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If you are someone who loves cookies and any other type of baked goods, Christmas is the time of year where many are being made and enjoyed. If you have never heard of a Christmas cookie exchange, it may be something you would be interested in attending or even hosting for your friends and family. If you are a baker or love baked goods this will be right up your alley when it comes to a Christmas cookie exchange.
A Christmas cookie exchange is one great way to taste many different cookies you might not have ever known existed. You are able to swap recipes of different cookies and desserts you make with your friends and family who attend. The holiday season is one time of year where it seems alright to indulge in sweets without feeling bad about it. For a Christmas cookie exchange or swap you usually will have at least ten individuals which you can swap cookies with. So how exactly does the Christmas cookie exchange work?
First you want to send out invites to those who you feel would enjoy this type of Christmas exchange. You will of course need them to RSVP so you are aware of how many will be attending. Also include the instructions on how a Christmas cookie exchange works for those who might not have ever been to one before. This will give them a bit of insight before they arrive so they do not feel lost when the exchanging begins. But again, you will need to explain the exchange and how it works once all of your guests arrive.
When you host a Christmas cookie exchange you will ask every participant to bring at least a half a dozen to a dozen of different cookies. Usually a good three or four different kinds is great. You will swap a dozen or half a dozen of your cookies for someone else's which interest you and place them on your tray. You go around the room to all the different individuals' cookies until all of yours are dispersed. Many hosts will also ask you to bring an additional dozen of your cookies for them to be shared throughout the party as a snack. It is also another great way to figure out which cookies you are looking to swap with yours.
In the end make sure you ask each participant to bring a copy of their cookie recipes so you can hand them out to those who are extremely interested in a specific cookie which you made. This is one great way you can taste different traditional cookies that many have made in their family for centuries. You may taste something you would have never thought you would enjoy but came out loving them.
Christmas cookie exchanges are becoming more and more popular including at work locations. This is a great twist on a Christmas party to keep everyone going. It may also be a new tradition you bring every year to those friends and family members of yours which love to bake around the holidays.
Recipes for Delicious Desserts Featuring Favorite Fall Fruits
0 comments Posted by Dehaas at 7:57 AMIs there anything better on a cool Fall day than coming into the house and smelling the aroma of the season's best fruits? Well, feeling the warmth of the oven might be a close second. Here are some recipes to enjoy this Fall and Winter (or anytime of the year), using some of our Fall favorites - pears, apples, and blackberries. Grab a cup of coffee, hot tea, or hot chocolate and enjoy a real treat.
SNAPPING CRANBERRY-PEAR CRISP
FRUIT MIXTURE:
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
2 tbsp flour
5 med pears, peeled and sliced*
TOPPING:
1 cup coarsely crushed gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
For the fruit mixture, combine cranberry sauce and flour in a medium mixing bowl; mix well. Add the pear slices, toss to coat evenly. Place fruit mixture in a baking dish and set aside.
For the topping, in a small mixing bowl, combine cookie crumbs, flour, brown sugar, and butter; mix well. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the fruit mixture. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the pears are tender and the topping is golden brown.
Note: This is just as good when you substitute apples for the pears.
Oregon's Blackberry-Apple Crunch
Filling:
4 cups sliced Granny Smith apples
2 cups fresh blackberries (may use frozen but do not thaw)
3/4 cup sugar
Topping:
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the apples, berries, and sugar. When well combined, pour mixture into a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan or dish.
In another large bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, walnuts, butter and cinnamon; blend together using your fingers. Sprinkle over the top of the fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately an hour or until the top is brown and fruit is bubbly.
Enjoy!
"Easy as apple pie" - how many times have you heard that? Well now you can make make apple pie like a pro and not have a nervous breakdown in the process! Here are my top ten tips for making the perfect apple pie every time.
1) Apples! Apples! Apples! The most important part of the apple pie is obviously the apples. If you are lucky and live in an area with apple groves then pick a combination of tart and sweet apples and put them in a pie within 24 hours. If you live nowhere near an apple grove I recommend Granny Smith apples for your pie. The tartness combined with the sweetness of the sugar/cinnamon mixture creates an amazing taste. Another combination that works great is McIntosh and Cortland apples but only if the apples are fresh.
