Merry Christmas!

Another Cookie recipe

Jubal and I made these yesterday and they are superb!! They remind me a lot of the molasses cookies at Starbucks; that's how yummy they are.

They are easy to make and fun to make with kids. Jubal had a blast.

Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C sugar

3/4 C butter, softened

1 large egg

1/4 C molasses

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, soda, spices, and salt. Set aside. Put 1/2 C. of sugar in a seperate shallow bowl.

Beat rest of sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in egg and molasses. Gradually add dry ingredients until well blended and dough is soft.

Pinch off dough and roll into balls. Roll in reserved sugar. Place on baking sheet and bake 10-15 minutes. Cool 1 minute and transfer to cooling racks.

Enjoy!!!

Little Shepherd boy

What a sweetheart!!






Proud Parents

Recipe #3

A coworker of mine brought in some cookies that were absolutely scrumptious. So, I got the recipe and I will post it so you can try them out. The interesting ingredient is the cornstarch. It makes the cookies just melt in your mouth. They are really easy to make too.

Canadian Shortbread Cookies

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup soft butter (salted)

Sift together the cornstarch, icing sugar and flour. Blend in butter until a soft smooth dough forms. Shape into 1" balls and chill 30 -60 minutes. Place 1 1/2" apart on a cookie sheet and flatten slightly with a floured fork. Bake 300' for 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool.
Makes about 24 cookies.

Peppermint bark

Here is a recipe that my friend used last year for Christmas gifts and it's really good. If you like peppermint and white chocolate, you will love this candy.

2 pounds of white chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
12 large candy canes
1/2 tsp peppermint oil

Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet with parchment, and set aside.

In the top of a double boiler, melt white chocolate, stirring constantly. If you don't have a double boiler, use a metal bowl set on top of a pot of simmering water.

With a chef’s knife or meat tenderizer, cut or pound candy canes into 1/4-inch pieces.

Stir pieces of candy canes and peppermint oil into the melted chocolate. Remove from heat, and pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet; spread evenly. Chill until firm, 25 to 30 minutes. Break into pieces, and serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

*recipe from Martha Stewart's website.

I love to make gifts for Christmas. It's fun and usually very inexpensive. People enjoy getting homemade presents. I know I do. I will be posting some recipes that make great presents. Hopefully it will get your creative juices going and into the gift-giving spirit.

The recipe below is for delicious little cookies called Peppernuts. They are a little time consuming but it makes a huge amount. Plenty for multiple gifts. Beware: they are addictive.

1 Cup sugar

1 C butter or shortening, softened

2 eggs, well beaten

1/2 C light corn syrup

1/2 C honey or molasses

1/3 C water

6 2/3 C flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix all ingredients. Doungh should be stiff. Roll into long slender rolls, 1/2 inch in diameter.

Place on greased cookie sheet; seperate layers with waxed paper. Chill for 1-2 hours. Cut into small round pieces, place on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until brown.

Note: They will be hard and crunchy but oh so delicious.

sacrifice

What do you think of when you hear or see the word sacrifice? Does it mean anything to you?

I wonder what it meant to Abraham when God told him to lay his precious son (that God had promised and that he and Sarah had longed for for a long time) on the altar. I wonder what went through his mind when he climbed up the mountain. I wonder what he was thinking when he told his servants that he and Isaac would be back after they worshipped together, knowing that he was going to kill his son. The scriptures don't record Abraham bargaining, or pleading. It records obedience early the next morning. To the point of binding up Isaac, laying him on the altar, and getting out his knife to kill his own son. Abraham's faith astounds me.

I can relate a little bit to Abraham. I have had a dream for a long time. Just recently, God has asked me to give this dream back to Him. To lay it on the altar, sacrifice it and let it go. He didn't say why or how or anything...just.... let go. I am in the process of slowly opening my hands, loosening my grip and walking up the mountain. It's one of the hardest things I have had to do in my life. Yes, I believe there will be sadness for a while but I know that if I step out in faith and do what God has said, He will be faithful and guide me, one step at a time. I can learn a lot from Abraham.

Have you ever experienced sacrifice in your life? If so, I would love to hear about it and how God helped you through it.

A fun little project

This year Jubal and I made a fun and easy little banner to take with us to our family Thanksgiving celebration. It turned out really cute. Unfortunately, I don't have a camera to take a picture of it but I did post the picture I got the idea from (http://www.familyfun.com/). We changed it a little bit and we used construction instead of stock paper, since we already had it. Jubal and I enjoyed making it together and it was fun getting outside and being creative with what we found. The project is so versatile that if you feel like doing something different for Christmas, this would be a great craft to do. It's also very stress free for mommies....even better!