Friday's Fave's***Handmade Gifts

During the Holidays this season I noticed an undercurrent of sobriety in the general attitude of the folks. (I work with the public) People that had money were not spending it as freely, including myself. Gifts were still purchased, but with greater meaning than in years past, and frivolity seemed absent. Many of us returned to the handmade gift, one of life's greatest pleasures! Both to give and to receive.

I was so grateful for my new countertop and dishwasher! It made the baking process so much easier for me, I actually had ROOM to work!

Thumbprint cookies before the jam

Putting it all together

I'm sure Martha Stewart has a recipe for those pirouette's
but at $5.43 for 32 of them, it's best for this busy mom to buy them!

Cut them in 1/2 with a very sharp knife, and you can do even more!

I used parchment paper cut to size for dividing the layers of goodies. Wax paper will work too.

Danish Wedding Cookies on the left, YUM!

Not Everyone appreciates a food gift. Sometimes a beverage gift is in order!

Mother's little helper!

This was gifted to me. It got me to thinking I should do some Peach Brandy next year, in the greatest of Georgia traditions.

Not everyone wants a food gift, so I also strung a few bracelets as well. I have plenty of beads on hand, as that is one of my hobbies (addictions) so all I really had to do was think of the people I wanted to gift, and their specific tastes. I do have my own style when it comes to mixing beads though. I like to mix the refined (pearls and crystals) with the organic (raw amethysts and fresh water pearls), and a hint of metal (silver) never hurts!

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I really enjoyed doing this. I had gotten away from it, as it became easier to purchase gifts and I had the means. But in retrospect, that had become so stressful. This was very rewarding to me. I plan to do more of it next year.

Friday's Fave Foods***Decorated Sugar Cookies

Here is the last of my cookie series. I use an easy recipe for this. Why complicate any more than is needed, and especially this time of year?

SUGAR COOKIES/ICING FOR COOKIES

1 stick butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 tbsp. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla all together. Add egg. Beat until light and fluffy. Stir in milk. Stir in sifted dry ingredients. Blend well. Divide dough in half. Chill 1 hour or more.

Roll dough on floured board to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with a floured cookie cutter.
Bake on cookie sheet, in a 375 degree oven, for 8 minutes. Cool. Store in tightly covered container.
Makes 4 dozen cookies. Frost with icing.

ICING FOR COOKIES:
3 c. sifted confectioner's sugar

1/4 c. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Dash of salt

Combine sugar, milk, vanilla and salt; mix well. Add food coloring. Frost cookies. Add candy sprinkles if desired. Will frost approximately 5 dozen cookies.

NOTES: Your sugar cookies do not have to be fancy at all to be fun (and tasty) although you can be extravagant if you want to! If I'm using lots of colors, and especially if kids are involved, I use small squirt bottles (the plastic ones that you see in delis that hold the oil and vinegar, or the mustard) and cut the tops to make a wider hole. This gives you greater control with your work and it also makes clean up so much easier! Those are available and very inexpensive, I get mine at the local restaurant supply store, which is open to the public. Also, don't forget, for intense color and better consistency, use food color paste as opposed to liquid food color. You can get that in cake decorating/candy supply hobby stores.

Enjoy your creativity!

Friday's Fave Foods***Thumb Print Cookies

Some moms do chocolate chip cookies, but this is what my mom baked when she made cookies. They are great spur of the moment cookies because even if the cupboard is bare, we usually have these ingredients around. Also, when you add the filling you get some great color. If I use jam, and it's Christmas, this is the area where I will splurge and buy "Knottsberry" or some other designer jam.

THUMB PRINT COOKIES

1/2 c. soft butter

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 c. sifted flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream together butter, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla. Sift flour and salt; mix well. Roll into 1" balls. Dip in slightly beaten egg white. Roll in finely chopped nuts (3/4 cup). Place about 1" apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven, quickly press thumb gently on top of each cookie. Return to oven and bake 8 minutes longer; cool. Fill the thumb print with jelly, fruit or tinted sugar icing. Oven temperature, 375 degrees.
Makes 2 dozen.

Notes: The chopped nuts are an extra. They are also fine without that step!

