More fun with felt food

Here is some of the play food I made for grandkids' Christmas gifts. I didn't get all of the things made that I planned to, so will be making more of these, plus some other, for spring birthdays coming up. Not all of this is made of felt, as you will see for yourself.

I made a bunch of felt Cheez-It® crackers and my husband found small boxes of Cheez-Its® which we emptied out and put the felt crackers (packed in zip-top bags) into. They came out really cute but apparently I forgot to take pictures. Suffice it to say that they look real enough that my 1-year-old grandson tried to eat a handful. Hope they keep the rest of the food out of his reach. You can see pictures and a tutorial here: Felt Cheez-It® Crackers.

I also made some felt Christmas cookies. I wish I had had time to make more of these as they came out simply adorable. Next year! Here is a plate of cookies.

And here are the cookies packaged in a zip-top bag for giving and storage.

This next one is supposed to be a pincushion, but I couldn't resist making a chocolate donut! I wanted to make 2, and then 2 more for another family, but ran out of time. I used beads rather than pins for sprinkles, but they still wouldn't be safe for a child of the age to put everything in his mouth. Neither would the Christmas cookies, which also have beads instead of sugar crystals.

Here's the donut on a plate:

And in a bag, ready to give.

Lastly, I made some bow-tie pasta. This was very easy and came out so real-looking. Here are a few bow ties on a plate:

And more of them in a bag:

Still on my list: pancakes, cinnamon rolls, bacon & eggs, cheeseburgers, popsicles....

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! Soon, I hope to post a Christmas kitchen report and also to put up some photos of the handmade gifts I made this year. But in the meantime, I hope that each and every one of you has had a truly blessed Christmas Day!

Snowy Lemon Snack Mix

I guess this recipe is technically titled Chex® Lemon Buddies, but in my opinion that name doesn't really do it justice. so I gave it a new name. I tried this Sunday afternoon when I really wanted to bake some Christmas cookies, but didn't have time. I had seen the recipe on someone's blog and it sounded intriguing. It was very quick and easy to fix. Here's the recipe:

Snowy Lemon Snack Mix

9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 1/4 cup white vanilla baking chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 tsp grated lemon peel (may use less)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

Measure cereal into a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a microwaveable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 more seconds or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into a 2-gallon resealable food storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar, seal bag and shake until all the cereal is well-coated.

Notes:

* The recipe didn't say how to store this mix, but obviously airtight is a good idea. I put some in a tin to send to faraway friends who love lemon. I put the rest in a zip-top plastic bag. The blogger who shared this says she keeps hers in the fridge and that makes it even tastier. I haven't tried that, though.

* I just used the juice and rind of one lemon, which turned out to be about 2 tsp. grated rind and about 2 Tblsp. lemon juice.

* I only had 1-gallon zip-top bags to shake the mixture in, so I used one of thosse and just shook half the mixture at a time with 1 cup of powdered sugar. It worked out fine.

This is really delicious if you enjoy lemon, and quite different. Best of all, easy!

Cranberry Pistachio Bark

This candy recipe has been on my want-to-try list for Christmas goodies for several years now. I finally got around to trying it yesterday. I recommend it!

One thing I did differently was to use dark chocolate almond bark (candy coating) in place of the semisweet chocolate chips. I'm sure the semisweet would have been better, but the almond bark worked just fine and was easy to melt in the microwave. Given some of my disasters in the kitchen lately, I didn't want to take a chance on messing up the melting of the chocolate chips. I already had the coating on hand, and melting it is pretty much foolproof.

So take your choice -- chocolate chips or chocolate coating. Either way, I predict this candy will be a success with your family and friends!

Chocolate Peanut Candy

On Saturday, I made some of these delicious little candies. They taste like chocolate covered peanuts, only they are in little clusters, not individual nuts. What I love about these is that they are sort of chewy, not hard like just clumps of chocolate and nuts. Here is the link: Chocolate Peanut Candy. I had not made these candies for several years and had forgotten how good (not to mention how quick and easy) they are. Enjoy!

