Christmas Cookies!

After all that belly-aching, I FINALLY finished the decking the halls!  Woo Hoo!!

And to celebrate, I started baking Christmas cookies.  Depending on the year, I typically make 6 - 8 different kinds of cookies, bars and candies around the holidays.  This year, I am trying to SIMPLIFY (mostly unsuccessfully), so I've narrowed it down to only three types of cookies: 

1. The All-Time-Favorite-Absolute-Best-Ever-You-Have-To-Make-These-and-You-Will-Thank-Me-Later-For-These Peanut Butter Cookies
2. Cowboy Cookies (No clue where the name comes from)
3. Chocolate Crinkles

Last night I made the dough for the PB and Cowboy cookies, and put it in the freezer.  I did cook up a tray of each so I'd have pictures to share with you.

If you're going to make both cookies on the same day, start with the Peanut Butter because they have to chill and you can make the Cowboy Cookies while they're in the freezer.

Step One:  Put on your very best outfit...

Yep, that's me.  Flannel pj pants and cold feet - sooooo pretty!  :-)

Step Two:  For inspiration, multi-tasking, and to make some room on your DVR, pull up those unwatched episodes of Top Chef to play while you're working away in the kitchen.

Now, get busy.  Gather your ingredients - the first picture is for the Peanut Butter, the second is for the Cowboy

 For the Peanut Butter Cookies, cream together the butter and sugar, add the vanilla and peanut butter, sift together the dry ingredients, and then slowly combine the two.

Transfer the dough to a large ziploc bag and chill for several hours.  I put it in the freezer for about two hours because I was in a hurry.

 Start on the Cowboy Cookies.  Cream the butter and Eagle Brand until they are smooth, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and then gradually add to butter mixture.  Stir in coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips.

 Scoop/spoon onto cookie trays, and bake.

While you're waiting, notice how cute your new hand towels from Crate and Barrel look. 

Remember you have silpats and find them, realizing you should have used them under these cookies, and even though you don't really need them for the Peanut Butter cookies you're going to use them anyway because it's just a matter of principle now.

Take cookies out of the oven and cool for a minute before transferring them to a wire rack to fully cool.  Test - YUM!  (Then bake 3 more trays).

When you're done baking the Cowboy Cookies, the Peanut Butter dough should be chilled enough to bake.  Roll into 1 1/2" balls and place on silpat lined (or not) trays.  Dip the tines of a fork in sugar and make the classic cross hatch designs on each cookie, pressing the cookie slightly flat.  These will spread some while baking, but not much.  Put them in the oven.

Remove from oven, remove to wire racks to cool.  Quality Control Test, YUM!  Passed!  When fully cooled, gently place in 1 gallon ziploc freezer bags and return to freezer until it's time to package them up for gifting.

Thank you for reading the longest post ever and ENJOY!!!  Here are the recipes.

The All-Time-Favorite-Absolute-Best-Ever-You-Have-To-Make-These-and-You-Will-Thank-Me-Later-For-These Peanut Butter Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter (I ran out so I used one butter and one margarine), softened

2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

18 oz. peanut butter (this is 1 small jar - you can use creamy or crunchy)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1. Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat.  Add peanut butter and mix well.
2. Sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture and beat until smooth.
3. Chill dough for several hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. Form dough into 1 1/2" balls and place on cookie sheet.  Use the tines of a fork dipped in sugar to press down slightly on cookies and make cross-hatch pattern.
6. Bake for 8 - 11 minutes depending on how crispy you like your cookies.  (I prefer the 8 - 9 minute cookie).
7. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Cowboy Cookies

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 (14-ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 2/3 cups coconut
2 cups (12-ounce bag) chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Beat Eagle Brand and butter until smooth.
3. Combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, and baking powder in a separate bowl.  Gradually add to butter mixture.
4. Stir in coconut, chocolate chips and pecans.
5. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets (silpats are great for these cookies because they have a tendency to stick if left cooling on the pan too long).
6. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
7. Cool on trays for 1 -2 minutes

Edie at LifeinGrace is having a Cookie Exchange Party - I'm linking up over there - come join the fun!

My Favorite So Far

This is my favorite Christmas corner so far...

It gets dark so early that I haven't gotten any good pictures of the rest of the house yet.  I'm planning on getting home a little earlier today so I can get a few snaps in before the sun goes down. 

In case you were wondering, the governor is not harelipped and I did not finish last night, but I only have to decorate the dining room table, and I can get that done fairly quickly tonight. 

WARNING: GRUMPY ALERT! DANGER!

WARNING:  GRUMPY OLD LADY! BEWARE! DANGER!  BAH HUMBUG!


Don't say I didn't warn you.... 

I feel like I've been eaten by a Holiday Monster.  I cannot seem to FINISH the Christmas decorations, baking, shopping, wrapping, crafting, etc.  Everything seems to be half-done and I'm stuck.

Just to put it in perspective, this is what I started with on the day after Thanksgiving.

