Thanksgiving Blessings

 

The first time I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws, I had made the incorrect assumption that their celebration would be the same as my family’s.

I expected Turkey.  And pumpkin pie.  And football.  Well, there was football.  But no turkey!

Hubby’s family has a wonderfully diverse and sophisticated palette, and that year there was a plethora of other fantastic foods to choose from.  (It was delicious!)

But as the day drew on, I realized that it wasnt just the absence of the turkey that was affecting me.

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In my family at every Thanksgiving dinner, we would go around the table and say one thing we were thankful for.

Truthfully, up until that first Thanksgiving away from my family, I had rolled my eyes in dread each time it was my turn.  Stopping and giving thanks was the last thing I wanted to do when I had a gorgeous golden brown turkey glistening before me.

Planning out our Thanksgiving this year it occurred to me that there was a way to incorporate my beloved tradition of giving thanks and still honor the gentle humbleness of my husband’s family.

I made “thankful” cookies.

 

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The idea is simple… I place out a tray of blank cookies, and every family member can write one thing they are thankful for on their cookie.  People can do this throughout the afternoon in their own time.

They can do it anonymously or sign their name.

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The nice thing about these cookies is that it’s a win-win.  Even if people don’t want to participate, we still have a lovely treat to munch on through our weekend!

So what family traditions do you have at Thanksgiving?

I highly recommend using my favorite sugar cookie recipe and glaze icing recipe.  :)

Don’t Let This Happen To You.

christmas cookie

Its ok, its ok, I know.

I have been there.  When I was first married I did not even know how to turn on the oven.  But a little youtube and hunger go a long way in the teaching department.

So, in honor of everyone out there who burns toast and forgets at add cheese to lasagna and says that scrambled eggs are their favorite only because that’s the only way they can make them… this is for you.

I want YOU to shine this holiday season.

I am going to share my favorite sugar cookie recipes of all time.  I have made lots.  I know what works and trust me on this one, this is by far the best sugar cookie recipe ever.

If you make this, people will be asking you for your recipe and they will be trying to sneak just one more.

I will also share my no fail sugar cookie icing recipe.

BONUS: I am also going to give you a secret tip in how to make beautifully decorated cookies.

Amazing Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1-½ cup Butter (I Use Unsalted)
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 2 whole Eggs
  • 2 whole Eggs Yolks
  • 4 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 2 teaspoons Almond Extract
  • 4 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Instructions

  1. In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until well combined, about 2 minutes.
  2. Add in 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks and mix until combined.
  3. Add in vanilla and almond extract; mix until combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Slowly (about a cup at a time) add flour to butter mixture and combine. You can use a mixer or not, just depends on how strong you are. ;)
  5. I usually just mix ingredients until they are combined, as I have heard that if you over-mix this dough it will get tough.
  6. Put dough in some Saran wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. When you are ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out, cut out cookies, and bake for 6-8 minutes.
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Awesome Cookie Icing

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Confectioners Sugar (powder Sugar)
  • 1-3 Tablespoons Milk
  • 1 drop Lemon Juice (fresh Or Processed)
  • 1 Tablespoon Light Corn Syrup

Instructions

  1. Combine powder sugar, corn syrup, and lemon juice in a bowl.
  2. ******This next step is important!******
  3. If you need a thicker frosting, say for outlining your cookies, add LESS milk.
  4. Just a drop at a time. If you have already outlined your cookies and need a to fill in or ’spill’ your cookies, you can add more milk (as much as you would need) to make your frosting very runny.
  5. If you are using food coloring, be sure to use LESS milk. Most food colorings are liquid and can make your frosting more runny. If you are using a gel food coloring, your milk quantity can remain the same.
  6. If you want to add different flavors, you can add drops of vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon, etc. to flavor your frosting.
  7. If you want more SHINE, use more corn syrup and less milk. This frosting will stay good for days in the fridge.
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Now… would you like to do this?

christmas cookie

or this?

christmas cookie

Its easy.

(please say the next sentence in your head without pausing just to get the full effect) Really and truly I cannot tell a lie I promise you from the bottom of my heart you can do this and you can do this well it really is easy.

Its just dots.

Get a zip lock bag, put some icing into it, cut off the tiniest tip possible from the corner of the bag and just put some dots on your cookie.

Do any design you want… I promise it will look good.  Do a cross or a tree or a word or just outline the cookie in dots.

That is one of my favorite tricks!  Dots.  Lots and lots of dots.

Find more cookie ideas or inspiration!

Go forth and conquer!

I Had Four Pieces of Pumpkin Pie. Just Sayin.

Hi all!  Hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and weekend!

I cant wait to read about all the amazing food people had and the fantastic deals people got black Friday shopping.

Me?  I ate. I baked. I slept.

I bought not ONE SINGLE THING.

(insert really pathetic sad face here)

But we did get to donate cookies to a wonderful charity in Fargo. (we made over 200!)

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See more about these here.

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If you want the recipe for the amazing, delectable, mouth watering, absolutely addicting monster cookies, head on over to my baking blog!

We also got to spend some time with my sister, hubby,  and her sweet little Inga!

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Dang she has straight white teeth.  And bright eyes.  And skin that tans.  And blond hair.

Seriously.  We look NOTHING alike.

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Thanks for sharing some of your favorite twittee's… I still have to go through all of them! 

I actually sent a 'twit' from hubbys phone as we were heading to grandma's house on Thursday.  It was weird!  I have never been 'mobile' with my twitting before.

I know.  Its like I have my head in a hole or something.  I'm guessing I'm still about 5 years behind in technology. (and fashion, and parenting techniques, and celebrity gossip) I'm making progress.  Slowly making progress.

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Has anyone put up their Christmas decorations yet?  You better be blogging about it… I LOVE looking at Christmas decorations!! (I am obsessed with Christmas.  There, I said it.  I feel better.)

I have some great things coming up that I cant wait to tell you about!  Some stuff for me to share, some stuff for you to have, some projects for cheap and easy Christmas gifts, some stuff that you have to know about if you have cute kids!   Be sure to check back this week and get the scoop!

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Cookies For Liz

I was asked a while back if I would be willing to donate some cookies to the Liz Logelin Foundation Gala.  My response was, "Yes!  Of course.  But really?  Cookies?  Who wants to bid on cookies?"  Well.  Most likely no one.  But that's ok!  I am just thankful that I [...] Read more »