmas week chemo. Been there, done that here. You need a break. UNLESS that would hang over your head sufficiently to screw up the holiday. Only you know for sure.

Maybe even a slow drive around the burg to enjoy other people’s displays. I can think of no law against that. Otherwise, why would they display so grandly?! Anyway, we used to do that when I was growing up. Always loved pausing and enjoying the view.

I remember hearing, somewhere, that the sense of smell is the strongest one in terms of sparking memory of past events.

Whoa! What a cool drop-in. G’morning, Mr. G.

Carob Fudge

there’s a bazillion of these on teh google. used carob in the past for allergic girlfriend. had better luck staying away from the ‘bake free’ recipes :D

Excellent idea — and so much better for you to get the quality buddy time, too. Hugs, hon — have been thinking about you a lot…

My colony of tigers would have a field day in a place like that. Back in the day when I only had 2 we had a nice tree and those 2 turned it into a disaster in about 20 minutes.

i found one in the christmas with southern living 2008 cookbook that i thought was gross, but my best friend said it was because i don’t like ‘white chocolate’ which isn’t ‘chocolate’…is it?..so, i’m including it in the tins this year. with my nose pinched. but it does look good if you like white fudge.

called white chocolate cookies n cream fudge…and it looks better each time i look at the picture..is white fudge with oreos crunched up into it….you could substitute the vanilla oreos instead of the chocolate ones or something else in it.

Christy, I love that you leave the Saturday morning post up for a longer time than most. This is definitely the heart of this community, IMH*g*O.

A Natural History of the Senses is one of my favorite books
- like a fave film I can go back to again and again

This sounds promising. I do like white chocolate! Now I need a no-fooling, chocolate decadence fudge recipe for the unafflicted.

Right. Because it is so primitive.

Took a creative writing course once. One of the first things the teacher said was to make sure to include a “smell” incident from time to time. And if you read fiction with that in mind, it will jump out at you. Madeleine’s anyone?

Did an experiment with colognes. My mom used Emeraude and I suspected so did many of her era. I bought some and most times when I wore it, middle aged men would remark about how much they liked it. (Never had anyone who hated his mom punch me out, luckily.)

Alright. I admit it. I gained 20 pounds just reading this thread. Stop it!!!!

I went looking and found this
http://kucingphotos.blogspot.c…..trees.html
for you, SD.

Thank you, Barbara. :-)

One of the things I enjoyed living in Greece is that every holiday was marked by a different type of cookie…… For Easter it was THE BEST Macaroons that I have eaten in my life and I don’t like coconut …. they were extremely light a fluffy….. and the so called “Russian Tea Cake” was the Christmas cookie….. another holiday was a sugar cookie with almond flavoring and a half of a almond in the center…..

I guess I could dig out my Greek cookbooks to see if I find them….. but there were some of the most decadent pastry shops and buying a box of “ooie gooies” pastries was just too much to resist…..

Now this looks nummy — Eggnog Snickerdoodles. I bet those would be tasty with some coffee in the morning…

i’ve been doing that, too. cuz i am putting up christmas stuff for the first time since my divorce and meltdown….found the icicle lights and am stringing them all around the house on the deck.

my neighbors put up their tree in their big window and are leaving their drapes open so we can all see the lights. thought how good it felt to see it, so am gonna string stuff they can see, too.

am going to odd lots and buying these huge covered in lights snowpeople that are waving and putting them in the yard toward the road with an over 200′ cord….hehe. to wave at the peeps.

i used to say that i loved christmas cuz you could be nice to people without them looking at you funny.

ok, give me a few, i’ll post it. i have to admit, it does look good once i looked at it.

Thankee, thankee.
Bookmarked for my next trip to the library.

Heh. It’s not Christmas until some little tiger pulls down the tree, eh?

We have tied our tree to something high up on the wall for years now.

We also hang a couple of non-threatening, unbreakable kitty-favorites down way low, just at “patting” height. It actually works, occasionally.

No icicles though. No trips to the vet on Christmas day with a tummy full of icicles.

We still have favorite family pix of our tree decorated from about 4 feet on up to the top, but bare below that magic 4 foot mark. Useless exercise. What were we thinking?!