This does not include the main tree or the outside lights. Oh.My.Gracious!  Once again, I've gone with the "More is More" theme for the holidays.  I do not know why I do this to myself.  

Don't get me wrong, I L.O.V.E. Christmas, but this year I'm finding it really overwhelming!

Other than having too much junk stuff, I'm stumped by two new things I bought this year.  I bought  two gorgeous red cut class vases/candle holders at Hobby Lobby and these two fabulous white reindeer at Z Gallerie.

I want to use things like this in my holiday decorating, the problem is that these are chic and cool and everything else that I have is NOT. 

Normally, I can get a "vision" of how I want my table, mantle, whatever to look and then make it happen.  I have no vision this year, and I don't want to work on anything else (baking, wrapping, cards, blah, blah, blah) until it looks like Christmas and the mess of the empty boxes is put away.

On the upside, the "big" tree is finished, the nativities are in place, and I think I made some good progress on everything else last night. 

I swear, I do not care if it harelip's the governor, I WILL finish the decorating TONIGHT!  Whatever doesn't get done tonight is just not going to happen.  


Is anyone else struggling with this as much as I am?

Who Doesn't Love a Flash Mob?

I saw this on Susie Davis' blog here.  Love it!!!



I wanna be in a flash mob! These videos just make me happy. 

Merry Christmas!

Best Mom Ever's Advent Calendar

When Chicken Little was, well...little, I made an advent calendar with small paper mâché boxes that I'd covered in wrapping paper and wall paper scraps.  I didn't have enough small boxes, so I improvised and the collection grew to include various decorative boxes that found their way into our Christmas decorations.  Here's a bit of the collection that I cropped from an OLD picture (the pink striped one is an example of how it started):

Every year I'd fill them with small gifts - mostly from the dollar store - or candy. I'd also include fun Christmas-themed things like pencils with designs on them, ornaments, or supplies for Christmas crafts.  As she got older, we continued the tradition and the gifts changed to things like lip gloss and earrings (vintage clip-ons from eBay at $1 or less/pair), with a few ornaments and candy still thrown in the mix.  I had as much fun figuring out what to put in the boxes as she did opening them. 

As I started to think about Christmas this year, I knew it was something we would both miss.  While this is a year of big changes, it doesn't mean we have to go cold turkey on everything.  I decided to ease our transition.  Even though CL's not home, I still wanted this to feel like Christmas for her (and, honestly, I'm not quite ready to give up on this fun tradition yet either).

This year, I bought some small tags and got crafty with some mod podge, scrapbook paper, rhinestones, and stickers.

Using stencils, stamps, stickers, and some freehand, I numbered each tag, 1 - 24.

Then I made a trip to the $1 sections at Target and Michael's...

...ok - so not all of this is from the $1 section, but you get the idea.  (I already had the little metal stocking and I have no idea where it came from.) 

Using envelopes, recycled boxes and wrapping paper scraps, I wrapped everything up, and attached the tags.

When it was all ready to go, I squeezed it all into a flat-rate priority mail box with some red and green tissue paper.  While she was home during Thanksgiving, I mailed it so it would be waiting when she got back to school.

As I'm sure you know, it's not about what's in the packages - it's mostly just junk - it's really about the tradition and having a bit of home with you when you're far away - and knowing that someone cares about you.

When my big, grown-up little girl checked her mail, she called me a wee bit teary-voiced and crowned me the "Best Mom Ever" - thank you very much.  ;-) 

I L.O.V.E. Christmas!

Linking up here and here and here and here - come on over and get inspired!

Gratitude Friday

I know I'm a little late to the Fall party, but that's just how we roll 'round these parts.  The trees are finally hitting their stride with their full color display.  This will last about 32 minutes.  There will be a hard freeze soon and all of these leaves will immediately drop to the ground.  Contrary to popular belief, we do have four seasons in Texas: Summer, Summer, Summer, and Winter.  Winter will be here soon.  Look at that gorgeous blue sky!

(Ooops - I just noticed that one picture is repeated twice. Oh well, I guess I liked that one.  I took all of these with my phone.  I may or may not have been driving at the same time...just sayin'.) 

This week I'm grateful for:

1.  Quiet
2.  Rt. 44 sized diet cherry limeade at the happy hour price
3.  Taking the day off tomorrow
4.  Stretchy pants
5.  The Christmas tree is "done"

Have a great weekend!

Punkin' Eater

While she was home last week, Chicken Little asked me if I had ever heard of squirrels eating pumpkins.  "No way," I said, "squirrels eat nuts." We've put out pumpkins for 20 years and have never had evidence of squirrel pillaging. 

Hmmm.... 

We have a yard full of acorns, but apparently pumpkin is a squirrel delicacy.  Who knew? 

On a different note, I've been absent for a few days because I've been so busy!  I still have a bit of decorating to finish for Christmas, but hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll be done and then I can share.  :-)