celiabreslin

Season’s Greetings Dear Readers!

I hope you’ve had a wonderful December. To close out 2018 and the last holiday celebration of this year, I’m sharing three of my favorite, dessert recipes. They appeared in the blogosphere around this time least year, and the first two are on the Decadent Divas blog today, but I’m posting all three here for you, too! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does. Bon appetit!

Holiday Spritz Cookies

Recipe compliments of my mother. Requires cookie press.

3/4 cup regular sugar (some recipes call for “powdered”, but mom swears by regular!)
1 cup margarine, or butter, or shortening (mom uses shortening; I use butter. Both are delish.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a bowl, mix together margarine (or butter or shortening), sugar, vanilla, egg until fairly fluffy.
3. Stir in flour, salt, baking powder.
4. Optional: separate dough into bowls, add food dye of your choosing (see photo).
5. Fill cookie press; press dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes.
7. Remove from sheet and cool on cookie rack.
8. Eat. All. The. Cookies!
 

Holiday Caramels

Recipe compliments of my grandmother.

1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups white sugar
2 cups white Karo Syrup
1 stick of butter (1/4 lb.)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Mix together the first three ingredients (milk, sugar, syrup) in a large bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a large heavy kettle, pour in the mixture and bring to a boil.
3. Stir continuously while mixture boils until it reaches the temperature of 245 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer (can take up to 25 minutes).*
4. Once the 245-degree temperature is reached, remove kettle from stove.
5. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, then pour mixture onto a large buttered cookie sheet or flat pan.
6. Cut into pieces, wrap with plastic wrap or your candy covering of choice (or eat All The Candy, LOL).

* Note: If mixture overcooks, candy gets too hard.

Snickerdoodles

Recipe compliments of my grandmother

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine, butter, or shortening (my grandmother uses shortening)
1 – 2 tsp. vanilla (grandmother uses 1 more often than 2)
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a small bowl, mix the tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Mix together margarine (or butter or shortening), sugar, vanilla, eggs.
4. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt. Add to wet ingredients.
5. Form one-inch or 1 1/4 inch balls, and roll balls in sugar/cinnamon mixture.
6. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cook for 8 – 10 minutes.
7. Remove from sheet and cool on cookie rack.
8. Eat. All. The. Cookies!

Happy new year!

xo, Celia

Photos:
First home = Tom and Jerry’s House, a San Francisco Historical Landmark.
Second home = Storybook House, decorated for every holiday!
All photos (cookies included) by moi.