12 Treats of Christmas: #12 Santa's Cut-Out Cookies

The twelth and final treat to share is the recipe for the cookies we leave for Santa. The only sugar cookie recipe I have ever known, it has been made over and over for as long as I can remember. Before I owned a KitchenAid mixer, I used to dread the mixing that had to take place by hand...you can only go so far in this recipe with a hand-mixer. Now, making the dough is a snap! Since I already blogged the recipe here, I will share the recipe I use for the frosting. I learned to make it simply by watching my mom. The "recipe" consists of only three ingredients: powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk...although, I swear my mom used to add in some butter, too. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I'm sure she'll comment here to tell me her thoughts on that.

FROSTING FOR SUGAR COOKIES

2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
Food coloring

Begin by putting powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Add vanilla. Add milk ONE TABLESPOON AT A TIME, until you make a nice, spreadable consistency. Frost the cookies, add some sprinkles, and allow to "dry."

DID YOU KNOW: If your cookies (these cookies or ANY type of cookie) become hard...or if you cooked them too long and didn't burn them, but they cool more crispy than you would like, put them in a container or ziplock with a slice of bread. The cookies will soften!

12 Treats of Christmas: #3 Mini Peanut Blossoms

Peanut Blossom cookies are probably my all-time favorite cookie. And they seem to make quite a few appearances on Christmas cookie plates--but those appearances quickly turn to DISappearances. They are the first to go if offered along side other cookie varieties. Now, while having been my all time favorite for years, I have always been perplexed by how to eat the regular-sized Peanut Blossom cookie. In order to get a taste of chocolate with each bite, one must be very strategic when taking bites. And eating only part of the Hershey's Kiss (which is not a graceful process) can make it dislodge from its base, fall onto the floor...and well, the whole thing is just problematic. You might try to include the entire kiss with your first bite, but then not only is that quite a mouthful, but subsequent bites are much less appealing-- after all the whole point of the cookie is the combination.

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Did you know? Freda Smith from Gibsonburg, Ohio introduced the world to the first peanut butter blossoms in the 1957 Pillsbury Bakeoff contest. I would like to win that contest.

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Anyway, I was delighted to find the "Hershey's Easy Baking" cookbook while at the Hershey Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania. And while I didn't purchase the cookbook because of this recipe, I was also delighted to find that a recipe within has solved all of my Peanut Blossom problems with the MINI Peanut Blossom cookie. Prior to this recipe, I did not know that mini Hershey's Kisses existed. They do! And they're smaller than regular kisses, but larger than chocolate chips. They're tweens. Maybe these should be called Peanut Blossom Tweens.
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Regardless...here ya go! Perfect combo. Perfect-sized bite.
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MINI PEANUT BLOSSOMS

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Additional granulated sugar
1 package Hershey's MINI kisses
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat peanut butter and shortening in a large bowl until well-combined.
3. Add both sugars; beat well.
4. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
5. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; gradually add to peanut butter mixture, beating until well-blended after each addition.
6. Shape into 1/2-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on cookie sheet.
7. Bake 5-6 minutes or until set. Immediately press Mini Kiss into center of each cookie.
8. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Makes about 14 dozen...that's not a typo: FOURTEEN dozen...but each one is only a bite!

Matching Christmas PJs

Matching PJs 2009

Matching PJs 2008

A new Christmas tradition--matching PJs for Drew and Mommy. Last year I purchased some matching PJs for Drew and me to wear Christmas morning. Thus, when this year rolled around and I was able to make the matching-PJ-purchase, despite much procrastination, it officially became tradition. Repeat. Ritual. They make the adult PJs pretty big, but I didn't force hubby into the mix. Next year there will be three of us with matching PJs. Now, if I were really on-the-ball, I would check out the Children's Place website or outlet store and buy next year's sets! However, with a big move coming, I'm not sure that I'll be able to keep up with all our stuff, let alone something that I'm not supposed to use for an entire year :)

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas holiday and a Happy New Year!

