Little Touches of Christmas
Hand painted paper. . . with love notes.
A Tetrahedron. Take a wild guess who wrapped that present.
Chalkboard paint works on mirrors
Nativity scene
A Christmas tradition: Chocolate pie. Yum!
Christmas chocolates from our stockings. Which are actually felt mittens.
Rosewater Turkish Coffee
There’s a New Candy Maker in Town
Oooh… caramels. Bourbon caramels. That I didn’t make. Double yummy.
Our son convinced one of the elderly men at church to teach him how to make caramels. And this is Geo’s first solo flight at home. We were pretty, um, sugar high when wrapping them. (I got put to work on that part) So, I think the production team will have to work on their wrapping skills in the future. Heh. But these are sooo yummy!
A Blurry photo of the candy maker in action. He moves too much to get a good photo.
Question? Why are candy makers SO skinny?
White Chocolate Chip and Candy Cane Cookies
Perfect with a cup of tea!
Last Friday IZ and I Baked. Yeah, that’s right, Baked with a capital B. We made 16 dozen cookies plus a dozen mini chocolate cakes for our church’s bazaar. The proceeds go to help mission projects locally, nationally, and internationally. With the landfall of Haiyan in the Philippines –it’s money much needed.
We wanted to make something festive — and to me, at least, a candy cane is the embodiment of holiday sweetness. They’re so charming in their red and white stripes. I especially love the mini ones. I’ll confess, I tend to stash little pockets of them around the house: just so there is always one within reach when the mood strikes. You do that too, right?
So, instead of the usual Salted Chocolate Chip cookies, let me introduce you to the White Chocolate Chip and Candy Cane Cookie. (which, really needs a better name. Suggestions??) These are built on the same recipe for our favorite chocolate chip cookies, but instead of dark chocolate, we substituted white chocolate and candy canes. It’s still a loaded cookie: make no doubt about it. But it’s festive and has just enough peppermint to melt your heart.
How cute is the plate? IZ made it for our family years ago! It says, “Our home for the holidays is a place of joy — Jack, Wendelynn, Georges, and you.”
Yummy! The only thing I’d do differently is I would top each cookie with just a touch of crushed candy cane — for visuals only. Otherwise, these are perfect.
And, if you’re not a white chocolate person, they’re just as good with semi sweet chips. (I should know I made a batch of those as well!)
The bazaar was a big success! And of course, we brought home a box of cookies. The women in my church know how to bake: I’m afraid that box is almost gone. I really need to remember to buy 2 boxes next year and pop one in the freezer for Christmas.
So, tell me… do you have a favorite holiday cookie? Please share your recipe in the comments.
(recipe below the fold)