2) Don't burn the crust. When baking an apple pie, one of the big problems is burnt edges of the crust. To prevent this problem cover the edges of your pie with tin foil. But don't scrunch it down around the sides. Because the foil reflects the heat, the pastry edges may end up under baked. Or, you can actually purchase an edge guard at your local kitchen supply store that is placed over the edges of the pie to protect them from burning.
3) Taste the apples! Once you add your cinnamon/sugar mixture taste test your apples. Do not be afraid to add more brown sugar and cinnamon to your mixture. You can't spoil something good by adding something good to it!
4) Extra weight is a good thing!! If you bake your pie shell prior to adding the apple filling the pie shell might inflate. To prevent this from happening add dry beans to the bottom of the shell prior to placing it in the oven. Or you can actually purchase weighted beads that can be placed in the bottom of the shell to prevent the pastry from rising.
5) A mountain of apples is a good thing. Always prepare more apples than you think you will need. Make a mountain in the pie shell when you add the apples. Stretch the top pie crust over the mountain of apples as best you can. You will find while the pie bakes the mountain of apples will deflate. You will be left with a pie that has a sufficient amount of apples. Without the mountain you may end up with a caved in pie and few apples per slice.
6) The garnish: Ice cream. Don't forget to offer ice cream with each slice of pie. Be imaginative. Vanilla ice cream is the standard scoop to add to a slice of apple pie. Try cinnamon or butter pecan ice cream instead. Cookies and Cream ice cream works very well, as does Pistachio and Peach ice cream.
7) Apple Pie with a twist! Instead of the standard apple pie, look for variations of the recipe. Try Dutch Apple pie or French Apple pie or apple pie combinations like Rhubarb/Apple or Cranberry-Raisin-Apple pie.
8) Caramel yum!! Instead of ice cream, drizzle melted caramel over your apple pie. This gives your pie an added sweetness that will impress your family and friends.
9) Sweetness other than sugar. If you do not think your apples are sweet enough but you do not want to add sugar, try 1tbsp lemon juice, some finely grated lemon zest, and 2 tbsp melted apple jelly. The addition of the jam adds a special sweetness to the pie.
10) Pretty as a picture. The top of the apple pie must be vented with a few slices of the knife through the top pie shell. Instead of simple slits add a pattern or pretty decoration. Cut your loved one's initials in the pie shell, or a heart, or star. Your imagination is the limit!
Labels: Baking
2009 Camp Harlam Red Team Ridding hood Here are the lyrics: Red Little Red Riding Hood Fight Song 2nd Session 2k9 By: Strabe Geisfeld, Ali Esher, Fosh Jendrick, Rric Eowling (Carmina Burana) (1-2-3) Red Riding Hood! (stomp) Walks through the woods, (stomp) To bring cookies to Grandma! (stomp) Maccabi-tales, (stomp) Two thousand nine, (stomp) Other teams, dont waste our time! (stomp) Hudes and Farber, (stomp) And Liz Asher, (stomp) This wars alreeeeaaady overrr! (Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler) [Chorus:] (Piano: 1-2) We are the Red Team! (fist pump) (pause) We are Red Riiiiding Hood, and we cant be beat! Our basket is packed, Weve got hoods on our head, And weve made sure that bad wolf is dead! We are the Red Team! (fist pump) Farber, Huuuudes and Asher will show us the way! Ha Mishpacha, We love our Grandma, And well win Color War on this day! [Verse 1:] Goldi-locks and the three bears, Your team is going down, Tom David - whats with your hair? Is something dead in there? Carolyn Strum welcome Sarah to the G- Unit, G-Unit stands for the gold team, On to the chorus! [Chorus:] We are the Red Team! (fist pump) (pause) We are Red Riiiiding Hood, and we cant be beat! Our basket is packed, Weve got hoods on our head, And weve made sure that bad wolf is dead! We are the Red Team! (fist pump) Farber, Hudes and Asher will show us the way! Ha Mishpacha, We love our Grandma, And well win Color War on this day! [Verse 2:] Blue team Hansel and Gretel Why are you so stupid ...
Old Wives In The Kitchen - Age-Old Advice That Works - And Some That Doesn't!