Little tigers, now grown old and more dignified, but you can tell they remember the good old days, as they sit and look up at the tree.

Aha! That might have to be what I’ll do on the next pass on the screenplay. We’ve gone through and done the sounds. Thanks for that.

Have often though they should have smell dispensing machines in movie theaters. It’s completely doable. Especially for Like Water for Chocolate.

Well, the coal mining story is pretty disastrous, to start.

Good on ya, girlfriend.

When I lived in Oregon…. used to get a Noble for a Christmas tree…. lived across the road from the tree farm and they were our friends …..

Nobles have needles that animals don’t like, prickly and found that both the tigers and puppies stay out of the tree after one try…… So if you can afford one they tend to be the best to keep small critters including children from messing with them….

PW is upstairs…

chocolate decadence fudge recipe

There’s always Old Faithful -

Kraft Marshmallow Cream recipe

Use butter NOT margarine. and use 1/2 milk choc & 1/2 semi swee choc chips for the decadent part. and a $3 candy thermometer is a must. unfortunately, so is the stirring, stirring, stirring part – but the compliments make it all worth while

chop up some Andes for the tops. or repeat smaller version using butterscotch or peanut butter chips to layer on top of the cooled fudge

here ya go!

here’s a picture of it-looks just like the ice cream
https://www.christmaswithsouthernliving.com/

someone posted it on the web-saves me work!
http://recipecircus.com/recipe…..Fudge.html

here’s a plain white fudge-can add what you want, sounds like the one i used to make.
http://www.recipezaar.com/Whit…..udge-31392

When my son was about 3 we had to put the tree inside the playpen. He kept pushing it over. And we had a kitten who climbed the tree – don’t think we had one unbroken ornament by the time we took it down.
Those were the good old funny days.

It should be doable.
But, then, with the technology and all, movie tickets might end up being, like, 25 bucks a pop.

my macaroon recipe is like that, they melt in your mouth. really.

i’ll have to dig that one out.

Heeeey, there’s an idea, Christy!

A little more work, but a lot more fun.

And now that I’m starting to date again, maybe the women folk would like that as well… “Hey, Baby… Wanna make some cookies?”

Hmmmmm. Maybe I’ve been away from dating too long. :-)

I’m having to go on patrol every morning for wayward Christmas decor because the FIL would trip over them otherwise. We’ve been playing hide and seek with Christmas tree ornaments. *g*

With this crew I don’t do any decorating. Their innards are so sensitive to so many things I’d rather not be surprised.

my favorite is the one-bowl fudge recipe on the baker’s semi-sweet chocolate label. microwave in the bowl and dump into the pan. easy breezy. delish.
i never thought of putting andes mints on top, ewwwwwww.

i’ll see if i can find it later on.

the one-bowl brownies are my favorite, too.

my browser is acting crazy again, comments are in the wrong boxes…..or my eyes just went triple……

Do you think the smell dispensing machinery would be any more expensive than those ridiculous sound machines that make me have to cover my ears for half the movie?

cooking together is a good and fun way to get to know someone. and think of them later when eating your cookies back at home. if it went well. if it didn’t, you still have the cookies.

Cat stays outside since we got the big old hound pup. Last year we bought a six footer and put it on top of the big JBL speakers. Goes all the way to the cathedral ceiling. From outside, it looks like we have a monster tree. (ha.) What was that about fooling enough of the people?

Do the easy thing and just buy a Christmas Cookie candle from Yankee Candle. Smells nummy and no machinery required. *g*

Hmmmmm. Maybe I’ve been away from dating too long. :-)

are you kidding me ? invited over to make cookies with a single dad and his son – she’s toast !

eCAHN and demi - the Japanese have experimented with lemon and other scents infused in to offices – yep, productivity goes up

Probably not, and you’d think they’d get more mileage out of the sensory stimulators than the boom boom factor.
I hate to admit it, but not caring for high volume noise makes me feel old. (cringing here)

The way I learned about clarified butter was in the context of making chocolate-fudge pot brownies. (I brought a batch to a baby shower for a friend of mine. They were a hit.)

Hmmmm, contemplating again. I wonder what it is about the lemon scent that increases productivity. Do you think the answer is in that book?

