The Carnival of the Recipes is up and this week's host, Amy of Prochein Amy, has added a little New Year's Eve fun by making it a puzzler. She's renamed the recipes and your task is to discover their true identities! For example, my recipe for White Bread is called "Achromatic Money".
It's just a guess, but I bet Amy is very good at figuring out crossword puzzle clues. As usual, I've put the list of recipes in my extended entry (I do this so I can do a search of my Carnival of the Recipes category...I can remember that I've seen a recipe I want to try, but I can't always remember when or where I saw it), but no peeking until you're gone and tried to guess all the recipe names.
Recipe list:
Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Goat Cheese Sauce
Crown Roast Of Pork With Apricot-Wheat Bread Stuffing
Best Banana Pudding
Hashbrown and Mushroom Goop Casserole
Stewed black-eyed peas
Sunny Garlic Chutney
Hot Buttered Rum
Chicken Pie
Puttanesca Sauce
White Bread
Shrimp Cocktail Dip
Lentil Soup
Lemon Coconut Cream Cake
Peppery Cheese Bread
Don's Ramos Fizzes
Bisquik's Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie
Pickled Beets and Eggs
Cornbread Casserole
Thai Banana Soup
Thai Chicken Pizza
Chicken Korma Pizza
Hoppin' John
Banann Peze
Goof Proof Ice Cream
I went to Target yesterday. Near the front of the store they have a section that had different items for $1 (now 50% off!). The last time I was there (before the snow) they had several cookbooks, about half a dozen different ones. All that's left of those now are the ones with low carb recipes. I love cookbooks but even at 50 cents, I don't want them.
If I want a diet that restricts some type of food, I'll pick the no-tofu diet. Yes, I'm sure there are wonderful recipes out there that make tofu taste like "real food"...but I don't care. It's easy to give up stuff I wouldn't eat anyway. I'm not going to give up something like this:
1 package active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup shortening, melted
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp. salt
6 cups bread flour
2 Tbl. butter, melted
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the evaporated milk, 1/4 cup water, shortening, honey, salt and 2 cups flour. Stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll out each half and roll into loaf shapes, sealing seams by pinching. Place in greased 9x5 inch bread pans. Butter the tops of each loaf with melted butter; cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm area until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Place a small pan of hot water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Uncover loaves and bake until tops are golden brown, about 25 to 35 minutes. Brush butter onto crusts while warm.
Makes 2 loaves.
If I don't get much done this morning today, it will be because of this. (Found via The Cheese Stands Alone.)
My best score after a few tries is 29,329. I'm just happy right now to be out of the negative range....
Two news stories where students weren't allowed in the schools because of what they were wearing:
Boy in a Santa suit asked to quit dance (link via Political Correctness Watch)
A seventh-grade boy was not allowed to attend a school party because he was dressed as Santa.
"It was a holiday party," said Muscara [the school principal]. "It was not a Christmas party. There is a separation of church and state. We have a lot of students that go to Hampton Academy Junior High that have different religions. We have to be sensitive to that."
Let's all take a moment to be sensitive to the idea that this prinicpal is an idiot who doesn't really understand "separation of church and state".
His parents are asking for an apology - "The last time I checked, Christmas was the celebration of the birth of Christ and not Santa Claus," Leslie said. "I want them to make an apology to my son. My son was humiliated."
Confederate flag prom dress sparks suit
A girl was kept from attending her prom because she was "wearing a red dress styled as a Confederate battle flag." She was told before the dance not to wear it but says she had no other, so she wore it anyway hoping administrators would change their minds.
They didn't, the prinicpal and two police officers met her outside the school. She's bringing a lawsuit asking for over $50,000.
Both students were given the option of attending after changing their clothing. The boy did so but his principal showed a careless lack of regard for the boy's safety by sending him out of the school after he had been dropped off by his mother. The school had already had a PTA sponsored Santa breakfast so the demand that the boy change seems arbitrary.
There was no mention of the costume being a possible security issue. Because the Santa beard covers much of the boy's face, I would have accepted that as a reason to request its removal...but I don't see any cause to demand that he change completely.
