Mistletoe Make and Bake Day Five

 A Huge Thank you to everyone for all of your sweet comments about my project yesterday.  Even with my 'techy' difficulties, you were kind and patient.  If anyone out there still needs my Cookie Tray pattern, Please email me at  quilts4julie@frontier.com and I will make sure you get a copy!

I will post my winner on tomorrow's post, since it is still Thursday where I live!

These are the Cookie jars that are on my kitchen counter.  I love the one's from the 70's.  However my super most favorite one in the entire world is the   one on the right.  It was painted by my youngest boy, Quinton.   It is the one we really use for cookies.  If you turn it around and look at the back, this is what you will see.

 

Quinton Stewart loves his mom, and her cookies as well.  5/17/97

This boy is now 25, he went to culinary school, is a Chef in a boutique restaurant in Seattle, Branzino.  He and his father, my DH, rode their motorcycles across the country and back last spring. 

I love this boy and his cookies, as well!

When I read that we were to write about a Holiday Tradition that we "had to do, no matter what"  I knew that it was the cookie recipe, that I would post today.  Even if the tree wasn't decorated, or if the lights were not on the house, there had to be Peanut Butter Kisses in the House!!

It doesn't matter who walks though the door, they all want my Peanut Butter kisses cookies!

This is your recipe for today.

PEANUT BUTTER KISSES

18oz peanut butter

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

48 Hershey Kisses (a 9oz bag has 53)

Heat oven to 350

Stir peanut butter, eggs and sugar until thoroughly blended.  (dough will be sticky.)

Roll Tablespoon size balls, place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12-14 minutes. (cookie will be dry on top)

remove from the oven,  press the unwrapped Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie.  Transfer from cookie sheet to waxed paper.  Cool and enjoy.!!

I have made these with my boys for their entire lives!  When they were really little, they just unwrapped the kisses. 

It was a big job for them and a joy for me.  Make these easy cookies with the children you love.  It will start the best memories, ever!

Today's designers are my good buddie

Roseann Kermes http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com/

and  Brenda Riddle http://brendariddle.blogspot.com/ 

MISTLETOE MAKE AND BAKE DAY FOUR

We are half way thru this fun event.  I am having fun reading everyone's blogs, and collecting gift and cookie ideas, I hope you are too!


Today is my day for a project, along with Moda Lissa!  What a fun partner for this event.  She is very creative, so I am looking forward to her post.  The pictures of her son, enjoying his cookies and milk, were pretty darned cute!

When we were asked to share our favorite Christmas book, only one thing came to mind 'the stockings were hung by the chimney with care'.  I have read that story hundreds of times.  My very favorite time, was always on Christmas Eve.  The boys would have on their new pj's, they would be so excited, I knew they would take forever to go to sleep.  I would always read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to them.  All snuggled up together.  Them dreaming of the morning to come, me dreading what was ahead for me.  There were always things to assemble, I usually hadn't finished wrapping, and then there were the stockings.  I usually had to force myself not to be upset with my husband, because he was not worried about it at all!  So, those few moments of calm were always very special to me.

I hope you will have fun making these fast and easy Fabric Cookie Trays!
Fabric Cookie Tray.docx

When I was looking for a recipe for today, I looked in my Mothers wooden recipe box.  I found one that sounded good, but the best part about it was under the title is said, Barbara Walters.  So, if you can just imagine Barbara in a cozy kitchen, wearing an apron, this is what she might be making!

Chocolate Macaroons

Barbara Walters

1 can (14 oz) Sweetened condensed milk

4- 1 oz squares of unsweetened chocolate

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz shredded coconut

Pre heat oven to 350.  Grease 2 cookie sheets. 

In a double boiler, combine condensed milk, chocolate and salt.

cook over hot, not boiling water, stirring frequently, until chocolate melts and mixture thickens, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.  Add vanilla then the coconut.  Mix well, drop by rounded teaspoons one inch apart on cookie sheets.  Bake until cookies are just set, approx. 9 minutes.  Remove at once and place on waxed paper.  Let cool.

I made these last night, and remember to LET COOL.  The coconut holds onto the heat.  They were very good, I can see why Barbara enjoys them! 

Today I am having a give away.  Leave me a comment, and I will pick a winner.  I will be sending you 2 appetizer packages of my favorite Aurifil Thread, and a zippered sewing tote!

Now, go on over to Lissa's blog and see what she has cooking.

http://modalissa.blogspot.com/

NOTICE:  several of you have had difficulty opening the pattern.
I am not a very techy kind of girl.  So if you will email me,
I will send you a copy of the pattern! 
It's fun, easy, and I want you all to make one!  Julie
quilts4julie@frontier.com

Misteltoe Make and Bake Day Three

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It's Day Three of our big adventure.  I don't know about you, but I feel like baking!!  Some of the recipes have been amazing. 

Today we are talking about how to start a conversation at a Cocktail party.  This can be difficult, especially if you are the only stranger in the room.

I remember years ago going to my husbands office party.  They asked him to dress as Santa.  It seemed like it would be fun, but it turned out to be one of the worst parties I had ever attended.  I was a young mom, I had been looking forward to a night out without the kids.  My husband was the most popular man at the party, but he didn't have time to introduce me to his colleges or even chat with me.  I decided that night, that I would always look for the 'stranger' in the crowd, and talk with them.  People love to tell you about themselves, their family's and their careers.  Try it, you just might make a friend, and I know you will make some one's evening much more comfortable.

Isn't this little guy cute!  Last Christmas my son, Christopher and his girlfriend Megan,  painted this for me.  He would never be lonely at a party!

My Mom used to make these cookies when I was a little girl.

I loved it when she baked them in the afternoon, just before I came home from school.  Spicy, thick, chewey cookies with crackled sugary tops.

