13 Cookies til Christmas

These minty wonders were a joy! Marley and I made them together. We got the recipe off the Nestle Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels Bag.

Mint chocolate Delights

Combine 2 c sugar, 2/3 baking cocoa, 1 t. baking soda and 1/2 t. salt in small bowl. Beat 1 c. butter, 2/3 c. granulated sugar, 2/3 c. brown sugar, and 1 t. vanilla extract in large mixer until creamy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 11-13 min at 325 or until cookies are puffed and the centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for two min. remove to wire racks to cool completely. This makes 4 dozen cookies. We cut the recpie in half to make a couple dozen instead.



We took some of the dough and put it into a pie pan and made a pie cookie out of it. We just cooked it a little longer. Maybe 10 minutes more to make this lovely mint cookie pie. This recipe? Totally a keeper. The girls agree.

The First Snow

Well more like the second actual snow... But I find as I get older that I can tolerate the cold less and less. I did finally cave in and take the girls to the hill down the street.



Bret walked home almost right away. I didn't think I would ever get Marley to come home. And what were we missing?? No hot chocolate on this cold cold night. Thank goodness for hot soup and baths. :-)

14 Cookies 'Til Christmas

Mary's Christmas Cookies



Cream 1 c. butter and 1 c. brown sugar together. Add 1 egg, 1t. vanilla extract, and 2c. all-purpose flour. Spread into a 15'x10' jelly role pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 min. Remove from oven and add chocolate bars while still hot. Let chocolate bars melt and spread over top. Sprinkle 1/2 to 1 c. chopped nuts and cut into small squares.



We made this right before the girls went to bed. We will tell you soon how it tastes. But it was a fun one to make!!

15 Days 'Til Christmas

Cherry Tassies

I am used to making Pecan Tassies every year for my husband. As a pecan tassie maker, I tried to make the dough like I make pecan tassie dough. However Cherry Tassies have a leavening agent in them, whereas Pecan Tassies which model a pecan pie do not. So I put too much dough in the Cherry Tassies and that made them too big. But they tasted wonderful. We all loved them! For a twist to the recipe, we put little crushed chocolate pieces in with the cherry to give a chocolate cherry taste.

Also look ahead for us to try this same recipe, only with the dough surrounding the cherries like a bunch of balls.

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1-1/4 cups butter, softened
2-1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely crushed striped round peppermint candies (about 18)
48 red maraschino cherries or liquor-flavored maraschino cherries with stems, drained
Coarse sugar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 1 3/4-inch muffin cups with nonstick spray; set aside. In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in 1-1/2 cups of the powdered sugar, the baking powder and salt. Beat in peppermint extract, vanilla, and egg. Beat in as much of the flour as you can; stir in remaining flour and candies.

2. Place remaining 3/4 cup powdered sugar in a shallow dish. Shape dough in 1-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar. Press each ball into the bottom and sides of prepared muffin cups.

3. Place cherry, stem side up, in each cup (cherry will not fill the cup). Bake about 12 minutes or until pastry is browned. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Use a small sharp knife to loosen tassies from cups. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

16 Cookies 'Til Christmas

Lace Roll-Ups

Heat oven to 375. Mix 1 c. flour, and 1. c finely chopped nuts. In medium saucepan heat 1/2 c. corn syrup, 1/2 c. shortening, and 2/3 c. packed brown sugar to boiling, over med heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; gradually stir in flour/nut mixture. drop dough by tspful about 3"apart onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake only 8 or 9 at a time. Bake about 5 min. cool for 3 min. before removing from baking sheet. While warm carefully roll cookies into cylindrical shapes. If cookies harden before shaping, return them to the oven for just a moment. Makes about 4 doz cookies. For chocolate dipped cookies, dip one end of the lace roll-ups in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Let cool.

Sooooooo... Well everything went well until it was time to remove those things from the pan. They stuck badly and I could not get any of the middles up. I had to run the pan over hot water in order to remove the middles. I filled the baking pan 5 times with my cookies and each time was the same. So maybe MY ingredients were a little off when Marley and I mixed them? But which way, I don't know. We got some good pieces out of them. They tasted great. The girls loved them. So not a total loss. But I stopped making them half way through and dumped the rest out into the sink since I could not get a good set.

Had to happen eventually. Not every recipe is a peach. lol.

