Tradition! Our Favorite Family Christmas Cookies

Neither my mother nor my grandmother liked to bake. I laugh every time someone tells me what wonderful baker my mother was. I know full well that she made Pillsbury Slice & Bake cookies, Betty Crocker brownies, Dromedary gingerbread and Jello Instant Cheesecake. I believe that was her entire repertoire. It all came from a box - except the cookies which were refrigerated. My mother said that she hated the tedious "plop plop plop" of making cookies. The only exception was the Christmas cookies that both my mother and her mother made from scratch every year.

They always made Norwegian Butter cookies. I have no idea why - we aren't of Norwegian descent. The recipe came from the Fanny Farmer cookbook. I still have the annotated copy that my grandmother gave me for my 16th birthday. She doubled the recipe, divide the dough into thirds and dyed it red and green. She then used a cookie press to create white camels, green Christmas trees and red stars. I still have her vintage cookie press, but its really hard to use. No wonder she only baked once a year!

My mother also doubled the recipe, but avoided the difficult cookie press. She refrigerated the dough and bravely rolled it out so we could make cookie cutter cookies. It's a very fragile shortbread-like dough and did not hold up well to rolling and cutting.

I now make the same recipe and refrigerate it. I then cut it into rounds and bake (after all I grew up on Slice & Bakes!) It is excellent as a thumbprint cookie dough, rolled in chopped nuts with a dollop of strawberry or raspberry jam. My kids don't like nuts so I just bake it in circles.

Oddly, the recipe calls for two cooked egg yolks. Family tradition requires turning the leftover egg whites into cornflake macaroons. This year I've made another minor break with tradition. I didn't have any cornflakes so instead I made meringues. It took 20 minutes to get nice firm peaks. I worried that I might burn out the motor of my old Sunbeam stand mixer, but it came through.  I made the meringues first and while they were sitting in the oven I made the butter cookie dough. I refrigerated it until the meringues were done and then baked the second set of cookies.

Norwegian Christmas Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Separate the eggs and hard cook the yolks.

Cream the butter and hard cooked egg yolks. Beat in the sugar and add the flour vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly. Put through a cookie press or arrange by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. I iced mine with a little powdered sugar and a dash of almond extract diluted with 2% milk. I added food color remembering my Grandma's colorful cookies.

Meringue “Forgotten Kisses” cookies

• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup superfine granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or finely chopped semisweet chocolate

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy but not at all dry. (Be careful not to over beat.) Add the sugar gradually, about 3 tablespoons at a time. When 1/2 of the sugar has been added, add the vanilla extract. Continue beating and adding remaining sugar in batches, until all of the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is very shiny and tight. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Working one teaspoon at a time, push a teaspoonful of meringue from the tip of 1 teaspoon with the back of another teaspoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 1-inch of space between cookies. Place baking sheets in the preheated oven and turn the oven off. Leave the cookies (undisturbed) in the oven for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, or until cookies are crisp and dry.

Per Meringue Cookie: (48); Calories: 44; Total Fat: 2.5 grams; Saturated Fat:0.5 grams; Protein: 1 gram; Total carbohydrates: 5 grams; Sugar: 5 grams; Fiber: 0 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 3 milligrams

Re-gifting We Shall Go...

(To be sung to the tune of Jingle Bells...)

Re-gifting we shall go,
picking through our stash-
what can we give away from this pile of trash?
The socks from Sister Sue?
The mug from Uncle Bob?
What the heck was Mom thinking buying a watch fob?

OH -
Candles, soaps, cocoa tins, lots of shower gels,
Towels, socks and other things covered in jingle bells...


All kidding aside, I admit that I have re-gifted items. I consider it an admirable form of recycling. I also understand that times are tough and not everyone can afford to buy gifts.

I try to honestly inform the person when I re-gift. I tend to say something like,"I got this as a gift and I already have one. I thought you might like it." I don't hide the item away in a closet, wrap it up and try to pass it off as a new gift a year later.

Regifting can be a source of good fun between the right people. My cousin and I traded gifts in the same ducky bag for years until we couldn't tape it together any more. I've also received some packaged foods that have been circulated for at least three years. 

I started to wonder,"How long is a smoked sausage good for, anyway?"  Unlike military MREs (meals ready to eat) the shelf life is actually only about 45 days unless frozen. If you'd like to order fresh Hickory Farms gift boxes there is still time this year - so no excuses for re-gifting. Of course survivalists and folks with a quirky sense of humor might appreciate the gift of some MREs. The site states that MREs "will store for up to 5 years" which makes them  ideal for re-gifting!

My favorite re-gifting saga comes from a friend. She bought a lovely, expensive bowl for her mother-in-law. The next year her mother-in-law gave it my friend's mother (obviously forgetting who had given it to her.) My friend's mother later gave her the bowl - never knowing her daughter was the one who purchased it in the first place!

