Stop staring and start sewing!

Merry Christmas!! Here's your gift!

Hi! to all you visitors from Heather's place!  I figured I would post the recipe for those pretty cookies (and they're also delicious as an added bonus!) as my gift to you.  I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones!

When I got married, not only did I acquire a fabulous husband but he came loaded with an amazing array of family recipes.  This one just might be my favorite.

Swedish Tarts

Ingredients

½ lb. butter (room temp.)

2 egg yolks (keep the whites set aside in a bowl)

½ C. sugar

2 C. flour

1 tsp. almond extract (this makes them taste amazing)

1 pinch salt

1 cup very finely chopped almonds (keep more on hand just in case you need it.  I usually do.)

Approx 20 candied cherries, cut in half

Mix ingredients in order (I just use a wooden spoon and it works great). Shape into balls (about an inch in diameter). Dip into egg whites (roll them around so they are completely covered) then roll in chopped nuts. Firmly press candied cherry, cut side down, into cookie (press hard enough to get it down in there but not so hard it starts to crack at the edges, got it?). Place on ungreased baking sheets with at least 1 inch between each cookie (they don't grow to much but it's good to give them some elbow room).
Bake at 350º for 15 to 20 minutes.  They should be starting to turn a light golden brown(they take 20 minutes in my oven). You can take them off the baking sheet after about 5 minutes and then let them cool on a rack.
This recipe makes about 30 cookies so I always double mine because I can't stop eating them.

On another note:

Life has fewer thrills than looking through your door's peep-hole on Christmas Eve and seeing Heather Bailey standing there (Isaac and Charlotte too!) with packages in her hands.  (Santa?  Santa who?)  Oh boy!  Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Look at what she brought:

This one nearly brought tears to my eyes.  I have adored this sweet strawberry since the first time I layed eyes on it (you will most likely see some better pictures of it in the Apr/May issue of Mary Engelbreit Home Companion,the best magazine EVER).  I know she is working on a fun pattern for it (along with the pear pincushion!).  Again: Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

And look at these beauties!  I wish I could upload an audio file so you could enjoy the tight "whoosh-click" sound they make when I open and shut them (which I should stop doing so I can get some of the mess picked up around here).  I don't have this size (well now I do) so it's the perfect addition to my collection of tools.  Or I could add them to my fun little box of shiny things.

We also received a bag loaded with sweet chocolaty things which I won't show you (No, not because I already ate it all, thank you) because I'm going to let Joey enjoy those and he doesn't want everybody looking at his food.  I'll be over here eating those cookies.

Many many Christmas Blessings (and after all, Christmas was the start to the biggest blessing of all!) to you and your's!

Too soon for Christmas decorations

But not too soon for this.  Trader Joe's makes these yummy little fake oreos.  They taste just like oreos but they are good for you (I know, just play along here).   Lo and behold, I just found out they have Christmas Joe-Joe's!  My hunny brought these home and usually I'm pretty irked when he deviates from the list but I will overlook it this time.

Hubba hubba!!

On an entirely different note, look at what my 15 year old has been up to:

Aren't they just the cutest??!  I think they are actually sweet little "book guards" and if you reach for one of her precious, dewey decimel ordered (except for those few underneath) books, they will turn into little demons (kind of like Jack-Jack) and bite your hand off.   You can find a link to the tutorial for these right here.

She keeps asking who she should give them too. 

I just smile sweetly and bat my eyelashes (oh please, oh please, pick me).