17 Cookies 'Til Christmas

Mud Cookies

Mix 2 c. sugar, 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. cocoa, 1/2 c. butter and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add 1/4 c. peanut butter, 3 c. oatmeal, and 1 c. chopped walnuts. Mix well. Drop on waxed paper.

This is a good no-bake recipe. I 1/2ed the whole recipe so we didn't end up with 4 or 5 dozen cookies. I didn't have walnuts so I used pecans. It was real rich. But again with the peanut butter and chocolate. That works in our house.

Neusole Glass Blowing

So we are back again. This place was so cool, I knew I needed to share it. We took our Girl Scout Junior Troops to Neusole to see a demonstration and let each girl make a glass flower. What was the demo?? They made a Girl Scout Snow Man!!!! It had badges and everything! So cool. I told the guy who talked us through their demo, "You know I have to buy that now. How much are you going to charge me for it?" We will see when I pick up the flowers what they say about it. What a great time! Afterwards? We took our Big Boy Halloween coupons and our 13 Girl Scouts to our local Big Boy for kids meals. All around, a good time had for all.

There is so much to be learned at this trip, and so much to build on at home. For instance, sometimes they use wooden tools and newspaper to help form the glass. They soak them in water so they don't burn under the heat of the glass. Why does water stop them from burning?? It reminded me of the experiment that we did a couple years ago (and plan to do again soon to drive this point home) when we filled a small balloon with water and lit a candle. When placed over the lit candle the balloon didn't pop. Water absorbs all the heat so the balloon doesn't absorb it. In fact if you hold the balloon there long enough you can even boil the water.

Their ovens that they heat the glass in while they work it are at 1900 and 2000 degrees. The room gets very hot while they work. And the propane ovens are very loud. They have to really speak up for us to hear them talk.

When a glass object is made it must go directly into a cooler which is really a heater. The heater starts at 900 degrees and cools slowly. If the glass were to sit out and cool to room temp it would crack for cooling too quick.

So much more. There is tons to learn from this day. Hopefully a seed was planted somewhere.

18 Cookies 'Til Christmas

So these last couple days I am cooking alone, listening to 93.3. I am listening to their nonstop Christmas music, putting the cookie groceries away a few minutes ago when I notice how much I LOVE Christmas music. I love it. I hum it when it is 10 degrees and I am outside walking Uma. The "ring ting tingling" sleigh bells, Rudolph going into history like the president, Jingle Bells and ho ho ho. When November hits I start thinking about getting out my Christmas CD's. My girls and I, we love to sing. Even if we are out of key, it doesn't matter. In Girl Scouts I make all my girls sing. Something about music just touches my soul.

What is it about Christmas for you? What makes you're heart stop for Christmas? We get so excited about decorating the house here. We love the Christmas bears and deer stuffed animals that decorate our tables. The day after Thanksgiving my girls are waking me up, begging me to bring up the boxes from the basement of Christmas stuff.

Why are there so many movies about how unhappy Christmas can be? For some people (you know who you are) the holidays are miserable. They are mean at the checkout lines. They are cranky at family gatherings. Hell-ooo... even Charlie Brown can make a crappy few branches into an inspiration. You can too!! I want to shake you and remind you about the music!

Ok maybe this is the wine talking. But probably not. Cookie pics on the way... Cherry Pecan Cookies from the Gooseberry Patch Cookie Book are today. My mom gave this book to me years ago. In fact she gave me a bunch of Gooseberry Patch cook books. Gooseberry is lots of fun! Check it out.

I will post the recipe while my cookie dough is cooling in the fridge. I will send the final product pic in a bit.

Cherry Pecan Cookies

Mix 1 c. shorting, 2 c. brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 c. water, 3-1/2 c. flour, 1t. baking soda, 1 t. salt, 1-1/2 c. pecans, and 2 c. maraschino cherries, cut. Chill for at least one hour. Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet. Bake 400 degrees for 8-10 min. Makes 8 dozen.

Same issue as yesterday. Without my girls I don't need EIGHT DOZEN cookies! That is insane. So I cut the recipe way down to 1/4. Which is not easy to do when the original recipe calls for 2 eggs. We will see how it turns out.