As for the girl attending the prom...the whole thing seems a bit off to me. How did school officials know she was planning on wearing that dress? Did she bring it to their attention ahead of time, knowing it would be controversial? I have a hard time believing the principal and police officers meet all students as they come in.
She says she designed it to show pride in her southern heritage. To me, it sounds more disrespectful of the flag she claims to be honoring.
From what I've read about this case, I tend to side more with the school. I don't necessarily agree that she shouldn't have been allowed to wear the dress but once she was told that it wasn't permitted, she should have either accepted that decision, or, choosing to wear it anyway, accepted the consequences.
It does make me wonder where you draw the line at what could offend others. Some people view the Confederate flag as a symbol of the South. Others see it as a symbol of slavery. Some see clothing that bears arms, legs, midriffs, cleavage, or other body parts as fashionable. Others may be offended. Once you begin disallowing something out of fear of offending someone, where do you stop?
Carnival of the Recipes #19 is up at Food Basics.
My husband did manage to dig out of the snow but he left before I got up and is at work until 7:00 tonight. If any grocery is open when he comes home, I'm going to have him stop and get lots of cream and Hershey bars for this! There are lots of great sounding recipes this week but how can I resist something called "Hot Chocolate Coma"?
List of Recipes:
Cheese Ball Recipe
Pumpkin Cookies
Egg Custard Pie
Chicken Fingers
Beef & Barley stew
Grandma's Apple Dumplin's
Mountain Dew and Cranberry Juice
Crab Appetizer
Aunt Bill's Brown Candy
Akasan (Haitian drink)
Spicy Chicken
Pecan and Maple Sweet Potato Pie
Hot Chocolate Coma
A (Semi-)Traditional Polish Christmas Eve Dinner -
White fish fried in butter with slices of hard-boiled egg
Boiled cabbage
Patogi
Potato-mushroom soup
Oplatek
Oatmeal
Mrs. Beeton's Christmas Pudding
Spinach, white beans, and potatoes
Grandmother's Rock Cookies
Armenian Bulgur Pilaf
Gingerbread Pancakes
Jicama Pickles
I'm snowed in. My van is stuck and so am I.
It didn't bother me yesterday. I didn't even try to go anywhere. With the van being as heavy as it is, I never had a problem with the snow before and I assumed (incorrectly, it would seem) that I wouldn't have a problem this time. Then, again, during previous snows I didn't have a torn disk so I could shovel the snow that blocked my path to freedom out.
Now that I know I'm stuck, it's going to drive me crazy (or crazier). It's not that I really need to go anywhere...or let me rephrase that, there's nothing that I need to go buy, no errands to run, but the kids are home being their normal loud, boisterous selves and pestering about opening presents...a little time away would help to keep me from turning into the Grinch be good for me.
If I can't get out, then the kids will have to go. Not permanently, of course. I think I'll pack up Christmas cookies and have the kids deliver them to our neighbors.
Maybe one of them who has managed to dig free of the snow will take pity on me and offer to drive me somewhere...anywhere...at this point I'm not very picky about the destination.
圣诞节快乐
One of our JoeAnt editors from China left this message in our forum. (I used an online translator, it's translation is the title of this post.) I liked it so much I thought I would share it.
I made this to take to a family party last Sunday. It's quick. It's easy. It's very, very good.
1 (8 oz.) tub of whipped cream cheese
1 bottle cocktail sauce
1 can crab meat
Spread the cream cheese evenly to within about one inch of the edge of a plate (8 - 10" diamter). Spoon the cocktail sauce over the cream cheese. (You probably won't need the whole bottle.)
Empty the crab meat into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Press out extra water. (I also like to add a squeeze of lemon juice here.) Sprinkle the crab meat on top of the cocktail sauce.
Serve with crackers or melba toast. (Don't forget to include a couple of knives.)
It was snowing when I got up today so I did what everyone around here does, I went to the grocery. We're supposed to get up to a foot of snow. As far as the snow-is-coming grocery ritual, it doesn't matter if it's flurries or a foot of snow. People stock up on supplies as if they are afraid of not being able to get out again until spring.
My biggest concern wasn't food, we already had plenty of what we need in the pantry and refrigerator, it was that we would run out of kitty litter.
I've been to two school band concerts this week.
