cookies, Recipes: Family Favorites

Cookie Jar Gingersnaps

  Packed full of holiday spices, there's no mistaking the flavor of this spicy gingerbread treat. These cookies can be rolled and cut into gingerbread men or made into traditional soft and chewy rounds. 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 T. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 3/4… Continue reading Cookie Jar Gingersnaps

cookies, Recipes: Family Favorites

Mrs. Germack’s Pecan Delights

At the age of 19, I lived in an apartment building next door to an 80 year-old German woman. During my first holiday season there, she taught me how to bake her favorite Christmas cookie. The recipe for Pecan Delights looks simple. The cookie itself is a small and simple looking pale colored disc with a pecan centered on… Continue reading Mrs. Germack’s Pecan Delights

Happy Holidays

Make Do Decorating: “Snowy Woodland” Christmas Tree

By the first week of December, Christmas has exploded at our house. Many years of accumulation has resulted in box upon box of mismatched Christmas decor. They are things that I love and can't bear to part with even if I don't have the room to display them all. That isn't really true though, because… Continue reading Make Do Decorating: “Snowy Woodland” Christmas Tree

cookies, Recipes: Family Favorites

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

I found this sugar cookie recipe many years ago in a book filled with early American recipes. It has the best flavor of any I've tried and I'm often asked for the recipe. In the cookbook where I found it, a story was told about a young woman in colonial times baked and sold these best selling… Continue reading Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Travel

Castle Noel: A Christmas day trip to Medina, Ohio

Medina, Oh is a cute little town where one can easily spend a day browsing the many shops plus an antiques mall. Also in the downtown area is a local Christmas attraction called Castle Noel. Castle Noel is owned by Mark Klaus, a sculptor whom I first became familiar with when he was selling his beautifully… Continue reading Castle Noel: A Christmas day trip to Medina, Ohio

cookies, Recipes: Family Favorites

Mocha-Chocolate Frosted Drops

I found both this chocolate cookie recipe and the mocha-chocolate frosting recipe in two different sections of the same vintage 1950's cookbook.  They weren't intended to be used together and the frosting recipe is the same one I often use for chocolate cake. The first time I tried frosting the cookie with it, I knew I… Continue reading Mocha-Chocolate Frosted Drops

cookies, Recipes: Family Favorites

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Growing up, Mom was sure to make a batch of these cookies every Christmas. They were Dad's favorites then and still are today. There are many similar recipes with various names: Russian Tea Cakes, Snowball Cookies, etc. Mom's recipe calls for them to be dropped from a spoon onto a cookie sheet. I like to… Continue reading Mexican Wedding Cookies