12 Days of Baking ~ Day 4

A bit of delay going from day 3 to day 4, huh?!  Well, that's what happens when one of your 4 favorite people in all the world has a birthday in December!  Now birthdays are done and it's time to be all about Christmas!

Day 4 is a new treat to me.  I saw this recipe and had to try it.  I must admit, until I made these yesterday, I have never eaten a piece of biscotti in all my life!  To me they have always looked like a dried out, stale cookie.  And I tend to go for the ooey-gooey-melty type of cookie.  But these intrigued me, and with our bone-chilling weather (8 degrees last night!), having something to dunk into a hot drink just seemed to call my name.

And, it gave me a chance to try these:  Hershey's Dark Chocolate Mint Truffle Kisses.  Oh, my.  They are a seasonal candy, so go snatch some up soon.  Mint green bag, and the kisses themselves are wrapped in green foil with white snowflakes.  I love everything about them.  The way they are dressed, the way they smell, they way they look so cute when you cut them in half, the way the taste, and the way they bake into yummy things.  So Christmas-y!

And my first time with biscotti did not disappoint!  It was too late last night to try it with something hot, so I dunked a piece in milk and it was...lovely.  The kids loved it.  I loved it.  Brad would prefer I didn't bake it the second time, but I'm removing him from my statistical data and calling it a homerun.  I never claimed to have scientific integrity.

So, here you have it for Day 4:

Mint Truffle Chocoholic Biscotti

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark baking cocoa
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 10-oz. bag Mint Truffle Kisses, each unwrapped and cut into half

With a mixer, combine softened butter and sugar.  Beat until well-combined and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Add in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Stir in choclate chips and kisses.  Mixture will be very stiff.

Now, line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into two long logs, one on each baking sheet, about 1 inch thick and 3 inches wide.  Press it until it's as even as you can get it.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes.

With a serrated knife, carefully cut each log into slices about 1 inch thick.  Place these slices onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 15 more minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool at least 20 minutes.

If you want to dress them up, you can melt a bit of white chocolate chips and drizzle it over the top, or dunk one end in the white chocolate.  Sprinkle any colored sprinkle over the chocolate.  To melt the white chocolate, place about 1/2 cup into a freezer-quality baggie.  Microwave for 30 seconds and then knead to melt.  If needed, continue melting in 15 second intervals.  Snip a small hole in one corner of the baggie and pipe over the cooled biscotti.

These make great little gifts for neighbors or teachers...Beth's teacher is getting this little package this morning.  Hopefully her coffee will still be hot!

Brenna's Birthday Recap

Turning 12 turned out to be totally terrific!  We had such a great day, from start to finish.  Here's the recap in a crazy amount of pictures:

birthday breakfast request?  french toast, bacon, and egg nog!

an iPod!!!

happy girl!

a little sibling birthday love

more details on this to come:  it deserves a post all to itself.  both girls were baptized Sunday morning.  it was a beautiful event, so overwhelmingly emotional.  Brad got to be in the tub to help baptize the girls, and here Brenna is listening so sweetly to Pastor Jake!

a little pre-dunk prayer!

chocolate cupcakes!  made by mom, frosted by dad!!

"Mmmmm!!!"

After a pizza lunch with friends, we were off to ice skate!

the first few laps were a bit shaky, but then they got the hang of it!

Emily holding up Samantha & Brenna

a sweet pair

so much fun!  I can't wait to go back when my foot is bootless and skatefull!

a quick re-fueling at Jack In The Box, and then...

we drove through Fantasy Lights, enjoying being warm and munching popcorn, listening to Christmas music, and taking in all the lights!

just one of the fun displays!

We then headed back home, and after dropping off the friends came home to a cold, dark house with no power!  So we sat around the fire and played card games until bed.  A great birthday for Brenna!!

Happy Birthday Brenna!!

It was 12 years ago - 12!!!- that I had the privilege of becoming a mom to a daughter.  It was, for me, receiving a gift that I didn't even realize I wanted so badly.  After losing my mom a few years earlier, I had so missed being part of a mother/daughter team.  But I got myself a new teammate at 9:35 in the morning on December 6, 1997 when our Brenna Kay entered our lives!  I can still feel the explosion of love that went through my heart when she was placed on my chest.  The tears were flowing with such thankfulness.  What a gift....