I've had a migraine from yesterday evening through this morning. This has nothing to do with going to band concerts. I just thought I would mention it to increase the sympathy factor.
Yesterday's concert was the high school band in which my oldest son, Trevor, plays. (The headache was starting before the concert and hadn't yet got to the point where I pray for death with each sound or glimpse of light.)
They played Christmas music including Angels We Have Heard On High and Christmas Time With Charlie Brown. They also played Hanuka Fantasy, a medley of traditional Channukah tunes. The program called it the Winter Concert but we were welcomed to the Christmas Concert.
Last Monday we went to hear the Sixth-Grade Band Concert at the Middle School. Most, if not all, of the kids have learned to play their instruments since the beginning of this school year (mid-August).
It really was better than the words "Sixth-Grade Band Concert" would make you think. The assistant principal spoke first and welcomed us all to the Christmas concert. (Christmas!!) Before both concerts they told us where the exits were in case of an emergency (clunkers don't count as an emergency). When the middle school band director spoke, he said that he gets a bit nervous when they talk about the emergency exits because lightning hit during the spring concert and knocked out the lights. He called the lightning an "Act of God".
No one booed when either Christmas or God was mentioned. No one walked out in protest and as far as I know, no one has threatened to file a lawsuit.
Weird, huh? Imagine, all of us unsophisticated hicks from Kentucky sitting there enjoying the concerts in the spirit in which they were presented. What kind of people think that it's more important for their children to have a pleasurable experience performing than it is to teach them to complain and hope for media attention?
Instapundit has a post on why bloggers blog.
...people blog so that they can express themselves -- to be producers, not consumers....
This is one reason I blog. Another is that my kids ask me what I've blogged about lately. If I had just brought up whatever the subject was in a conversation they would probably tune me out, but if they know I blogged about it, then they listen.
Carnival of the Recipes #18 is up!
This week was so hectic that I forgot to post my recipes. I knew what ones I wanted to post, I just didn't remember it until about 12:30 last night. To late to make the Carnival so I decided I might as well wait until today to do it.
My family is still debating which of these chocolate cookie recipes we should make this year.
Fudge Ecstasies
1 (12-oz.) package semisweet chocolate chips
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 Tbls. butter
2/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Melt together 1 cup chocolate chips, unsweetened chocolate squares, and butter.
In a mixing bowl, beat melted chocolate, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Beat until well blended.
Stir in remaining cup of chocolate chips.
Drop by heaping teaspoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet (or cover cookie sheet with parchment paper.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Edges should be firm and surface dull. Do not overbake.
Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, remove to rack to continue cooling.
Makes 3 dozen
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. cooking oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. flour
sifted powdered sugar
Combine melted chocolate, oil, and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla, salt, flour and baking powder. Chill for at least two hours (or overnight.) Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.
Recipe List:
Mulled Apple Cider
Scorpion Bowls
Pot Stickers for Putzes
Chicken Quesadillas
Very Best Spinach and Salad Dressing
Taunton's Spiced Pecans
Easy Orange Roughy
Sicilian Meatloaf
Poor Man's BBQ
Blue Cheese Steak Wellington
Beef Burgundy
Heidi's White Hot Chicken Chili
John Boy's Chili
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Beer Beef Stew
Chili Verde
What's a Garbanzo Bean Soup
Shrimp Jambalya
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
English Toffee
Beigli and Chrusciki
Cranberry Pie
Chocolate Covered Cranberries
Cookies - Ginger Cookies, Chocolate Chunk Macaroons
Black and White Chocolate Mousse Cake
Black Russian Chocolate Chip Kahlua Cake
Snickerdoodles
Infamous Pie Crust
Kentucky Cream Candy
Cookies - Fudge Ecstacies, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
(Link via Right Wing News)
If a high school student wrote something about assaulting and killing students the likely results could include arrest and expulsion. The context doesn't matter. After Columbine any speech of this type is presumed to be a threat.
When someone at a college - no, not a student, a lecturer named Pat Rothfuss - writes about "punching smug-looking Republicans in the mouth", "key every car you see with a Bush bumper sticker", and "why don't you go on a killing spree?..." it's called humor.
"His columns make fun of a variety of people and groups, he said, and oftentimes students find the column hilarious until their group is the target of the column's satirical ridicule."
