Amy the Mom

NaBloPoMo 2010, Over and Out!

Well, I did it. 

I posted every single day this month, after an 18 month hiatus.  Granted, several of the posts were phone-ins at best, but I accomplished a goal.  I am still going to post cookie recipes next month.  I'm not ruling out another 31 day posting streak either.  

Here are some recipes I'll be including next month:

• Mexican Wedding Cookies
• Pecan Icebox Cookies
• Peppermint Meringues
• Key Lime Thumbprints
• Sprintz
• Peanut Butter Cups
• Peanut Brittle
• Fudge
• Shortbread
• Gingerbread
• Cranberry Pecan Biscotti
• English Toffee

Some of these are annual traditions, others I haven't made for decades and the rest are projects I've always wanted to try.  I will be making quite a bit in anticipation of a visit to a group home on Sunday.  Never one to show up empty handed, I plan on bringing a cookie basket to the residents and supervisors. 

I'll see you all back here tomorrow! 

 

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

I have a tendency to over promise, putting myself in unnecessarily high pressure situations.  As well meaning as my ambitions may be, I fail to remember that I only have so many hours in the day and that I don't have the ability to function on less than seven hours of sleep each night.  Around Halloween, I asked Steve if he would like me to make gift baskets filled with homemade baked goods for his clients.  He thought it was a wonderful idea, but cautioned me not to volunteer for the job unless I could really follow through.  I assured him that it would be no problem, I could pull it off in my "free time".

Factors I neglected to consider when making this promise:

• I had never undertaken a project of this scope before
• My job is busiest during the months of November and December
• The recipes I selected were labor intensive and elaborate in their design 

Steve's office manager originally asked for 27 gift baskets.  After the first delivery, Steve requested six more.  I decided to make one loaf of pumpkin bread for each basket, along with eight different cookies, a pouch of mulling spices and some homemade chocolates.  I wanted a range of flavors, and a variety of cookies.  I began making dough and freezing it the weekend after Thanksgiving.  This worked well, but I grossly underestimated how much dough I really needed.  Storage of finished cookies also proved to be a challenge. 

   

I borrowed my mother-in-law's KitchenAid stand mixer so teamed with mine, I had double the mixing power.  My KitchenAid celebrated it's 20th year of service recently without even a moment of trouble.  After two weeks of putting it through an endurance marathon of double batches of cookie dough, it waved a white flag when one of the tines on the wire whisk sheared off.   I gave ol' Faithful a loving pat and ordered a replacement whisk on eBay.  

The last month was a real education for me.  I learned some tough lessons, honed unfamiliar techniques and leaned on my improvisational skills.  Ingredient conservation was critical, so I tried new recipes to prevent waste.  I became addicted to Martha Stewart's website, and incorporated a couple of her "Cookie of the Day" recipes into the basket. If I dare to undertake this Herculean effort next year, I've got pages of notes and a better plan to make the gesture less stressful and more efficient.  Too many nights were spent taking catnaps on the couch after midnight between batches of peppermint meringues drying in the oven.  

  

Here's what made the final cut for inclusion in the baskets:

• Homemade mulling spices in hand ribboned pouches
• Gingersnaps
• Spritz
• Key lime thumbprints
• Peanut blossom cups
• Mexican wedding cookies
• Pecan icebox cookies
• Oreo truffles
• Peppermint meringue kisses

I had intended to only use baskets to hold the treats because of the delicate nature of butter cookies, so around Thanksgiving I began visiting thrift shops and buying baskets that were $3.00 or less.  This ended up being an exercise in frustration.  The random pricing of Goodwill employees and the inconsistent selection prevented me from accumulating enough baskets, so I used gift bags to make up the difference.  Next year, I'll collect baskets year round and store them for later use.  Further complicating my supply issues was the closure of my baker's supply store, Sweet Sensations.   They had a fantastic selection of pastry boxes and bags, cookie cutters in every shape and sanding sugars in every imaginable hue. Michael's and  JoAnn's  were only marginal alternatives.  The plan for 2009 is to locate  a new supplier. 