See, you’ve helped me refine what was initially a bad idea!

I had planned on my son not being there and delivering the devastating “Hey, Baby, you wanna make some cookies?” line in a deep, Isaac Hayes-like voice, with the lights dimmed and Anita Baker playing softly in the background.

I think your idea is so much better.

If you like spicy “Cookies” this is seriously the one for you to try.

“Nuremburger Lebzelten”, from a cookbook puiblished in Nuremburg, Germany circa 1680. This is really more of a bread or an ancient “honey cake”.

The original recipe started with “1 kilogram sugar”, ideal for the days of 6, 8 or 10 kids in the house and making cookies by the washbasket-full. The quantities I’m giving are one-sixth of the original recipe, enough to fill one or two cookie sheets.

1/2 cup honey
5/6 cup sugar
5 plus teaspoons ground cinnamon
2/3 teaspoons dried lemon peel
scant 6 teaspoons dried orange peel
3 plus teaspoons ground cardamom
2 3/4 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground mace
scant 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Put the honey and sugar into a pot and heat them gently on the stove to dissolve the sugar, then thoroughly mix all the spices into them and allow to cool slightly.

Next mix enough flour into the sugar-honey-spice mixture to make a strong dough. (This is where the cookbook shows its age – no one can say “how much is enough”. Figure it should come to the consistency somewhere between of thick cake batter and piecrust. With this recipe for me, it comes to somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-4 cups of flour.)

Take some yeast (for this recipe, I use two envelopes of the dry; the original recipe calls for using sourdough starter) and mix it with water.

Add the yeast and its water to the dough, plus enough additional water to allow kneading into a bread dough. (Make sure the dough is cool before you add the yeast, lest you kill the yeast with the heat.) Knead thoroughly and allow to rise for “at least 4 hours”. This is a heavy dough and will take a long time to rise regardless. Those familiar with working with sourdough might recognize the need to allow longer rising times. Anyway, it should double in size.

After it’s risen, knock it down and then press it into molds (they used to use carved wood shapes and relief molds to shape these, resulting in a design something like an animal cracker or similar molded cookie; I just roll it out about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick onto greased tinfoil lining a cookie sheet and cut it into squares about 2 inches square with my trust pizza wheel.

Bake in a moderate oven until the bottom starts to brown. These will burn in a heartbeat if you let them, so watch closely. They will not rise appreciably while in the oven, so don’t expect them to.

Store so that the moisture does not leave too quickly. Like straight from the cookie sheet to into a cookie can.
-

Alternatively, you can just add the spice recipe to a similar-sized bread recipe.

The spice aroma while baking and the taste are incredible. It fills the house and says “Christmas”.

The original recipe was “poor people food”; the pepper will make you thirsty and drinking water (or beer or coffee or tea) with one of these will fill you up quite nicely. A full belly from not much food. They will keep close to forever. They will become very hard if left exposed to the air for even a short while – hard enough to break a tooth if you were not careful – but they keep both their edible quality and their deep flavor for a very long time. These dunk exceptionally well; dunk them in coffee or tea to help soften them, but even so, they will be chewy. Last week I found one I’d put in a pocket of my field coat where it had been since this time last year. It was still good.

HALP! All I need is one delicious GLUTEN FREE cookie recipie. Go ahead, make my holiday….

she doesn’t touch upon the specific experiments – but throughout does a great job laying out the mind-body connection at work here

you can always include these as added insurance :D

eCAHN and SD, puppies sleeping on toes make me happy….

and Emeril’s banana bread recipe. Yummmmm. Smells soooooooooo good.

Your wish is my command. Meet the gluten-free Amaretti…

mMMmm pie

Banana bread. Now yer talkin’ my lingo.

Got a new rescued tiger here. Only one happy is dad.

tell us more!

Christy Harden Smith
Thanks for hosting this Tradition today.
Super great thread everyone.
I’m off to run errands and figure the easiest way to dig the wicks out of some big old candles.
Happy eating, remembering and smelling today folks.

Said before and worthy of constant repetition……I love your writing. *smooch*

One more thing,
Southern Dragon. Am sending you some leftover chili thru the ‘puter. Don’t worry, I’ll push the dehamburgerizer button so it will be vegetarian by the time it gets to you.
You can eat it while watching your games.

