the moment in the middle

 the moment in the middle

hold your breath
here it is
Christmas eve
my favorite time of the Christmas season
the perfect moment between all the preparations and all of the celebrations

From the book Out to Cannan (the fourth book in the Mitford series)
by: Jan Karon

All is done yet all is yet to come . . .
"It was a moment of perfection he would probably not find again this year, and he sat without moving, almost without breathing. There was the upside of a garden, when one was digging and planting, heaving and hauling, and then the downside, when it was all weeding and grooming and watering and sweating. One had to be fleet to catch the moment in the middle, the mountaintop, when perfection was as brief as the visit of a butterfly to an outstretched palm."

the moment in the middle

the moment in the middle

hold your breath
here it is
Christmas eve
my favorite time of the Christmas season
the perfect moment between all the preparations and all of the celebrations

From the book Out to Cannan (the fourth book in the Mitford series)
by: Jan Karon

All is done yet all is yet to come . . .
"It was a moment of perfection he would probably not find again this year, and he sat without moving, almost without breathing. There was the upside of a garden, when one was digging and planting, heaving and hauling, and then the downside, when it was all weeding and grooming and watering and sweating. One had to be fleet to catch the moment in the middle, the mountaintop, when perfection was as brief as the visit of a butterfly to an outstretched palm."

santa

We were saddened to hear that our 

friends were retiring their Santa.

Soon after, we came home to 

find him in our driveway.

So . . . now he will live on our 

porch for the holidays.

{thank you Tom and Sharon}

the moment in the middle

Hold your breath.

Here it is.

Christmas Eve.

My favorite day of the Christmas Season.

The perfect moment between all the preparations and all of the celebrations.

All is done yet all is yet to come . . .

"It was a moment of perfection he would probably not find again this year, and he sat without moving, almost without breathing. There was the upside of a garden, when one was digging and planting, heaving and hauling, and then the downside, when it was all weeding and grooming and watering and sweating. One had to be fleet to catch the moment in the middle, the mountaintop, when perfection was as brief as the visit of a butterfly to an outstretched palm.   {from the book Out to Cannan: the fourth book in the Mitford series by: Jan Karon}

indoor wireless remote

I was looking for an easier way to turn our 

Christmas tree lights on and off.

I found an  Indoor Foot Switch Extension Cord but

 the cord was 15 feet long and would look cluttered

Then I found an  AmerTac Indoor Wireless 

Remote Plug-In Receiver Kit

Gotta tell you I love this little gadget.

on / off couldn't be easier

pinwheel christmas cookie

Pinwheel Christmas Cookie

Each year I look for one or two new Christmas cookies to try.

This one from Southern Living Magazine caught my eye today.

I did substitute almond extract as I already have another mint cookie.

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cup cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract (I used almond extract)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
red food coloring paste or gel

Directions
Beat butter until creamy (about 2 minutes). Gradually add sugar beating well. Add eggs and extracts.

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture until blended.

Divide dough in half and mix food coloring into one portion. Wrap each with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Divide each half of dough into two equal portions. You will now have two red disks and two white disks.

On 4 pieces of waxed paper draw an 8x8 square. Roll out each section of dough on the floured waxed paper into the 8x8 square.

Place one white square on top of one red square. Tightly roll up jelly-roll fashion, peeling wax paper from red square as you go. Repeat with remaining two squares

Wrap rolls in plastic wrap and chill for 1-2 hours until firm.

Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap and cut dough into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on parchment lined baking sheets.

Bake in batches until bottoms are lightly browned, 12-14 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: about 5 dozen.

the moment in the middle

Hold your breath.

Here it is.

Christmas Eve.

My favorite day of the Christmas Season.

The perfect moment between all the preparations and all of the celebrations.

All is done yet all is yet to come . . .
"It was a moment of perfection he would probably not find again this year, and he sat without moving, almost without breathing. There was the upside of a garden, when one was digging and planting, heaving and hauling, and then the downside, when it was all weeding and grooming and watering and sweating. One had to be fleet to catch the moment in the middle, the mountaintop, when perfection was as brief as the visit of a butterfly to an outstretched palm. 

From the book Out to Cannan 
(the fourth book in the Mitford series)

by: Jan Karon

folded fabric ornament

Here is a fun "sew and fold" fabric Christmas ornament 

that turned out to be pretty easy.

These will make great little hostess gifts or party favors.

One challenge I had was finding a hanging string.

I ended up using Hemp Cord from the jewelry section.

The second challenge was finding affordable buttons.

I am still looking for some gold ones . . .

I used a 7" plastic plate as the template.

  

For the ones above I used red and green quilting fabric  

and now I have some Christmas fabric for the rest.

Stitch two contrasting colored circles together

 right sides facing leaving a small opening.

Turn them right side out

Top stitch and you are ready to fold

Draw up the centers and stitch together 

 Fold each corner over the edge

Here is a YouTube video with the instructions.

asleep in the hay

Thanks to our local Goodwill Store

our Christmas decor now feels complete . . . 

