Christmas cookies - Mint cookies

Throughout the year I am not generally into cookies. I figure there are a lot of better ways to waste some calories on sweet treats then a mere cookie. Between that an my hatred for baking, fresh baked cookies don't appear too often in my home.

Thinking back this was the time of year that fresh baked cookies would make an appearance in my family home. So I thought I would continue the tradition.

We would decorate cookies every year and leave some for Santa.

With a note and milk of course. We also left a few carrot sticks for the reindeer. We knew that not everyone remembered to leave the reindeer snacks.

Decorating cookies isn't really what I wanted to post about though. I just wanted to share a few nostalgic photos.

What I really wanted to share is a few recipes that I think of as Christmas cookies. The first is one from my mom's recipe book. I tried to make these myself this year and had a huge fail! They still tasted okay but there was too much butter and the cookies spread out waaaay too much. (maybe next year...) The other recipe I found on foodnetwork.com and had great success with. This recipe is going in my recipe book. They are both excellent recipes. Just like with any other baked good remember to not be lazy like me and measure carefully. Ha.

Melt-Away Peppermint Wreaths

1-1/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sifted powdered sugar
2-1/2 c. all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
red and green food coloring

Cream butter, gradually add sugar beating well.
Add flour and mix well. Stir in peppermint extract. Divide dough in half and place in separate bowls. Tint half with the red food coloring and the other half with the green.
Roll dough into balls using 1/2 teaspoon dough per ball. For each wreath-shaped cookie, place 6 balls in a circle on ungreased cookie sheets, alternating colors. Press together securely. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes; remove to cooling racks and cool completely.

I divided the one of the dough balls in half again and left it white to also make candy cane shapes. This picture was taken before they went in the oven. Sadly I wasn't able to take a good shot of them after they came out. Actually looking at the picture I may or may not have made the balls too big as well. Oops.
These cookies are true to their name, they will melt in your mouth. A sweet buttery taste with the sharp tang of peppermint give these cookies a Christmas-y feel. The cute shapes only reinforce the holiday theme. They are a definitely classic in my book.

Delicate Mint Sandwich Cookies
by Melissa d'Arabian

Cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Mint Filling:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 or 2 drops mint extract
1 or 2 drops red or green food coloring

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, optional

For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until smooth using a handheld mixer in a medium bowl. Add the flour slowly, mixing on low, until incorporated. Scoop the dough into a ball using your hands and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the dough has firmed slightly, about 30 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll the dough about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many rounds as possible with a small cookie cutter and transfer to ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. Re-roll the dough scraps and repeat until all the dough is used. Use a smaller cutter, about 3/4-inch, or cut freehand with a small sharp knife to punch a small window out of half of the cookies. Place the cutouts on the baking sheets.
Bake until golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
For the filling: Place the sugar, butter, mint extract, food coloring and 1/2 teaspoon of water in a medium bowl and beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy. Spread a thin layer of mint filling on the cookies without the windows and place the wafers with the windows on top. Sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar, if using, and serve the sandwich cookies with the cutout cookies on the side.

 A friend of mine has a picture of the ones I made. I used a star shaped cookie cutter and I did not do the cut out part. I also doubled the recipe for the frosting. When I made it looked like a few tablespoons of frosting. Haha. I knew that wasn't enough.

I, my friends, Paul and my parents loved these cookies. They are as titled delicate cookies. Not too sweet of a cookie which pairs well with the sugary frosting. Even though they are pretty labor intensive, I would like to make these again soon. Because they were really that good. But I am glad I was making them with my friend so that we could chat and cut up while making them.

Even if baking is not your thing, Christmas is a great time to flex those muscles. You can give them as gifts to those hard to buy for coworkers or take them to a church cookie walk or just enjoy them for yourself with a tall cold glass of egg nog.

Oh and Merry Christmas!

