Saturday, December 21, 2013

Let it be Christmas

 How we love our Olive Marie


 Ready for their program. This year was Ellie's first program, she made funny faces. I'm not sure that she knows she did this.


 Mia making a paper chain this morning.


Spray painting some pine cones. 




Molasses cookies with white chocolate. I was working at these one day when fed ex came. Being shy, I had to work up the nerve to give the delivery guy a cookie. His eyes lit up like crazy when I handed it to him and he thanked me. A few seconds later he knocked on the door and stood there with the cookie in his hand, one bite out of it, "Excuse me ma'am, where did you get this cookie?" he asked. and then, "Well you are a very good cook." Ha ha.

Oh, another story about these cookies. I use Pioneer Woman's recipe. The evening after I made these I was at Nate's Mom and saw she had a molasses cookie recipe out. My heart was beating frantically as I looked over the list of ingredients as she had hers marked, "These are the best" I breathed a real sigh of relief knowing the recipe I used was exactly the same.

1 cup Sugar
3/4 cups Crisco
1/4 cup Molasses
1 whole Egg
2 cups Flour
2-1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cardamom (I never have this on hand, it's expensive and I don't know if I like it or not?)
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Bake at 350 degrees.
Mix sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg together until well combined. Dump in dry ingredients, stirring dry ingredients together lightly. Mix together until dough is combined.
Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then generously coat each ball with sugar. Place balls on a baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, allowing to bake for about a minute after cookies begin to crack.
Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool. Drizzle or dip in white chocolate.


Alan Jackson "Let it Be Christmas"
We have this song on repeat.

12 comments:

  1. What a happy time. Your baby's outfit in the first picture is super darling. I love the fun colors you choose--like the green in your kitchen and the mustard yellow bag. :) Stuart is looking very handsome, and all your children are really cute.

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    1. Thank you Christy. I do love color.

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    2. Humm… just got to thinking here since you love color and all… what you would recommend in my kitchen with my despicable blue counter tops!?

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  2. The baby is adorable!! Love the pictures. ...fun to peek into your life again. Merry,Merry Christmas!

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  3. so, I looked at the cookie recipe and it looks fantastic - love the addition of cardamom. How did you make your pretty white chocolate drizzle? Beyond cool (and probably easy if you're doing it with a baby in hand!).

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    1. About that chocolate drizzle. I melted the chocolate and poured it into a little squeeze bottle. The kind in the candy making aisle at Micheal's or Joane's. I was putting it on back and forth but it left lots of edges of chocolate that I had to break off of the cookies so I started going in a circle and it turns out I thought it looked nicer!

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    2. ah. I might have to get a drizzle bottle! thank you!

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  4. I love that song too...actually we like that whole CD! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Oh, and Olive is adorable!

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  5. I love your cookie stories AND the way you drizzled them instead of the traditional "dip"! Sooo pretty! Iwill have to try these . . . . And then hide them or give away since. Am absolutely NOT safe with ginger/molasses cookies! Merry Christmas!

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  6. The cookies look lovely. I need to make some like this.

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  7. This is lovely! Its a lucky fedex guy who gets to deliver to your house!

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  8. I never heard that song before- it's so pretty!
    Your little face maker girl is hilarious :)
    Pretty cookies, pretty baby, and pretty boy!

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