Anniversary giveaway at Green Twig!

I'm posting about this Christmasy giveaway on both of my blogs, because I know that not all of my readers visit both of them regularly.

This giveaway is over at Green Twig, the blog of my real-life friend Mrs.D. She is celebrating the one-year anniversary of Green Twig with this special event.

She is giving away a gorgeous Christmas-themed market tote and also a sweet set of wintry-looking teacups and saucers with little pine branches on them. Mrs. D is an incredible seamstress and quilter, and made the bag herself. It is so cute and looks as if it would hold a lot of groceries.

So head on over to Green Twig and leave a comment. If you have a blog of your own, Mrs. T also asks that you post about her giveaway there. Two fortunate readers will win either the bag or the teacups, so check out the giveaway now!

Focaccia Bread recipe

Sorry I have been absent from the Christmas kitchen for a couple of days! Some of that time I have been busy in my real Christmas kitchen!

I'd like to share one more bread recipe which can turn a simple soup supper into a smashing success of a meal -- Focaccia Bread Squares from Taste of Home! We love, love, love this bread. A simple bread machine dough and easy press-into-pan preparation produces something absolutely delicious and quite impressive.

I usually substitute olive oil for butter in the dough. Sometimes I substitute Italian seasoning or pizza spice for the rosemary in the topping.

This bread is a tiny bit more work than just a bread machine loaf, but it is well worth the extra time. Enjoy!

Cheddar Cheese Bread

Here's another bread machine recipe that would accompany any of yesterday's soups nicely.

CHEDDAR CHEESE BREAD

1 cup water
1/4 cup buttermilk powder
1 to 1-1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4-1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
3 cups bread flour
1-1/2 tsp. dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine pan in order suggested by manufacturer (which would most likely be the order shown here up through the flour; make a well in the flour and put the yeast in the well). Use basic setting, and I would recommend the light crust setting.

I copied this recipe from my daughter's bread machine cookbook while we were visiting out West one year. It's a keeper!

Recipes to simplify the season

Yesterday I mentioned how I like to let supper "cook itself" to free up a little time in this busy season, and promised to post some crockpot soup recipes and more bread recipes. Well, I decided to simplify things for myself today and just copy and paste some recipes from my personal cookbook (on my computer in a word processing program) so there is just one bread recipe here. It's a delicious one, though. Perhaps tomorrow I can post some links for more bread recipes. I think this assortment of soup recipes will be plenty, though. Something here for everyone's taste!

OLD-FASHIONED OATMEAL BREAD (for the bread machine)
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 cup molasses
2 Tblsp. butter or margarine, softened
4 cups bread flour
2/3 cup oats (either type - I use old-fashioned)
2 Tblsp. dry milk
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast

1. Measure and add liquid ingredients to bread pan.
2. Measure and add dry ingredients (except yeast) to bread pan.
3. Use your finger to make a well in the dry ingredients where you will put the yeast. Yeast must NEVER come into contact with liquids when adding ingredients. Measure the yeast and pour it into the well.
4. Snap pan into the bread maker and close lid.
5. Press "Select" button to choose the Sweet setting.
6. Press the "Crust Color" button. I prefer the Light crust for this
bread.
7. Press the Start button.

This is one of our favorite bread recipes to bake in the bread machine. The recipe is from the book which came with our machine.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP (for the crock pot)

6 cups chicken broth
12 to 15 1/2-ounce frozen meatballs (or 6 to 8 1-oz. ones)
1 small boneless skinless chicken breast (may be frozen)
Sliced celery to taste (I usually use a cup or two)
Cut-up carrots to taste (I usually use baby carrots and quarter them -- again, about a cup or two)
Spinach to taste, stems removed (can use up to a bunch of spinach -- I have also used part of a bag of baby spinach leaves or of frozen cut leaf spinach)
Garlic powder to taste
Lemon pepper to taste
1/4 cup tiny pasta, like alphabets or orzo (add during last hour of
cooking)
Parmesan or Romano cheese to taste

Put the meatballs on a microwave safe plate and defrost them for a
minute or two, so you can quarter them. If using the larger (1 oz.)
meatballs, cut them in eighths.

