Candy Corn Cookies Redux

I was really unsatisfied with my first attempt at candy corn cookies, so I had to try again. This time I ended up more with what I had envisioned. Aren't they cute?


Lucky for me, my crafty sister made these first, and I was able to copy her recipe and idea. Thanks, Leslie!

Sugar Cookies
Mix together well:
3/4 cup shortening (use part butter)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Add:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Make a double batch of the recipe. Color 1/3 of the dough yellow, 1/3 orange, and leave the rest plain. Evenly layer the dough in a loaf pan. Let it chill completely, then slice thinly and cut into triangles. Bake at 400 degrees 5-6 minutes.

Super easy, super cute, and it makes a ton of little cookies. I didn't want to eat them all, and as I happened to be heading to my folks' house shortly after baking these, I took them along as a trick-or-treat. I think they enjoyed them.

Christmas Music Part 4: Albums 16-20

16. Bebo Norman ~ Christmas: From the Realms of Glory Bebo Norman entered the Christian music scene a few years ago, and this is his requisite Christmas album. His take on classic Christmas carols, like Joy to the World and O Come, O Come Emmanuel are nice, but where he really shines is on his original songs. Christmas Time Is Here is sung as a duet with Amy Grant and is a happy song ushering in the holiday season. Born to Die and Mary’s Prayer are both about Jesus and what he did for us. Also worth noting is his cover of Jackson Browne’s Rebel Jesus. I think everyone can relate to this song in some way. If you’ve never heard it, look it up.

17. Jars of Clay ~ Christmas Songs I’ve been a fan of Jars of Clay since I was a teenager, so I was excited when they finally came out with a full length Christmas album about three years ago. It’s not a typical Christmas album as it is fairly low key, and not overflowing with the sounds of jingle bells and ho ho hos. But that’s ok. I like it anyway. My favorites are their cover of Wonderful Christmastime, their original song Hibernation Day, and Love Came Down at Christmas.

18. Kristin Chenoweth ~ A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas When Kristin Chenoweth first appeared on the scene, I wasn’t too impressed. Then I saw her in a production of Candide and realized that she really did have a great talent - I just wish she would use her full voice more. On her Christmas album, she sings about half of the songs in her Munchkin voice (maybe she spent too much time on the set of Wicked?), and the other half in her fuller, prettier voice. I love her versions of Do You Hear What I Hear?, What Child is This?, and Home On Christmas Day. She also gets bonus points for singing Christmas Island.

19. Michael W. Smith ~ Christmastime I really enjoy this cd, but I have to be in the right kind of mood when I listen. Even though it is fairly upbeat, something about it makes me really melancholy, and I don’t like to be that way during the holidays. It is beautifully arranged and orchestrated with choirs and special guests and about half way through there is a wonderful duet with Michael and Sandy Patty singing The Christmas Waltz. That song alone is worth the price of the cd. It also features Chris Rice’s Welcome to Our World.

20. John Denver and the Muppets ~ A Christmas Together Finally, no Christmas is complete without a visit from the Muppets and John Denver. You can usually find this one in the five dollar bargain bin at Wal-Mart, and if you don’t have it in your collection, I recommend you go out and buy it NOW. It’s so much fun, with The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Christmas is Coming, and When the River Meets the Sea, and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and well, you get the picture. The whole thing is fun. I've heard that this was originally a T.V. special, but I’ve never seen it. Hopefully, someday I will. Until then, I’m content with just listening to the cd.

So there you have it. Twenty great Christmas cds from my collection and my favorites, at least for this week. I hope you are now inspired to dust off your Christmas music and start listening!

Christmas Music Part 3: Albums 11-15

11. Jimmy Buffett ~ Christmas Island When I heard the song Christmas Island on the radio for the first time, I loved it. It took me a few years to figure out who sang it, and I finally bought the cd a couple of years ago. The whole album has an island feel, which makes sense since it is Jimmy Buffet and is just a fun, upbeat Christmas album. I usually keep it in my car throughout the Christmas season. It’s good driving around town while you're Christmas shopping music.

12. Buddy Greene ~ Christmas…Not Just Any Night Buddy Greene is best known for his harmonica playing, but he has a nice singing voice, too. This album is about half harmonica and half vocal, mostly traditional Christmas music. The whole thing is beautiful. I’ve played it for people before, and actually seen tears at the end of The Christmas Song - it’s pretty poignant. Buddy Green is also known for co-writing Mary Did you Know, and even though it is over done on Christmas albums lately, there is a really nice arrangement here.

13. Aliqua ~ All I Want I got this cd last year, and listened to it A LOT. Aliqua is a group of ten girls who sing choral music, but mix it up a little bit. For instance, they sing Britton’s This Little Babe, but instead of the traditional accompaniment, they arranged it with a kind of flamenco beat and guitar accompaniment. Other standouts are A La Nanita Nana, All Is Calm, Christmas Angel, and The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, sung almost entirely on the syllable “plum.” Check it out.

