Christmas – Page 13 – Gracious Rain

December 24, 2011January 14, 2022

Merry, Merry…

Merry, Merry Christmas my dear friends.

December 23, 2011October 16, 2022

I’ve loved the buttery, melty taste of Spritz cookies since I was a little girl. I used to watch my dad shoot cookie dough from a pastry bag into fancy shapes that turned magically into stripes and flowers and stars–each with a different flavor too.

Now, I’m not so hot with a pastry bag, but even so, I’m happy to tell you that I made these little sweeties…

all by myself—no chef skills required.

What it takes is this lovely little Cookie Press from Wilton. I’ve always wanted to try one so today, I got really brave and to my surprise, it was easy! You simply make the dough, fill the press and click the dough onto the cookie sheet in any of a dozen different shapes. Sim-ple.

Ingredients:

3-1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 cups butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsps milk

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour and baking powder and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture and mix well.

Fill cookie press with dough and fit with whichever disc you want.

Press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Add sprinkles or sanding sugar or whatever floats your boat.

Bake 10 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on the pan,

then transfer to cooling rack.

Won’t Santa just LOVE these? Of course he will!

Classic Christmas Spritz

Ingredients

3-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 cups butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsps milk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour and baking powder and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg, milk and vanilla.
Slowly add flour mixture and mix well.
Fill cookie press with dough and fit with whichever disc you want.
Press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on the pan, then transfer to cooling rack

December 22, 2011October 24, 2021

My Christmasy Folks

One year, when I was a kid, my Mama gave my sister and I one of these little ornaments. She told us that it reminded her of her Swedish grandmother–whom she loved and missed very much.

She helped me be very proud to have a bit of Swedish in me. She was such a cute little mom.

Sooooo many things remind me of my momma at Christmastime.

One November, many years ago, I made her this for her birthday. It made her cry–I knew it would.

Then there was my funny little dad–I believe I’ve mentioned him before. Can’t you just see that little twinkle in his eye? We use to give him gingerbread ornaments because every year, he would make a million sheets of Honeycake to make into gingerbread houses all over the valley. Many people knew him as the “Gingerbread Man,” and with good reason.

Sooo many things remind me of my dad at Christmastime.

Then one December, I made him this for his birthday–because it was so him. It made him cry–I knew it would.

Soooo many things remind me of them…

at Christmastime.

December 21, 2011January 14, 2022

Joseph’s Dilemma

The other day when I showed you some of my favorite nativity sets–I left this teeny, tiny one out…

for a very good reason. Can you see it?

Oh, sure–everyone’s smiling and happy…or so you think.

Look a bit more closely…at Joseph. Is it just me, or does he seem to have a slightly ~~deranged~~ stressed look on his face? Why yes he does. You see, this is the first time he’s been left to tend the baby and even with all that help, he still wishes Mary would come back…from the mall…before he…snaps.

Poor Joseph. What he doesn’t know, is that…

Mary isn’t coming back.

Rumor has it, she was accidentally sucked up by the vacuum last year…