Choosing a Christmas Tree

Honestly one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is the Christmas tree. Its so iconic, fun and it even smells Christmas-y.
When we moved to North Carolina in 1995, our family started a tradition to drive to the mountains and go to a "choose and cut" Christmas tree farm. My parents would let me and my sister loose and we would run and race to see who could find the best tree first.
It was a difficult process, between my mom and dad there were many rules and specifications to the perfect tree. The height and width were the first, but certainly not the only. Branch density, trunk width, needle type, color, fullness of the branches, and shape of course. I don't mean to make my parents sound strict. There was nothing mean or harsh about the way they evaluated the trees. It was a great game we played. We'd shout to each other across the lot announcing that we had found the perfect tree. Then everyone would gather around and check out the whole 360 degree view. We would all touch, look at, smell and even shake the tree (to see if a lot of needles would fall off, that's bad, means the tree is dried out and probably dieing). It was very exciting if the tree you found was the chosen one.
Then my dad would whip out his saw and cut it down, or the lot workers would do it for us. My  parents would go through the whole trial of dragging it to the car and tying it on top of the car. My mom would hold her breath all the way home just waiting for it to break out of its intense bondage and fly off the roof of the car. Us kids would always be useless with the getting the tree inside and setting it up. That was left to my parents again. There would be needles flying all over the house and we would trot behind waiting to see it put into place.
Some years my dad would even let us choose a tiny tree that we were allowed to put in our room to decorate. It was usually the most Charlie Brown looking tree on the lot or just one he would cut down in our own woods for us.

Dad was in charge of the lights every year. He would struggle to untangle the mess of wires, test every bulb and finally artfully and evenly string them around the tree. This was not something the kids generally helped with either.
It wasn't until the ornaments that we got involved again. Then its all hands on deck. Each person has certain ornaments that are "theirs". My mom always insists that the girls put on all of "our" ornaments. Dad has one or two that he is forced off the sofa to place on the tree. Mom does whichever ones are left and of course her Georgia ornaments. This part is filled with Christmas tunes, hot cocoa, maybe even cookies, and lots of stories of Christmas times past. We talk about all the ornaments as we put them on the tree. They all have meaning and stories. I love this part of the holiday. Even when I pretended that I was too cool for it. This really makes me feel like its Christmas. My mom to this day still likes my sister and I to put a few of "our" ornaments on the tree. Even if the rest is already decorated.

This year Paul and I traveled to several different places to get a tree. We finally found a great tree with our friends. Like I told my friend after looking at two vendors across town for a tree, the tree will stand out to you. Its almost like your wedding dress, you just know. There is nothing you can find that's wrong with it. Its just the right tree.

I put the lights on it. Paul was making chili for dinner.

Oh well not a great picture. But as you can see oooooh lights. After eating dinner and some cookies and buckeyes were made, then we could start the decorating process.

Ah thank you Paul for the picture of my booty. Anyways, we don't have as many great ornaments as my parents. But we do have a few of special ones. Paul has a pickle he loves and mug of beer he just acquired. I have some wreaths my great-grandma crocheted, a few fleur de lis, an owl, and a whale from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We even have some joint ornaments which is pretty good since this is only our third "married" Christmas. We have a portrait ball of Paul, me and the cat, Paul's parents got us last Christmas, a black sheep (that we put up as a family tradition because we aren't going to our parents' home for Christmas), and two shells from our cruises. All the glittering, twinkling and shinning makes me smile.

Now it feels like Christmas here. Even if there is no snow and its still 50 degrees!

Okay so this wasn't a post about any cute craft or tasty recipe. But more then that how to create the holiday spirit in your home. Just remember that even if everything doesn't go "perfectly" you can still make some lovely memories. I'm sure if my parents were telling this story they would remember some very different things then I do. But in the end its the feeling you get that leaves the biggest impact on your memory.

4th of July Parade & Flag Cake

When I was kid before the age of ten years old, I lived in Elkhart, Indiana. It was a very typical midwestern town. It was a safe, calm and great place to be a kid. We lived in a neighborhood with a ton of school age kids. We were able to run and bike around in the streets. (I feel like that is pretty uncommon now-a-days.) I feel very lucky that I was able to be to be part of a community like this.

We would shoot off fireworks, have cookouts, light sparklers, and would have 4th of July parades.
Parade? I'm not talking about the big downtown parades with giant floats. I mean a parade of neighborhood kids with their ridiculously decorated bikes! We used all kinds of patriotic decorations and then we'd roll down the streets with our parents by our sides.

