It hasn't really felt like Christmas this year and I think it's because I'm not working at ATM&S. December was always the busiest month, with decorating the office, choosing a family to donate food and presents (then buying, wrapping and delivering said items), planning and executing the annual Christmas party (which involved buying seventy gifts and then figuring out a unique way of handing them out, like last year when we put the present names inside the shells of walnuts that I painstakingly cracked open then Jamie glued them closed again) not to mention that after the warm glow of Christmas had barely faded, it was time to get the year end accounting done (which was a pain in the butt that fell mostly to Jamie, although I tried to help her as much as I could). But with all that planning and giving it really seemed like the holidays, which seems to be lacking this year.
Decorating for the holidays isn't really feasible this year, it would be too hard for The Graminator to get around. So we have a beautiful wreath on the door (thanks to Val and one of her students who was selling them for a fundraiser) and a poinsettia with some candles around it inside along with a couple of holiday-theme throw pillows I made years ago for my mom. you have to look closely to see any touches of Christmas in our house. No tree or lights, it's kind of dull. And I haven't shopped for presents yet, heck, I'm still not sure what to even buy yet.
But I have been watching my Christmas movies. Lifetime, Hallmark Channel and ABC family are all running tons of holiday movies. And I love them, love them, LOVE THEM. What a wonderful world it must be where peace and love and joy reign and all problems are solved by Christmas, or at the latest, New Years Eve. I watch them over and over and over again. I swear I have seen some of them a dozen times or more. The moral of most of them is pretty much the same, that what's truly important is family and that love conquers all. I know them by heart and I even miss some that they don't run anymore (whatever happened to the one with Tom Wopat and John Schneider - yup, the Dukes of Hazard boys, where they played feuding trucker brothers who bring Christmas to a snowed-in town? And I think they retired the one with Connie Stevens and Randy Travis too, I haven't seen that one this year.) I even have an idea for a Christmas movie that I think I'll be writing.
And while some holiday spirit is eluding me, I have had the baking bug. For a friend's Christmas party last weekend I made sugar cookies and fudge. Both turned out way better than I had expected. I love frosted sugar cookies but hadn't found the perfect recipe (although any cookie topped with my home made buttercream is still pretty good.) But I found a fabulous sugar cookie that I made (and have since made a second batch since my mom wanted more). I even hand painted some of them, see?
They are so good, I'm having trouble limiting myself. Here is the recipe, courtesy of Alton Brown and Food Network (with a tiny tweak by me, Alton's used no vanilla and I like a little vanilla in my sugar cookie).
SUGAR COOKIES
3 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. heavy cream (Alton's recipe called for 1 Tbsp. milk, but I figured with a half a pound of butter already we would go whole hog and use cream, but I only used 2 teaspoons because I added vanilla)
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer (Alton says stand mixer but I only had my hand mixer but this dough gets really stiff so if you have a stand mixer, use it) and beat until light in color. Add egg, vanilla and cream and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add four and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl (with a hand mixer you may have to finish mixing by hand as the dough gets too stiff to beat.) Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. (Alton says two hours but in my fridge that made it too hard to roll so I recommend an hour.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out dough on a floured board (Alton recommends using powdered sugar instead of flour but it made the cookies stick to the pan after baking which made me break a few. I used flour on the second batch and they came off beautifully) to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges. Cool on wire rack. Serve as is or decorate as desired.
Honestly, these are so good and they just scream Christmas to me. You can eat them plain, or sprinkle them with colored sugar before baking or frost them. There is even a pre-made royal icing that you can put on the cookies that dries hard and you can paint them like I did. (I just dipped a paintbrush in a little food coloring. No artistic talent required, as you can clearly see.)
So that's how I'm trying to get into the holiday spirit this year, cookies and Christmas movies. Hope you are getting into the holiday mood too!
2 comments:
Those cookies look almost too good to eat! But I would give it the old college try if they were here in front of me. :)
Any chance of sharing your buttercream recipe, too? (assuming it's not a secret recipe) When we were kids there was a neighborhood bakery that had cakes with a buttercream frosting that was to die for. Noreen especially has been looking to find a suitable replacement.
I know what you mean about the holiday movies. I can watch them time after time, too. The one I miss that they don't show anymore is "The House Without a Christmas Tree" with Jason Robards. I'd love to see that one again sometime.
I need to get cracking in the decorating department myself. I have done some shopping but I have a lot to do yet.
And if you are looking to add more Xmas decorations without sacrificing floor space, can you do some wall art? Make a Xmas tree out of Xmas cards? Either ones you have received or just by a box or two of ones that you like. Or if you have framed pictures around the house, you could temporarily replace the pictures with holiday photos you have, or put Xmas cards in the frames, or cut some nice holiday scenes out of magazines and put them in the frames. Just some ideas....I think I watch too much HGTV!
Whatever you do or don't do for decorating, don't let it dampen your spirit and enthusiasm. Have fun with your family as you enjoy all those lovely baked goodies and the Christmas spirit will be with you. :)
That is too weird, Maura, I just checked "The House Without a Christmas Tree" out of the library. I hadn't seen it in many, many years. I loved that one when I was a kid (and Jason Robards made my dad look positively sunny).
No secret on the buttercream, just beat the living heck out of 2 sticks of butter with a teaspoon of vanilla. Add powdered sugar until it reaches the consistency you want for frosting (about a 1lb. box, give or take a bit). If you add too much sugar you can thin with a bit of heavy cream. But beat the butter till it's really, really fluffy before you add the sugar.
This is my everyday buttercream. There are Swiss and Italian buttercreams which involve cooking sugar syrup and beating egg whites which are wonderful but way too much work for me. I'm going to experiment with them for the wedding but for Christmas cookies or everyday cupcakes this is the buttercream I use.
My mom thought the cookies were too pretty to eat too. But the kids at the party had no problem eating them, one boy took SIX!
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