New handmade stockings are in order this year. I made Clementine's first because it was the most fun. Felt, hot glue, assorted sparkly trims, a great idea and an old pair of holiday fur-trimmed knee socks helped me to make this pepperminty sweet stocking for my little lady.
So cute! One down. Three to go.
Apparently Weezie was mad that all she got for her birthday was a swirly beef tendon and a plate of whipped cream. I guess she really wanted something along the lines of a bread loaded with sugar, butter, citrus and raisins. For when we returned home, she greeted us with kisses and a sweetly familiar, holiday scented beard. It was then I looked down to find this freshly baked $20 panettone from the Pearl Bakery on our living room rug. I thought it was safe neatly packed in the priority mail box waiting to be sent to grandma's house. I was wrong.
This year's Weezie ornament...
santa weez
Every year I make an ornament transforming our beloved furry friend, Weezie, into a holiday favorite. The first year I got a little carried away with how many I made and santa weez covered our tree. It was quite a sight! Oh what a photo, felt, chenille stems and some glitter can do! It makes us laugh every time.
weezie the red nosed reindeer
frosty the snow weez
What will she be this year? Check back tomorrow to find out!
Many years ago I saw this in a Martha Stewart Living magazine. Crispy and savory leaf crisps made from wonton wrappers. A simple way to make your salad or soup a little more festive.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl mix together:
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
You will need wonton wrappers which can be found in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. Cut out your leaf shape using a 3.25 inch leaf-shaped cookie cutter. This recipe makes 24. Place in single layer on 2 baking sheets. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with cheese mixture and then season with coarse salt.
Bake until crisp and golden, about 5-8 minutes. Let cool. These can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Also good to snack on! Imagine the many shaped possibilities for other occasions!
Cookie time is here. Whether it's to swap, share or eat all yourself, these are a tasty treat!
This recipe in particular appealed to me because of it's six ingredients, all of which I had on hand, and the fact that it didn't require an electric mixer. So simple, I thought, but I learned that when a recipe says 'active time: 2 hours', that simple cookie becomes a bit more complex! Totally worth it.
A lace cookie is very flat, kind of crispy, kind of chewy, very buttery, with a nuttiness that is balanced with sweet. I love how these are scribbled upon with both white and bittersweet chocolate.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle. This recipe has you line your 2 baking sheets with a silpat or some other nonstick bakeware liner. I only have one. I figured that lace cookies were being baked long before the invention of a silpat so I lined my other baking sheet with parchment. The parchment cookies were a little browner on the edges but were just as good.
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Melt butter, brown sugar, and salt in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir occasionally.
Stir in coconut, oats and flour until just combined. Remove from heat but keep batter warm over pot. You will be tempted to try the batter because it smells so good. You may even want to eat it by the spoonful. Don't do it! Not only will that mean you make less cookies to swap but you will have a belly ache and probably never want to actually eat these cookies once they are baked. Not that I would do anything like that. I'm just guessing that might happen!
Drop rounded teaspoons of batter at least 3.5 inches apart on one baking sheet and spread each cookie to about 2 inches using the back of your spoon. These babies spread! If you find yourself trying to squeeze more on the sheet or make these bigger than a rounded teaspoon, stop! Follow the instructions and you will be rewarded in the end!
Bake for 8-12 minutes until cookies are bubbling and golden brown. Cool on baking sheet on rack until firm, about 3-4 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat this process baking only one sheet at a time. This is where the time consuming part comes in. For me that was 6 cookies at a time! It's good to do something else in the kitchen while this is happening.
Melt 3 ounces each of bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate. Let it cool slightly and then place it in a heavy duty sealable bag. Snip a TINY 1/16th-inch opening at the corner of the bag. Place cooled cookies on a parchment lined tray that can easily go in the freezer. Drizzle chocolate over cookies and then freeze for 2-3 minutes until the chocolate is set. Carefully remove from tray.
Layer parchment between the layers of cookies and keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week. Yum! These were a big hit in our house.
Click here to get the recipe I used ready to print out:
You might have caught on that we have a thing for owls. We found this crazy owl lamp at a yard sale. It's a little over the top but we were really drawn to it. I put the little owls that we had collected together in a wooden bowl filled with moss, kind of like a nest. The art on the wall is by our friend, Matt Tanner.