Spiked Egg Nog Cookies (My Favorite Christmas Cookie)

Photo Courtesy of Southern Living

 Spiked Egg Nog Cookies

I don't have the original source to this recipe, I think it came out of a holiday baking magazine. It's been my favorite Christmas cookie for the past 4 years


Ingredients
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Cream sugar and butter until light. Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks; beat at medium speed with mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Bake 20 to 23 minutes until bottoms turn light brown.

Spiked Egg Nog Cookies

Rum Butter Cream Icing 


1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons heavy cream (or egg nog)
1 tablespoon dark rum (or 1/2 teaspoon rum extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1. Beat all ingredients until fluffy
2. Spead on cooled cookies.

"Healthier" Rudolph Cookies for kids

I originally came across the decoration idea for these cookies at Pinterest and I tweaked a few recipes to come up with something a little "healthier". We used a white wheat reduced sugar version of a basic sugar cookie and it turned out tasty, I think next time we will try peanut butter or gingerbread.

 

Ingredients

2 3/4 white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tbs milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg, vanilla, and milk. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto parchment lined cookie sheets. 
3. Flatten dough balls into rounds with the bottom of a greased cup. Gently press mini pretzels into the head for antlers and mini M&M's in for the eyes and mouth.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Peppermint Snow Dough

Peppermint Snow Dough

2 cups of plain flour
2 cups of coloured water
1 Tbsp. of cooking oil
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup of salt2-4 tbs glitter
few drops of peppermint oil
  
Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a medium size or large pan. Cook slowly on medium-high and stir it until the playdough thickens. Keeps best in the fridge in plastic containers. This is similar to the traditional playdough recipe.

Thanksgiving in Review

We hosted a small family dinner for Thanksgiving this year, it was cozy and everything I ever could have hoped for. Seeing my family healthy, happy, and united brings a salty little tear to my eye. Thankful does not begin to describe my overwhelming sense of gratitude for the blessings we received during our challenging time this year. Over the course of a three month period we experienced concerning health troubles, job loss, the birth of our dear baby H, two year molars, a new job, moving out of state, losing our family pets, and essentially starting over. There is no denying the amount of crazy that went down in that time frame but I am thankful for the knowledge gained from those experiences. Most importantly, *I* learned what it means to minister within your own community and how to ask for and receive help. Humility is beautiful.

I was so enmeshed in the joy of turkey day and cooking that I failed to take snapshots of our individual dishes but our menu looked something like this:

Thanksgiving 2011

 Greenburg Smoked Turkey

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Sausage apple cranberry dressing

Fresh Corn

Greenbeans from grandpa's garden

Cranberry Compote
Sweet Potato Casserole with Toasted Marshmallows
Homemade Crescent rolls

H takes mashed potatoes seriously

 My brother flew  into town over the holiday, he's a good little brother and I often miss his quiet presence. I don't see him often due to the demands of college on the East Coast and his military career, so our time together is extra special. He got a kick out of being called "Uncle", by his eldest nephew for the first time. Here are some pictures of him on our post turkey walk along the Paducah flood walls.

 

 

3 generations of men; Grandpa, son, grandsons.

Choo-Choo
All Aboard
next stop 
Christmas

Chicken Salad Sandwich with Cranberry Sunflower Bread

Inspired by Paducah Kentucky's Kirchoff's Bakery & Deli 's chicken salad on cranberry walnut.

Sweet, savory, and bursting with Fall flavor this is the sandwich of the season!

Cranberry Sunflower Bread

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup water

1 cup yogurt

1 egg

3 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 Tbs. butter,

softened

3 cups white wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Dump all ingredients into bread machine, set on sweet cycle, push start. 

 Thyme Chicken Salad

2 cups prepared shredded chicken or 2 large breasts cubed

1 cup slightly cooked broccoli, cooled. 

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

2 tbs. dry white wine

1/4 cup dijon mustard
1-2 tsp. thyme

Whisk together mayonnaise, wine, mustard, and thyme. Fold in chicken and broccoli to dressing mix.

Serve prepared chicken salad on lightly buttered toasted cranberry sunflower bread. Enjoy!