I had been adding recipes for a while to a new cookbook so I could find them when I wanted to cook them. In the electronic age, a digital version seems to make more sense, since I can add, amend, advise, adjust, delete, and reconsider as often as I want to and you can access them if and when you please. I've included the recipes from both my original cookbook which many of you have, and additional accumulated recipes that never got published. This isn’t the latest thing or nouvelle cuisine. These recipes are comfort food, good memories, treasured family recipes, and occasional treats as well as many healthier recipes I've grown to like in recent years. I encourage you to add comments, pictures, and favorite recipes to make this a real family cooking spot. It's the next best thing to sharing a meal.






January 19, 2016

Christmas Cookies

Baking Christmas cookies is a tradition that we started when I finally had a daughter (in-law) to bake with.  
Then grandchildren came along and soon they were baking too.  We all get together on Saturday a couple of weeks before Christmas.  We usually make and chill some cookie dough the day before.  After eating cookies till we are sick, we package the rest in containers for giving and send at least 5 or 6 packages home with each family.  We always have chili and chicken and dumplings for lunch as an antidote to all the sweets. This wonderful and tiring day of being together in the Christmas spirit is one of the things that makes Christmas special for me.  We usually make most of the following:
 
2 batches Rice Krispie squares
2 batches Rosettes
1 batch Pecan Pie Cookies
1 batch Nut Kisses (mixer)
1 batches Chocolate Chip Cookies  (mixer)
2 batches Wedding Cookies (mix ahead and chill)
1 batch Chocolate Crackles  (mix ahead and chill)
2 batches Oatmeal Crispies (mix ahead and chill)
Something with Pretzels
Or whatever else anyone feels like baking
Some possibilities - Almond Butter Cokies, Toffee Bars, Buckeyes, Cinnamon Logs

It's a good idea to make the dough for the things that need to chill a day or two ahead.  Bake the things that take a long time to cool first, like peanut butter kisses, chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie Squares. Unless you have two ovens, it’s not possible to get all these cookies baked so you need to choose which ones you want. Rosettes and Rice Krispie Squares are not baked so they can be made. A maximum of six of the others can be baked If there are cookies in the oven pretty much all the time, Starting at 9 a.m. and baking till 2:00 or 2:30 p.m., after which it’s time to box the cookies up. Everyone usually takes a break for lunch, but cookies need to be baking while we’re eating to get it all done.
 
The ingredients needed for that many cookies are:
 
5 lbs. flour
5 lbs. sugar
3 lbs. light brown sugar
2 (12 oz. each) packages semi-sweet mini chocolate chips 
8 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate
5 lbs. butter
2 doz. eggs
3 lbs. pecans
2 qt. oil
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1 small jar peanut butter
1 box oatmeal
6 packages phyllo pastry shells
1 large box Rice Krispies
2 (10 oz.) bags marshmallows
1 large bag pretzels and pretzel additions
4 (13 oz.) bags Hershey  Kisses
Baking Soda
Baking powder
Salt
Vanilla extract
Almond extract
 

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