A few notes about upcoming blog contents:

1.
I have been busily working on multiple crafty projects lately, but I cannot post them yet because they’re for Christmas gifts.  I don’t know who reads my blog, but I don’t want to reveal any secrets!  I have taken plenty of pictures, though, and you can expect to see information about many of my projects beginning after Christmas.  (There are a few parts/pieces that may go up in the next few weeks.)

2.
There is one more major change I will probably make to my blog in the near future – I will probably change the name to reflect my current domain name.  I want to be sure to give ample warning, though (especially after having just changed the theme so drastically), so that my readers don’t come by and think you’re lost!  There may be an additional post on this subject prior to the switch.

3.
And, finally, I am working on a “101 in 1001″ list.  This is a list of 101 things to do in 1,001 days.  The idea is to create a list of things you want to accomplish, while allowing more time than a year, for larger projects, seasonal activities, etc.  (You can learn more here.)  I have also been inspired by some of the lists that I’ve looked at to be sure to include things that are experiences, rather than goals to meet or tasks to “accomplish.”  It has been said that “life is in the being, not the doing,” and, being a very driven, goal-oriented personality, that isn’t something I’m very good at.  So I’m making a concerted effort to include “experiences” on my list.

I’m working on my list now, and my intent is to have it posted by the end of December for beginning the first of the year.  I will post my list in the sidebar somewhere, too, so you can follow along with my progress.

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
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The assignment:
Part A: Please share your Favorite Christmas/Holiday Cookie Recipe(s)!
Part B: Share a memory, story or tradition about baking any Christmas/Holiday goodies.
Part C: Share a verse that is upon your heart this week.

My Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 5 dozen)

3 c. soft wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375*F. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Snowballs
(makes 5 dozen)

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. soft wheat flour
1/2 c. chopped almonds
powdered sugar for rolling

In large bowl, combine sugar, salt, and butter; mix well. Add vanilla. Gradually stir in flour. Work nuts into dough. Cover and chill until firm. Preheat oven to 400*F. Form dough into 1-inch balls; place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until set but not brown. Roll immediately in additional sugar. Cool on wire racks, then roll in sugar again.

And a healthy one…

Honey Cookies
(yield depends on form)

4-1/4 c. soft wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened
3/4 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, beat butter, honey, and vanilla with an electric mixer until creamy. Add egg; beat well. Add half of dry mixture and mix well, then add remaining dry mixture and mix thoroughly. Divide dough into thirds, place each piece on a piece of plastic wrap, flatten to 1/2″ thickness, wrap, and chill until firm. Heat oven to 350*F. Roll out on lightly but thoroughly floured surface to 1/4-1/2-inch thickness, sprinkling the top with flour before rolling. Cut out with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheet. (This dough is pretty sticky, so keep everything well floured and try to work fairly quickly.) Bake for 5-7 minutes, just until set. Cookies should still be soft. Cool for 1 minute, then remove to wire rack. Allow to cool completely before storing. We have also made these into thumbprint cookies: roll into balls, make deep indentations in each one with your thumb, and fill each one immediately after baking, with jam. (I’m working on other variations, as well. I like that this doesn’t have any white flour or refined sugar in it!)

Our Holiday Baking Tradition

For as long as I can remember, my mom has been baking cookies and taking cookie plates to the neighbors every year at Christmastime. When I got married (well, a couple years later, when I got “with it” enough ), I adopted the tradition, as well. We usually include the old stand-by chocolate chip cookies (above) and snowballs (above), along with cut-out sugar cookies. (I decided last year that decorating the sugar cookies was too much stress – it’s really not my forte – so I bought a set of snowflake cookie cutters from King Arthur – which I promptly forgot about and, therefore, have not used yet.) I also include some fudge, and a mini loaf of whole wheat bread in case we have neighbors who must avoid the sugar.

My Verse for the Week

This has absolutely nothing to do with cookies or baking, but this is a verse that I read during my quiet time this morning, which I need to memorize. I just updated my sidebar to make this my current sidebar verse, as well, because I so need the reminder. Rejoicing in Yahweh is an act of my will, and I need to do it even if I don’t feel like it. And I always have something – namely, my salvation – to be thankful for and take joy in, even when everything else is going wrong. (If you noticed my previous sidebar verse – this month’s memorization – you will recognize that this is an ongoing theme for me lately!)

Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. -Malachi 3:13-15

Filed under: Kitchen, Cooking, & Recipes by Rachel
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I got the new theme up and working – mostly.  You may notice that I have two separate “blogrolls,” which are exactly the same.    Something was apparently changed in the code syntax when WordPress was most recently updated, and I’m having trouble finding the information I need to edit it properly.  Sooo…those are still flaky.  If you notice anything else buggy, please let me know!  (Also, please let me know what you think of the theme in general.  Good?  Bad?  Font too small?  Too boring?)

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
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Yay! The update is complete and everything is here! (A software upgrade can be a migraine. Not just a headache, a migraine. This one, thankfully, was very straightforward!) If you notice anything not working properly, please let me know. (Note: If the page looks entirely different, it’s probably just me playing with the template, and it’s very temporary. But if the site looks “normal” and isn’t working properly, it’s probably a bug from the upgrade.)

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
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I am about to begin an upgrade of WordPress (my blog software), so the blog will be crazy and/or dysfunctional for a little while.  Hopefully the upgrade will work properly and the blog will be back up as soon as I’m finished!

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
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