0 comments Posted by Dehaas at 8:53 AMMost people love food, whether they admit it or not. And lots of us don't mind a drop of nostalgia now and then too. Combine the two and you've got a recipe for one of those "I remember my Granny making the most delicious apple pie from the fruit tree in the garden" kind of moment. In fact there are loads of old wives' tales about food, and we're not the only ones interested in them.
Doctors and various other experts are all digging up old sayings and brandishing them on the internet and in newspapers and magazines. Traditional wisdom is suddenly cool, or at least worth a second look. And lots of the advice concerns food and drink! Whether it's chicken soup for colds (surprisingly, it works) or beer to encourage a nursing baby (please don't try this at home), there is something for everyone.
So, did our mothers and grandmothers know more than we give them credit for when it comes to eating? Let's see...
Alcohol affects women more than men - true. Women don't have as much alcohol-metabolising enzyme as men do; they retain more alcohol in their bloodstreams and stomachs. So a man and a woman of similar size can drink the same amount, but the effect on the woman will be greater and last longer - drink sensibly girls!
An apple a day keeps the doctor away - true. Apples are full of antioxidants (and fibre) and may lower our risk of breast and colon cancer, as well as keeping us away from the doctor.
Eating cardamom cures garlic breath - true. This does seem to work, chew a whole cardamom pod until only the husk remains and then spit it out (discreetly).
Eating carrots improves your eyesight - true and false. Carrot consumption won't prevent night blindness but it can help reduce the chance of age-related macular degeneration.
Chocolate gives you acne - false. No foodstuff has been proven to trigger acne, which is caused by blocked pores, but eating too much chocolate will make you fat.
Coffee stunts your growth - false. Coffee doesn't affect growth but too much caffeine can prevent you from absorbing calcium and some other nutrients.
Cranberry juice prevents cystitis - true. Cranberries inhibit the spread of the bacteria that cause cystitis, by preventing them from clinging to your bladder, as do blueberries.
Eat your crusts, they're good for you - true. Bread crusts contain eight times more antioxidants than the rest of the loaf. But eating them won't make your hair curly or your teeth whiter.
Fish is brain food - true. Fish and seafood contain omega-3 and zinc, which are linked to slowing the rate of cognitive decline, so try to eat fish once or twice a week.
It's better to eat fruit on its own or after a meal - true. Fruit is digested more quickly than other foods, so eating it during a meal may cause it to begin fermenting in your colon - which can cause bloating and flatulence.
Eating grapefruit will increase your metabolism and burn fat - false. No food burns fat, but grapefruit is low in calories and full of nutrients.
If you swallow gum it takes seven years to digest - false. It goes straight through your system, along with any other non-food foreign bodies.
Oysters are the food of love - true and false. Oysters don't boost libido but they are rich in zinc, which can aid fertility in both men and women.
Red wine is good for you - true and false. Red wine can stop arteries clogging, but that doesn't mean you can imbibe gallons - one a glass a day is all you need - and red rather than white.
Spicy foods cause ulcers - false. Bacterial infections or overuse of certain medicines cause ulcers, not spicy food, although spices may aggravate an existing ulcer.
Spinach makes you strong - false. Spinach does contain iron, but it also contains oxalic acid which discourages iron absorption.
Eating sweets and snacks rots your teeth - true and false. It depends what you're eating, the stickier it is the longer it hangs around on your teeth and gums, which gives tooth-destroying acids a chance to form. Things like hard sugar candy and chocolate shouldn't cause tooth decay, as they are easily washed out of your mouth by saliva. But eat crackers, biscuits, cookies, peanut butter, toffees, sugar-coated cereals and other more "claggy" snacks and you should brush your teeth sooner rather than later!
Water hydrates you better than other drinks - false. There is no significant difference in the hydrating properties of water, coffee, tea or soft drinks - they all contain mostly water anyway. But sugary or fizzy drinks won't help your teeth or your waistline.
Remarkably, half of the 22 adages above actually are based on facts. So Granny really did know her onions!
For a health-boosting supper tonight you could try some baked fish with carrots and a warm crusty roll on the side, maybe with a glass (just one!) of red wine. And if you feel peckish later, how about a fruit salad of apples and berries? Your Mum will be so proud of you...
Showing you the right way to make pumpkin sugar cookies. Make sure you follow the recipe exactly as we do it.