14. Liberace ~ Christmas Through the Years I got this in a bargain bin at Wal-Mart, probably close to 15 years ago, and I still love it. Love him or hate him, Liberace knew how to do Christmas music. All the music on this album sparkles, kind of like Liberace himself. The music quality isn’t the greatest, it sounds like an old record, but I think that adds to the appeal. Some of it is instrumental, while he sings some of the songs, and even recites ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Classic.

15. Michael Crawford ~ A Christmas Album Michael Crawford is another performer that people either love or hate. Obviously I fall on the love side. On this disc, Michael sings mostly traditional songs in the way only he can. He is backed by beautiful orchestrations and choirs throughout the album, and even sings a duet with Twila Paris. I like all the songs on this cd, but my favorite is the non-Christmas Scarlet Ribbons.

Final five tomorrow!

Christmas Music Part 2: Albums 6-10

6. Guitar Winterlude This is one of the first Christmas cds I start listening to each year. I like to turn it on and listen to it in the early morning, while the world is still dark and quiet. It is just really pretty, ambient, mostly guitar-led Christmas carols. There is a whole Winterlude series that was popular many years ago, and I also have Piano Winterlude and just plain Winterlude. They are all quite lovely, but Guitar Winterlude is my favorite.

7. The Soul of Christmas: A Celtic Music Celebration with Thomas Moore I don’t remember where or why I got this cd. I think I ordered it blindly from a catalog, and I’m glad I did. It came encased in a little blue book that has some pictures, poems, and philosophical writings on Christmas by Thomas Moore. There is also a cd with a man with a really nice Irish brogue readings from the book. But the accompanying music cd is a treasure. It isn’t overly Celtic sounding, as the title would suggest, but calm, quiet carols of Christmas, my favorite being Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. (Does anyone know why this song is only done at Christmas? I like to sing it year round.)

8. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ~ The Christmas Album I’ve been known to drive people crazy with my incessant playing of this cd around Christmas. In my opinion it's the perfect mix of traditional Christmas songs and new Christmas songs, with just enough of a country feel that you will wish you were in a snug cabin somewhere on a mountain side. It is just an all-around great Christmas album, especially for people from Colorado who truly know that “the closest thing to heaven on this planet anywhere, is a quiet Christmas morning in the Colorado snow.”

9. Anne Sofie Von Otter ~ Home For Christmas Anne Sofie Von Otter is a mezzo-soprano from Sweden. On this disc she sings some classic Christmas songs, but also sings several Swedish carols in her native tongue. It is beautiful music and instrumentation. On most of the songs she is only accompanied by one or two instruments, a guitar and a violin, an accordion, which really allows her voice to come through. Standout tracks include the opening song Kopangen, which she sings in both English and Swedish, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, I Wonder as I Wander, and Deck the Hall/Utterns Polska.

10. The Carpenters ~ Christmas Collection (Christmas Portrait & An Old Fashioned Christmas) When I was about seven years old, I was fairly certain that I was going to grow up to be Karen Carpenter. Obviously that didn’t happen, but I still enjoy her music. These Christmas albums cover just about every Christmas song ever written, and they are done in classic Carpenter style with Richard’s sparkly piano playing, tight vocal harmonies, and Karen singing like only she could.

#11-15 tomorrow!

Christmas Music Part 1: Albums 1-5

Ok. So, October is more than halfway over. Are you listening to Christmas music yet?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE Christmas music. I’m not ashamed to admit that I start listening to a few select Christmas cds July and gradually add more to my music lineup until it is all Christmas music and nothing else.

The other day I was organizing my cds and making sure that my Christmas ones were easily accessible and decided to make a list of my top 10 Christmas albums to share it here. However, I quickly discovered it was impossible to choose only ten, so I expanded it to 20.

In no particular order, here are the first five.

1. Sarah Brightman ~ Winter Symphony I waited my whole life for Sarah Brightman to come out with a Christmas album, and a couple of years ago, she finally did. It wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned, and it actually took me a while before I really loved it, but now I listen to it almost year round. I love the opening song, Arrival, (which I recently discovered is based on an old ABBA tune, who knew?), as well as Ave Maria, a duet with countertenor Fernando Lima, Carpe Diem, a duet with Mario Frangoulis, and the over the top, exploding with Christmas sparkle and spirit, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day. Rounding out the album are a couple of non-Christmas Vince Gill and Neil Diamond covers and the ubiquitous Silent Night and In the Bleak Midwinter.

2. Amy Grant ~ A Christmas Album This album came out in 1983, and I have to say, I don’t really remember Christmas without it. We had it on a record, then a tape, and now I have the cd. It is really the perfect Christmas cd. Tennessee Christmas, Heirlooms, Emmanuel, Sleigh Ride…Ahhh, I love all the songs on this album. For the record, Amy Grant’s two other Christmas albums, while not quite as good as this one, are worth having, too.

