Are You Ready?

The house has been decorated.

I've made lots of my favorite snack mix, for us, and to share with family and friends. You can find this recipe here.

I've baked several batches of my favorite holiday cookies, Mexican Wedding cookies. You can find my recipe here.

I just have to finish gift wrapping and I think I'm ready for Christmas!

Are you ready?

Handmade Holidays Part 2, Delicious Gifts

It's been said, "No gift is in better taste than one you make yourself". Whether you're famous for your homemade jam, bread or cookies, consider homemade treats for everyone on your list.

Pack up a batch of favorite cookies in small boxes covered in wrapping paper. I used some small boxes I had saved from other gifts, lined them in parchment paper and wrapped both the top and bottom in pretty holiday paper. Then I filled the boxes with cookies from one of my favorite recipes, Mexican Wedding Cookies. You can find the recipe here.

These jars are filled with two of my favorite salty snacks, seasoned fish crackers, and my own recipe for Chex cereal based snack mix. I found vintage glass canister inspired jars at Target and cute decorated glass containers at the local dollar store. These would also be great filled with homemade granola or you could layer the ingredients for a favorite cookie and include the recipe. Add a pretty ribbon and cute gift tag for a gift everyone will enjoy. You can find my recipe for the seasoned fish crackers here or try my recipe for Chex cereal snack mix.

Everyone has a favorite recipe for Chex cereal snack mix. Here's mine:

Cheryl's Party Snack Mix

1 box Chex corn cereal
1 box Chex wheat cereal
1 box of Cheez It snack crackers
1 bag of Hanover Butter Snaps preztels (you could also use pretzel sticks or tiny twists)
1 can of LaChoy rice noodles (found in the Asian section of your grocery)
Mixed nuts of your choice, about 3 cups - I used a large can of Planters Deluxe Mixed Nuts
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Evenly divide the first six ingredients into two or three large baking pans. You don't want the pans too full because you'll need to stir the ingredients several times. Place the pans full of the cereal mix ingredients in the preheated oven for 5 minutes to heat. Melt the butter and add the garlic powder to the melted butter. Once the dry ingredients are heated, drizzle the melted over the cereal mix then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Stir well and bake agin for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When cooled, store in airtight containers.
This makes a lot of snack mix, so unless you are having a party you might want to consider freezing some. I usually save about half of the mix in a good quality air tight container, like Tuppereware or Rubbermaid and place it in the freezer. It doesn't actually freeze, it just stays fresher longer.
I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Christmas Cookies!

Recently I've seen a lot of magazine covers with photos of beautifully styled Christmas cookies. It's put me in the mood for some holiday baking. I even saved some new recipes to try, but in the end, partly because of my husband's request, I just went with an old favorite recipe. I've always called these Mexican Wedding Cookies. They are small cookies with a rich buttery flavor, covered in powdered sugar. Of course they are great any time of year, but I always find myself making several batches around the holidays. I thought I would share this simple recipe!

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

1/2 cup powdered sugar (plus more for dusting the cooled cookies)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix ingredients in order given. I just put everything in my food processor and process until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough in half and roll into two long rolls, each about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll up in wax paper or parchment paper and chill for at least 2 hours.

Once dough is thoroughly chilled, slice into 1/4 inch discs and place on cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are slightly brown. Remove cookies and place on cooling racks or a piece of parchment paper to cool.


To decorate, roll each cookie in powdered sugar and place in an airtight container. These cookies keep well and retain their flavor and texture for several days. They are a wonderful tiny treat with a mug of hot tea, coffee or hot chocolate!

Toasted-Pecan Butter Cookies

Oh my gosh, you must try these! These are my new favorite cookies! The recipe for these Toasted-Pecan Butter Cookies is the "Cookie of the Month" recipe from the January '09 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

These delicate, crisp cookies have a rich buttery taste.

Toasted-Pecan Butter Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients
3 1/2 ounces pecan halves, toasted (1 cup)
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted


(Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet in oven, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and golden brown, about 10 minutes. )

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Break each pecan half into 2 or 3 pieces. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until pale. With mixer running, add vanilla and salt, then reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour, beating until just incorporated. Stir in pecans until distributed evenly. Cover dough, and refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes (or overnight; let dough come to room temperature before using).
Drop 2-tablespoon scoops of dough onto baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges of cookies are golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks, and let cool. (Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 2 days.) Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

"These rich, crisp, delicate cookies owe their crumbly texture to confectioners' sugar. Pecans enhance their buttery flavor." Enjoy!