Trimmin' the Tree

Since we've been dating, Mike and I have gone to the same spot to purchase our Christmas tree. We go to someone's property (no, we are not trespassing...they have a SIGN), drive up their driveway, interrupt their family meal, give them $10, and then begin our trek through the trees to find the perfect one. Mike then saws it down, does a little trim work right there on the spot, and we load it into his "big rig" --my affectionate name for his man-truck.

Our first couple of Christmas tree adventures involved just Michael and me. Then Timber, our chocolate lab, was added to the mix. And this year, we made our first tree trek with a family of four: Michael, me, Drew and Timber. You can imagine the 25 minute ride to the tree farm. Timber sat in the front seat with us, while Drew relaxed (slept) in the back.

Usually the tree trek takes forever. My loving husband does not make snap decisions, and CERTAINLY not when there is money involved, albeit $10. Plus, he loves the search for the perfect tree. So after 20 minutes or so, I get annoyed with traipsing back and forth, and I wait until my final approval is needed. I watch Timber gallop gleefully all over the place, and I watch my husband make a mental note of the latitude and longitude of all the trees that are "possibilities."


With a baby in the mix, the tree trek changed just a bit. Drew suited up in his brown snow suit, we nick-named him "Ralphie," and Mike plopped him on a sled so we could pull him all around. He absolutely LOVED it, and didn't even cry when he accidentally tipped over into the snow before I could rescue him.

Along with the tree selection each year, comes decorating time. After Mike muscles the tree into our house, it is ALWAYS bigger than it appeared outdoors. The tree owners should post a sign "trees are much bigger than they appear out here." This year we had to cut two feet off the bottom after having scuffed up our (vaulted) ceiling. Oops. Once in the tree stand, it's time to decorate. Now, I appreciate the lovely Christmas trees that are all matchy-match or more grammatically correct: theme-based. I'm a matchy-match type of person as a general rule. But when it comes to decorating our tree, I am not only totally fine with the motley crew of tree ornaments, but I am exceedingly proud of the traditions and memories that they represent. We have sort of a his/hers/ours collection of ornaments. Many of Michael's ornaments represent his passions (outdoors, fishing, hunting), and we both have many ornaments from our childhoods. The "ours" ornaments include just a few--one that represents our first married Christmas together, one of a chocolate lab (to represent Timber, of course), and a couple of Baby's First Christmas ornaments.

My very favorite Christmas ornament is pictured above. This little house has been around as long as I can possibly remember...so it is probably at least 30 years old. EEK. As a child, it fascinated me that in order to make the ornament "work" you have to choose a special spot on the tree limb so you can put the light in the back and light up the house. I know, serious stuff here. Michael always makes sure that I get to hang that one. What a thoughtful husband...seriously.

A new tree-trimming tradition (don't you just love alliteration), that we have created together as a couple is the annual sipping of Blackstar Farms cherry dessert wine which we pick up during our October trip to the Leelanau peninsula. Last year I couldn't really sip due to being pregnant, but this year I was back in action! YUM!

Cookbooks

I read cookbooks like they are novels. Over the years, as cooking has grown from a mommy-and-me activity to a personal hobby to a full-fledged passion of mine, my cookbook collection has also grown. I devour (no pun intended) each and every recipe as I read the cookbook front to back. And just like those "real" books that are your favorites and you read over and over, I have my favorite cookbooks--some because of the recipes they hold and some for the sheer sentimental value behind how I came to own them.

My mother, who pretends that she isn't a good cook but really is an AMAZING cook, gave me the "Friends" cookbook one Christmas. I love it because it has a personal message from her about me being not only her daughter, but her friend. Get it? The "Friends" cookbook? Not to mention the fact that I watched "Friends" religiously when it was still on and many of the recipes were mentioned in episodes.

I also have the cookbook that I purchased the weekend my husband and I got engaged. We stayed at the Aspen House Bed & Breakfast near Leland, Michigan. The owner of the B&B had written and published a lovely cookbook, and I was so excited to have such a special keepsake.