19 Cookies 'Til Christmas

I am trying to make up for lost time. First, Gaige and the hospital took my day away. The next day I had to shop for the girls for funeral attire(Bret's grandpa, Grandpa Ray, who holds the key to so many of Bret's real great childhood memories, almost 91, passed away the same day Gaige had his accident)in between dance classes. So we are two days behind. And now the girls are with their Grandpa Jim for a couple days and I might be able to get back caught up with the cookies... and perhaps my todo list too.



These are called Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies.
Mix 2/3c. melted butter, 4 c. quick oatmeal, 1 c. packed brown sugar, 3/4 t. salt, 1 t. vanilla, and 1/2 c. light corn syrup together well, and press into a 10'x15' (editor's note: Clearly this was supposed to be 10"x15". Sorry for the misprint. And thanks for catching it!) pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 min (don't overbake) until light and golden. They will be bubbly. Cool and frost. let set before cutting into squares.

Frosting: melt 12 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips and mix with 2/3 c. peanut butter.

So evidentally I overbaked because the sides were hard and would not come out of the pan. That might be because I cut the recipe in half since the girls are gone until Friday. So strong note... watch this one if you try it. DON'T OVERBAKE!!! lol. Anyway, the middle part worked out great and I think they are delicious! But chocolate and peanut butter mixed together??? How can you go wrong with that combo.

19 Cookies??

So we took the van in to get new tires after realizing they would not go another winter. The next morning I had to take my husband in to work, and Gaige to school. We sat down to learn about Mesopotamia... our unit study of History this week, took care of the dog, did some small minor cleaning, had lunch, and received the call. Gaige had an accident at school. He was head butted during a basketball game in gym class. His tooth went clear through his lip. (OK so the boy needs braces. It is on our very heafty list of things to afford, believe me.) I picked him up and brought him home to wait for Brittany to bring Callie (granbaby) over since this was our day. Once she arrived I sent the girls over to a friend's house because there isn't enough room for EVERYONE in my husband's SUV. Then Gaige, Callie, and I headed over to the hospital emergency room to get his stitches. 5 to be exact. By 7 oclock we were rollin out of that place, too late to get my car out of the shop. I retrieved my girls, fed everyone, and drove with Callie over to pick up my husband from work. Came home, Bret, put everyone to bed, sent Callie on her way and my day was done. Ta Da!! No cookies today. Maybe we will make two kinds tomorrow. Though I doubt it... :-)

Editor's Note: Somewhere in the end of my day I ended up at the store getting liquid protein drinks and straws so Gaige can eat while the gaping hole in his mouth (they cannot stitch the inside of his mouth) heals. And band aids. The Children's Hospital had a stock of only Snoopy band aids. I guess that was not his first choice poor guy. lol.

20 Cookies Til Christmas

So Bret says that our cookies yesterday were duds. Not because they didn't taste good [the girls all loved them] but because they were not real home baked cookies. I say we can utilize store bought products and make them new and improved like we did and call it our own.



So anyway today we made Bret a special treat and baked up his favorite cookies. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. The girls agree that this is their favorite so far. I have never been a huge fan of these cookies, though and I still prefer our fingerprint jam cookies. Orange marmalade jam was the best.

Here is the recipe and here is the website we got the recipe from. Try it out. You won't be sorry. http://whippedtheblog.com/2007/12/11/the-best-white-chocolate-macadamia-nut-cookie-recipe/

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
10 ounces white chocolate (chips or bars cut in chunks)
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped into chunks

Directions:


Heat oven to 375 F. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, and the baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture,beating until well blended. Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. (Edges are golden brown and center is set.) Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool completely.

21 Cookies 'Til Christmas

We started a family tradition last year. I take each child out individually to shop for presents for the family. We hang out at the mall, thrift store, antique malls, Walmart, Target, wherever we want to go. We have lunch together and make it a fun day shopping. Today was Bret's and my day to spend together. When we got home from that we had Callie until 11:30. There wasn't much time for cookie making today.
I decided to try one of the non-bake cookie ideas that I had.



The recipe goes like this... crush up a couple candy canes. Add enough vanilla frosting to the candy canes for filling the cookie sandwiches. Next crack open a box of vanilla wafers. Put some frosting mix between two cookies to form a cookie sandwich.



Next melt some milk chocolate chips in a double boiler. If you don't have one you can do what we do. Boil an inch of water in a pan. Put a smaller pan inside it and add chocolate to melt. Do NOT try to melt the chocolate on a pan directly on the stove.