Now that I'm older its easy to see that all the loud and dangerous fireworks, adult beverages, hot grills, and staying up past dark to see the fireworks, made Independence Day not especially kid friendly. Well except the hamburgers and hot dogs. So its great that our parents found a way to include us in the celebration.

Just don't do it around naptime. You might have some tears.

I love this idea because you can even get the littlest babies involved. Just dress them up and put them in the wagon.

In this post, just for the holiday, I am giving you a bonus idea!

Another fun 4th idea is a flag cake!

Just make any kind of sheet cake you want: red velvet, yellow, chocolate, or even funfetti! Use white frosting, strawberry halves, and blueberries. Easy-peasy and patriotic.

Just be sure to be safe, have fun and be patriotic!

Another day at the beach

For those of you that don't know I recently moved to the Charleston area. I have never lived so close to the beach. Although I have spent many years living in the beautiful Appalachian mountains. It's an interesting change of pace. I do miss the cool, crisp, peacefulness of the mountain. But the warm, sunny, exciting shoreline is pretty awesome to be near too.

I have never been closer than a 5 hour car trip to the beach. That made it a great destination for vacationing when I was a kid.

During those trips the best part about going to the beach was finding shells...

And making sandcastles.

When my sister and I got older the more complex they became. We would find shells and other sea junk to decorate them with. Sometimes we would make moats or pools and put tiny fish in them.

 We also fished on the shoreline, on the pier and on deep sea fishing expeditions.

We had old butterfly nets that we'd use to catch little bait fish for my dad to use on his big surf casting pole. Later on my sister got a really cool surf casting nets, that had little weights that would sink and trap small fish. That created hours of entertainment for the two of us.

We also did a lot of body surfing in the waves, we even got boogie boards one year. Sometimes we'd take our swimming noodles out and just bob in the waves.

Although I don't suppose I will be doing much of that anymore, since I saw two grey fins 30 feet from me in the water on Saturday. After I ran panicked from the water I was able to see they were just dolphins. But as far as I am concerned they were sharks when I was in the water.

The older I get the more my idea beach time fun has changed. One of my favorite things has become taking a walk with someone on the beach at sunrise to find shells. Early morning is really the only time to find good shells. They get picked through quickly through the day. If it storms that night before, you have an even better chance to find some interesting shells and sometimes sea creatures.

Mostly I just like enjoying the warm sun and lounging with friends and family digging my feet into the cool, moist sand.

I suppose just sitting quietly and reading a fun book would be fun for me now. After watching my mom do that for years, I feel like I am finally sophisticated enough to enjoy it as well.

Be sure to enjoy your vacation to the fullest! Whether its the mountains, beach or a big city.

If you already live in one of these places don't forget to enjoy it too! We are the lucky ones. Take advantage of living in a place that people spend hundreds of dollars to come visit.

Gone Fishing

My immediate family includes my mom, dad, my sister and me. After having his final child, my dad decided that having only girls wasn't going to stop him from teaching his kids about all the great things he loved to do growing up. These things quickly became wonderful memories and fun past times for my sister and me.

One of our favorite things to do with our dad was going fishing!

He started us young. We went fishing in rivers...

Lakes...

At the beach...

Or in the deep sea.

We caught all kinds of fishes. Little ones. And big ones.

From cobia, Spanish mackerel, blue gills, bass, trout to pikes. We loved to catch everything. 

I always felt like I was learning something so special from my dad, when he would show me how to tie the best knot or technique for casting. 

He even taught me how to put a worm on a hook. 

Hey that's a big deal to a little girl...

I loved when he would take the fish off the line for me. Once I got a certain age, he would show me how to do that too.

You will notice that the little blonde girl, Lindsay, is wearing a pink polo in almost every picture. That was her special catfish shirt. It was a lucky charm she liked to wear whenever we went fishing. 

Sometime we would even catch our own bait fish and dig up worms to use.

We always had a blast going out with my dad to find the perfect fishing spot and catching all kinds of fishes. Then we would trudge home, smelly and tired. My mom would have a big smile on her face excited to see what we caught for dinner. Then no matter how tired we were we would help my dad scale and clean the fish up. It was yucky and gross but it is part of fishing. Then we would enjoy our catch, usually fried up with a crispy, cornmeal batter.

