Christmas Cookies!

I'm not doing much baking this year, yet... but here is a re-post from last year with some of my favorite cookie recipes. Let me know if you try any of them, or comment back with YOUR favorite cookie recipe!

This year i've tried foldover cookies filled with homemade jam. I've baked a few loaves of my favorite nut bread and may just have to bake another as the one i used pumpkin puree and duck eggs in was so good we ate it too fast and i want some more! My husband and i have been rekindling my mother and my tradition of making an annual gingerbread house. We've somehow managed to make this process last 3 days instead of one, but hopefully i'll have some photos of the finished product for you tomorrow. Gingerbread houses rock because the cookies just get yummier as they age and it's fun to pick them apart between christmas and new years. I'm not making my sugar cookies this year, but my favorite (chocolate variety) cookies are on the docket for tonight. Christmas just isn't Christmas without sucking the coldness out of some chocolatey, fudgey variety cookies.

Chocolate variety cookies

Gingerbread cookies for Texas

Sugar cookies with half whole wheat flour

Spiced Pecans

What are your favorite holiday cookies? Have you succombed to the delights of refined sugar despite normally health eating habits like me? I may have gained 3 pounds (2011 edit: 20 pounds, sigh), but i'm still enjoying my annual guilty pleasure of holiday cookies and quick breads.    Now, enough typing, and more cookie eating!

Gingerbread House - A Family Tradition

Phew.
Okay, it's 5 PM and we just finished the gingerbread hen house. 4 days after we started. So instead of telling you a bunch of cutely worded details, i'm just going to give the straight facts.
History: my mom and i started making gingerbread houses from scratch sometime when i was in high school. We started with a house, the next year made a horse barn, and another year made a sleigh: that was our real masterpiece. This was the first house my husband and i made and we fittingly chose a hen house to house gingerbread versions of our chickens who are enjoying their second Christmas this year.

Day one made two types of dough. Chilled.
Day two rolled out first dough and baked the house and some cookies. Not stiff enough even when cooled. Hmmm. Austin's humidity is not helping me out.

Day three dough still not stiff enough bake second batch of dough (thanks, Susy!) and completely new walls.

Day four wait for 3-4 hours while husband takes forever wrapping presents and then FINALLY construct the hen house!

 It's all about the creme of tartar to get some really good gluing icing. Fun tip: put icing in a ziplock or plastic bag and cut a tiny bit off the corner to use as a pastry bag. Make sure it's a sturdy bag though: mine busted halfway through and plooped a big blob of icing on my nice roof tiles. Lame.

Merry Christmas everybody! We're off for the holidays but i'll be back for the new year.

Wholesome Wednesdays: Christmas Cookies

Yes. This Wednesday is a joke, but we can pretend that Christmas cookies are good for us, right? Maybe that will make them stick to our bones or rot our teeth and brains a little less.
Probably not, though.

This year i've tried foldover cookies filled with homemade jam. I've baked a few loaves of my favorite nut bread and may just have to bake another as the one i used pumpkin puree and duck eggs in was so good we ate it too fast and i want some more! My husband and i have been rekindling my mother and my tradition of making an annual gingerbread house. We've somehow managed to make this process last 3 days instead of one, but hopefully i'll have some photos of the finished product for you tomorrow. Gingerbread houses rock because the cookies just get yummier as they age and it's fun to pick them apart between christmas and new years. I'm not making my sugar cookies this year, but my favorite (chocolate variety) cookies are on the docket for tonight. Christmas just isn't Christmas without sucking the coldness out of some chocolatey, fudgey variety cookies.

Chocolate variety cookies

Gingerbread cookies for Texas

Sugar cookies with half whole wheat flour

Spiced Pecans

 What are your favorite holiday cookies? Have you succombed to the delights of refined sugar despite normally health eating habits like me? I may have gained 3 pounds, but i'm still enjoying my annual guilty pleasure of holiday cookies and quick breads.    Now, enough typing, and more cookie eating!

Foldover Cookies

I'm not a total fan of these, simply because i'm not a huge fan of shortbready cookies or cookies i haven't been eating every Christmas for the past 28 years. They're good though, and definitely taste great with my homemade peach/habanero jam! I had to sub 1/4 cup olive oil for part of the butter and they were super hard to roll out of fold without busting and cracking.

Recipe from Good Housekeeping? (emailed from my Mama)

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tblspns sugar
• preserves
• 1 egg beaten w/tblsp of milk
• finely chopped nuts

1. Put flour in bowl, make a hole
2. thinly slice butter, put with egg yolks and sugar in hole
3. work with fingers until creamy
4. gradually blend in flour
5. sprinkle with 2 tblsp cold water, make a ball and flatten
6. wrap and chill well
7. heat oven to 325
8. cut dough in half, leave half in fridge
9. roll on floured surface to 1/8 inch, cut in 2 1/2 " rounds
10. repeat with other half
11. place rounds on sheet, put 1/2 tsp jelly, fold in half and pinch edges
12. brush tops with egg and sprinkle with nuts
13. bake 18 - 20 minutes till golden brown

makes 5 dozen. No.Way. Mine made about 2 dozen. Clearly i wasn't rolling thinly enough.

Pretty though, ay? My dinner guests were pleased i'd made dessert for once.

And nevermind about these not being tasty enough for me to eat them.... I've been eating at least 3 a night. (Why oh why am i dabbling in baking bread during cookie baking season? My waistline can compete with fresh bread OR cookies, not both in the same day!)