Lady I work with took one of hers to the vet Thursday for some blood work and was told about this tiger they had for adoption. About 8 weeks ago an elderly couple brought in their tiger to be euthanized. 5 years old, healthy, vet refused and took custody. My vet had been their vet so he knew him. They got the tiger as a kitten so they’ve had him all along. Problem is the husband was 90, repeat 90, when they got him. When kittens play they have a tendency to bite, which you have to discourage and they’ll stop. This couple never tried to correct the habit. Chester bit the old gentleman, now 95, so bad he had to go to the emergency room. Solution: euthanize the animal. Handsome jet black, long haired, almost an Angora. Has a feather boa tail. Big as my biggest tiger, Ptah. Chester, now Feurae (mucho thanks to DWBartoo), is very affectionate but has never been around other animals. So now we’ve got a growler. Pretty funny but the rest of the crew doesn’t think so. Feurae discovered the front windows this morning and has calmed down a bit. Just takes patience. No real confrontations yet. Gonna be an interesting couple weeks though.

you oughta try the cookies.

oo he sounds so handsome.

You are a good soul to take all those kittehs in.
as the lady next door tells her husband, “What’s one more.”
(last count I think there were 16 over there but it’s a tidy tidy home and they are loved.)

Have you ever made it with fresh lemon and orange zest? Understand the dried aspect due to recipe age but I *really* don’t like the dried stuff. Have no idea what the conversion amounts might be. Think I have all the ingredients except for maybe mace.

Gonna borry a digital camera next week and get some pix. Forgot to mention that he’s declawed in front. Pisses me off when people do that to protect their f’ing furniture. The two couches in front of the windows and up next to the wall so they can either sprawl on the couch or sill look like scratching posts. Got ‘em for nothing so when they tear ‘em up I just go get some more free furniture. I’m only up to 9, 3 of ‘em so black when they close their eyes their face disappears. What’s one more. Can’t say I’ve got a tidy little home though. Lazy.

On further reading:

* moderate oven temp = ???
* how much water in which to dissolve yeast?
* any approximate idea of bake time?

oh goodie pictures!

Sounds like a happy home to me. Lucky little tigers. Looking fwd to pix. ;->

very warm but not melting-hot spoon.

This one of a lion cub being fostered with a puppy will have to hold you over. One of my faves.

Moderate usually translates to 350 degrees.

Yeast/water usually 1/4 c. water per envelop (= 1 tablespoon) yeast. I often will “encourage” elderly yeast 1. by storing refrigerated & tightly covered, 2. letting it sit just a few moments after mixing with a little water (see above), until it starts showing some activity by forming tiny bubbles; that can make a big difference in helping it work faster when it’s buried in heavy dough(!).

Bake time? Preheat oven to baking temperature (see above) before inserting cookies. Stand there and WATCH IT, oven light ON. Snatch out of the oven promptly as soon as you notice any browning of the edges.

repeated from scribe above (#237):

Bake in a moderate oven until the bottom starts to brown. These will burn in a heartbeat if you let them, so watch closely. They will not rise appreciably while in the oven, so don’t expect them to.

Happy Baking!

No matter what the result with this magnificent(?) recipe, be prepared to hop right back on that pony and head for the next fence. You’re smitten. You cannot resist. The dream of your very.own. homemade. cookie!! WOO HOO!

i have a gluten-free cookbook, ‘the gluten-free gourmet cooks fast and healthy’ by bette hagman, it’s one of my favorite cookbooks–you make different dry ‘mixes’ ahead of time and store like flour, then use it in the recipes. fantastic cookbook, can’t count how many people i’ve turned onto it.
here’s cookie recipes that are in it-just cookies, there is so much more in there.
almond crisps, choc cherry chews, citron wafers, crunchy choc drops, hawaiian fruit drops, lemon wafers, mocha-rum biscotti, mock oatmeal with fruit and spice, nutty wafers, sugar, taster’s choice peanut butter, vanilla wafers, white choc and macadamia nut biscotti.