I will never forget those moments I spent sitting next to my dad on the bank of the lake or on the edge of a boat.

Don't let gender stereotypes stop you from spending time with your loved ones. You never know what your kids will be into.

Go out and experience life! 

Go fishing!

Upcoming Posts

I spent the weekend at my parent's new house. I was able to digitize some photos from my childhood.

So... I now have more ideas of family traditions, recipes, places to go, things to do, and some crafts.

My fear is that all of my posts might not fit in the general theme of my idea blog. They might end up being a chronicle of cool things I did when I was a kid. My hope is that someone somewhere will be able to glean some ideas.

There is an idea here too. Using blog to chronicle your life. Whether it is current life, in the past or future hopes and dreams. You can share them with everyone, your family, friends or just have them for yourself. If you have access to a scanner you can digitize old photos and journal them in a blog. If this is something you are interested in doing, remember to do it sooner than later. You don't want to forget the fun facts and memories from the pictures.

If you all remember I did a post about my family tradition of Birthday Waffles.  Now I finally have the childhood pictures to share.

I hope you all came forgive the terrible fashions of the 80s and 90s. And my big glasses. I am still blind as a bat in the daylight, but now I have more sleek contacts.

What do you think about the idea of chronicling you life in a blog? Once you get going you will get addicted. Even if you don't intend anyone else to read it. Memories are fun.

Garage Saleing

Those signs that litter the street corners.
Do they intrigue you?
Annoy you?

For me they are a reminder of spring and impending summertime. Many early Saturday mornings waking with the promise of a donut and a fun time driving around with my mom.
Even before that, I was running around the neighborhood trying to sell mini-pies that my sister and I had made. Or trading stuffed animals and toys with the neighbor kids.

Garage sales for those of you that have never experienced one can be a lot of fun. They are a place to get really great deals and see a lot of interesting stuff.

There is strategy to yard sales though... These are just a few tips that my mom and I have learned over years of yard saleing.

Plan a route. Check your local papers or the internet. Know where the hot spots are in your area. Watch for signs to pop up later in the week. Don't waste those precious minutes driving in a dead zone. The route doesn't have to be exact. Leave some room to wander. Not everyone will take an ad out for their yard sale.
Know what you are looking for. Some people may disagree with this statement. But I always have the best luck when I have something in mind I want to buy. Say I really want a blender. This gives you a focus. You might find a blender or some other kitchen gadget that you really need.
Cash on hand. Have a certain amount of cash with you. Do not carry your purse with you around the sale. Just put the cash in your pocket. Stash your purse safely in your car and have a little more money in there. Don't bring a wildly high amount of money. Most homeowners will hold an item if you need to go get more money. Plus its a good bargaining tool to only have $5 left.
Price. I'm not sure why people thing they are going to "make money" by having a yard sale. Don't buy anything that you could get a better deal at a store.
Haggling. I don't have much advice for this. I don't often haggle. If something is priced too high I usually don't bother. But some people have that skill. Most homeowners are willing to bring down the price. They are trying to get rid of this stuff.
Bundling. Get a whole armload of stuff add it all up in your head and then offer a lower total price. If you are 10 random items that total up to be $22.30, offer $20 or if you are feeling lucky $15. Usually the seller will shrug and take the amount offered. You are doing them a favor by taking that large quantity of items away right now.
Slow drive-by. Don't be afraid to do this. Again don't waste precious minutes parking and getting out at a sale that you can see from the street has nothing. Just don't block traffic, please.
Neighborhood sales. These can be a hit or miss. Sometimes they are great you can find one parking spot and walk to several sales. Other times its a miss because people will put only a handful of items in their sale just so they can participate.
Early bird gets the worm. This statement is definitely meant for yard sales, well and fishing... There will be people out there as soon as the people start putting their stuff out. I suggest between 7:15-7:45 am is a good time to hit the first sales.
Don't be afraid to walk away. It used to make me uncomfortable to dig through other people's stuff find nothing and just walk away. But now with experience I can fairly quickly scan over their things and with a polite smile and a "Thank you" by on my way. Not every sale will have that precious gem you are hoping for.
Go with a friend.  This is suppose to be fun. So go with someone you want to chat with on the road. It also helps to have a friend there so say "Do you really need that?" or "That's a great/terrible deal!" It's also good to have an extra set of eyes on the merchandise.

