christmas cookies ready for mailing

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Baking: Hearty Oat Cranapple Muffins

Hearty Oat Cranapple Muffins

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:
3 c. of flour
2 c. oatmeal (old fashioned)
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. sliced cranberries
1 c. chopped tart apples
(you can use 2 c. apples or 2 c. cranberries instead of the combination)
2 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 c. melted butter
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. sour cream
3 eggs

Optional Topping:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. oatmeal (old fashioned)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 stick melted butter
Mix together the topping ingredients.


Directions

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together gently (Do not beat). Fill muffin tins or muffin liners full, and sprinkle the topping on, if you are using a topping. Bake at 400° for 18 minutes. Bakers Hint: We place one muffin tin directly under another to avoid dark "ring around the muffin" during baking.

Peace on earth cookies

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Baking: Ultimate Ginger Cookies

Ultimate Ginger Cookies

* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
* 1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
* 1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger
* sugar, for rolling cookies


Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 28 mins

1. 1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. 2 Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
3. 3 Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands.
4. 4 Beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the speed to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute.
5. 5 With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients, then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
6. 6 Add crystallized ginger and mix until combined.
7. 7 Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers.
8. 8 Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place on sheet pans.
9. 9 Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be cracked on the top and soft inside.
10. 10 Let the cookies cool for a minute or two and the transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Brandied cranberry white chocolate chip cookies

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Brandied Cranberry, White Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe


Ingredients

* 1 cup of brandy (to soak the cranberries in, then saving 1 1/4 teaspoons of it for later)
* 1 cup of dried cranberries
* 1 cup (two sticks) of butter, room temperature
* 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
* 3/4 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
* 2 eggs, room temperature
* 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon of baking soda
* 1 teaspoon of salt
* 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
* 1 cup of white chocolate chips

Method

1 Put the cranberries in a wide and shallow bowl, pour in a bit of brandy. Enough so they're surrounded by it, but not drowning. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour or more. After that, place a colander over a bowl and pour the cranberries and brandy through, putting the cranberries and the brandy they soaked in aside. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2 Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and beat again until light, fluffy and well incorporated.

3 Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and add 1 1/4 teaspoons of the brandy that the cranberries soaked in (as for the rest, I suggest popping it in a glass and topping it off a bit for yourself). Beat well until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl midway through to ensure even mixing.

4 Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add to the mixture a bit at a time, beating until just mixed. Fold in the brandy soaked cranberries and white chocolate chips. Let chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.

5 Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (a baker's best friend) and place rounded spoonfuls down on the sheet. Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*I find that adding the baking soda separately seems to form softer cookies. This is how my mom and grandmother taught me, and if there is actual science behind it, I'm not aware but it seems pretty consistent, and it won't ruin the cookies if you try it this way.
recipe from simply recipes

Ways to make Christmas Card Displays

Here are two simple ways I am displaying Christmas Cards this season. I covered the pack of that large red picture frame with gold wrapping paper and attached twin stings to the from the back and ran them across the front of the frames. To attach the cards, I decorated plain wooden clothes pins with scraps of paper.

Another simple way I am displaying cards this year is with bells and buttons. I just hot glued large round bells to large flat buttons. The card just rest in the slots of the top of the bell .


I am loving to use the Close to My Heart Mistletoe Paper for my Christmas Cards this year.