When the chocolate is melted, dip the cookies in the chocolate for a little added flavor. We are full from pizza right now so no one was really in the mood for a cookie. They were good. They may be better in the morning when our stomachs are empty. lol.

The Beach On Ice

When we went to homeschool day last time (maybe 4 years ago) there were 300 people +. Today there were considerably less than 100 people. But still the girls had a great time. Ice skating came first, and for Bret most of her day was dedicated to it today.



The girls spent some time on the sled rides. Marley went once and decided it was too scary to go again. I knew better than to even try it. When I was younger I loved to make my stomach drop. Not so much these days.



Here is where Marley and I spent most of our day. I hung around while she fed and played with the petting zoo animals.



Marley wanted to know why people catch animals and put them in cages for people to look at and touch. I told her I didn't know why. And what did she think was the reason for it. She said she thought it was because little kids like her want to get close to them and they will run away if they are not in cages. :-(

They are all snug in beds fast asleep now. Exhaustion set in. Little Bret offered to read to Marley while I cleaned up from our cookie making. Marley fell asleep (BTW she lost her third tooth today when Gaige popped her in the mouth with a ball) and the other girls followed shortly after. They will sleep good tonight.

22 Cookies 'Til Christmas

Today's cookies are yesterday's butter cookie recipe. Minus the thumb print and jelly, plus a cookie cutter and frosting.



We mostly made Christmas Trees.



Except Brenda and Marley put in a couple designes of their own. They mostly broke into pieces.



They tasted just as good though.



Yum.

4H at Green Acres

So we met at Green Acres for our 4H program Monday. This is turning out to be a real busy week. Monday was Green Acres. Tuesday was dance for Bret and Marley. Wednesday was dance for Brenda and the pool from 7-9. Thursday was Girl Scouts and Friday (tomorrow)is the Beach Waterpark on Ice. Plus a cookie a day. And our usually school buzzness.



So we learned pinch pot and coil pot methods today. Brenda, making a heart bowl.



Here are Bret and Sophia. Any time she gets a chance to hang out with her homeschool friends, it is a party for her.



And Marley? I said that is really nice. Do you want me to help you make a coil pot next? She said no. She was making a birthday cake for herself and she didn't need my help. Silly me to even ask. She had it under control... like usual.

Twenty Three Cookies 'Til Christmas

Jam Filled Butter Cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fruit preserves, any flavor



Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and egg yolks. Mix in flour a little bit at a time until a soft dough forms. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. If dough is too soft, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Place balls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Use your finger or an instrument of similar size to make a well in the center of each cookie. Fill the hole with 1/2 teaspoon of preserves.



3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.




So far these are the chefs' favorite. The dough came out so workable that we are considering making these butter cookies into our cookies for tomorrow minus the jam, plus cookie cutters and frosting when they cool. Great recipe. Easy for the kids to read and understand.

Oh and as per someone's comments on the website we found the recipe in, we added a pinch of salt and a 1/2 t. of vanilla.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/jam-filled-butter-cookies/Detail.aspx

24 Cookies 'Til Christmas

Old German Honey Cookies today... because they didn't need butter and I was out of butter...



Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger


Directions
1.In a saucepan over low heat, melt together sugar, shortening and honey. Let cool.
2.Mix together eggs, vanilla, baking soda and ginger. Gradually add to cooled honey mixture.
3.Slowly add 4 cups of flour to mixture. Stir until well blended.



Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) until golden (about 12-15 minutes).



I found this recipe here: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/old-german-honey-cookies/Detail.aspx

We were divided. Some of us liked them, some of us didn't. They were ok. VERY sweet. But still soft after a day of sitting out.

Submit your cookie recipes here...

Do you have a fav? We would love to try it out! Send us your recipe and we will cook up a batch! melodiecoz@yahoo.com

25 Cookies Til Christmas

Today's cookie is Potato Chip Cookies. My Gramma by Ollie passed away when I was very little. But I remember her potato chip cookies. My mom had the recipe but I think Gramma by Ollie omitted something when she gave the recipe over because it was not a successful recipe. I did find a recipe a few years back that was "barely comparable" at best. So we made those.

So here is the recipe that we used this year for our first "advent" cookie.



Preheat to 300. In bowl, cream 2 C. room temp butter and 1 C. sugar.



Slowly blend in 3-1/4 C. flour and 1 t. vanilla extract.



Gradually mix in 1-1/2 C. coarsly crushed potato chips. Stir gently.