Molasses Crinkles

3/4 cup soft butter

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 1/4 cups sifted flour

2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves1tsp cinnamon

1tsp ginger.

Mix thoroughly butter, brown sugar, egg and molasses.  Sift together dry ingredients and stir in.  Chill Dough.  Heat oven to 375.  Roll dough into balls the size of large walnuts.  Dip tops in sugar.  Place sugar-side-up 3" apart on greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle each with 2 or 3 drops of water to make a cracked surface.  Bake 10 - 12 minutes. Just until set, but not hard.  Makes about 4 dozen.

Now  hop on over to Celinehttp://www.perkinsdrygoods.com/blog/

Patrick http://www.patricklose.blogspot.com/

and

Kelly Ann http://www.kellyannsquilting.blogspot.com/

Now, I am off to try my recipe for tomorrows post!

MISTLETOE MAKE AND BAKE DAY TWO

Welcome to the second day of the Mistletoe Make and Bake.  I loved Sherri's project yesterday.  How about you?

We all have things in our "bag 'o tricks to help us get through the Holiday Season.  I used to feel like I should decorate inside and out, every room in the house.  But, after a couple of stressful years, I realized it really is all about the people you love.  So, I have scaled back.  I have a large cookie jar collection, so I pull out some cute, chunky cookie jars, sprinkle a few quilts here and there and call it 'decorated'.  It's helped save my sanity!

I was given this recipe many years ago, by the Grandmother of a friend.  She baked them every day!  The mailman counted on it!

Drop Sugar Cookies

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

4 cups plus 4 Tablespoons flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp Cream of Tartar (her secret ingredient)

cream sugars with butter.  Beat oil and eggs.  Add vanilla, mix dry ingredients, and add gradually.  Roll in small balls, place on cookie sheet. Press with glass dipped in sugar.

bake at 375 for about 8 minutes

watch carefully, do not let them turn brown.

Now go over and see what Heidi http://blog.heidikaisand.com/

and Monique http://opengatequilts.com/id69.html

are cooking up today.

Remember to post on every ones blog, to be eligible for the big prize basket!

Mistletoe Make and Bake

Welcome to the first day of the Mistletoe Make and Bake. We have all been so excited to bring a few ideas to all of you, to make your Holiday season the best ever!

Santa has always been a magical man in our home. When our 3 sons would go to bed on Christmas eve, the tree would be lit, the stockings would be hung, but there were no gifts under the tree. If you believed in the Magic of Christmas, the tree would be full when morning came.


They are all adults now, but all of the gifts under the tree come from Santa. Who is going to argue with that?

When my boys asked for Yummy Cookies. I always had the ingredients in the pantry. This is an easy 'go to ' cookie recipe when you need something at the last minute.

YUMMY COOKIES

Combine in a sauce pan and boil one minute:

1/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

pinch of salt

Remove from heat and stir in quickly

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups quick oats

1 tsp. vanilla

Drop by teaspoonful onto waxed paper and let set overnight

Head over to Sherri's http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/ blog to see what project she has planned for you today.

FYI, my good Buddie Monica, aka The Happy Zombie had to drop out of the hop at the last minute. We will miss her, but you can still show her some love! Click on my sidebar to go visit her!

At Quilt Market the designers are like stars on the red carpet. Constantly posing for photos and answering questions. When I was talking with Liesl from Oliver & S, she tried to get in the best lighting in her booth! Her patterns are so adorable, I love them. Little paper dolls model her designs. How super cute it that. I loved Betsy McCall when I was a little girl, how about you?

Barb and Mary from Me & My Sister are super fun girls. They had us hold an iron in it's own little cozy, like it was an award. Lots of laughs in their booth. And the iron cozy is darling. One of my buddies, Nanci Quick from the Quilted Kitty is going to make them for all of the irons in her class room!

Kathy Schmitz has brought her Crackle back!! I know lots of you will be happy to hear that. Her newest fabric collection is all printed on Crackle. Pretty wonderful. Her panel is printed embroidery blocks. So, if you love the look of embroidery, but don't have the time to do it. This will be a collection you won't want to miss. Of course, if you love embroidery, her patterns are wonderful. We still have space in our Winsome Wreath Club, if you have thought about joining. Her projects are beautiful.

There were many wonderful moments at market that weren't captured in a photo. Most of them involved my wonderful friends from across the country. All of us shop owners wanting to create the best quilt shops ever for our community of quilters and home sewers. We exchanged thoughts and ideas late into the night. We are working on a 'giving' project that will involve all of our favorite customers. Watch for that next week.

Don't forget the Blog Hop- Mistletoe Make and Bake starting on Monday! J

Get ready for 13 fun holiday projects, from 13 designers! A cross country Blog Hop, starting next Monday. 6 Days of projects, cookies recipes and holiday memories.

• Monday: Sherri Falls http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/
• Tuesday: Heidi Kaisand http://blog.heidikaisand.com/
• Tuesday: Monique Dillard http://opengatequilts.com/id69.html
• Wednesday:Celine Perkins http://www.perkinsdrygoods.com/blog/
• Wednesday: Patrick Lose http://patricklose.blogspot.com/
• Wednesday: Kelly Ann Richardson http://kellyannsquilting.blogspot.com/
• Thursday: Lissa Alexander http://modalissa.blogspot.com/
• Thursday: Julie Stewart (that's me kids) http://keepsakecottagefabrics.blogspot.com/
• Friday: Roseann Kermes http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com/
• Friday: Brenda Riddle http://brendariddle.blogspot.com/
• Saturday: Vickie Cook Eapen http://spunsugarquilt.com/
• Saturday: Melisa Morrison http://sweethomequiltco.com/weblog/

Doesn't this look like a great line up! We're all cooking up a little fun for you so

please join us next week! J