Children's Christmas Cookies

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope you have been enjoying your holidays. We sure have.

We actually still are. Have you taken down your Christmas Tree and put away your decorations? We haven't. In my world, the first day of Christmas is Christmas Eve (not the day after Thanksgiving). And the 12th day of Christmas is January 5th. Today is Epiphany and marks the day the wise men met the Christ child and bestowed Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After today, my Christmas season will be over.

I finally got my camera back from the shop and what is the first thing I photographed? Christmas Cookies. My camera had to have its aperture control unit replaced (for the second time) and I have only had it for two years. Meanwhile, it went on quite an adventure--two local places, then on to Arizona, then Connecticut, and finally back home. It now seems perky, clean, and ready to go.

(Phone photo)

Once our favorite girl was out of school for the holidays, she came and spent a few days with us so we could bake cookies. The first one was a basic sugar cookie. She did all the measuring and mixing, I just supervised. While the dough was mixing, we made a mixture of sugar and red sprinkles to roll them in.. I scooped out the dough, then she rolled it into balls and then into the sugar. Perfect job for little hands.

We made more cookies and goodies than what is shown here, but they have been eaten/given away by now.
























She kept telling me she wanted to make shape cookies, so shape cookies it was. Once again, she measured and mixed and I supervised. We made a cookie dough which can be rolled out right away without needing to be chilled. We rolled it out on sheets of parchment (she is also getting quite accomplished with the rolling pin) and slipped the sheets onto the baking pan.

Easier cutting is achieved if the dough is chilled after it is rolled out. We just sat a pan of dough outside for a few minutes while we rolled out the next batch. Once the dough is chilled, it cuts beautifully, with sharp edges.

Shape Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg, vanilla, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Add flour, one cup at a time, mixing until combined after each addition.

Divide dough into thirds and roll onto a piece of parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick. No need to flour the parchment, but you may need to lightly flour the rolling pin to avoid sticking. Slide the parchment onto a baking sheet and chill 20 to 30 minutes for easier cutting.

Cut into desired shapes right on the sheet pan, then peel away the excess dough, which can be re-rolled. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes. The cookies will remain blonde but be set. Let cool completely before removing from the trays and decorate as desired.

Peanut butter cookies are my personal favorite. Once again, I scooped and she rolled into balls and then into sugar for a little extra sweetness and sparkle. She had a little trouble with the crisscross fork marks and asked me to finish. I suspect she was over it and wanted to get back to her Barbies.

Peanut Butter Cookies
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In mixing bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar. Beat well until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well mixed.

Add flour and stir until combined.

Roll dough, by tablespoons, into balls, then roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten balls with a fork using a crisscross pattern.

Bake 10 - 12 minutes.

No Bake Oatmeal Cookies

WE WERE SKIPPING ALONG WITH OUR GOLDILOCKS SPRING, not too hot and not too cold, just enough rain to encourage plants to grow but not too much. In other words, just right. Then a week before the official start of summer, a heat wave oozed into town and put down its tentacles.

How about a cookie? Yes, a cookie you can make and enjoy even in summer. There is no baking involved and only a very few minutes of stove top cooking. Plus there are many healthful ingredients here.

No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine milk, sugar, cocoa, butter, and peanut butter. Stir and bring to a boil over medium heat. let boil, without stirring, for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in oats, coconut, vanilla, and salt. Stir until oats are evenly distributed.

Drop by spoonful onto parchment paper. Cool.

Sesame Noodles

THE SNOW HAS STARTED FALLING and the construction project has ended for the day. Thank you, Marcus. One of my favorite things about snow is the quiet it brings.

Across the street, a trackhoe has been busy all day every day for weeks, beginning at 7 AM. I don't know what the project is but I do know every move that thing makes is accompanied by an extremely loud and high pitched beep, beep, beep. I realize it is an OSHA requirement for safety. But are people for miles around in danger of being injured by that thing? Why does it have to be so LOUD? So far, there is a big pile of dirt, a big pile of rocks, and a big pile of roots.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Sesame Noodles are a great favorite of mine. I serve this as an entree but it can also be a side dish. If you want it as a main course but it doesn't seem hearty enough, chicken would be quite good added in.