The grateful feedback I received made the project worthwhile, but the game plan will be tighter next year, and I suspect the project itself will be grander in scope.  I plan on testing recipes earlier in autumn and storing cookie dough starting at Halloween, rather than waiting until Thanksgiving.  The weekend prior to delivery, I will take two vacation days and have four days dedicated to efficient, nonstop baking. 

My apologies to my family for the lack of attention since Thanksgiving, although I think you have all enjoyed the fringe benefits.  To my friends in both real life and the blogging world, I've missed you and will be back in touch now that the holidays are behind us.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take a nap.  For the next week. 

Cookie Exchange

Don't forget to leave a comment over at Susie's place to let her know you're participating!  If I may make a Grinchlike observation, I normally despise real life cookie exchanges because I always go to so much trouble to create above average pastries, and inevitably several other participants will show up with something from the grocery's bulk baked goods.  I'm sorry, but that is simply not acceptable. 

Generally the holiday season starts right at Thanksgiving here, but with all the travel we've done, it's a late start.  I love decorating the house for Christmas because I like to think it compensates for my woefully inadequate decorating ability.  The easiest way to get into the spirit of the season is by brewing up a batch of my mulled cider.  The scent alone is a trigger to become merry.  For Christmas though, I'll make a more sophisticated Wassail.

Christmas Wassail

2 quarts apple juice
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups orange juice
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar, depending on desired level of sweetness
one pouch of mulling spices

This recipe is best initially boiled, then transferred to a crock pot or coffee urn.  Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, serving right away or transfer immediately to the crock pot or coffee urn.  For a more adult beverage, feel free to add rum or brandy to the desired strength.

Back in the day, my mom and sisters and I had a bit of a fetish with Eagle's Eye sweaters.  I only owned one, an obnoxious Nutcracker themed number that had a little mechanism sewn into an interior pocket that caused the tree on the front to light up and play a tinny version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".  It might have been more appropriate if I was in my mid 50's when I wore it, sadly I was 25.  Here's a picture of what it looked like from the front:

One of my other favorite ways to kick off the Christmas season is to watch Elf.  I love, love, love this movie.  I laugh uproariously every time I watch it, especially at the part where Buddy reacts in horror to the news that his dad is on the naughty list, and when he discovers the ginormous toilets, and his gastric expulsion upon guzzling a two liter of Coke.  Really, Will Ferrell's facial expressions throughout the entire movie are priceless and I find myself believing in his diminutive heritage with each viewing. 

One of my other favorite things during the Christmas season is the music.  I have scads of Christmas CD's and play them endlessly.  They can pull me out of a grouchy funk, or conversely sooth me in moments of holiday stress.  Some of my favorites...

Raul Malo's Marshmallow World

Dwight Yoakam's Come on Christmas

Chris Isaak Christmas

Josh Groban Noel

Brian Setzer's Boogie Woogie Christmas

The Nutcracker Suite

The Elf Soundtrack

Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong

and probably my all time favorite...The Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack.

I don't really have a favorite gift to give.  I do love to give the kid's something perfectly suited to them and a total surprise.  The kind that results in a big smile when they open it on Christmas day.  As you can imagine, Christmas day is a day of feasting here.  Grandma and Uncle Chris usually spend the night, so the morning is full of thick French Toast, sausage links, hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs and Honey Baked Ham.

And now for my Christmas Cookie Recipe of 2007.  A simple classic, but one that will fill your house with a wonderful aroma.

Ginger Snaps

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
granulated sugar for rolling the cookies

Cream together the sugar, shortening, molasses and egg.  In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients well (except for the granulated sugar) and beat into the wet ingredients at low speed.  Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour (it freezes well for a month) then roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, then roll in the granulated sugar until covered.  Bake on parchment paper sheets in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, depending on how soft or crispy you prefer them.  I like mine soft, with lots of Starbucks coffee.  That is my idea of a perfect breakfast.  And now for a seasonally inappropriate aside.  These cookies were the hit of a lemonade stand my kids had when they were small.   The signs were created by Alex, who wrote "Results may vary" below the cost of the lemonade.