Ins and Outs of December

At My Front Door...

In come the Carolers...Feliz Navidad! I love when my amiga, Nohemi, brings the Spanish Speaking Carolers to my door step. This is a highlight of every December. Gracias!

Out My Front Door...

For my Bishop and friend, One of his famous sayings is now framed for his every day enjoyment. If you have ever attended Church Services in my Ward (Congregation), then you know this was the ideal gift for a Bishop who reminds us every week that we are enjoying another beautiful day in paradise!

In My Kitchen...

Cookies with my children and their friends. I always forget how easy Spritz cookies are to make with a cookie press. The kids did most of the work all on their own. I would rather make pretty Spritz Butter Cookies with a cookie press any day than Cut Out Sugar Cookies with icing....

In My Opinion...

When it comes to Cut Out Sugar Cookies, call me the Little Red Hen. I would rather eat the delicious end product than: Make the dough, chill the dough, roll out the dough, cut each individual cookie, place them on a sheet, bake them, cool them, make the icing, ice the cookies, decorate the cookies, etc. JUST TOO MANY STEPS...thank goodness they are delicious in the end. I only make cut out cookies TWICE per year...Christmas and Valentines.

I love the Ins and Outs of December!

Every In and Out celebrates Christmas and creates memories!

Making Your List?

Making Your Baking List?

Check It Twice and Make Sure

Pecan Brickle Bars

are at the top of the list.

Make them now and thank me later!

These may have become my new all-time

Christmas Baking Favorite....

Yes...they are THAT INCREDIBLE!

The Magic Of Santa

Note To Self:
Keep my children away from The MALL(s) at all cost......Santa is there and it is BEFORE THANKSGIVING! It is just wrong, plain wrong to have Santa at The Mall...any Mall...BEFORE THANKSGIVING. Santa's first public appearance of The Christmas Season is when he arrives at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.
I am OK with decorations up before Thanksgiving and Christmas Music on the radio...just don't mess with the arrival of Santa. He comes AFTER we give thanks. On this issue, I am firm...NO SANTA BEFORE THANKSGIVING.
(Oh...by the way....somehow we made it to 2008 with BOTH girls still in on the Santa magic. This could be the year for it to all unravel, though.)

Enjoy these shots from Christmas 2006

We visit the same Santa every year at The Gardens Mall...

AFTER THANKSGIVING

In fact, it is always the first or second week of December..during the school day...yes, I take my children OUT of school for a day of Christmas Shopping and Visiting Santa. We visit Ron's office with Homemade Cookies and then head to The Gardens Mall.

Mmmmm....I wonder if we have one more year of "matchy-matchy"

If so....this will surely be the end of the road for the era of

"matchy-matchy" sisters.

I loved these outfits. The last shirt has finally been passed

on to a new owner. Sad time to see the girls grow up and

some of the cute clothes leave.

This was a few weeks after my hysterectomy. I remember being

completely exhausted this day, but so happy I pushed to go out and

about for our Christmas tradition of Cookie Delivery and Shopping.

Is Santa at your local Mall?

Do you like to see Santa out and about BEFORE Thanksgiving?

Have you ever taken your children out of school to go see Santa?

Do your children still believe in Santa...for real?

(Not like my adult children who know they must "believe to receive".

Think Delish....Very Deeeeelish

Do You Like Heath Bars, Pecan Brickle,

Butter Pecan, Chocolate With Nuts?

Read On....Oh....Read On...

OK, it is week 2 of Back To School and I am taking my own advice...Clean Your Room! In my case it would be Room(s). My Closet (big as our first apartment bedroom), My Bedroom, and My Office...where I am sitting now. Part of cleaning my office is going through this crazy pile of papers. You know...the pile that accumulates while you are sleeping or actually while you are sitting on your computer blogging away...you just can't understand how the pile got SO LARGE SO QUICKLY.
Well, you my readers are in luck today, because whittling down my pile means sharing an out-of this world recipe from a newspaper clipping I have been "meaning" to post all summer.
Now let me ask you here...Am I the only one with a pile on her desk the size of Montana? I used to be soooooo good about keeping it all under control, but that is a story for another day.
Anyhow....
Back To The Out Of This World Recipe. Think Deeeeeelish at this point. If it is too hot outside to think about baking, tuck this one away for Christmas Baking.....You will hit a HOME RUN with this!

Do you Like Heath Bars? Do you like Butter Pecan? Do You Like Chocolate with Nuts? You get the picture. This Cookie won the Palm Beach Post Christmas Cookie, ooooops, I'd better say, HOLIDAY COOKIE (after all, we are in Palm Beach County) Contest in 2005 and is still one of the most requested recipes from Palm Beach Post Readers. Prior to her retirement in July, long-time food editor, Jan Norris, re-published this winning recipe submitted by reader, Sarah Applegate of Palm Beach Gardens.
I promise you will want to snarf every last bit down. My family at every bite and asked for MORE. I was amazed that everyone loved them. As Ron. the non-chocolate king said, I like chocolate if it is connected to NUTS! Glad to know that after 28 years of marriage!

PECAN BRICKLE BARS
Crust:
1 1/2 C. White All Purpose Flour
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/3 Cup Butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1-2 Tbsp Cream ( more, if needed)
Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until the mixture is the consistency of fine meal. Add Cream 1 Tbsp at a time. Gently knead until the mixture holds together but is not wet. Press the dough in an even layer into a 9x13 baking pan and refrigerate fro 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. Remove from oven and set aside until topping is ready.
Topping:
Toast 3 Cups of finely chopped Pecans by spreading in a single layer on a baking pan. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes, stirring often and watching closely. Make sure they are nicely browned, but not burned.
Cool and set aside
Combine the following in a Medium Saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, bring to a boil for 4 minutes:
3/4 C Butter
1 C plus 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar, packed
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 C. Light Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp Cream
Remove from heat and add:
2 1/2 tsp Vanilla
Stir in 2 1/4 Cups of The Toasted Pecans
Pour Topping over Baked Crust
Bake for 20-25 minutes of until the topping is bubbly, golden brown and just slightly darker at the edges.
Remove from oven and sprinkle on top:
1 C Semi-Sweet (or MIlk) chocolate chips
Place a Baking Sheet over the top of of the Baking Dish to trap the heat and help the Chocolate Chips Melt.
Once the Chocolate Chips are melted, spread them evenly with a knife, over the baked crust. Then...Add the remaining Toasted Pecans.

Cut the Bars into SMALL pieces. They are very rich. This makes about 32 Pecan Brickle Bars.
Go ahead and make a note..... I will Bake these for an afternoon snack....I will bake these for Christmas....I will Bake These Cookies!
You can thank me later.

So, whew...one more thing off my desk, one more post on my blog,

something delicious shared with friends.

That feels good.

Do you have projects that have been piling up over the summer?

Do you have a plan to attack them or is it just too overwhelming

to know where to begin?

I think I am on the way to conquering a few of the areas of my

house neglected over the very fun summer.

How about You?