Put in crock pot along with broth, chicken, vegetables and seasonings.
Cook all day on low or 3 hours on high.

Add pasta during the last hour of cooking. (In the case of alphabets, I have added them just before serving and they cook just fine.)

Before serving, remove the chicken breast and cut it or shred it in small pieces. Return chicken to the soup.

Serve with Parmesan or Romano cheese for people to add to taste.
Probably makes about 6 servings.

This is one of my crock pot standbys!

Here is another favorite:

TORTILLA ENCHILADA SOUP

4 cups chicken broth
2 cans chicken with rice soup
1 small boneless skinless chicken breast (frozen is fine)
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1 can red enchilada sauce
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese OR cubes of velveeta-type cheese

In crock pot combine the broth, soup, chicken breast, salsa, and
enchilada sauce. Cook on low for about 4 hours. Remove chicken breast from soup; shred it or cut in small pieces. Return to soup.

When ready to eat, cut flour tortillas into strips (scissors work best
for this).

Put tortilla strips in each bowl and ladle the hot soup on top. Top with shredded cheddar or cubed velveeta.

About 6 servings.

This is just delicious and soooo easy. Great with cornbread!

As you'll see, the following one can be done either in the crockpot, or at the last minute on the stovetop. Naturally, at this time of year I prefer the crockpot option.

TACO SOUP

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or use less -- even as little as 1/2 lb.)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (28 oz.) crushed or diced tomatoes
1 can (14 oz.) kidney beans, not drained
1 can (17 oz.) whole kernel corn, not drained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning
1 to 2 cups water
Shredded cheddar cheese
Crushed tortilla chips

Brown beef in large heavy kettle or Dutch oven; drain off any fat and add onions. Cook until onions are tender.

Add remaining ingredients except cheese and chips; simmer for 15 minutes.

Ladle into bowls; top with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips, to taste.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

This simple recipe has been a lifesaver for me so many times. Very often, after browning the beef and onions, I combine all the ingredients in a crock pot and cook the soup on low for several hours.

The following recipe can either be cooked in a low oven or in the crockpot. The crockpot option seems slightly easier to me.

GONE-ALL-DAY STEW

1 can tomato soup, undiluted
1 cup water
1/4 cup flour
2 pounds beef chuck, cut in 1-inch cubes, trimmed of fat
3 medium carrots, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped (or use a handful of frozen baby onions)
4 medium potatoes, cut in 1 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 cup celery, cut in 1-inch slices
12 whole large fresh mushrooms (optional but good)
2 beef bouillon cubes ( or 2 tsp. beef bouillon granules)
1 Tblsp. Italian herb seasoning mix
1 bay leaf
3 grinds fresh pepper

In a large casserole dish (at least 3-quart) mix the soup with the water and flour until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover the casserole and bake at 275º for 4 to 5 hours.

(The stew may also be cooked in a slow cooker on Low for the same amount of time.)

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

This delicious stew was a staple for us during the years our kids were at boarding school. It was the perfect meal for Sunday lunch before the trip back to school. I can’t even count the number of times I have given out this recipe over the years.

The following recipe uses frozen meatballs which really simplifies preparation:

MEATBALL STEW

3 medium potatoes, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 pkg. (16 oz.) fresh baby carrots, quartered
1 large onion, chopped (or equivalent amount of frozen chopped onions)
3 celery ribs, sliced
12 to 16 ounces frozen meatballs, defrosted slightly in microwave and cut in halves or quarters
1 can tomato soup
1 can beef gravy
1 cup water
1 envelope onion soup mix (I used 5 Tblsp. of my own homemade mix)
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules

Place the potatoes, vegetables and meatballs in a 5-quart slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour this over the meatball mixture.