Re-gifting we shall go,
picking through our stash,
what fun it is to give away our unwanted trash!

Christmas Carols and Lullabies

"Sing me to sleep,"my little one asked as I tucked her into bed tonight.

Now, anyone who has heard me sing probably wonders how even a child could ask this. The most charitable thing that can be said for my singing is that I know all of the words. I am so terribly tone deaf that when I was young the kind-hearted director of the church choir suggested that I would be an asset to the bell choir. Translation: "keep your mouth shut." I tried to join the choir in school. I was given a special role - dancer. Again, "keep your mouth shut."

So, beyond drunkenly belting out the words to any song played in a dance club in the 1980s my singing career has been somewhat limited.  In fact, when my oldest was born I realized that I didn't know any songs - except Billy Idol's White Wedding. "There is nothing fair in this world; There is nothing sure in this world; There is nothing pure in this world...." Not exactly a lullaby.

Instead, I sang my little late November baby to sleep with Jingle Bells. When Amanda was little I would put on a Christmas CD and rock her to sleep. By the time Danielle arrived eight years later I'd learned a huge library of Christmas Carols ranging from Holly Jolly Christmas to Do You Hear What I Hear? My favorites being all of the Nat "King" Cole classics and anything from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

So, tonight, in mid-December, I was happy to oblige Danielle with a lullaby. As she drifted off to my tunelessly humming Jingle Bells, she sighed and said,"oh, my baby song..."

"Dear Friends, Family & Others..."

Title "borrowed"  from a recent episode of Modern Family...

Dear friend,

We know that we are friends. When we need to, we can talk, email or text each other. We've laughed together and maybe even cried together. We don't need to talk about our friendship.

However, today I want to remind you, quite simply, that I like YOU. I don't like you because of your intellect, your income or your looks. I like you regardless of the color of your hair or your skin, your religious beliefs or your sexual orientation. I will continue to like you if you gain weight, lose your hair or lose your job.

There is probably no single reason that we are friends. Chances are we shared common experiences that brought us together. More likely, common views have held us together. That doesn't mean that we agree on every topic. It does mean that we respect each other's right to disagree.

It is easier for me to define what I don't like in a person, than what I do. I do not like religious zealots who try to proselytize me. I don't like people who are intolerant of social or political change. I don't like people who are greedy or mean. So, thank you for not being any of those things.

Thank you for being YOU.

Happy Hannukah. Merry Christmas. Happy Kwanzaa.

Love,
Sallie

Christmas letters, blogs and other nuisances...

The BLOG has now become the dreaded Christmas letter - without the cost of postage and with the happy option of ignoring it without adding to your local landfill. I never like those chatty letters about everyone else's perfect life - with photos their immaculately groomed children grinning almost insanely, wearing matching Christmas outfits. You just know some people have been waiting all year to brag about their kids, their good fortune, etc. Of course, if my 8 year old had been to 7 countries in the past year or my 5 year old spoke fluent Mandarin I might be tempted to brag, too.

We all have a web presence now. Many of us have moved beyond what my father deemed the "narcissism" of Facebook into the admittedly more narcissistic Blog.

Now I think you want to know not just what I'm making for dinner or my thoughts at the moment, but details about these things! Hilarious, I admit. On the other hand, if you've read any of my blogs I'm NOT bragging. Bitching, maybe; but bragging, never!

We've had lots of happy moments this year, but there have been trials and tragedies as well. Let's see this blog started with the failure of our sewage ejector pump and continued through a broken hip, hospitalizations and my frustrations with Medicaid. To not acknowledge the bad times minimizes the moments of pure joy that we share. Life, like marriage, is "for better or worse."

My blog started as a way to earn a free trip to Walt Disney World - write 100 posts and get admitted into the MomBloggers club which gets me an inside track to free trips (as long as I blog about them....)  I'm at 59 posts. To my amazement my most recent stats have me at 4,651 "views" - paltry compared to a friend that got 25,000 in  day! However I am proud of my modest success. I think I have to abandon the free Disney dream.  I enjoy writing. As I have admitted, this is the "online diary of a middle aged Mom." However, I can't write about why you should buy all of your gifts through Amazon.com or subscribe to an online shopping service.

Sometimes I'm maudlin, self-pitying or angry. Sometimes I'm introspective or even funny. But, I'm never for sale so bye-bye free trip to Disney. Hello, 2012! Wonder what I'll write about next year...

Reusable Coffee Cup Sleeve

Try this super easy craft with your kids!

Step1: treat yourself to a fancy to go coffee from someplace like Starbucks

Step 2: remove the cardboard holder and unstick the ends; wash out the now empty cup
Step 3: trace the holder onto stiffened felt (available at Hobby Lobby)
Step 4: cut along the pattern

Step 5: wrap felt around the cardboard cup
Step 6: glue the ends together using Felt Glue and pin until dry

Step 7: decorate with stick on "Felties", ribbon or fabric paints
Step 8: annoy your local barista by ordering ten $5 gift cards to go with all of the sleeves you've made...