bar-
apricot, butterscotch chews, choc toffee, frosted fudge squares, fruitcake, health, no-bake granola, peanut toffee, pecan pie squares, velvet brownies.

if you want further info, let me know, or you can email me at dmactree at yahoo dot com. i don’t check this email every day, but will check it later.

here is a site that is a tribute to her with recipe links, nice site, the desserts link led to a cranberry muffin recipe.
http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/…..t-800.html

here is a google page, on it are a few recipe sites-and where to get the book.
http://www.google.com/search?q…..=firefox-a

if you cook gluten free, or are staying away from wheat, her cookbooks are a gift. highly recommend them, even for people who can eat gluten. is up there with my moosewood cookbooks as most used…

p.s., yeast loves being very gently warm when you expect it to rise (= making more little yeastlets). Hot temperatures will kill the yeast, which is okay if it’s already, erm, you know, reproducedXXXX (censored) grown in volume.

*HEY HANK! PUT A “WATCH” ON THIS ONE. CODE BLUSH!*

i usually find a similar recipe and go from the info for it.

waccamaw, was it you who wanted the ‘plain’ cranberry relish recipe a month or so ago?

and was it just cranberries and nothing else, or one with fruit in it?

i said i would find one, i think for you, but i didn’t write it down. don’t remember.

Hey dmac and waccamaw.

could you check my 260 and 262 to see if they would help, or if i’m off base?

i’ve never made yeast cookies before, but have done plenty bread, and plenty cookies of other sorts. those would be what i’d try first, but i don’t want to ruin anyone’s kitchen experience. *g*

and if you keep it in the fridge, let it get to room temp before you blast it with the ‘reproductive incentive’ warm water. if it’s older/outdated yeast, going from very cold to very warm will ummmmm keep it from proliferating, so to speak.

thanks. agreed. must give our elderly friends extra time, and plenty patience. ;->

um… no… i wouldn’t consult the pharmacy on that one. once the bubbly stuff collapses, it’s not gonna rise again without further encouragement in the way of nutrients, even if it hasn’t been kilt by hot flashes.

this is a pro-family thread, right?

yep, pretty dead-on, but you have to watch the water content a little closer for cookies than in breads…if too liquid, won’t rise right, and won’t cook through right. can spread and not turn out right.

when i’m doing yeast, i preheat a little pyrex custard dish by running it under hot water, add a few T of pretty hot water, wait a sec letting the dish soak up the heat of the water a little more, stir in the room temp yeast, and stir with a plastic spoon. metal takes heat out.

for older ‘inherited’ recipes–if the recipe doesn’t state the water for the yeast, anything over a T i subtract it from the recipe. if it still looks like it can handle the liquid and looks like they already added in the yeast and water, i add more.

moderate can mean, and usually does mean 350, i check other similar ingredient recipes to see the temp on them. can vary, some cookies are higher. and very old recipes usually the temp is the higher one, hard to have ‘low moderate’ with wood or coal. if it says moderate and it’s an old recipe, can be higher than what i call moderate.

if i get a minute, i’ll see what i can find about it.

Thanks both for the terrific-sounding recipe, and the re-check of my thots. I second everything you say above.

I just love working with yeast. I’ve gotten so I never measure much except to be really really careful with the amount of liquid. The total liquid content pretty much controls all else to a significant degree.

Haven’t had much time for baking lately, but I am looking fwd to experimenting with some multigrain breads, just inventing as I go along. We like flax, sesame, poppyseed, and maybe a little cumin in great moderation. When playing around with heavier texture ingredients, I tend to like adding some plain-unbleached flour at the beginning as I start adding to the risen yeast, so it can be worked into the mix thoroughly. And I add a little bit of the dry ingredients at a time, to avoid ending up with bricks instead of hearty loaves of edible bread.
Then there’s buckwheat flour, rolled oats, sunflower seeds etc. to add to whole wheat and a little unbleached white. The whole-foods, natural foods stores are a treasure trove of ingredients. Great fun.

thanks for the recipe scribe, it reminds me of one my gma used to make. and the springerles my mom likes to make. another tradition.
here’s a springerle page for those who don’t know about them.
http://www.google.com/search?q…..=firefox-a

was looking for my great great grandma’s soft ginger cookie recipe to share it, have never had one like it anywhere. can’t find it yet, will keep looking.