Cover and cook on High for 4 to 5 hours. Yield: 6 servings.

This is so good that it's worth keeping a can of beef gravy in my pantry at all times! (I already keep tomato soup on hand, as well as a jar of my homemade onion soup mix. And I keep a bag of meatballs in the freezer to use in Italian wedding soup, so the basic ingredients for this stew are always around.)

The following recipe is a little different with its Italian sausage and seasonings.

HEARTY PASTA TOMATO SOUP (with sausage)

6 cups beef broth
28 ounces stewed tomatoes
15-16 ounces tomato sauce
2 cups sliced zucchini (I use the frozen zucchini-squash blend if fresh zucchini is not available)
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup sliced carrots (I use baby carrots)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 lb. Italian link sausage, sliced about 1/2 inch thick with scissors
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 garlic clove, minced
Pasta of your choice, OR 2 cups frozen cheese tortellini
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Place all ingredients except the last two in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on High for 4 to 5 hours until the vegetables are tender and the sausage slices are cooked and tender.

At this point, add pasta to your taste and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes or until pasta is cooked. I used orzo, so only had to wait about 15 minutes. Rotini or elbows would probably take 20 minutes or so. If you choose to use the tortellini, you need to cook it first, then stir into the soup and cook for about 30 minutes or so.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Again, frozen chopped onions and frozen diced green peppers can really simplify matters when preparing a crockpot recipe. I highly recommend keeping them on hand.

This next one has a nice beefy flavor from the beef gravy and mushroom soup. A nice change from tomato flavors.

GROUND BEEF STEW
1 pound ground beef
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
16 ounces baby carrots
3 cups water
2 Tbslp. dry onion soup mix
1/2 tsp. minced garlic (or 1 garlic clove, minced)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (or equivalent)
1 can beef gravy (or equivalent)

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a slow cooker, combine the next nine ingredients; stir in the beef. Cover and cook on High for 4 to 5 hours. Stir in soup and gravy; cover and cook 1 hour more or until heated through.

Yield: 12 servings.

This last recipe is not a crockpot one, but it is incredibly simple to put together at the last minute.

ZESTY CHICKEN CHEESE SOUP

1 can whole kernel corn (don’t drain)
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (don’t drain)
1 small can diced green chilies (optional)
1 can premium chunk white chicken, flaked
8 ounces velveeta-type cheese, cubed

In heavy saucepan or dutch oven, combine everything except the cheese and begin heating these ingredients while you cube the cheese. Add the cheese to the saucepan and continue to heat, stirring until cheese is melted and soup is piping hot.

This recipe came from an early Quick Cooking magazine and is the fastest soup you will ever make -- just a matter of opening cans, heating and stirring -- and is also delicious!

I hope these recipes make your Christmas season a little less stressful -- so you will have more time to truly enjoy the holiday and celebrate the reason for the season!

Cranberry Oat Bread

One of the best ways I have found to free up time for Christmas crafting, baking, decorating, etc. is to have supper cook itself -- that is, put a soup in the crockpot and bread or dough in the bread machine. Bread is the easiest, because there is nothing to do at the last minute. Over the next few days I will post some of my favorite soup and bread recipes, and hope that they will be helpful to someone else.

This is probably our very favorite bread machine recipe. Here's the link: Cranberry Oat Bread. It's very good with raisins instead of the dried cranberries, too. And it smells so wonderful as it bakes!

Gingerbread Men

Yesterday I spent some good quality time in my Christmas kitchen and baked two kinds of cookies -- Macaroon Kisses and Gingerbread Men. Interesting -- neither of these cookies were on my tentative baking list for this holiday, but I ended up baking them anyway! The macaroon kisses (you can find the recipe by typing the name into the search box at the top left) were baked because I had a package of almond chocolate kisses to use up -- they were from an after-Christmas sale last year. And the gingerbread men -- well, just because. The following recipe is slightly adapted from Cook & Tell, and is my favorite recipe for ginger guys. Note that it is easily made in a saucepan!