What is this, the Henry Higgins defense? ("The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether you ever heard me treat anyone else better." - Pygmalion)
I'm not questioning his right to free speech, nor do I think that students need to be protected from opposing opinions. I do wonder about the wisdom of a university that allows a member of its faculty to make students a target of "satirical ridicule".
If you are a high school senior or a parent of one and you agree with the ideas Rothfuss stated, then UWSP may be the school for you. On the otherhand, if you are conservative and prefer intellectual stimulation to ridicule, you may want to look elsewhere.
Update: Allan tells me a similar thing happened at the university nearest to where I live, my alma mater, the University of Louisville.
What can I say? I don't watch much local news and don't often read the Courier-Journal. Especially this past week....
In an interview last week, McTighe acknowledged that he made comments Nov. 4 similar to those cited in a conservative student newspaper and on the association's [American Family Association] Web site that conservative voters should be shot with automatic rifles.But he said that the comments were later taken out of context and that he was not calling for violence.
I can't wait to hear that explanation.
There are differences in the two events. The comments attributed to McTighe appear to have been made to just his class. Rothfuss' were made in a student newspaper.
UofL President James Ramsey said, "The quote attributed to Professor McTighe is unacceptable and not an issue of academic freedom." McTighe's contract has been withdrawn for the spring semester pending a review. Rothfuss' response was another satirical article and UWSP has done what?
People who teach are in a position of trust. Some will abuse that by using it as a forum for pushing their opinions. What is telling is how the school reacts.
Not that I have a place to put one...or would get a chance to use it if I did. I'm afraid our three cats would claim it as their own.
Beth has a link to an article by CBS.
They sound a bit threatened by bloggers discussing politics. Best quotations:
"But where journalists' careers may be broken on ethics violations, bloggers are writing in the Wild West of cyberspace."“'People are pretty smart in assuming that if a blog is making a case on one side that it’s partisan,' Jamieson said. 'The problem is when a blog pretends to hold neutrality but is actually partisan.'”
Do as I say and not as I do?
As far as I know, no one has threatened to jail U.S. bloggers for exercising their right to free speech (unlike here) but once you begin placing restrictions on what can be discussed in a blog, aren't the consequences just a matter of degree?
I just finished reading Michael Crichton's State of Fear. I really enjoyed it...but what's not to like about a book where some of the bad guys are members of ELF?
Thanks to everyone who shared a recipe this week...especially ones that involve chocolate! Thanks also to SarahK. She didn't have a recipe this week but did inspire some others to send in their first Carnival of the Recipes entries.
The Beginning:
El Capitan of Baboon Pirates has Key Lime Pie. (No, I didn't post this link under the wrong heading...it's a drink!)
Be of bebere.com shares her recipes for Tapenade and Black Bean Dip which she plans on serving at her upcoming open house.
I'm putting Amy's Blueberry Salad under the "Beginning" section because it's called a salad although she says that it's more like a dessert. My thinking is that calling it a salad will let me have two desserts in one meal.
The Middle:
The first entry I received this week was for Penne with Shrimp and Garlic from Allan of Inside Allan's Mind. Just so you know that it looks as good as it sounds, photos are included.
Songstress7 of News from the Great Beyond has a recipe for Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken. If you're looking for something good but easy, this could be it - only four ingredients.
From the appropriately titled blog Like News but Tasty comes a recipe for Chicken Marsala.
VW of One Happy Dog Speaks has a recipe for Zanzibar Chicken. With tasty recipes like this, it's no wonder she's happy.
From The Glittering Eye we have Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille. This recipe is proof that veggie dishes don't have to be dull.
We've had several days of cold rain so this recipe for Thick & Chunky Potato-Leek Soup from Booklore sounds especially appealing to me. A good soup really is one of the best ways to brighten a gray (almost) winter day. (Side note: If you're looking for a craft for making Christmas ornaments check out the post on Sequin Presents.)
A recipe for Beef Medallions in a Mustard-Cream Sauce (For Two) comes from Victor of Publius & Co. This is our only beef recipe this week and Victor's first Carnival of the Recipes entry. He also sent a recipe and information about Mincemeat Pies (find link under "The End").
