Ok, so when I say "the best ever", I'll admit that I am a little biased. These are not just cookies for me, these are memories. These are the cookies my mom would make every year for Christmas. EVERY year. I don't think I remember a year we didn't have these cookies. If Christmas had a taste, for me, it would be these cookies. We had a system to making these cookies. Mom would whip up the dough, sometimes a few days ahead of time, and refrigerate them. When it was time to make the cookies, we four kids would all gather around the table, fight over who gets what cookie cutter, and wait. We would wait for mom to roll out the dough. We would wait like vultures watching that cowboy trying to cross the desert, and hoping he would die of thirst so we could attack. When mom had the dough rolled out to the perfect thickness {because she's just awesome like that}, attack we would. It was a race to see who could cut the most cookies. Sometimes, this would erupt into an all-out flour war. It was the greatest thing ever to be able to smear flour all over your sibling's face. There is just an undeniable satisfaction that one acquires from it. If there were any bits of dough left that was too little to make a cookie from, and yet too much to waste, it became playdoh. Mostly we would spell our names or make snails, and then cook and eat our creations. On to the next step! Decorating the cookies. This we had down to a system as well. We each got our own plate to frost our cookies on. We then proceeded to dump all of the different colors of sugar and sprinkles onto the cookies until it looked like Sand Art gone wrong. If the cookies were for a specific event like a Christmas party Mom would limit us to one color per cookie, so people would actually want to eat them. I don't understand who wouldn't want to eat them, though, because they are the best Christmas cookies... EVER. Basic Christmas Cookies Ingredients 1 Cup Butter (softened) 1 1/2 Cup White Sugar 3 Eggs 1 tsp Vanilla 3 1/2 Cup Sifted Flour 1 tsp Baking Soda 1/2 tsp Salt 2 tsp Cream of Tartar 1 tsp Nutmeg (optional) Directions In a medium size mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, and nutmeg. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture, blending thoroughly, scraping the sides if needed. Chill in refrigerator 3-4 hours. Roll out dough on a floured surface and cut into shapes. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit on ungreased cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes, or until desired doneness. Cool on rack before decorating. The number of cookies you can make from this recipe varies depending on how big your cutters are. I got 4 1/2 dozen from it. Ornamental Icing
Ingredients 2 Tbsp. Butter 2 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar 1 Egg white, unbeaten 1/8 tsp Vanilla 1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar Directions Cut butter into sugar until resembles cornmeal. Add egg white, vanilla, cream of tartar. Beat until stiff. Note: At first it seems like your frosting will never come together, but just keep beating it! The frosting is quite thick, so I usually end up adding about a Tablespoon of milk to the frosting after I have whipped it up. It thins it out and makes it easier to spread.
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I love the combination of white chocolate and peppermint. I also love chocolate covered pretzels, so it just makes sense to put them together.
These are so, so easy to make. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, dip your pretzels, and sprinkle with crushed peppermint. Voila! You are done. We are finally getting some snow here today so it's the perfect afternoon to start making some Christmas goodies. I love crossing things off my list so I started with the easiest first. Makes me feel somewhat accomplished. I'm sure we will have to use some self-control to make these last till Christmas! Everyone has their own special traditions for holidays, especially Christmas. In my family growing up we would open gifts on Christmas Eve, and my mom would make a buffet of a variety of foods that we could munch on all evening. Christmas Day we would spend with relatives, eating even more good food. Since being married, my husband and I have developed some of our own little traditions. We always put up the tree that Kaiwi's parents gave to us, and we decorate it with ornaments that we both have had growing up. The last several years we have had a train under the tree. I usually make my mom's recipe for Christmas cookies. We have been fortunate to be able to fly home and see family during the holidays since we have moved out here to the northwest, but this year we get to have Christmas at our house with Kaiwi's parents. It's so much fun planning and getting ready. I have been thinking about what foods we should have, and I realized that we haven't really developed our own "traditional Christmas meal". Is it necessary to have one? Probably not, but it's always nice to have those special things that you look forward to every year. So, this year, we are thinking of trying a Prime Rib. I've never cooked one before. If it turns out, maybe we will have it every year. If not, maybe we should make frozen pizza our tradition. What are your special Christmas traditions that you look forward to every year? I'm the kind of person that likes to have details figured out before I begin anything. It's good sometimes, and sometimes it hinders me from actually doing ANYTHING! I've been thinking a lot about starting a blog, and here I am finally doing it. Do I have it figured out? Absolutely not! So bear with me as I learn...
I hope to share with you some of my adventures in life. Some of them may be exciting and some not so much. It could be anything from a trip we have taken to how I get the armpit stains out of my laundry. (WOW! Riveting stuff, right?) |
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About Us...Welcome! My name is Marie, and I have been married for 5 years now. We have one beautiful son, Isaac, waiting for us in Heaven and another son, Hayden, here with us! I hope to share with you more about our journey- where we have been and where we are going. Archives
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