GINGERBREAD MEN

1/2 cup shortening (or use real margarine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/2 tsp. vinegar
1 egg, beaten
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. salt

In a large, heavy saucepan, place shortening, sugar, molasses, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat and cool mixture to room temperature.

Add beaten egg to cooled mixture in saucepan. Sift together remaining ingredients and stir into molasses mixture using a wooden spoon. Mix well. Form mixture into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap and chill for several hours.

Working with a small amount of dough at a time, and leaving the remainder of dough in the fridge, roll out dough 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick and cut with desired cookie cutters.

Bake on ungreased baking sheets at 375º for 8-12 minutes. Mine took about 8 minutes or even a little less. Makes a bunch of gingerbread men.

Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

"When lights and decorations go up along main streets across the country, rolling pins and cookie cutters of many shapes soon come to light in the kitchen. Then, more than at any other season, rolled cookies have top popularity. By the time Christmas arrives, cookie stars, hearts, crescents, jaunty gingerbread boys and animals dangle from the branches of twinkling Christmas trees."
~ Nell Nicholson, in Farm Journal's Homemade Cookies.


It's still true. For a good many people, the best Christmas cookies are the kind you cut out with holiday cutters and sprinkle with colored sugars and sprinkles before baking -- or, alternatively, bake first and then frost and add the trimmings. I have made plenty of cut-out cookies in my day -- by myself, with my own kids, and now with grandkids -- and thought I would share a few of my favorites here. There are other cut-out cookies here in the Christmas kitchen as well, and I will label them as such so they can easily be found.

Here's the first one:

SUGAR COOKIES

1 1/4 cups butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
5 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Sift
together dry ingredients and add alternately with milk. If the dough is
sticky, add flour if necessary to make the dough easier to handle.

Roll dough 1/4-inch thick on a well-floured surface, and cut with cookie
cutters of your choice. Sprinkle with colored sugars or sprinkles.

Bake on ungreased baking sheets at 375° for 8 minutes. Remove to wire
racks to cool. Makes about 100 cookies.

This recipe came from a Farm Journal Christmas magazine from the early 1960s. It was supposed to be a very easy dough for children to roll and cut, and I remember helping to make these as a child. Later, I used this recipe for my own kids to make and decorate cut-out cookies when they were young.

This next recipe is a newer favorite of mine, although I suspect the recipe itself is quite old.

BROWN SUGAR CUT-OUT COOKIES

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter flavor Crisco® (I use the sticks -- so, 1 stick for this recipe)
2 eggs
3 Tblsp. cold water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

Cream sugar and Crisco® until fluffy, using an electric mixer. Add the eggs, water, and vanilla and combine well. Sift the dry ingredients together. Work them into the sugar mixture with a wooden spoon or your hands, if necessary. When well blended, form the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap to chill for several hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, roll the dough very thin on a floured surface. Cut out shapes and decorate with colored sugars and sprinkles, pressing down lightly. Using a floured spatula, transfer the decorated cookies to a foil-or-parchment-covered cookie sheet. Re-roll the scraps to make more cookies. Repeat the cutting and sprinkling process.

Bake at 350º for 6 to 8 minutes until golden brown. Remove to cooling racks.

Yields a lot of cookies; I have never counted to determine how many, and the original recipe, which I found in Cook & Tell, didn't say.

And this last one is from my dear friend Marilyn's mother. Love the festive combination of flavors in this one!

CHRISTMAS CUT-OUT COOKIES

1 cup shortening (may use half margarine)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. almond extract
3/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. orange extract
2 unbeaten eggs
2 1/2 cups flour

Combine all but the flour and beat thoroughly. Add flour and mix well. Chill dough thoroughly.

Roll small portions of dough 1/4-inch thick and cut out. [Edited to add: decorate cookies before baking with sprinkles and colored sugars; or, bake the cookies plain and frost when cool.]

Bake for 8-10 minutes in 375º oven.

The yield is unspecified on this one, too. You really do get a lot of cookies from cut-out recipes, especially if you re-roll the scraps, a process that sometimes seems interminable. But I always do it.

