Today I said goodbye to my best friends mother Rita as we attended her funeral in Rome, NY.
Tomorrow I will bake cookies.
We celebrated Tyler's first Christmas with him in Kentucky.
Left just before the New Year and a huge Snow Storm blew in.
 |
| Snow storm in Louisville 2009 |
So that is just where I am at tonight.
My grandson called to tell me that "the internet man is coming tomorrow".
That means I get to watch him "have Christmas".
I can't wait.
 |
| Tyler's second Christmas with us. Decorating the tree at church |
But back to the Cookies. A tradition so many families have - but not ours. In fact every year is always something different. This year I am making two kinds of cookies. One that I will back - French Lace Cookies and one that I won't - Kentucky Bourbon Balls. The hardest part after buying the ingredients is not eating the finished product. THAT is why I am waiting until tomorrow or even Sunday to make them.
Then on Sunday evening we will all go to a special church service to sing, fellowship and eat cookies.
FRENCH LACE COOKIES - Gramma Frieda would only make these for Christmas.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup ground almonds (about 2-oz.)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position two oven racks in the middle and upper third of oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2) In a food processor, grind almonds finely; measure out 1/2 cup and set aside.
It is also possible to buy ground almonds for use in this recipe.
3) In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, stirring often. Increase the heat to medium high and, stirring constantly, bring mixture JUST to a boil. Immediately remove pan from the heat and stir in flour and salt until incorporated. Stir in ground almonds and vanilla extract.
4) Drop batter using a teaspoon, 3-inches apart, on prepared cookie sheets (about 1/2 dozen cookies per cookie sheet). Prepare all your pans of cookies at this time even though you are only going to bake 1 or 2 sheets at a time.
5) Bake cookies until evenly light brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes until cookies spread, become thin, and take on a deep golden color. If you are using 2 cookie sheets switch top to bottom and back to front at 5 minute mark to promote even baking. Cookies will begin to spread 6 minutes into baking time.
6) Line wire cooling racks with plastic wrap. When cookies are done baking, remove cookies from oven and, as soon as they're firm enough to lift off baking sheet (which will take just a few minutes), use a wide spatula to transfer them to prepared cooling racks to cool completely. Allowing cookies to cool slightly on cookie sheets will also cause them to flatten out more. NOTE: If cookies become too cold and hard to remove from baking sheet without shattering them, replace pan in the oven to soften the cookies again. Bake remaining cookies; batter will have firmed up a bit, but that is fine. Store flat cookies between sheets of parchment paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Yield: 25 to 30 cookies.
 |
My father, German in heritage, loved Christmas and would make decorations for outdoors and trim with lights around the porch. We had a lionel train that circled the tree and would set up our putz village. |
 |
| I always like red trimmings with white lights as I got older. |
 |
| Some more vintage ornaments - our little musical elves. |
 |
| Christmas Time means a Christmas stocking for the family. I enjoyed making this one for Tyler. |
 |
Tyler visited for Christmas last year (2011) and help his UNC decorate the tree. |
 |
Carefully checking out the ornaments |
 |
Tyler's special touch --- fishing bobbers? |
 |
Last year we had NY Christmas early and then drove down south for a KY Christmas. Visited the local Walmart, got a good price on a table top tree, some ornaments and viola. We were also treated to a wonderful light display on the village green. |
KENTUCKY BOURBON BALLS - My sister would make these every year calling them rum balls. Now that we are Kentucky lovers we will use bourbon from Kentucky.
1 cup yellow cake crumbs or 1 cup vanilla wafer
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup good unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup Bourbon
Place the cake crumbs or cookie crumbs into a plastic bag and smoosh them.
Combine the cake crumbs or cookie crumbs, sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa, corn syrup & Bourbon.
Blend and mix very well.
Fold in the pecans.
Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls.
If mixture is not rolling together easily, add more corn syrup.
Roll the balls in the cocoa powder or the powdered sugar to coat them.
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
No comments:
Post a Comment