So here's to you, Brenna:

I loved you before I even layed eyes on you, before I even knew you were you.  But that love has grown deeper and deeper the longer I have known you.  Ironically, you were our toughest baby...so fussy, so discontent.  The reflux made you miserable, and that was tough.  Even though you still fussed, you were most comforted with me.  I spent countless hours walking with you and rocking you, whispering into your ear, "Jesus, give Brenna the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit..." over and over and over.  And He did indeed grow that within you, Brenna.  I think you illustrate everything a gentle and quiet spirit is, and it is beautiful to see within you.  You have a quiet, calm strength that fools a lot of people.  You are tender, for sure, but you are strong.  You are so loving, so forgiving, so kind, such a great friend.  Your gentleness is a gift, and I know you will find a way to use it in all areas of your life.  Your future is so bright!  You are the hardest worker, a work ethic like no other.  When things are hard for you, you just work harder.  I'm not sure I have ever heard you complain that something is too hard.  I don't think you have ever said you can't do something.  You always give your best, always willing to try.  I love that about you!  You are so thoughtful, too.  Truly always wanting the best for those around you.  Thank you for being such a sweetheart, and for being such a joy.  You truly have been a joy everyday of your life.  What I told you the other day is so true:  if I had a guarantee that every kid would be as easy to parent as you, I'd have a dozen.  You are a delight to this family.  I adore you and I am so very thankful to be your mommy.

I can't believe you are 12 years old...one more year until you enter your teens!  I look forward to every day we have ahead of us, and am thankful for each one that has passed.  Stay tender, Brenna.  Stay confident in who you are.  Stay close to Jesus.  Keep singing, no matter who is listening!  Your life is all ahead of you, and I am thrilled to be a part of it!!

I love you forever,
Mommy

We did not know if you were a boy or a girl until you were born, but Alex was convinced he was having a sister.  He would pat my belly and say, "That's baby Brenna in there!"  I'm so glad he was right!

12 Days of Baking ~ Day 3

Alrighty, here we go with Day 3!  I think I just may say this everyday, but I really think this cookie is one of my very favorites!  I can't remember where I got this recipe, but have been making them for the last 15 years, at least.  They are so, so yummy.  I like these best after I have warmed them slightly in the microwave so the candy gets soft and the chocolate gets all melty.  Make sure to have a cold, cold glass of milk close by!

They couldn't possibly be any easier, and they are really a hit at cookie exchanges or as gifts.

Chocolate Mint Patty Cookies

1 box chocolate cake mix (I prefer Betty Crocker Super Moist Chocolate Fudge)
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening (I know...I'll explain further in the recipe)
2 eggs
1 TBSP water
powdered sugar
48 mini peppermint patties (York,or it's cheaper to by the Pearson's brand at Costco)

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, shortening, eggs and water.  Now, I have made these with my beloved butter, and the problem is that they just spread a bit too much.  If you are going to choose to use butter anyway, for sure omit the tablespoon of water.  The cookies will still be great, just a bit thinner.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls (use your small cookie scoop!) and roll in powdered sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes or until edges are just set.  Remove from oven and immediately press mint into center of each cookie.  Let set on cookie sheet for 2 minutes.  Carefully remove onto cooling racks and let cool completely.

My kids love these with hot chocolate, I love them with ice cold milk.  I hope you will love them too!

Now we are going to start a busy weekend of birthday fun, so no more recipes until Monday.  You have all weekend to try these!

12 Days of Baking ~ Day 2

Today's recipe is one of my all-time favorites.  I have been eating these every Christmas since I was about 10 years old or so.  My Grandma Hibdon made these and passed on her recipe to me.  I so clearly remember the first year I ate these...this grandma loved to bake, and put out a great spread on this particular Christmas.  I loved them so much, that when we packed up our car to make the long drive home, she handed me a shoe box filled with them!  Oh, you can imagine what that did to me!  I climbed into the rear-facing back seat of the Ford Country Squire station wagon (complete with faux wood side panels, thank you very much) and munched these treats all the way home.  If I remember correctly, the box was empty when we pulled into our driveway...

And this is such a busy season, we really need to take care to keep up with our protein.  I'd hate to run out of energy with so much to do.  So these could pretty much be called a health food in a twisted sort of way.

So here we are with my beloved Peanut Butter/Wheatie Balls!

Peanut Butter/Wheatie Balls

1 cup sugar

1 cup light Karo syrup

2 cups peanut butter

6 cups Wheaties cereal

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and Karo.  Stir while heating over medium low heat until mixture just barely starts to boil.  (If you cook it any longer you will end up with peanut butter rocks.)

Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.  Stir until the mixture is smooth and well-combined.  Pour over Wheaties.  Mix well and form into 1-inch-ish balls.  Place on waxed paper to cool.  Do not pack these together into balls, they will get too tough.  I like to use my small cookie scoop for these. 

And, because I just love chocolate with my peanut butter, I top mine with a bit of chocolate.  To do that, just put about 1/3 cup chocolate chips in a non-pleated freezer strength baggie.  Add 1/2 tsp. butter.  Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Knead the chocolate to continue melting.  Continue heating if necessary.  Snip a tiny hole in the corner of the baggie and pipe chocolate onto peanut butter balls.  This would also be good on the Swedish Snowballs from yesterday!