Whichever recipe you choose, have fun. Happy Baking!

Candy Cane Cookies

Probably almost everyone has this recipe already, but I thought I would share it anyway just in case.

CANDY CANE COOKIES
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red food coloring

Heat oven to 375°. Mix thoroughly the butter, sugar, egg, and flavorings. Blend in flour and salt. Divide dough in half and remove one half to a separate bowl. Blend food coloring into one half of dough.

Shape 1 teaspoon of dough of each color into a 4-inch rope. For smooth, even ropes, roll them back and forth on a lightly floured surface. Place the 2 ropes side by side; press them together lightly and twist.

Complete cookies one at a time. Place on ungreased baking sheet as they are completed. Curve top of each cookie down to form the handle of the "candy cane".

Bake about 9 minutes or until set and very light brown.

Remove to racks and cool.

Makes about 4 dozen.

It's been years since I made these cookies, but my kids always liked helping to make these. It's sort of like playing with play dough! I've been thinking I need to make these cookies with my granddaughters this year.

Dipped Cherry Cookies

Here's another recipe link to one of my newer Christmas cookie favorites. I tried these last year for the first time and we liked them a lot -- enough so that they are on my baking list for this year as well. They are a very pretty cookie and add some color to the cookie tray. I did not have edible glitter so I used red sugar and white sugar. You can find the recipe here: Dipped Cherry Cookies. Enjoy!

Double Drizzle Pecan Cookies

As promised, here is a link to the recipe for another of our favorite Christmas cookies. For years, I made a very similar recipe that had only the caramel drizzle, and those cookies are absolutely wonderful. But the chocolate puts this recipe over the top! I hope your family enjoys these Double Drizzle Pecan Cookies as much as we do!

In other kitchen news, I tried a couple of new recipes today -- a bread recipe and a fudge recipe. Both easy recipes. I'll report back tomorrow as to how they turned out!

Cranberry Pecan Sandies

Today in the Christmas kitchen, here's another recipe:

CRANBERRY PECAN SANDIES

1 package (15.6 oz.) cranberry quick bread mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg
2 Tablespoons orange juice
3/4 cup chopped pecans
30 to 36 pecan halves
Sugar for dipping

Orange Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons orange juice

In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread mix, butter, egg, and orange juice. Stir in chopped pecans.

Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. [I tend to line cookie sheets with parchment paper even when recipes say “ungreased”. Just seems to work better with my aging cookie sheets.]

Flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar (grease the glass lightly before the first dipping).

Press a pecan half into center of each cookie.

Bake at 350º for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.

Cool completely before glazing.

For glaze, whisk confectioners’ sugar and 2 tsp. orange juice in small bowl; add additional 1 to 2 tsp. orange juice if needed for drizzling consistency. Drizzle glaze decoratively over cookies.

Yield: 2 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies.

These are just delicious and super-easy! The recipe came from the Nov/Dec 2006 issue of Simple & Delicious magazine. I was very pleased to discover that these cookies freeze perfectly, glaze and all!

Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Today in the Christmas kitchen, I'd like to share a recipe I adapted from the December 2006 issue of my favorite cooking newsletter, Cook & Tell. This recipe has become a "must-make" for Christmas every year.

RASPBERRY ALMOND THUMBPRINTS

2/3 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 tsp. almond extract
2-3 tsp. water

In large bowl, cream together sugar, softened butter, and 1/2 tsp. extract. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add flour until well mixed.

Heat oven to 350º. Form dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Make an indentation in each cookie with your thumb; fill indentation with jam.

Bake at 350º for about 15 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheets for about 1 minute before removing to rack.

Let cookies cool on wire racks. I like to place waxed paper under the cooling racks before glazing the cookies.

Stir together the glaze ingredients, using only enough of the water to make a good glazing consistency. Drizzle glaze over cookies. Let set completely before storing or stacking cookies.

Yield: 3-1/2 dozen.