Tommorow my parents arrive late in the afternooon ... preparations are still under way. Yesterday we finished getting the sitting area by the fireplace ready for the holiday. It is in a part of the house that has not been remodelled or restored, and so was a bit rough around the edges. Transforming it into a cozy place for visiting was enjoyable, not very difficult, and didn't cost anything. With a bit of imagination, rearranging a few pieces of furniture, and placing several inexpensive tea and votive candles here and there the area took on a new life.
Now an area of the house that tended to be passed by without pausing is a warm and inviting stopping off place to sit, gaze out the window, and chat ... with or without a fire going. Three hand knit Christmas stockings are hanging, and we are awaiting the arrival of the stockings I knit for my parents and my son to complete the grouping.
Now for my cookie recipes: Peanut Butter Maple Cookies and Firefly's Chip Chips. Later I'll add these to my recipes page, but for now they will reside here in the body of my blog. Both of these cookie recipes of mine have my dear husband's stamp of approval ... so please enjoy!
Peanut Butter Maple Cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Ingredients
1 cups (two sticks) softended butter
1 1/2 cups real maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups natural style chuncky peanut butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups flour
Directions
Beat the softned butter with maple syrup until creamy.
Add vanilla, eggs and peanut butter. Beat well, until creamy again.
In a separate bowl, stir together the salt, soda, and 2 1/2 cups flour until well mixed. Add gradually to peanut butter mixture, mixing very well after each addition.
With the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, mix in 1/4 cup at a time until you reach a good cookie dough consistency. You don't want the dough to be crumbly at all, or the cookies will come out far too dry. But, you also don't want it to be too sticky because thent hey will be too gooey.
If you mix in all of the 1 1/2 cups flour and the dough is still too gooey to be cookie dough, mix in a little more flour until it is right.
Because of the maple syrup, the dough will be stickier than normal cookie dough, but it needs to be firm enough to hold its form during baking.
Rolls heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls, place on ungreased cookie sheets. Using a fork dipped in flour, press each cookie longways and side ways to make the criss-cross imprint on top.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes; remove from oven. Let cool on cookie sheet for two or three minutes before removing to cool completely on wire racks.
This recipe should make about 48 cookies.
If desired, before baking place three peanuts in the middle of each cookie and press in slightly. However, when I did this (as in the cookies in the photo) the peanuts tended to fall out after baking. So, I actually don't recommend it.
Now for Firefly's Chip Chips (possibly renamed later, but that's the best my foggy mind could come up with this morning).
Firefly's Chip Chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Ingredients
1 cups (two sticks) softended butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 12-oz. package Nestle Chocolatier Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1 12-oz. package Nestle Butterscotch Chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
Beat the softned butter until creamy.
Add sugar and vanilla to butter, and beat again until creamy.
Add eggs to butter mixture, and beat again until creamy.
In separate bowl, stir together the salt, soda, and 2 1/2 cups flour until well mixed. Add gradually to butter mixture until well mixed.
Fold in chips and nuts.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake about 11 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheets for three minutes or so before removing to wire cooling racks to cool completely.
Be sure to eat one hot off the cookie sheet, and offer the same to anyone else who is home; they'll love you for it.
This recipe should make three dozen scrumptious chip cookies.
I have to go now, but I wish you a wonderful day!
~firefly
Tommorow my parents arrive late in the afternooon ... preparations are still under way. Yesterday we finished getting the sitting area by the fireplace ready for the holiday. It is in a part of the house that has not been remodelled or restored, and so was a bit rough around the edges. Transforming it into a cozy place for visiting was enjoyable, not very difficult, and didn't cost anything. With a bit of imagination, rearranging a few pieces of furniture, and placing several inexpensive tea and votive candles here and there the area took on a new life.
Now an area of the house that tended to be passed by without pausing is a warm and inviting stopping off place to sit, gaze out the window, and chat ... with or without a fire going. Three hand knit Christmas stockings are hanging, and we are awaiting the arrival of the stockings I knit for my parents and my son to complete the grouping.
Now for my cookie recipes: Peanut Butter Maple Cookies and Firefly's Chip Chips. Later I'll add these to my recipes page, but for now they will reside here in the body of my blog. Both of these cookie recipes of mine have my dear husband's stamp of approval ... so please enjoy!
Peanut Butter Maple Cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Ingredients
Now for Firefly's Chip Chips (possibly renamed later, but that's the best my foggy mind could come up with this morning).
Firefly's Chip Chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Ingredients