Year of Cookies - December

Hi Ladies!

So the 2015 has come to an end. It certainly was an incredible year! 

Christmas was great, but very busy! Besides the holiday hustle and bustle at work, we did a bit of travelling to see all of our family over the 6 short days we took off for Christmas. We headed to Port after work on the 22nd, celebrated my sister's birthday on the 23rd, did Christmas with my family Christmas Eve (complete with making cookies for Santa - or supervised as Talia made cookies for Santa), and took the last ferry home that night. We spent Christmas morning just the two of us relaxing at our place, before hitting the road to Princeton. We spent a couple snow-filled days at Corey's parents' house with his sisters, before heading back to the city. Then we spent the 28th at home all day to recoup after an exhausting week.

Here are a few photos from our white Christmas…

And now for the last instalment of the Year of Cookies!

Cranberry Shortbread Bars, Gingerbread Cookies,

Peppermint Sandwich Cookies, Whipped Shortbread, Rugelach

Week 48 - Cranberry Shortbread Bars, via Fork vs Spoon - baked for 22 minutes, cut into 12 bars
I was hunting for a good cranberry orange shortbread recipe when I came across these bars. They turned out great! The perfect kick off to the holiday season - a little sweet, tart, citrusy, nutty & oaty! I subbed in pistachios for the walnuts, thought they would be a bit more festive. I will definitely be making these again… especially since Corey ate 3 bars the day I made them!

Week 49 - Gingerbread Cookies, via Pastry Affair - baked for 7-8 minutes, made 64 cookies (mixed sized cookie cutters)
I haven't tried many gingerbread recipes, mainly because the ones I have tried turned out dry and crunchy. these have quite a bit of molasses, so they remained a bit chewy. We decorated them simply with some white icing and a few gold sprinkles.

Week 50 - Peppermint Sandwich Cookies, via Joy the Baker - baked for 11 minutes, 18 sandwich cookies

This recipe was a bit of a flop. In theory it should have worked great, but it just didn't come together the way I expected. I didn't use all my dough, it started to get too warm, yet crumbly, and rolling was becoming impossible. I'm not sure why she specifies not to chill the dough before rolling. I think it would have worked better after being chilled. I had to let my filling cool for almost 2 hours for it to thicken up. That being said, the flavours in these cookies were great - closest cookie I've ever made to an Oreo. And the filling has a nice peppermint flavour and isn't too sweet. But, the process of making the cookies was enough to make me not want to make the again.

Week 51 - Whipped Shortbread, via Corey's Amma - baked for 10 minutes, made 40 cookies 
This is Corey's Amma's (his Mum's Mum) recipe, and has been a staple for him at Christmas his whole life. When we started dating I had some his Mum made, and I immediately asked for the recipe. I have made them every Christmas since - for the last 9 years. And they have now become known as "Sha-oh's Special Shortbread", by my nieces anyway. This is a very simple recipe, only 4 ingredients, but is one I would recommend having a stand mixer for. The first few years I made these Corey's arm got quite the work out helping me whip the dough.

1 cup Butter
1 cup Maragine (you can not substitute this for more butter, it won't turn out the same)
1 cup Icing Sugar
1/2 cup Cornstarch
3 cups Flour
Mix all ingredients together in stand mixer.
When you first start the mix the dough it will become crumbly, keep mixing it will come together, until the dough becomes light and fluffy - almost resembling whipped cream. 
Drop by tablespoonful onto a lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until bottoms are just becoming golden.


Week 52 - Rugelach, via Food 52 - baked for 15 minutes, made 48 cookies 
this is a traditional Jewish cookie, and perfect for the holidays. the dough is more of a pastry, with equal parts butter and cream cheese. you can be creative with the filling, I followed the recipe for half of the dough - filling with a mixture of ground nuts & honey. Then I tried fig jam in one quarter of the dough, and raspberry jam and shaved dark chocolate in the last quarter. Some other ideas for fillings include different combos of nuts or dried fruits, chocolate & peanut butter, or nutella.


So, I did it. Challenge complete!
52 cookie recipes. Countless bags of flour & sugar, pounds of butter and cartons of eggs.
3 bottles of vanilla. 2 new oven mitts. 1 oven light bulb.

