We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and joy to every faith you’re celebrating! May you feel the presence of love and peace during this wonderful time of year. We will be taking a break next week to ring in the new year and look forward to starting a happy and healthy 2017 with you!
One of our annual Christmas traditions includes having a cookie party! In addition to sharing great treats with our friends and loved ones, we play games, have an ornament swap and enjoy the company. We’d like to share a couple of the delicious baked items we made this week!
Holly’s Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
This easy recipe was actually made with 4 packages of refrigerated already prepared sugar cookie dough to save time (who doesn’t need to save time this month!) but feel free to make a traditional dough from scratch. In addition, cocoa powder, peppermint extract and green or red food coloring is also needed.
Roll out 2 packages of the dough into 2 rectangles about 1/4 inch thick each. Take the third package of dough and mix with 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa until the dough turns brown. Then roll the chocolate dough out to a rectangle and place on top of one of the plain sugar cookie dough rectangles. Take the last dough package and mix with a drop or two of peppermint extract (a little goes a long way) and a few drops of either red or green food coloring until you have the color you like. Then roll the peppermint dough into a rectangle and place it on top of the remaining plain sugar cookie dough rectangle. Cut each of the dough rectangles in half. Refrigerate dough for five minutes. Carefully roll each rectangle to resemble a pinwheel looking log. Then slice into 1/2 inch cookies, place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. Cool before eating. So festive!
Heather’s Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
1/2 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 6 tbsp and 1 stick softened butter, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp molasses, 1 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3 cups quick oats, 1 cup butterscotch chips
Pre-heat oven to 350. Cream together both sugars and butter with mixer on medium. Add eggs, vanilla and molasses and beat on medium. Add sifted whole wheat flour, baking soda and cinnamon, hand mix until combined. Add oats and butterscotch chips and mix well by hand. Scoop out rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-11 minutes. Cool and store covered. Cookies will be dark due to the molasses. Delicious!
Prepare. What does that mean to you this time of year? For us, it means quite a few things. Physically we are busy: shopping for gifts, wrapping, baking and entertaining. Emotionally we are thinking: making to-do lists, trying to slow down and enjoy this festive time of year. Spiritually we are preparing for Christmas. It’s about patience and waiting; lighting advent wreaths, displaying our nativities and remembering it is all about love. Enjoy this season and take time to see your loved ones. Make hot chocolate, watch a holiday movie and put on the jolly music. And don’t forget the love that is given to you!
Since Thanksgiving has just passed,we thought we’d pass along a couple of great ideas for leftovers. We made these last week and they were delicious!
Holly’s Turkey Quesadillas:
2 medium soft flour tortillas, a pat of butter, 1/2 cup shredded turkey, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes, 1/4 cup stuffing, , cranberry sauce
Heat butter in a skillet (I used a crepe maker for ease), and warm one tortilla on one side, then remove and warm the second tortilla on both sides. Sprinkle half the cheese and turkey on the second tortilla then remove from skillet. Spread the mashed potatoes and stuffing on the warmed side of the first tortilla then place it back in the skillet. Then put the turkey/cheese tortilla on top of the potato/stuffing tortilla. Press down with a spatula and flip. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top then remove to a broiler to melt the cheese. Serve by cutting in fours with a side of cranberry sauce for dipping.
Heather’s Cheesy Corn Dip:
1 bowl of leftover corn or creamed corn (*about 3-4 cups worth), 1/2 cup of Monterey Jack cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
If you have regular corn with butter, salt and pepper leftover, place in skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup of half and half. Whisk another 1 cup of half and half with 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour and add to skillet stirring over medium heat to thicken. Turn off heat and add the 3 cheeses. If you’re starting with creamed corn, just heat up the dish and then add the 3 cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.
* If you only have a small amount of corn leftover, reduce all ingredients accordingly.
Holly and Heather's Helping Hands 