It’s Sunday here. Our plans were to go check out the local ski resort. There’s downhill skiing there and a large indoor waterpark as well as cross country trails and snowshoe hikes. We didn’t get there though. It snowed another 2 inches overnight so we stayed here.
We played in the snow some, checked deer cams, and made Christmas cookies. Here is a pretty decent new recipe I tried for peanut butter cookies. They are pretty soft and yummy.
Peanut Butter Cookies
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1/3 cup water
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together. Chill dough 1/2 hour. Drop dough by rounded tbsp onto a cookie sheet parchment paper. Roll dough balls in sugar, then flatten each in crisscross pattern with a fork (or put an unwrapped hershey kiss in the center of the cookie). Bake 10 or 12 minutes. Cool 1 minute and move parchment paper with baked cookies to cooling rack.
Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
Got my Alabama tshirt on for the SEC Champions…And some cozy winter socks…Took down the deer stand and cams for the winter…Found some strange tracks in the snow…And made some holiday cookies!
One of the most beautiful places in the world is Keukenhof, considered to be Europe’s gardens. Check out this great link from the Daily Mail that talks about a virtual tour by drone of the gardens put together by photographer Albert Dros. Scroll through the brief article and you will see the videos to click on and view the wonderful outdoor spectacle that is Keukenhof. The park is closed for the first time in 71 years but still can be seen through this virtual tour.
I learned about this oddly enough by researching the Dutch origins of the Snickerdoodle cookie. I’m smiling right now just thinking about how the internet leads you off on various other paths so easily. Yes, I’m making an old family recipe book. It is just a short collection of favorite family recipes that I am planning to give to my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day which is fast approaching.
My family name on one side is Schippers which in Dutch means “son of a skipper” or “son of a shipowner.” My family moved to western Kansas in the Midwest United States in the late 1800s from the Volga River region of Russia. They were German-Dutch farmers that lived in Russia under the authorization of Catherine the Great. With all the turmoil of the late 1800s and early 1900s, they re-settled in America.
Snickerdoodles were a popular recipe among Dutch-German immigrants along with other things like Smargs and Beirocks. Here is some origin information about this sweet cinnamon sugar cookie. This is a great article:
And here is our family recipe for the cinnamon sugar cookie. It’s a pretty good one:
(Google Images.)
Snickerdoodles
1 and ½ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
½ cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Beat in the egg and the milk. Stir in the dry ingredients. Cover dough and chill for ½ to 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Combine 3 tablespoons of the sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Roll the dough into small walnut sized balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until very lightly colored. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
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