Christmas Things: Part 1

Truffles. Recipe here.

Putting up our tree.

Sending out our Christmas cards.

Getting ready to meringue!

Instagraming

 

 

Chocolate dipped meringue snow peaks | Chocolate syrup brownies

Gingerbread | Enormous oreo-stuff red velvet crinkle cookies

Holiday Tradition: Spritz Cookies

This weekend, I went down to my parents house to help out with a few things and decided it was a good time to commence Christmas cooking baking for the season!

With grandma turning 96 this year, it's getting to be a bit much for her (and my mom) to make oodles and oodles of Christmas cookies every year. There are about seven that are regulars at Christmas time and this year I'm making them all while grandma supervises! This weekend we made round one of spritz cookies, and thumbprint cookies. This post will cover spritz cookies, I'm saving thumbprint cookies for another time.

In case you don't already know spritz cookies, you need a cookie press to make them. Here's the cookie press my mom and grandma have. The recipe is super simple.

Spritz Cookies

Yield about 6 dozen

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
3. Cream the butter.
4. Slowly add sugar and cream mix well until fluffy.
5. Beat in the egg and extract.
6. Slowly add the flour mixture.
7. Separate the dough for coloring.
8. Fill your cookie press and press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.
9. Decorate as desired with sprinkles and colored sugar!
10. Bake 10 - 12 minutes.
11. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

The cookies are coming!

This year, my mom and my grandma (who turned 96 on my wedding day!) are teaching me how to make all their traditional Christmas cookies! And it starts tomorrow!

Here's the recipes from mom, but don't worry, I'll post each one as they're completed! It's going to take from now until Christmas. Cookie baking is a serious past-time for us.

Peanut Butter Stars for Pooches

I bake for everyone else, why not my puppy dog too? I have a retired racing greyhound named Odie. He's 5 years old now, and we adopted him from Pocono Greyhound Adoption a little over a year ago. To celebrate his birthday this past January and one year anniversary in his forever home, I made him homemade doggie treats with peanut butter and safflower oil. And here I have the recipe for you to make for your best friend as well!

DIY Cookie Cutter Stencils & Green Tea Shortbread Recipe

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve and welcome to the year of the dragon! To celebrate I have a fun DIY post mixed with a baking post!

We're making green tea shortbread cookies shaped like little tea leaves. No leaf shaped cookie cutter needed! Here was my inspiration, and here are how mine came out, plus dipped in chocolate.