These freeze great.  Again, Marlece, just eat them frozen.  Otherwise, thaw them on a plate and then top with chocolate if desired.

Also, these really truly are better with the plain 'ole Jiff peanut butter.  For this batch, I used the Kirkland organic that I had and they just aren't as good.  So get yourself some Jiff!

Enjoy!

12 Days of Baking ~ Day 1

This is a recipe that you've all probably seen before.  I tweak it a bit to get some chocolate in there, of course.  This is a great one for Christmas...they look like pretty little snowballs sitting on a plate of Christmas treats.  They are a cookie that I remember my Grandma Bryan making every year.  When we would go to her house for Christmas, we'd walk in to see a counter spread with all kinds of Christmas cheer...and these were one of the first I would go for.  Great with a hot cup of anything!  As for all the recipes, I will add in the best way to make them ahead and freeze them so you can get started now and have fresh cookies whenever you need them!

These cookies are known by many different names:  Russian Tea Cakes, Swedish Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Butterballs, Snowballs....take your pick.  Because Brad is half Swedish, I'll go for the Swedish title, yah?  Let's meet in the middle:

Swedish Snowballs

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softenend (please use butter and not margarine!)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup mini chocolate chips
additional powdered sugar for rolling

In a large bowl, combine softenend butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Blend well.  Add in flour and salt.  Mix just until combined.  Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.  Shape into 1-inch balls.  I use a 1-inch cookie scoop and don't bother rolling them with my hands.  It makes for much quicker work...go get one if you don't already have one!  Place 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  I usually line my sheets with parchment, but you can go either way.

Bake at 325 for 15 minutes or until set but not browned.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet.  Cool slightly and roll in powdered sugar.  Cool completely and then roll again in powdered sugar. 

If you absolutely do not like nuts, you are nuts.  Just kidding.  If you don't like them, leave them out and do just chocolate chips.  If you do not like chocolate chips, please stop reading my blog. 

For freezing cookies:  The best way to freeze these is to roll them only once in powdered sugar, then let them cool completely.  Carefully put into gallon zip-loc bags and lay flat to freeze completely.  To serve, remove from freezer.  If your name is Marlece, eat them right now.  For the rest of us, let thaw for a couple hours then roll in powdered sugar.

Another tip:  place a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper under your cooling rack.  It will make the clean up of all that dropping powdered sugar much easier!

Isn't it beginning to feel a lot like Christmas now??

12 Days of Christmas Baking & DNA Strands

Happy December 1st!

I cannot believe December is here. But the Christmas lights popping up all around me, the frosty mornings, the red Starbucks' cups, the Christmas music being played wherever I go, the big tree in my living room, and the calendar all confirm it. It IS December! I love this month so much. Even with the to-do list hanging over my head, I just love it. One of the best things to ever happen to me happened in this month. Well, two actually. More on that another day.

One thing I really love to do, especially in December, is bake. There are so many things that I only bake this time of year, and they are calling my name! So, throughout the month of December, I am not going to do my regular Monday Menu. Instead, I'm going to offer up "The 12 Days of Baking". They won't be consecutive days, because that would frankly be just too much pressure. But between now and whenever (seriously, before Christmas Eve) I'm going to post 12 of my favorite Christmas treats. Some I love the memory of more that the taste, but they are special to me anyway. Some you've probably seen a gazillion times before, but I'm going to choose to share them anyway! So stay tuned: the first recipe is coming your way tomorrow.

In other news, Alex is learning so much about DNA right now it's making MY head spin. I've watched you-tube videos with him about cell division and DNA strands unzipping to reproduce and the double helix and self-replication and genomes...my goodness gracious. Fascinating stuff. And amazing are the minds that have made all these discoveries in DNA! So as we watch all this animation with cells dividing and this amazing process of "inspector cells" checking to see if replication was completed without error, and if errors are detected, the cell cycle is arrested and a team of "repair molecules" are dispatched to make the necessary corrections, whew...it's amazing to me that people think this could come out of chance and chaos. Isn't it easier to believe in a Creator when you look at how intricate all that is? Alex's teacher wrote on his webpage that "It's another example of something that would be unbelievable if it weren't observable." And, I guess from a scientific perspective, that's exactly the hang up. If it's not observable, it's not believable. Too bad they are not observing the same things I am observing. The proof of a Creator is all around us. As amazing as "discoveries" are, they've been there all along. We are just catching up to what's always been there. I think of my babies, and me for that matter, being formed into complete little people out of two cells....oh, don't get me started. It's miraculous every time.

I posted this a long time ago, but I was reminded of it while talking with Alex about all this crazy DNA stuff. It's worth watching again. Especially during this season we are in, to remember that there IS a Creator, and His birth is the reason we get celebrate!