3. Mannheim Steamroller ~ A Fresh Aire Christmas Christmas music and Mannheim Steamroller go together hand in hand. I’m pretty sure the number of Christmas albums they have recorded is in the double digits, but this one is my favorite. It came out in 1988. I remember that we had a copy of it on a tape and my mom would turn it on for my sister and me to listen to after we went to bed. I absolutely loved the arrangement of Carol of the Bells when I was small. Now when I listen I am instantly transported to the late 80s and Christmases of my childhood. Good times.

4. Sarah McLachlan ~ Wintersong This one came out about four years ago, and when I bought it, I had no idea I would like it as much as I do. Even though it is over done on Christmas albums lately, I especially like her cover of Happy Xmas (War Is Over). Her take on What Child is This is beautiful, as she uses a new melody. River, The First Noel/Mary Mary, and In the Bleak Mid-Winter are standouts, too.

5. City On A Hill ~ It’s Christmas Time City on a Hill produced a series of several cds a few years ago that were thematic and featured a bunch of popular Christian artists. This is the Christmas one. It is a compilation of traditional Christmas carols and newer, original Christmas songs. The whole album is worth a listen, but I especially like Babe in the Straw by Caedmon’s Call, Bethlehem Town by Jars of Clay, and O Holy Night sung by Michael Tait and Leigh Nash.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow!

Man shall not live by bread alone...

Nothing beats a warm slice of homemade bread right out of the oven topped with a pat of butter and some jam or apple butter.

I've always been a bread lover. When I was just a little girl, my favorite part of holiday meals was the homemade rolls my mom would make. Forget the turkey and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. Two or three rolls would fill me up just fine.

Now, I almost always make my own bread. It is much cheaper, and so much better than what a person can buy in the grocery store. Plus, it only requires a little time and effort.

I have several bread recipes that I tend to rotate through. One of them is my grandma's recipe for plain white bread. My mom talks about how my grandma made this once a week for the family when she was growing up. She always thought she was getting a treat when she went to friends' houses and got to have bread from the store.

This is a very simple and plain bread. No fancy grains, flours, seeds, or nuts here, but it is still delicious. I think it makes the most wonderful toast. (We made a bread similar to this in pastry school called "pan de mie," which translates to "toast bread.")





Here is the recipe, copied from my mom, who got it from her mom.

Grandma or Mom's White Bread

Mix 4 1/2 cups very warm water, 6 Tbsp water, 2 Tbsp salt
Add 2 packages yeast, mix well
Add 6 cups flour, beat well
Add4 Tbsp shortening
Mix in about 6-6 1/2-7 cups more flour
Knead well
Let rise till double
Repeat
Make 4 large loaves
Let rise again
Bake at 450 degrees for 30 min

I only make two loaves when I make this. I have two fairly large sized loaf pans and have found that making 3/4 of the recipe fills them well.

Classic Reading September: The Pearl

I actually read my classic for September about a month ago, but am just getting around to writing about it. On my original list of classics to read, I had John Steinbeck's East of Eden. Every time I would go to the library, it would be checked out, though, and I really didn't want to buy it. So, I picked up The Pearl instead.

It is a really short book - one that can be read in one sitting. This was good for me, because I seem to be reading a lot of books at a time lately, but not finishing any of them.

I really didn't know what to expect from The Pearl. The back of the copy I read said it was a retelling of an old Mexican folk tale, and that's what it is.

The main character is Kino. He and his wife are very poor, but mostly content with what they have. They have a son, and Kino makes his living diving for pearls off the coast of Mexico.

One day Kino finds the largest pearl, "The Pearl of the World," and suddenly everything changes. Friends become enemies, no one can be trusted, and eventually Kino, his wife and son end up fleeing for their lives.

All because of a great big pearl.

The ending of the story is not pretty. Tragic, really. I guess it is teaching a lesson about greed and its destructive nature.

Even though it ends on a down note, I recommend reading this one.

Candy Corn Cookies

From time to time I get an idea when working in the kitchen that is brilliant. Other times I get an idea that is a total flop. The jury is still undecided on what I came up with today.

A week or so ago, my sister and I were talking about cookies and making them in the shape of candy corn. She told me about a way of layering the colored dough she had read about and I had some ideas myself. Today I tried to make it work. I did end up with some candy corn looking cookies, but they were nothing like what I had envisioned, and probably not what my sister was thinking of either.

I was looking through my cookbooks for a recipe to use and found one for sugar cookies that I thought would work. I mostly picked it because it used oil instead of butter, which would save me some time since my butter was frozen.

So I mixed up the dough, using olive oil instead of vegetable, since I still have a lot, worked in the orange and yellow coloring, and set about trying to execute the ideas in my head.

This is what I ended up with.



Lots and lots of tiny little triangles that I stood on end.

I had no idea what would happen when they were baked. I just hoped they wouldn't turn into pancakes.

Luckily most of them stayed standing and they turned into crisp little cookies.

Here's the after baking picture.



Kind of cute. I'm glad they mostly kept their shape. Unfortunately, they aren't very good cookies. I think it's because of a combination of over handling the dough to get the color in and the olive oil. I think I might end up feeding them to the ducks at the lake.