The Wacky Hermit at Organic Baby Farm has a recipe for Organic Lamb
and Lentil Stew. (She includes a link to buy organic lamb.)
Dave in Texas sent his recipe for Fettucine Al-Dave-O.
Ok, Everyone loves pasta at Christmas.Stop laughing. You know you do!
Fettucine Al-Dave-O
Needful things:
one box O fettucine noodles
one whole clumpy thing of garlic, whatever that's called that grows in one mass
5 oz. of Parmesan cheese
5 oz. of Romano cheese
4 oz. of butter (one stick)
3 oz olive oil
one pint Half and Half (or cream if your doctor told you within the last 2 months that your cholesterol was under 180)1 bottle of your favorite merlot, or cabernet sauvignon if you are so inclined
2 Fosters, the big 55 gallon drum cans
Ok.. here we go!
Get the noodles underway in a big boiling pot of noodles
Start drinking the Fosters. This enhances the "Dave" effect, wonderfully.
Dice up that garlic, so finely your fingers will smell for a week at least. Put the butter and olive oil into a great big saucepan, warm it up to kinda hot, and add the garlic. Roast the garlic for a couple of minutes until everyone in the house comes in saying "mmmmmm".
Turn it down and add the half and half.
Grate the cheeses, pleases.
Check your pasta....when it's within 5 minutes of al dente:
Down that second Fosters. You are Emeril now! Emeril!! Say "BAM"!
Turn the mixture up to hot, add the cheese slowly while stirring. Don't let it burn on the bottom, keep stirring man!
The oil, butter, garlic and cheeses will blend to a sublime, heart stopping perfection.
Fight off people bringing garlic bread to dip. Fight them! "Avast ye"!
Drain the pasta when ready, drop it into a big ol bowl (as we say in Texas),. Mix in the cheesey sauce.
Serve. Eat. Drink the wine. Be sated.
God bless us, every one!
The End:
Tammi of Road Warrior Survival shares her recipe for Liquid Midol. It's a drink made with a couple of chocolate liqueurs and vanilla vodka. She says, "...it's perfect to help relieve some of the stress of the season." The word "chocolate" is enough to get me to try it, stress relief is just an added bonus.
I talked my husband into joining the Carnival of the Recipes this week. Jeff's cooking task each Christmas is to make his Pumpkin Pie. The first time he made it he accidentally used sweetened condensed milk instead of the evaporated milk the recipe called for. It turned out so well (there's enough cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg to keep it from being too sweet) that I told him he had to make it the "wrong" way from now on.
Triticale has a recipe for Kentucky Butter Cake TNT. Any recipe that has a title with the words "Kentucky", "butter", and "cake" has to be good. I'm not sure about the TNT but it isn't listed in the ingredients so I think we're okay there.
Unbelievable Chocolate Cake from Kris of Anywhere but Here. She says that it's "super-easy and super-good".
Cindy of Notes in the Key of Life has a recipe for Weight Watchers Graham Cracker Dessert.
My recipe this week is for Ribbon Cookies, another in my series of Christmas cookie posts.
Find out about Mincemeat Pies at Publius & Co.
Monica shares her recipe for Hot Fudge Sauce.
3 T butter
3/4 cups chocolate chips (I use semisweet, but milk works as well)
3/4 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk
vanilla (optional)
1. Melt butter, chocolate chips, and sugar in medium pan, stirring frequently
2. Add evaporated milk and vanilla
3. Boil, stirring frequently, until thick
Prep time: usually about 10-15 minutes...i've never timed it
These are rectangular cookies with stripes of green, brown, and pink.
Ribbon Cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup finely chopped maraschino cherries, well drained
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 square (1 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
6 drops green food coloring
Line a 9"x5" or 8"x4" loaf pan with foil.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, vanilla, and egg; blend until a stiff dough forms.
Divide the dough into three parts. Stir the cherries and almond extract into one part, the chocolate into the second, and the nuts and green food coloring into the third.
Spoon and evenly press (in any order) the chocolate, green/nut, and cherry doughs into the lined pan. Cover; chill several hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the pan. Cut in half lengthwise. Cut each half into 1/4" slices. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 7 to 9 minutes until edges are slightly brown.
