Twelve Days of Baking - Day 1

For some unknown reason, I'm not in the mood to make all the traditional Christmas goodies that I usually make each year for Christmas. So, this year I've given myself a challenge of making twelve new holiday recipes for the twelve days leading up to Christmas.

I have a list which I'll be working through in the next few days and posting the results here.

My first recipe is for Cranberry Swirl Biscotti. I adapted this from a recipe in a Taste of Home Cookies cookbook. They're a little time consuming to make, but the results are festive and delicious.

 

Cranberry Swirl Biscotti

 

2/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup plum jam

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

 

Process cranberries, jam, and cinnamon in a food processor until smooth; set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture and mix well.

 

Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface roll each half into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Spread each half with the cranberry filling then roll up, jelly-roll style.

 

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. Cool for five minutes then slice diagonally with a serrated knife. Bake 15-20 minutes more, turning the biscotti over once, until the center are firm and dry. Makes about 30 cookies. 

 

Notes: The original recipe calls for cherry jam, but I changed it to plum because that's what I had on hand. Either would be good. It also calls to drizzle them with a powdered sugar glaze, but I decided that was unnecessary as the filling makes them sweet enough for my taste. 

It really is a magical place

I took a little trip to Florida last month to spend some time with my sister. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Disney World. I didn't think we were going to get to go, but my sister surprised me with a ticket as an early Christmas present. Isn't she the best?

My last Disney park encounter was when I was 5 and our family went to Disneyland. Suffice to say, I was long overdue for a magical Disney experience.

Leslie lives about and hour and a half from Orlando. On the way, I knew we were getting close when I saw this:

 

Here we are on the bus on the way to the park. Who do you think was the most excited to be going to Disney World? (Leslie, I'm sorry for posting this, but I just couldn't resist. And it's the only one I got of both of us.)
 

 

We were there in the late afternoon and late into the night for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. The whole place was decked out for Christmas.

 

 

Here is Splash Mountain. I'll admit that I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to rides, and after seeing people shoot down out of that thing, I decided I wasn't brave enough to ride. But I liked standing in front of it and watching.

 

 

Here is the riverboat. Pretty.
 

 

 

cenes from It's A Small World. It's hard to take decent pictures in there because everything moves so much.

 

 

 

 

There is a new area in Disney World that just opened last weekend called Fantasyland. We missed it by a couple of weeks, but were able to see some of it. The Beast's castle is there and so they have a lot of stuff from Beauty and the Beast. This is a fountain with Gaston and his little sidekick, whose name I can't remember.

  

 

Around 9 o'clock that night, there was light show at the castle, followed by fireworks. The castle was all lit up with Christmas lights. It was pretty magical to look at by itself, even without all the lasers and projected images.

 

 

At one point in the program, Tinkerbell flew out of the castle on a zip line with the help of fairy dust and disappeared over the edge of the park. See her?

 

 

Then the fireworks started. It was beautiful.

  

 

 

 

 

Even later that night, there was a parade. During the parade, Mickey Mouse waved at me.  

 

 

So did Prince Charming.
 

 

And the Beast.
 

 

I'm not sure what this guy was up to. I don't think he knew either.
 

 

Since we were celebrating Christmas and since we were in a magical place, they made it snow during the parade. Fun.

 

 

It was very late after the parade and things were beginning to close down, so we left. I was sad to go. Hopefully there won't be too many years between this visit and my next.  

Second Sunday of Advent - 2012

 

First Sunday of Advent - 2012

Waiting In Silence - Carey Landry

Waiting in silence, waiting in hope;
we are your people, we long for you, Lord.
God ever with us, Emmanuel,
Come, Lord Jesus, Maranatha!

Waiting in silence, waiting in hope;
we are your people, we trust in your love.
O Sun of Justice, true Prince of Peace,
Come with your justice, Lord, Maranatha!

Waiting in silence, waiting in hope;
we are your people, Lord, we seek your truth.
Wisdom Incarnate, teach us your way;
Show us the path of life, Maranatha!

Waiting in silence, waiting in hope;
we are your people, we long for new life.
O Key of David, open our hearts.
Give us new vision, Lord, Maranatha!

Waiting in silence, waiting in hope;
we are your people, our hearts thirst for you.
Flower of Jesse, bloom in our midst.
Make us your garden, Lord, Maranatha!