Drop dough by well rounded tsp onto ungreased cookie sheets 2" apart. Lightly flatten with fork. Bake 15-20 min or until lightly brown and set. Cool on cookie sheet 5 min then remove to racks. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Yield 5 doz.

I remember these things about my Gramma By Ollie. Ollie (her dog) bit my sister. It was a mean little poodle. Once, my sister and I were over at her house and we misbehaved. She told us that God would punish us. A few minutes later there was a lightning strike outside that lit up the whole kitchen, and from a child's perspective it looked like the lightning came into the house. She said, "See? I told you he is watching you. He knows you are acting bad." I remember the fuzzy green wallpaper and the piano (I think it was an organ). I remember crocheted pillows on the couch. She always had magazines to a company called Leo's (or Leon's?) on her side tables that showcased kids dance outfits. I loved looking through them when we came over. I remember the room we slept in upstairs and looking around in the attic. I remember one of those doll lamps and her fold-in sewing machine table. Once she yelled at grampa (who btw used to let us get in line and punch his big belly) saying the only reason we liked him is because he gave us money. That is not a lot of memories. But I do remember her potato chip cookies:-)

Today's advent prayer passage is "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace". And so what does that mean to you? Letting God's peaceful energy flow through you and out to be shared with your world...

25 Cookies 'til Christmas

Twenty-five cookies 'til Christmas starts today. Updates to follow. Stay a tuned...

Our advent prayers for this advent will focus on breaking down the St Francis Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

My Daily Groove - love it!

Saw this too late! I check my Daily Groove pretty often. If you aren't a parent or don't think you have a need, check it out anyway. You would be surprised how it applies to non parents even. Totally applied to my sick-o day. And Bret's overwhelming holiday.

THE DAILY GROOVE ~ by Scott Noelle
www.enjoyparenting.com/dailygroove


:: Obligatory Thanksgiving? ::

Ain't it funny how the holidays most focused on peace,
love, and gratitude can also be the most stressful?!

Often the stress is rooted in expectations of ultra-positive
emotions. If you feel *obliged* to be extraordinarily
grateful and congenial, you may be suppressing the less
sunny aspects of yourself. And forcing yourself to look like
you just stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting is
hard, stressful work!

The cure for obligation is FREEDOM. So if you feel
stressed on Thanksgiving, you might want to try saying
these affirmations to yourself:

"I'm free NOT to be cheerful."
"I'm free NOT to be sociable."
"And I'm free NOT to be thankful!"

When you know you're free NOT to, that means you're also
free TO... Now you can choose based on what feels REAL.

And the freedom to be real is something we can all be
thankful for! :)

http://dailygroove.net/thanksgiving-freedom

Christmas Time Again

After years of Bret being the tree guy, I finally branched out last year and made a tree that I wanted. I guess I just decided that was the year that the tree finally mattered to me. It was a hit!! So this year when I went to make my tree again, I have NO IDEA what I did with my red and silver ribbon that went on the tree. Bret took me to the store after work today and we bought new ribbon and ornaments to add to the tree. I have grown to love fake trees. They are so maintenance free!! Worried about the lack of Christmas tree smell?? Buy a candle. It is just as good.



Thankfully my Thanksgiving stomach flu only lasted a day. The girls put me right on the job, Friday morning, bringing up all the decorations and ornaments, and trees. They couldn't wait to start decorating the house.



How we LOVE the holidays!! And we are so far behind! Usually I have already taken each person shopping for presents for their family already. They are beggin to get out and shop for their siblings. lol. December shopping, that I don't love so much. Crowds of angry and cranky shoppers... no love lost there.

November Drumming Circle

Drumming Circle this month was bring your daugthers. I am thinking that it might be about time to start bringing them to the circles every time now. They want to go. Not Marley. She enjoys it but her attention is not quite old enough. But at least Brenda. She is ready to be part of it when she wants to. And maybe even Bret. Anyway we made dream catchers from ivy frames. This is Lyria's amazing dream catcher. She is always inspiring to have around!!



Brenda and Bret wait for bring your daughter day every year and cannot wait. They love being part of the group.



Circle didn't officially end until 1:30am. Marley pooped out at the table way before that! Our dream catchers serve our sleep dreams and our day dreams. What a second to none experience for my girls!! Thank you Wild Women for making this such a great time for all of us!