Cool on wire racks.
We went to our local YMCA yesterday to go swimming. As we drove up, my son mentioned that their sign said they were having an open house for Hannukah.
A Christian organization celebrating Hannukah. In a southern red state. Compare that with the parade in Denver where everyone but Christians could be represented.
Listen to leftist propaganda and you will know that it's the Christians who are intolerant. So, what's going on here? Those wily Christians, going and welcoming people of another faith. It's like they actually try to do the "love thy neighbor" thing instead of just talking about it.
Carnival of the Recipes #16 is up at Fresh as a Daisy.
This is the second time Angela has hosted the Carnival of the Recipes and not only has she done an excellent job, she also managed to spell Gullyberg Gollyborg Gullyborg correctly (unlike some of us.)
List of recipes (see the Carnival post for links):
Pilgrim on the Beach
Fried Banana and Peanut Butter Sandwich
Chicken Nachos
Stuffed Mushrooms
Artichoke Dip
Caesar Salad
Moroccan Pumpkin Soup
Holtz's Chili
Slow Cook Pasta Fagioli Soup
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Coriander and Cumin
Elvie's Shrimp Gumbo
Cronbread Chicken Pot Pie
Buttermilk Brined Pork Chops
Classic Beef Tenderloin
King Ranch Chicken
Turkey Chilaquiles Salsa Verde
Vegetarian Enchiladas
Modified Wilson's Cornbread Stuffing
Hot Rolls
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
New England Christmas Cookies
Holiday Sugar Cookies
Gingersnaps
Gingerbread Cookies
ASCAP's Top 25 most-performed Holiday songs:
1. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) Mel Tormé,
Robert Wells)
2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin)
3. Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith)
4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie)
5. White Christmas (Irving Berlin)
6. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)
7. I'll Be Home For Christmas (Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram)
8. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (Johnny Marks)
9. Little Drummer Boy (Katherine K. Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone)
10. Jingle Bell Rock (Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe)
11. Silver Bells (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)
12. Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish)
13. Feliz Navidad (José Feliciano)
14. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (Edward Pola, George Wyle)
15. Blue Christmas (Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson)
16. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree (Johnny Marks)
17. Frosty The Snowman (Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins)
18. A Holly Jolly Christmas (Johnny Marks)
19. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Tommie Connor)
20. It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Meredith Willson)
21. Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) (Gene Autry,
Oakley Haldeman)
22. Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney)
23. Carol Of The Bells (Peter J. Wilhousky, Mykola Leontovich)
24. Santa Baby (Joan Ellen Javits, Philip Springer, Tony Springer)
25. This Christmas (Donny Hathaway, Nadine McKinnor)
You can decorate these cookies with colored sugar or other decorations before baking or decorate the cooled cookies with icing or frosting. If you're going to be doing a lot of baking, make the dough the day before and cut and bake these cookies the next day before the kitchen gets too warm. The cooler the room is, the easier the dough will be to handle and the less flour you will need when rolling it out. These cookies are soft and puffy but too much flour can make them tough.
3 1/4 c. cake flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. sour cream
Combine dry ingredients; set aside. Cream butter. Add sugar, egg, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in sour cream. Gradually add dry ingredients. Chill dough for at least an hour.
Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness onto a lightly floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake on lightly greased or parchment paper covered cookie sheets at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes (adjust time for size of cookies).
Either the icing or the frosting may be tinted with food coloring. You can use liquid coloring for pale colors but need paste coloring for darker colors. Once the icing/frosting is made, divide it into separate bowls to add the coloring.
Royal Icing - makes a hard, shiny glaze.
3 egg whites (1/4 cup pasteurized egg whites)
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract, optional
Beat egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter with mixer at medium speed for about 5 to 7 minutes. Use immediately or store in covered containers.
Put the rack of cookies on top of wax paper to catch the drips then you can dip the cookies in the icing or spread it on with a table knife. (If your icing begins to harden while you're using it, stir in a drop or two of warm water.)
Vanilla Frosting
1/3 c. shortening
1 T. margarine
3 c. sifted powdered sugar
3 T. milk
1 1/2 t. vanilla
Beat all ingredients together until well mixed. Spread or pipe onto cookies.