Thursday, December 23, 2010

Cookie Swap



If there is one thing I really love around the holidays it is going to a cookie swap. For the past few years I have had a cookie swap at my house and attended one at my friend Barbara's too. You can never have too many cookies. I love to see and taste everyones Christmas best, and well to be honest I get mad when people bring something other than there best. I guess one would say I can be a bit of a cookie swap snob.

This year we had some really great cookies. Barbara's tri-colored layer cookies are always a hit, Beth's Hungarian Nut Rolls are delicious, and this year Arlene pulled out a great Chocolate Florentine cookie that I know I will be making soon, just to name a few.



I seem to make something different every year, this year I made some Danish Oatmeal. I love just about anything with oats, and the recipe was light and delicate.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, or as needed

Directions

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate large bowl, mix the butter, 1 cup confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour mixture; gently stir in the oatmeal and pecans and lightly mix until combined.
With a spoon, drop about 1 scant tablespoon of dough per cookie onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely before sprinkling cookies with confectioners' sugar.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Get Your Craft On Card Night


Well is was craft night at the Keneally's with the mom's group. The plan was to make a total of 20 cards, 5 different cards, 4 of each and that is what we did. We had a feminine, masculine, girl, boy and a gift card holder.

I put allot of thought into the design of the cards, I wanted them to be creative but not over dressed.

The nice thing for the attendees is I have all of the pieces cut before they get here, it was a little time consuming for me, but those who know me know I love to craft and love to share craftin'.