The ones that disappeared the fastest…
Dark Chocolate Pistachio & Smoked Sea Salt Cookies
Breakfast Cookies
Kitchen Sink Cookies
Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed
Cranberry Shortbread Bars

I'm trying to think of another culinary goal for 2016 - besides my usual bucket list of new recipes and techniques to try. Committing to once a week was a bit of a challenge this year, so maybe once a month. Pies, cakes, ice cream, bread? Or something savoury? I'll keep you posted.

We're spending our New Year's Eve in our traditional way - lots of movies and lots of snacks! Relaxing on the couch, just the two of us. We think it's the perfect way to wind down after the chaos of Christmas, and ring in the New Year.

Wishing all of you a wonderful year ahead! Happy New Year!

Sending love,

Xo, A

it's been too long.

Hello lovely ladies,

I'm 75% finished my Term 1 report cards (heeelllllppppp!) and thought that I should take a break before the comments get a bit hodgemodged (it's a word, I promise).
You girls were the first to come to mind as I thought - "who should come over for tea?". Unfortunately, you're not able to make the trip, so I'll meet you here instead.

It's been a while. too long.

This has been quite the year - full of crazy ups and downs. Hard to believe that it's coming to an end. There is, however, something appealing about a fresh year. I'm looking forward to 2016.

The past few months have been full of tears and healing as Jon & I mourned the loss of our little life at the end of August. We've spent many days wrapped up in blankets, with hot cups of tea, kleenex, and cuddles. It feels a bit now like we're coming out of the fog. I'm thankful for that. We think each day of the tiny little we were entrusted to love and care for, if only for a short time, and the amazing support we felt from everyone through the process. Thank you.

Part of the healing process - while wrapped in blankets and drinking tea - was spent reading and knitting, so that's what I'll share with you.

In pages:

- "Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France" by Caroline Moorehead: This was bit more historical non-fiction than it was fiction. It was less of a curl up with a good book book and more of a learn about the war kind of book.

- "The Opposite of Loneliness" by Marina Keegan: This is a different kind of book than I usually pick up - a collection of writings of a 22 year-old Yale Writing student put together after she passed away shortly before her convocation. It was an interesting collection of short stories - fiction & non-fiction.

- "The Nightingale" by Kirstin Hannah: I have yet to pick up another book after this one and I finished it just under one month ago. I just know that it will take a very special book to top this one, so I've postponed picking up another. It was so good! Set in WWII France, it tells the story of two sisters' experiences while living in occupied territory and moving through the horrors of war. If you start this one, make sure that you've got a few hours (or an entire day) set aside solely for reading.

On my needles:

My goal for Christmas gifts this year was handmade holidays, so I've been knitting up a storm here.

- socks! x 4 pairs - I think I've hit my limit with these for a while.
- this Clarke Pullover by Jane Richmond is laying on my blocking mats currently trying to dry. I can't wait to wear it! It was a very fun, quick to knit sweater - a good one to start with. Practiced my hand at striping - lots of weaving in ends when I finished.
- these tinsel mittens by Drea Renee knits were such a fun knit: quick, easy, and a fun pattern. I knit two pairs this past weekend!
- this toque: another quick pattern that makes me excited for days up on the mountain in the snow.

these are some patterns that I'm hoping to cast on soon:

- Open Sky: the pattern looks gorgeous and I love cozy wrapped shawls.
- Lucy Hat: doesn't it look so cute?! I love it - Downton Abbey inspired.
- Watson Cardigan: I love the lace detailing on the back.
- Pome Toque: a fun cabled toque for chilly days.

They say knitting is like therapy. I'd have to agree. :)

I'm enjoying my new job as a Special Education teacher for a distance school - it's full of challenges and learning curves. every. single. day. I'm thankful for a job that challenges me though. I also get the pleasure of working with a couple kids each week - spending time outside, crafting, and baking. I get my kiddo fill, which is important when you spend most of your work hours on the computer (major adjustment!). Today is a gingerbread house baking day - I'm so excited!

Other than that, life is going well up here. Jon's out on his last hunting trip of the season - hoping he'll come home with a bit more to add to the freezer. He's been lucky to see a herd of elk the past few times that he's been out in the mountains - majestic!

What are your Christmas plans?
We will be here in CR for the Christmas Eve Service and then head down island for a few days to spend time with family and friends.

Hopefully we can squeeze in a real tea date over the holidays. Micah, we'll FaceTime you in.

Lots of love to each of you.
Miss you all.