but here is my grandma’s pennsylvania dutch orange cookies. the real ones.
don’t want to type grandparents’ name, but it’s not pronounceable.

these are soft poofy orange cookies, with icing. almost like a heavy cake. these and the ginger cookies have been made in my family for generations. cuz they are good.

here it is, as she wrote it. back from when a teaspoon meant a tea spoon and a tablespoon meant a table spoon. these are so good and soooo easy. need to be put into an air-tight container after they have cooled, if there are any left.
and we like to make an icing out of orange juice and powdered sugar for them. ice after they have cooled all of the way. takes a while for them to cool.

Orange Cookies

1/2 cup soft shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 table spoon orange rind

1/2 cup orange juice

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tea spoon salt

1 tea spoon soda

400 degrees

=========
was just talking with my cranberry nut friend and said i can’t believe i forgot to mention these three cookies passed down to me. will post the soft ginger cookies when i find it.

yum, i make an oatmeal bread for my dad that he likes, is heavy. lots of kneading….15 minutes, which doesn’t sound long, until you have to do it. heavy dough, wears me out. seriously, asked him to find another favorite bread….i found an oat cranberry orange one that may replace it..

his favorite is called nova scotia oatmeal bread. there are variations, easily found on the web.makes great toast.

you mention the liquid controlling everything—i almost wrote a note about how/why the liquid controls the chemical/heat reactions in the oven, and how in yeast cookies it’s a short quick precise process, when my friend called. funny.

take care, happy baking!

One year we made flasher gingerbread men, with raincoats. Tip: if you run your dough through a garlic press, it makes gingerbread pubic hair.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I should make some of those for Mr. ReddHedd’s annual office cookie tray. Just sort of slip them in amongst the usual cookie offerings and see what happens…

Oh, make some koulourakia. Yummy. With little orange rind and a scant sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Or some paximadia, with a hint of anise.

My sister-in-law’s mom made some koulourakia last week, a huge pan of them for my father-in-law who’d lost his spouse the previous week. I know they are his favorite next to his wife’s “Swedish No-Name Cookies”. Guess I’ll have to make some of the No-Names for him this coming week (they’re like rugelach with a simple cinnamon-sugar filling).

Yup, t’was I…..cranberries ONLY. Thankee for remembering. :-)

Lotsa help and thanks ever so much! I’ve had my range of “kitchen experiences”….from excellent to horrible. *g*

Love this thread. Can’t cook at all but some of these recipes I may have to try. I’m feeling courageous.

forgot to add, the orange cookie recipe was easy to find cuz a few years ago my mom took a picture of the original, yellowed, hand-written recipe from grandma and put it in a clear dual-frame with a picture of grandma making the cookies in the 50’s on the other side.

pretty cool idea.

she used to move her kitchen table closer to the sink with a new tablecloth on it, and put the dough bowl on the table, cooling cookies and she was loading sheets next to it. behind her is the sink, the oven and the mixing counter….her whole operation is evident in the photo, a reminder to set it all up however it works for you.

i love it.

i hope noone minds me adding recipes while the thread is still open….rhetorical question. i have 24 hours to add recipes, the race is on..heh.

this one is my sister’s favorite–the recipe is from a bed and breakfast in nashville, indiana……the cornerstone i think. she took me there for my birthday last february. nashville is like a little gatlinburg, about an hour below indianapolis. really like it there, and i’m not a ’shopper’, but i like shopping there, all kinds of cool places, and good food…and three wineries…the town pretty much closes at dark, so, that explains the wineries….first went to nashville in the 70’s, the same jewelry guy who made my carnelian earrings then was still there. we stayed in the cornerstone’s annex that was above the jewelry store. really nice place. highly recommend it for a getaway weekend. the state park there has amazing things in the gift shop, too. for my friends, i got laminated mushroom field guides that can fit into your back pocket to take with you into the woods. for three bucks.
all kinds of things there.

Candy Crackers

Spray cookie sheet (i use a jelly roll pan, not as adventurous as a cookie sheet though.)
Line with foil
Spray foil ( a lot)
Lay out club crackers edge to edge to cover, one layer.

