chocolate

Christmas Celebrations

| terriaw

We celebrated Christmas with lots of fun festivities!

We went bowling… for the first time in years. It was fun, although ugly at times, making it even more fun.

We soaked up some fresh air with a hike along the mighty Mississippi River.

We did a little antique shopping, finding all sorts of old treasures to marvel over.

We did a lot of cooking, including trying these fabulous cheese straws for the first time.

We baked cupcakes, hence the necessity for the above-mentioned hike.

We had fun eating surprise chocolates, which required a workout at the local gym.

We admired the neighborhood Christmas lights, which we heard was a project by the electrical students.

We enjoyed a peaceful Christmas Eve service, surrounded by beautiful luminaries and lots of singing.

We chilled out to a very important Christmas football game.

We shared presents, told stories, laughed and relaxed!

Hope you enjoyed your festivities too! Next up, I’m looking forward to the New Year’s Eve festivities… still to be determined.

Cookie Day

| terriaw

Every year since I can remember, my family has gotten together to celebrate Christmas with our annual Cookie Day. UPDATE: I added the recipes to my Favorite Recipes tab above.

(Chunky Triple Chocolate Cookies)

We pick a day around Thanksgiving when we all get together, cousins, aunts and uncles, for a marathon of cookie baking. Well, okay, the guys go out for lunch and watch a lot of football. But some of them help with the baking and decorating. It has been a great tradition for all these years.

(English Toffee)

One year we made over 20 different varieties! Our recipe book has grown into a 3-ring binder. This year, I think the family made 12 different varieties.

(Peanut Butter Blossoms)

When I was a kid, my mom used to keep the cookies in the freezer so we wouldn’t eat all of them before Christmas arrived. We snuck them out of the freezer anyway! Imagine her surprise when she wanted to set out a plate of cookies for a party. (seriously, I’m sure she knew about our shenanigans all along!)

(Chocolate Mint Sandwiches – recipe pending)

I think I might have a couple left, but they are definitely not going to last until Christmas!