Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Decking the Nest and A Recipe Too!

Well the tree is up, some of the presents are wrapped, carols are in heavy rotation ( my favorites being Jethro Tull's Christmas Album and The Sounding Joy by The Mair Davie Duo...good stuff!) and the cookie making is about to commence! I thought I'd share some pictures of my tree and a great easy cookie recipe. First the tree and it's trims...




As you can see, it's a mix of handmade, antique, and just plain silly...note the crab? Also it was recently pointed out to me that a lot of the ornaments are vertical...well I do love icicles and of course I have all those gorgeous okra!








This last ornament is very special to me because it once belonged to my great aunt Florence. She was my grandmother's older sister and one of my favorite people of all time. Her own grandchildren lived far away, so she lavished all of her huge store of affection on the four of us...in her eyes we could do no wrong. Aunt Florence was a fantastic cook and going to her house always meant some wonderful treat would be waiting for my siblings and me. This recipe was one of our favorites and in my mind Christmas just isn't the same without these yummy cookies.

Flossie's Party Cookies
1 cup Butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sifted white flour
10 oz. milk chocolate ( can sub bittersweet chocolate)
chopped nuts ( for Xmas can sub crushed peppermint
candy)

Cream butter and sugar until light. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla then flour. Blend well. spread in an 11x17 jelly roll pan and bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with broken bits of chocolate. Let these sit for 1-2 minutes, so they melt, and then spread evenly over the cookies with a knife. sprinkle with the chopped nuts (or peppermint). When cool, cut into squares and store in a tightly covered container in a cool place.

To give credit where it is due, the dark chocolate and peppermint idea comes from my sister and it really does make for a lovely and yummy Xmas version.

5 comments:

  1. I DO feel a little envious sometimes about all of you with your cold Northern Hemisphere Christmas. Warm midsummer weather is not very conducive to cooking and eating traditional Christmas fare, but we do make a bit of an effort. Some of the traditional Christmas food has morphed into a warm weather version here - like Christmas pavlova and frozen Xmas pudding.
    Your tree looks wonderful - can't wait to put mine up this weekend - guess which ornament is having pride of place?
    XX Susie

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  2. PS I'm SO going to try Flossie's recipe - sounds yummy!

    Love that little sweater ornament.

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  3. I'm totally trying this recipe. AND I think the crab ornament is my favorite.

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  4. Hmmm. Now I seem to be needing a crab for my tree.
    And will be making this recipe this week!

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  5. Your tree looks fabulous! Love the okra ornies!

    Happy Holidays!

    Hugs,
    Lisa :)

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