Happy Holidays!

Not Your Average Under $10 Gift Ideas for 2011

With Black Friday approaching it's time to start thinking about holiday shopping. I have a huge holiday gift list - 37 people, not including the 4 under my own roof. I know, I know...the easiest way to save money at this time of year is to cut people off the list. I could; but I won't.

I also know the "cheapest" gift is home baked goods. I love to bake, but I typically avoid this gift. In the first place, it's labor intensive. Can you imagine baking 37 dozen cookies?!? That's 444 cookies, my friends.

In the second place, I think people aren't really considering the cost of the ingredients they use. A nice tin or box costs about $3 which I agree is inexpensive. However chocolate isn't cheap, neither is butter. A batch of cookies, depending on the type, probably costs $2-5 to bake plus the cost of the packaging.  It is a personal and heartfelt gift. I like the idea, but I need back up plans for this busy time of year.

Purchased food is always an option, assuming you know the recipient's personal tastes. For instance, I detest chutneys and jellies. If I received these as a gift they would go straight to the local food bank. I know other people who love these items.  Women assume that everyone loves chocolate, but my husband could take it or leave it. He'd rather get nuts or something salty. However most people have family or guests who will gladly eat up the things they pass along.

You can also buy plants, ornaments, small kitchen items....I like to receive cut flowers, but some folks are allergic. Plants are theoretically a longer lasting gift. Unless the recipient, like me, forgets to water them regularly.

A teacher once told me that she has an entire box of Christmas ornaments that her students had given her. While she treasured them she didn't use them on her tree - she's Jewish! 

Our babysitter said that her mom (a teacher at my daughter's elementary school) typically receives multiple dish towels and potholders which they turn around and donate to the local soup kitchen. Nice of them. but probably not what the givers intended.

When I searched for inexpensive gift ideas I came up with the predictable soaps, candles, candy, mugs, note papers and socks... If I could knit I might make socks or mittens. But I can't. Aloe infused socks are a possibilty for the dance teachers since their feet take a beating.

I like the idea of gifts that are both practical and whimsical or unique if possible. Here are some off the beaten track ideas that I've come up with. These are suggestions for adults. There are lots of toys and books for children that cost less than $10; you don't need my suggestions. And as far as I can tell all that teenagers want is cash and no matter how much you give them it won't be enough.

These could be stocking stuffers or inexpensive gifts. If you are considering ordering online ALWAYS search the site name and "free shipping code" before ordering. Shipping costs will push these items over the $10 limit. Order from Amazon and you can normally get free super saver shipping with a $25 purchase. If you register and shop through GoodShop a they will make a donation to the charity of your choice. Consider one of these:

•  Instead of another picture frame consider ordering a Cable photo holder from Amazon. Available in several colors. It's about 5 feet long and comes with 8 magnets.
•  How about a stapler that doesn't need staples? Try the Pencil Grip The Classics Staple Free Stapler, (less risky for the little ones). It will only attach 2-5 sheets of paper, but that should work fine for homework, tests, etc. Pier One also carries a panda staple-free stapler for $5.
• Try a variation on the traditional pen and pencil set - You can get a  Smencil and Smen (smelly pen) Set for $5. I've found these at Michael's, Target and other local stores.
• Colored mechanical pencils from Crate & Barrel are available online only for $8.95
• or Smencils - pencils that smell good and are made from recycled materials. You can get a pack of 5 for $7
• These Drumstick pencils   are a little pricey at $8 for a pair, but fun and still functional
• To go with the pencils how about a battery operated pencil sharpener? You can pick one up at most grocery stores for about $4.
• A box of tea bags is okay - a tea infuser stick is cool if the person uses loose tea. There are several brands to chose from. I liked the Crate & Barrel model because it pulls apart rather than hinges so it is easier to use and clean.
•  If you know the person's hobbies you can go for a themed gift. Pier One sells a trio of golf club shaped pens for $5. You can get sports team playing cards for $7 if the person is a fan. (I had to chose NFL Atlanta Falcons Playing Cards since I'm from Atlanta, but there are lots of others.) 
• I think a tiny USB car charger is potentially useful for most people...
• I am also intrigued by the Credit Card Size Survival Pocket Tool. Among other things it claims to include: 1) Can Opener 2) Knife Edge 3) Screwdriver 4) Ruler 5) Cap Opener...
• Do something nice by ordering an item that supports a cause. Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade retailer with dozens of unique items for under $10.
• These silly file folders from Crate & Barrel won't fit in a stocking, but should bring a smile.

•  Visit One Hope Wines - While these wines exceed my dollar limit, they are worth mentioning for someone special. Half of the profits from each bottle are donated to charity. The site is very clear and specific about the amount of the donation - and you can even select your own charity to receive a portion.

Happy Holiday Shopping!