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 sticks of butter
3 T of light corn syrup

Boil 2 minutes

Add 2 t of vanilla

Pour mixture over the crackers–spread quickly to coat.

Press down chopped nuts of your choice on top. No measurement written on the recipe, just load it up…(we use pecans, but if you like black walnuts, is really good with them also.)

Bake 25 minutes @ 350

Let cool and break into cracker size.

–mom stirs in the nuts into the mixture then spreads it, gotta be quick, and make sure the nuts are not cold. in fact, warm them in the preheating oven first.

gotta do the spreading FAST either way.

these are addictive, don’t say i didn’t warn you. i don’t make them often because i will eat them until they are gone. are perfect to put into holiday goodie tins.

they are like a hard praline.

Also remember that this recipe was originally written down from one in which the bakers used sourdough starter as leaven. The indication in the recipe, as written, was “take some sourdough starter (the measurement was literally “some”) and cut it with water 2:1, then add it to the dough and knead it”.

In interpreting these old recipes, one has to remember that the people doing the baking and acting as the source for them (a) were almost certainly illiterate, (b) if women, baked bread in quantity for a large family weekly or more frequently and had been doing so since about the age of 8 or so, (c) if men, were baking these professionally, were members of a guild and had secrets to keep. They would not have to have made any measurement of the flour and leaven because it would have been as familiar to them as making a cup of tea or something. So we, who do not have that knowledge from day-to-day experience with bread-baking, are at a serious disadvantage. They knew, almost without saying and certainly without formal measurements, what a strong dough was and how much sourdough to use. We don’t.

And, just because they were illiterate does not mean they didn’t know how to bake. I have recipes for delicious cakes in which all the measurements are multiples of “7″, and different cakes in which they are all multiples of “11″ or “13″. If you can count, you can bake.

re orange and lemon zest.

No, I have not made it with fresh orange and lemon zest. I don’t think it is authentic and I try not to deviate from what I’ve been given (too far, anyway). Think of it this way: these cookies (And, remember, they’re actually a kind of bread) originated in Northern Bavaria – Nuremburg when the fastest transport system was some animal. The nearest orange and lemon trees were possibly in central Italy, 600 or 800 miles and the Alps, Dolomites and Appennines away. And oranges and lemons ripen most prolifically in March-May, IIRC.

Unlike most of us, who just toss the peel from our citrus b/c it’s too bitter or whatever to eat, they didn’t. The peel they didn’t candy for later use that way, they dried and kept for all the uses orange and lemon peel get used for. The inner, white peel, they probably segregated for the pectin.

So, I’d suggest using the dried lemon peel and orange peel.

Also, do you have any idea how many oranges and lemons it would take to produce those quantities of zest? This was poor people food, and poor people couldn’t afford that many.

My limited experience with sourdough led me to appreciate that the “starter” one added to a recipe needed time to recover and start growing, before proceeding with any recipe.

I also had the joy of knowing a wonderful mother-in-law who, although not a particularly enthusiastic experimenter in the kitchen, nevertheless went through the excruciatingly difficult AND pleasant process of translating for those of us who were yet to come, some absolutely FABULOUS recipes from the generation preceding hers, simply by patiently standing by, watching and guestimating intently, as an elderly relative baked her wonderous creations by handfuls and blops.

We owe these bakery-goods researchers a vote of thanks, and an obligation to continue the tradition, if only by writing down what they passed on to us. A happy task indeed!

i held my tongue earlier and shouldn’t have….

dried zests have a different ‘feel’ and purpose. combined with the pepper and other things in that recipe, the dried ingredients would have a specific aromatic purpose.

far different from the fresh.

i am also a diffident dried peel person, including onions, but, i have found that they have a specific use when it comes to baking. dehydrated onions are a way different thing in breads than fresh, as an example.

and adie, yes, i learned from watching. and from the stories they told of how/and in what circumstance they learned what they were doing/making. which is why i said to bob geiger that cooking is an excellent way to get to know someone, and how you get along in a kitchen also tells how you operate with each other in real life, good or bad, it tells.

i have a running joke with friends on how i want the record for a run-on sentence, and i think that one was a keeper.