Sesame Noodles
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
3/4 pound spaghetti (pictured) or udon or soba noodles
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 carrots, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

In a large bowl, whisk the peanut butter, soy sauce, warm water, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, honey, and pepper flakes, until smooth.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until tender. Drain.

Add the pasta, scallions, red bell pepper, carrots, and sesame seeds to the dressing, tossing to combine.

Tastes good served warm or cold.

Peanut Butter Spritz Cookies

If you want to make large quantities of shaped cookies for your cookie trays, the cookie press can be your friend. I received one as a gift and have really been enjoying using it. So much faster than rolling and cutting out and the cookies are really pretty.

This recipe makes a lot of cookies--16 dozen! And they are quite good; everything you want your homemade peanut butter cookies to be.

I decorated them a few different ways. On some I placed an M & M in the center, others a dark chocolate chip, and on some I dabbed a small spoonful of raspberry jam. Also, as an experiment, I attached a star tip to the press and made rosettes and ribbons.

Peanut Butter Spritz Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Place butter and peanut butter in large mixing bowl and cream thoroughly on medium-high speed. Add sugars gradually. Beat until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix well using medium speed.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to peanut butter mixture in 3 additions, mixing well after each.

Assemble and fill cookie press with dough following the directions for your press. Select desired disc and press cookies onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 12 minutes or until golden around the edges.

 

 

Have one of each, I'll be right back. I am off to the kitchen to bake Gingerbread Spritz. 

 

 

Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie

This smoothie seemed a little decadent, but no worries. It is plenty healthful.

I have used silken tofu here, not the firm, curdy type you are probably thinking of. Silken tofu usually comes in an aseptic package on a grocery aisle rather than in the produce department. Silken tofu has a smooth, creamy, custard-like texture and a very mild flavor. I promise that with the other stronger flavors, you would never, ever guess there was tofu present. But you would enjoy the health benefits of the soy bean along with a truly smooth creaminess.  And it actually does taste like a liquid peanut butter cup. Yum.

Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie
(A Deborah Madison Recipe)
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp. honey
1 banana
2 Tbsp. dark chocolate syrup
1-2 tsp. instant espresso powder

Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth, scraping down the sides once or twice.

~I just noticed that the recipe says  to serve in small glasses--4 servings. Oops. I already drank the whole thing.~

No Bake Oatmeal Cookies

Continuing on the path of feeding oats to Pritchard Parker, I made him these no bake oatmeal cookies.  As much as he likes these, I don't know why I've never made them for him. Actually, I do; these were always his mother's cookies. She always called them "boiled cookies" and when I started searching for a recipe, I saw the same basic cookie called by a number of different names.

My Mother-in-Law is one of the loveliest people I have ever known. I have always told my husband I want to be like her when I become an older lady.  She has a great sense of humor and she is always kind and smiling. She is an amazing gardener. A cook she is not. She never wanted to be in the kitchen when she could be outside. She did cook for her family but my husband has always joked about things such as the fact that he awoke in the morning to the smell of burnt toast and the sound of a table knife scraping on toast.

This was her go-to cookie because she could get in and out of the kitchen very quickly.

She is now a widow and lives in an assisted living facility. She seems very content and I'm sure she doesn't miss the kitchen at all. The nurses say, however, that she is a great eater. She may miss the garden.

No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine milk, sugar, cocoa, butter, and peanut butter. Stir and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil, without stirring, for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in oats, coconut, vanilla and salt. Stir until oats are evenly distributed.

Drop by spoonful onto parchment paper. Cool.

I didn't ask if these were as good as Mama's. I'm sure they were not. Nothing ever is.