Monday, December 21, 2009

ALL TIME FAVORITE COOKIES!!!!

Ok people - I LOVE baked goods. I have some favortie cookies. But I stumbled on a new cookie recipe a couple of weeks ago and it is now (and maybe forever) my
ALL TIME FAVORITE!

So soft, so chewy, so athesticaly pleasing, Yummy, yummy, yummy. I would compare the texture to that of a soft warm brownie, a turtle brownie.
So get your baking groove on and whip up this yummy cookie.
Turtle Thumbprints
Adapted from Better Homes and Garden
Posted on Foodgawker by Elizabeth's Edible Experience (thank you Elizabeth!)

Cookie Ingredients:
1 egg (separated)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (all used for rolling dough in)

Filling Ingredients:
16 chewy caramels, unwrapped (like Werther's)
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping Ingreds:
1/2 cup (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon shortening

Directions:
1. Separate egg; place yolk and white in separate bowls. Cover and chill egg white until needed. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat well. Beat in egg yolk, milk, and vanilla.
2. In another bowl stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until well combined. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a small saucepan heat and stir caramels, vanilla and whipping cream over low heat until mixture is smooth. Set aside.
4. Slightly beat reserved egg white. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in egg white, then in pecans to coat. Place balls 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet.
Using the back of a 1/2 teaspoon round measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are firm. If cookie centers puff during baking (which they most likely will), repress with your measuring spoon. Spoon melted caramel mixture into indentations of cookies using a teaspoon.
Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. (If necessary, reheat caramel mixture to keep it spoonable.) 6. In another saucepan heat and stir chocolate pieces and shortening over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate mixture over tops of cookies using a fork and a quick back and forth motion as the chocolate drips.

Let stand until chocolate is set. Makes about 30 cookies.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Snap Shots

Here is a little slide show of some cute pics we have been able to take over the last month or two.

(If you think Baby K has the cutest winter hat on, click on the Sugarplum Boutique button on the right side of my blog - you can buy one too, lots of colors/flowers/bows to choose from & you can help orphans.)

Recently the memory in my laptop quit working so we are now a one computer home at least for a while. Honestly, I'm kind of liking it. I spend less time on the computer and more time doing other things. However, the downfall is that I keep forgetting to update our blog and I needed to transfer some pictures so I could share them with you!
Thanks for your patience!
More pictures to come. We had some professional pictures taken of Baby K and we pick them up Wednesday. They are one year old pictures (at 15 months but hey, we got 'em! LOL) and some shots of her in her Christmas dress.

As for our little family, we are doing great. preparing for Christmas festivities with friends and family. Preparing for Baby E who will be here in less than 100 days! crazy! And hoping for a beautiful snow the weather man is promising this week. Praying it is a beautiful snow and not a crazy blizzard.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Giveaway for Wichitans!

Shorty Smalls gift certificates
I have 4 to giveaway.

Here's the scoop:
They are only redeemable at the Shorty Smalls in Wichita.
Each Certificate is a $10 value and can only be redeemed with a min $25 food purchase.
Can only be used Mon - Thurs.
Expire 12/13/10 (so you have a whole year to use them!)

I have the certificates because I was given $50 gift certificate to Restaurant.com from Motherhood maternity when I bought some shirts this weekend. Problem - only restaurant anywhere close to us that is offered was Shorty Smalls. We are going to use one of the 5 vertificates I was able to get but it is far from our house and we just won't go that much.

So I am sharing my "good fortune?" with you. :)

How to win:
Leave a comment
first 4 people to leave a comment get a certificate
if less than 4 people leave a comment before Wednesday then I will divide the 4 certificates between those who replied. So it's possible you may get 2 or you may get all 4.

Isn't this exciting? Hee hee

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Christmas Traditions & Controversy...

Oh my, Oh my...I have found in the past few days that people are really passionate about how they celebrate the "holidays."
So before I share some thoughts about what our family would like to set in place for tradition, let me just say - You do what is best for your family and we will do what is best for our family - K. :)
I really don't think any of my readers are going to leave heated comments about our way being "wrong" or "magic stealing" but on the off chance that someone finds this through an internet search - I say to them, "Relax! I'm not asking you to celebrate our way."

I once read an article that stuck with me. The author was saying that they couldn't bring themselves to tell their children that Santa (or any other fictional character) was real and also teach their children that Jesus is real and then later tell them the truth that Santa isn't real, but even though you can't physically see Jesus, He is in fact real. I agree with that. Even though I was raised believing both were real, found out the truth and it did not taint my belief in Jesus.
But I'm not sure I can teach my children that lying is wrong and then manipulate them to believe in a Jolly Fat man who drops presents off at our house and then later tell them I was tricking them to believe. I'm not mad or tainted because that's how I was raised but as a parent I cannot bring myself to do this, I just can't.

So after a couple of years of playing around with some ideas our family has decided we would like to celebrate Christmas in the following way. I have ordered two children's books about the story of who St. Nicholas was and how his story has moved on to become "Santa." We want our children to know that St. Nicholas was a good man, a real man, who loved God and Jesus very much and who used his good fortune to bless others around him. We want to teach our children that a fun way to remember what God & St. Nicholas would like us to do is remember the great love of God and to share our blessings with others. Ways we can remember these things are to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Read the Christmas story. Spend time as a family celebrating Advent with an Advent Calendar &/or a Jesse Tree (http://www.eriercd.org/jessetree.htm). I want to bake a birthday cake for Jesus with our kids on Christmas Eve and then eat it on Christmas day. Find ways to give to and bless others with time, talents, or money God has blessed your family with. And finally, we would like to play the "game" Santa with our family. Yes, "Santa" will bring our children gifts. Yes, they will know it is a game. Yes, we will tell them other families play the game by not telling their children it is a game and part of the game is to help their mommies and daddies keep the secret. We will teach our children that St. Nicholas would have wanted children to be kind of heart and to listen and obey God and their parents, so only "good boys and girls" will be given a gift in this game.
My husband and I will pray that our way doesn't ruin the fun of other families who like to keep the secret from their children. I'm sure we may encounter families who are not happy with our decision. I pray our children are able to keep the secret.

When I was searching for books about St. Nicholas I was reading reviews people had shared about the books. This is how I learned people can be very passionate about how Christmas "should" be celebrated. People either LOVED the books or they down right hated them!
One review I read the reader said something along the lines of, "Why are you people stealing the magic of Christmas? Let your kids believe in Santa and when they are older you can transfer the magic of Christmas from the story of Santa to the story of Jesus."
I found this comment SHOCKING! Like just tell them about Santa until their 9 or something and then switch the meaning of Christmas to Jesus later. PUKE! (Here I go - being just as passionate! opps)
I did find one book called The True Story of Santa, I don't know much about it but evidently it tells the story of Santa going to visit Jesus at the manger - WHAT?! One review read, "This is a great book if you want to LIE to your children about the true meaning of Christmas. Someone should tell this author what the definition of "true" is."
I'm telling you this is a subject many are passionate about!

I'm sure over the years our family traditions will grow and we will learn more about how God would draw us to Worship and Celebrate the birth of His Son - the most wonderful Gift of ALL!

If you are interested in the books I found here is a list. I have only seen these online and look forward to reading them and reviewing them when they arrive. I hope they are what I am expecting them to be.

The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving by Dandi Daley Mackall
Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Julie Stiegemeyer
The Legend of the Christmas Stocking: An Inspirational Story of a Wish Come True by Rick Osborne