When my mom and I would go to yard sales. We would always talk about what we "wanted to get". We would gauge our success by whether we got what we intended, how much money we spent, and how full the car was when we got home. We loved having those hours of time to chat in the car. It was a great time to catch up. We had a few different paths we would take through Concord and the surrounding areas depending on what we were looking for. She would always get nervous to drive through the school district she worked in, worried she'd see someone she worked with or taught. That would always make me laugh. Shortly after beginning we would stop at a grocery store and grab donuts and cash.

I have been lucky enough to get some good stuff at yard sales. To name a few: a picnic basket, Cuisinart food processor, countless knick knacks, set of high ball glasses, some clothes, artwork, drafting supplies for school, art portfolio, books, movies... that's all I can remember off the top of my head. But there is much more I'm sure.
My mom never got that much. She mostly just likes the experience and company. As did I.

Just give a whirl on a Saturday morning. Talk a friend or your mom into going with you. You never know what you'll find.

PS: Those people with babies or children. You can really hit the payload at yard sales with any baby need you have from toys to furniture to clothes! I can't wait till I can do that for myself.
So go out and save some money and have fun.

Birthday Waffles

In honor of my birthday I thought I would share a family birthday tradition. I never really thought of my family as having a lot of traditions. We for the most part do our own thing. And try new things every year.

Although one tradition that stuck was birthday waffles. Every morning of my sister and I's birthdays we would wake up to the smell of our dad making waffles and usually frying bacon. It was something to look forward to, since my dad rarely made waffles. Although he does love making breakfast.

So before we were hurried off to school we would receive a pile of waffles with various toppings including a birthday candle stuck in the top. We would top the waffles with anything we could including but not limited to: strawberries (but no blueberries... gross), melted butter, whipped cream, nuts (which were sometimes cooked inside too), chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and of course syrup.

They had to be over the top and sweet! (I would have taken a photo of this year's waffles but I ate them too fast... oops.)

It was nice to wake up and immediately have your birthday acknowledged in such a special way. It was always a great start to your birthday.

A bonus sweet story attached to the birthday waffles happened 4 years ago.

I was always home for my birthday, even in college it would come after finals. But the year I graduated college was different. I had to stay in Boone because the day after my birthday was graduation and everyone was coming up to see me. I told, my boyfriend at the time now husband, Paul that I was very disappointed that I wasn't going to wake up at home on my birthday. He politely asked why? I explained the birthday waffle tradition with emotion in my voice. Of course they were other more obvious reasons that I was miss being home. But at least my parents would be with my later that day. He smiled and consoled me. Telling me that my dad would surely make me waffles when I got home. To me it was a bigger issue. I couldn't wake up at my parent's house every birthday forever to get my birthday waffles... that would be odd. I got continually more bummed about it.

The night before my birthday my friends took me out to dinner. I made a big deal about going to a local restaurant that served breakfast all day. Although I didn't tell anyone why till I got there. I announced to the table that I was going to order a waffle to go and eat it when I woke up! It was genius!! I would have my birthday waffle after all!

The whole table of people stared at me with a blank look. I tried to explain the tradition but they didn't seem to understand. They just argued that it was going to be soggy and cold and it was a silly tradition. I was on the verge of tears, when finally I shrugged and said I was doing it anyway.

The next morning my roommate let Paul in while I was sleeping and he woke me up with a present in hand. I joyfully opened it. It was a waffle maker! And he had brought all the supplies to make me birthday waffles! I couldn't believe it. I was blown away. Then he proceeded to tell me that everyone at dinner already knew of his plans and that's why they were trying to discourage my waffle purchase the night before. We laughed and he made me waffles...

So the tradition continues... Maybe one day my dad will share his special waffle recipe with us for we can continue the tradition in style with our future children.