From the Front Deck

OMG has it been cold here for the past few weeks. There has only been one day in the past sixteen that has made it past 40 degrees. And we had fourteen and a half inches of measurable snow, which sounds a little redundant but I’m trying to differentiate between snow I can measure and trace amounts that come and go, sometimes in little more than a wink of an eye. Those types of coatings can happen a couple of times a day with light lake-effect snow.

At the moment, there is just a light coating on the ground (again!). But worse is the rather wicked west wind that been blowing strong all day. It’s around thirty degrees but feels more like twenty.

There’s little doubt on my mind that we will have a white Christmas (again!). While there really is nothing wrong with that, it is rather difficult to get excited about the norm. The Christmas I dream of is green and sandy, with swaying palm trees in a warm breeze and the sound of waves gently breaking in the distance. Sigh. But not this year. This evening one of the relatives invited themselves over for the holidays. Which is ok, in fact it’s a good thing; Christmas is about family. It’s just… oh well, I’m sure the beach will be waiting for me whenever I get there.

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Somehow, December has sneaked up on me once more. I’m not sure it manages to do that every year; I look at the calendar almost daily. But nonetheless, here it is the beginning of December and there’s not a cookie in the freezer. So I thought this would be an opportune time to present my all-time favorite cookies recipes; the ones that are made each year for the holidays.

In a related note, it’s also time to pick up some jars of stemmed maraschino cherries so they can have a week’s soak in Grand Marnier before being transformed into chocolate covered cherries. ;}

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To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to reap that which is planted.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.
A time to get and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1

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Orange Cookies

These are THE Christmas cookie in my family. My sister and I made a batch over Thanksgiving. In honor of our new status as the senior members of our branch of the family, we ate them for breakfast Thanksgiving day. This recipe makes 7 - 8 dozen cookies.

1 c butter-flavored Crisco
2 c sugar
3 eggs
4 ½ c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c sour milk*
1 tsp vanilla
juice and rind of 2 oranges

Finely grate the rind of 2 oranges. Juice the oranges. Pre-heat oven to 400 F degrees.

In large bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Thoroughly beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla, orange rind, salt, and baking powder. Beat in 1/3 of flour, then ½ of the milk. Continue adding the remaining flour and milk, alternating, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the orange juice. Note: Batter will be similar to a thick cake mix.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. (If not using parchment paper, use ungreased cookie sheets.) Using a kitchen teaspoon, place cookies 2 inches apart. Bake cookies 9 – 11 minutes until edges are light brown. Remove cookies to cooling rack.

Glaze

1 ½ tbsp butter
rind and juice of 1 orange
1 ½ c - 2 c powdered sugar (approximately)

Beat butter, rind and ½ c powdered sugar. Add a small amount of the juice then another ½ c of powdered sugar. Repeat until glaze is of the desired consistency. Note: This is not an exact science because of 1- varying sizes of oranges 2- personal preference. I do prefer a more glaze-like frosting as opposed to an icing. But these cookies are good topped with either!)

Spread glaze on cookies with a pastry brush or a knife. Set on wax paper to dry. To store, separate layers with wax paper. They will solidly stick together otherwise!

To make sour milk: In a one cup measure, pour 1 tbsp of white vinegar. Fill the measuring cup with milk. Let set a few minutes.