The stars in the bright sky

Looked down where He lay

The little Lord Jesus

Asleep on the hay

cookie decorating

This is the first time in 33 years we won't be with any of our children for Christmas. 

So . . . we needed to recruit friends for the traditional cookie decorating. 

Thanks Cindy and Tom.

Last year , , ,

Chocolate Cherry Cordials {#10}

photo credit: The Law Student's Wife

Chocolate Cherry Cordials

makes 30

For cookies:

½   cup butter, softened

1   cup sugar

1   egg

1   tsp rum extract

 1 ½   cups flour

¹∕³cup cocoa powder

¼   tsp salt

¼   tsp baking soda

¼   tsp baking powder

30   maraschino cherries, drained and patted dry with paper towels

2   Tbsp sugar, for coating

For glaze:

4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. rum extract
¾  cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg, and rum extract until light and fluffy. Add flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat well.

Flatten about 1 Tbsp dough. Place a cherry on top; mold dough around it. Roll in sugar. Repeat with remaining dough.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 8 minutes. Cool on a rack.

For frosting:
Combine all ingredients, mixing until smooth. Use a small amount of frosting on each cookie.

I have more cookies recipes that we enjoy but none of them "say Christmas" so . . . 

I would love to know what your favorite Christmas cookie is.  

Perhaps you could leave a a link to your cookie in a comment.

Saltine Cracker Toffee Brittle {#9}

photo credit: savory sweet life

Saltine Cracker Toffee Brittle

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
11 oz pkg dark chocolate chips
40 saltine crackers
1 cup chopped nuts {optional}

Directions
Line a 12x17 cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.
Lay crackers in a single layer on foil.
Stir and bring to boil; boil for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add vanilla
Pour hot syrup over crackers spreading as necessary
Bake 5-10 minutes in 350ºF oven until syrup bubbles
Remove from oven.
While hot, sprinkle with chocolate chips, let soften and melt, then spread.
Sprinkle with nuts.
Let cool.
Refrigerate until hardened.
Break into pieces like peanut brittle.

Recipe from Tracy Hack

Fern's Butter Tarts {#8}

Fern's Butter Tarts

Sure thing about Butter Tarts is that one needs to be in no hurry because dripping any drops of filling make getting the tarts removed from the  pans an ordeal.

Crust for 28 tarts and 1 single pie crust for the freezer or double batch tarts

5 cups all purpose flour

2 1/3 cups cold shortening

1 tsp salt

1 egg plus 2 tsp vinegar and enough water to make 1/2 cups liquid

Filling

2 eggs

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 Tbsp vinegar 1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup walnuts

Roll out crust as for pie.  Use a biscuit cutter or canning jar lid to cut circles that fit your tart tin.  Place pastry circles in the tins and carefully spoon filling to go half way up the crust. If they are overfilled, the filling will boil up over the edge of the pastry and make it almost impossible to remove the tarts.

Bake at 400* F until crust is golden brown.

Recipe from Fern Winger via Debby Alianelo

Chocolate Pretzel Treats {#7}

photo credit: the creative kitchen

Chocolate Pretzel Treats 

Salty pretzels combine with sweet chocolate for these fun treats

Ingredients:
Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug
M&M's candy

1. Heat the oven to 350º. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.

2. Bake for 2-4 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates looks shiny or feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

Use a straw to press the M&M into the Kiss. It keeps your fingers out of the chocolate and helps to give them all a neat and uniform look.

Allow the treats to cool. You could place them in the refrigerator to set for about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.

From the Recipe Box of my sister-in-law Tracy

Coconut Rum Balls {#6}

photo credit: joy of baking

Coconut Rum Balls 

Makes: 40 cookie balls

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon rum extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 2/3 to 3 cups sweetened flake coconut

Directions:
Heat oven to 350
Coat 2 large baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray. In medium-size bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, egg yolks, rum extract and salt on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. On low speed, gradually beat in flour just until blended and soft dough forms.

Spread coconut onto a plate. Drop 1 level tablespoon dough at a time onto plate; roll to evenly coat with coconut, forming balls. Place 1 inch apart onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake in 350 oven 18 minutes or until coconut is golden.
Transfer cookies to wire rack; let cool completely.

From the Recipe Box of my friend Vicki Spurr

Cherry Bow Ties {#5}

Cherry Bow Ties 

Makes: 4 dozen bow ties  

Refrigerate: 1 hour Bake: at 350 for 14 to 16 minutes

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
1 cup confectioners 10X sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
24 each green and red candied cherries, each halved
1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds

Directions:
In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg, almond extract and salt on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. On low speed, gradually beat in flour just until combined.

Refrigerate 1 hour to firm. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly with a flat bottom glass dippped in flour. Pinch together top and bottom of each circle to make bow-tie shape.

Decorate by pressing cherry half into center of each bow tie, and almonds on sides.

Bake in 350 oven 14 to 16 minutes or until golden and set around edges.