Both my mother and my mother-in-law have printed family cookbooks containing the beloved traditional recipes for dishes that are family favorites. These are the most-requested recipes that I no longer have to request! My mother-in-law first put together the Ryzak family cookbook when her daugther (my now sister-in-law) was about to get married. Then I later received my own copy at one of my bridal showers. The family cookbook that my mom printed was made especially for me for a Christmas gift. This cookbook contains not only recipes, but many anecdotal stories from my mother's childhood and my own childhood. She also included some ORIGINAL recipe cards hand-written by my grandmother...complete with ingredient smudges on them.

The latest addition to my cookbook collection is a VINTAGE cookbook! Copyright 1963. No longer in print. It is the orange cookbook pictured at the top of this post: The New Parents' Magazine Family Cookbook. So my mom (who gave it to me as--you guessed it--A GIFT) had to order it online, used copy and all. My favorite recipe in this book is on p. 94--"Basic Sugar Cookie." And here it is:

2 cups sifted flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

2. Cream together butter and sugar; add egg and beat until smooth and fluffy. Stir in vanilla and milk.

3. Add flour mixture and blend thoroughly. (Here is where we would add the flour mixture little by little...sampling each blend as we went.)

4. Chill cookie dough until easy to handle. (Or until you are able to find the cookie cutters!)

5. Roll half of dough at a time. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured board. Cut with cookie cutter.

6. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with granulated sugar and cinnamon. (We NEVER did this step, and so never needed the last two ingredients mentioned above.)

7. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) for 6 - 10 minutes. (We usually baked them in a little cooler oven...375 degrees.)

8. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies (cut with 2 1/2 inch cutter).

THIS is recipe that helped me learn how to use a hand-mixer. This recipe also introduced to me the bliss behind licking the beaters...and how much TLC affects the outcome of what you cook. Once the cookies were baked, we always frosted them. YUM. The frosting consisted of powdered sugar, a dash of milk, a dash of vanilla extract, and sometimes a tablespoon of butter--no measurements, it was consistancy we were after. And if it was a really special occasion, I got to add colored sugar "salt" or sprinkles. For many Christmases, Santa always received at least three of these sugar cookies accompanied by a cold glass of milk. I always made sure to pick out the best-decorated ones for Santa.

I can't wait to make these sugar cookies with Drew this year. Sure, he will probably be sitting in his highchair with me in the kitchen, not knowing that he is making cookies (except for when I sneak him a taste of the dough--pre-raw egg, of course), but we will be together and we will be bonding, and they will be the best sugar cookies ever.

Memory Keeper

Oh, where to start? I have decided that I need a place to journal...and it needs to be somewhere a little more creative than a Microsoft Word document. So I guess I'm starting here. This blog will be my Memory Keeper--a high-tech Trapper Keeper of sorts (anyone remember those?).

Today we're in the midst of Christmas season. It's so hard to be constantly bombarded with the commercialism and NOT want "stuff." How difficult it will be to teach Drew NOT to be materialistic. Luckily he has a father who loves and respects the outdoors. Surely that will be a good place to start teaching him...instead of indoors playing videogames.

Of course, it's not the "things" that should make this season so special, but the memories we create with our loved ones. I have some fond memories of childhood Christmas traditions--one of which was the annual Christmas Eve tradition of reading from the hard-cover Saturday Evening Post book. I think it was a special edition of an old magazine. Each year Dad would read a short story by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Wish I could remember the title. I'll have to ask my mother. Anyway, Mr. Edwards successfully waded through a raging, cold winter river to bring Laura and her family gifts from "Santa Claus," as Santa was unable to make it to the Ingalls' home in the country due to the terrible winter storm. Of course that was just the cover for the fact that Laura's parents couldn't get to where they needed in order to get their girls gifts, and Mr. Edwards braved the weather, risked his life, and saved the day. The gifts included a tin cup, a shiny penny, and a small sugar cake. My father's voice was the perfect one to tell the story. What a great feeling to cuddle up next to him and follow the words on the page as he read. Oh, to be loved by a parent.

As I write this I think...I absolutely must have Mom copy the story for me so that I can begin the tradition with Drew this very year. It will be his first Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, after all. Maybe he won't understand the words, but he will certainly feel loved and secure, and hopefully Mommy's voice will be just right, too.