Paperwhites and Amaryilis***Christmas Bulbs

This is something I like to do every Christmas. It's an inexpensive way to bring cheer and fresh blooms into the house. I'm sure most of you home-making pros know how to do this, but in case someone does not, I'll just run thru it quickly. The results are so worth it.

PAPERWHITES

First, you have to find them. They are not as common as other bulbs you will see in the fall such as daffodils and tulips, or even hyacinths, but they are around. I got mine at Wal-Mart this year, but I have also purchased at Lowe's, Sam's Club, and Cofer's, our specialty nursery here in town almost always has them.

Find a container.

This year I'm using a floral container/planter that I bought at a flea market. It is shallow, which is OK, but it does not have any drainage holes, so I put gravel in the bottom to create some drainage.

I decided to go for bold and plant 6 in one container for massive impact. I bought 2 packages (6) so I will plant the rest of them successively for continual bloom thru-out January. (Blooms last about a week) You can put as few as 1 in a clay pot it you want to, but I usually put in at least 3. I have had them not bloom very well in the past and that has to do with the quality of the bulb. Buying from Wally, I'm probably taking a chance, but these looked pretty healthy when I took them out of their bags. These are about the size of a golf ball, and they have healthy roots, and no mold on the bulbs.

There they are with some dirt covering them. They really don't need much. Be sure not to over water. Those green tips will straighten out soon now that they have seen the light of day.

In a few weeks I should have something resembling this. Those, I confess, are not mine. I did not do these last year, which I regretted. So I had to steal this good-looking picture to show you the ideal from the WWW. These flowers do have a very distinct scent, so be prepared for that.

AMARYILIS

The last couple of years, I have bought a kit for this. It works out great. For about $5.00 they give you the bulb, the plastic pot, and the planting medium, which is like Jiffy-Pop, except it's dirt. It's a dirt pellet that you add warm water to and it expands into the perfect environment for nurturing your bulb. I've gotten this at Lowe's 2 years in a row and had really good results.

This bulb is about the size of a softball. No kidding, it's large!

I've planted it in it's plastic pot with it's Jiffy-Pop dirt, then disguised the plastic pot with this planter. That green shoot will straighten up in a few days, and also get greener. In about 3 weeks, or in God's good time, I will have something that looks like this.

If you look closely you can see a second shoot coming out. I got about a months worth of bloom out of that plant. They say you can get these to rebloom (not so with paperwhites) but I have not had luck with that, I don't know the trick. The foliage will come back for me, but not the bloom. Not that I keep these things laying around. I throw them out in the bushes, and then I notice I have a plant growing out there, later in the year. But they never rebloom.

Sammy was watching me from the window. Worlds cutest kitten is growing up!

Friday's Fave Foods***Almond-Orange Biscotti

This is the most yummy cookie-with-coffee ever invented! They last a week after baking in an airtight container, or a month in the freezer.

Almond-Orange Biscotti

1 1/2 C. sugar

3 eggs

1/3 C. melted butter, cooled

1 C. lightly toasted, coarsely chopped almonds

2 T. Grand Marnier (or other orange-flavored liqueur)

1/8 C. chopped, candied orange peel or 3 tablespoons finely grated orange zest

3 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

Beat the egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar until light and sugar is dissolved. Stir in the melted butter, nuts, Grand Marnier and candied orange. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they just begin to form peeks and gradually beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar until whites form stiff peaks. Sift flour and baking powder together and alternately fold 1/3 of flour and egg white mixtures into yolks until well combined. Dough will be firm and slightly sticky. If dough is too soft, add more flour. With floured hands, divide dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

Arrange logs on a buttered or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 325°F. oven for 20-25 minutes or until logs are lightly brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let logs cool on baking pan on a rack for 10 minutes. On a cutting board, cut logs crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2 -inch widths. Arrange biscotti cut side down on baking pan and bake for 5-7 minutes on each side or until biscotti are very lightly browned and crisp. Cool on racks and store air-tight.

Makes 36 biscotti.

NOTES: This is yet another great gift-giving idea. Just find a nice air-tight container to put it in and you are good to go!