Holiday/Winter 2007

I've never spent as much time in my kitchen as i did this winter. And, of course, I loved every minute of it :) Tried a few different recipes this Christmas for Cut Outs.... none of which i will probably ever make again... The chocolate was okay, but nothing special.. (and I've since found a MUCH better one....) Gingerbread is apparently not something *everyone* likes, because i can't even count how many times i wanted to throw away the dough just because of the smell and forget i ever tried to make them.... Glad I didn't, though, because I'm told they were very good! (That's what gingerbread is supposed to taste like? no thank you!)

Stemming from a thread posted on http://cakecentral.com/, these cookies were an attempt to recreate a cookie that someone posted a picture of. They looked like little scoops of ice cream, so i tried a recipe for spritz cookies, as those are known for holding their shape as they bake, added some flavors and coloring, and this is what i came up with.... the mint chocolate chip was the best!




INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
3 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract




DIRECTIONS
Mix the butter or margarine, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla. Add the flour and mix by hand.
Spoon into cookie press and press onto ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugars.
Bake in preheated 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven for 7-10 minutes.










My Favorite recipe this year was one shared by a co-worker.... Easiest, fastest, & yummiest snack you can make!




Don't have the exact recipe handy, but basically you just cover the bottom of a pan (i used a 9"x13") with graham cracker squares, melt butter (maybe 1 stick)over the stove, add some brown sugar and vanilla and pour over the graham crackers. sprinkle with chopped pecans and bake for 8-10 minutes.






And I had to try the Holiday Icebox Cookies (Pinwheels) from Martha Stewart. The chocolate/vanilla were very good. I also made peppermint/almond. I learned that next time i make cookies with peppermint in them, they should be packaged seperately from the other cookies... or all the cookies in the tin taste minty-fresh..... live & learn!






And just as soon as i got the last of the cookie dough scraped off of every kitchen surface, it was New years already! Don't think i'll make a habit of decorating cookies for every new year's eve, but i had a few i deas to try out....

The clocks are definitely my favorite!

And what would a new years celebration be without some fireworks & balloons!