Seeing Green
March 17, 2012
Here is a celebration of Green for St. Patrick’s Day!
Filed in Bits and Pieces, Handmade Things, Winter
Tags: Bleek, buttons, candy, candy canes, disposable fountain pens, green, kisses, shamrocks, soup, St. Patrick's Day, sugar & creamers, sweaters, thread, watercolor sketches
Seeing Red
February 14, 2012
Here is a celebration of red for Valentine’s Day!
Filed in Bits and Pieces, Handmade Things
Tags: buttons, candy, candy canes, DMC, embroidery, kisses, quilts, red, sewing, thread, Valentine's Day
Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Soft Sugar Cookies
December 23, 2009
One of our Christmas traditions is making sugar cookies using special cookie cutters shaped like a star, snowman, candy cane, bell and Christmas tree. The recipe we use was handed down from my Grandmother who once owned the farm where I grew up. Last year my daughter modified the recipe by sprinkling crushed candy canes on top of the frosting. A festive touch!
Old-Fashioned Soft Sugar Cookies
4-3/4 c flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 c soft butter or margarine
1-1/2 c sugar
2 small eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c sour cream
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream. You can refrigerate the dough at this point, or else, roll out on floured surface and cut into shapes. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes. When cool, apply frosting (I use cream cheese frosting.)
Here is another recipe that I like to make at Christmas time. Sometimes I substitute Hershey’s Holiday Kisses for the Andes mints. I simply push a Kiss into the soft cookie the minute they came out of the oven.
Farmhouse Chocolate Mint Cookies
3/4 c butter
1-1/2 c brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2-1/2 c flour
1-1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 boxes Andes mints
Place butter, sugar, and water in a saucepan on low heat until the butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from the heat. Continue to stir until fully melted. Pour into a mixing bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool slightly. With mixer at high speed, beat in eggs, one at a time. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients. Chill dough one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with foil. Roll dough into small balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 11 to 13 minutes. Immediately place a mint on each hot cookie. Allow to soften, then swirl over the top of the cookie like frosting. Remove from cookie sheets and cool.
Filed in Food and Recipes, Winter
Tags: chocolate, Christmas, cookies, grandmothers, Hershey's, kisses, mints, sugar cookies