Cooking

We when got home from the Sugar Bush we decided that we needed to make our own Maple Sugar Candy. But I think I should point out, I am not a candy maker... in general I just don't have the patience for it. Sugar can be a tricky beast ;). I'm guessing some of you more experience confectionery chefs can give some us pointers... but here are the basics for making your own Maple Sugar Candy.

What you need:
2 cups Maple Syrup
pot
candy thermometer
tray, candy molds or muffin tins to pour off candy
wooden spoon

Bring the Maple Syrup to a 'soft ball' heat (235F), stirring occasionally. If you do not have a candy thermometer drip the syrup into a cup of cool water. When a drip of syrup forms a soft ball in the water you have reached the right temp.

Remove from heat and let it cool down to 125F without mixing. Once it has reached 125F, stir until the syrup loses its glossy color and takes on a creamy look.

Pour off into greased candy molds. (I think we stirred ours too long and it clumped, not poured into the molds - oh well, it is still tasty).

Let cool and enjoy. The kids watched the whole process... of course I would let them no where near the boiling sugar (keep kids away at a safe distance - IT IS HOT). They loved cleaning out the pot. We are breaking up our Maple Candy and using it on our oat meal. Yum!

A recycled blog is just the thing for a... gulp... Tuesday! First published at One Generation To Another, February 12, 2008.

I’m not a fan of Tuesdays…never have been…never will be. To me Tuesdays are like having something wedged between two teeth. It serves no purpose and is exceedingly annoying. Tuesdays are too far away from the coming weekend to start getting excited, and they’re too far removed from the past weekend to provide comfort. The effects of the “weekend massage” (you know, the restful, change of pace from the work week feeling you get) have worn off and you can feel your muscles tensing. Let’s just say I lack motivation on Tuesdays and no where is that more apparent than when I think about cooking dinner. Frankly, I think the world should go out to dinner on Tuesdays…let someone else worry about this often thankless mundane chore! (BTW…this is usually the only day of the week when you’ll hear me make a comment like that. For the most part I thoroughly enjoy cooking!) But Tuesdays…well, they suck the life right out of me. Even pleasurable tasks can be overwhelming.

Having said all that, let’s make the assumption that logistically speaking, not everyone can go out to dinner on Tuesdays…think of the lines…think of the shortages of chicken fajitas! Then, accept the fact that people still need to eat whether you feel like cooking or not and chances are your family is in the same Tuesday funk you’re in, and could benefit from a plate of comfort food. Let’s also assume you only order pizza on Friday nights…not sure if it’s a local or national ordinance; at the very least I consider it a moral imperative! So, the enigma…how do you get a soothing meal prepared for your family with little effort? Answer…fast foods. I don’t mean burgers ‘n fries from the golden arches, but rather foods that don’t take long to prepare, but are satisfying and become “welcomed friends” to the entire family. These are the foods you can make every week and no one complains!

I think that through divine intervention or sheer happenstance, everyone stumbles upon that one meal they can make with their eyes closed, yet appreciated by the whole family. THESE RECIPES ARE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD! The meals won’t win any prizes for the most creative use of an artichoke or couscous, and they certainly won’t impress anyone with a sophisticated palate, BUT, for the average family, they are delicious, satisfying and comforting. (Okay, they are not JUST Tuesday meals…good is good anytime…but they are life savers when you’re lacking drive and inspiration.)

My mom was, actually still is, a wonderful cook. Her recipes ranged from the painfully simple…like her tuna variation of S.O.S. (A colorful military abbreviation for Sh*t On a Shingle…or for the civilian, chipped beef on toast!) to elaborate gourmet meals. (See my Sweater Flambe blog for her wonderful Beef Bourguignonne recipe.) But, with the exception of Saturday nights, when dinner was usually sandwiches and/or canned soup, she made a warm meal every night. Some dishes took her all day to prepare…like her killer spaghetti sauce…to dinners with prep times of less than half an hour. (BTW…not everyone’s idea of “easy” is the same. But that doesn’t really matter, does it? We’re talking about surviving Tuesdays…so if it works for you and easy means heating up a pot pie…great!) One of my favorite “quick” recipes Mom made was Easy Lasagna. She could throw it together at any time during the day, and pop it in the oven half an hour before dinner. She found the recipe in a magazine around 1956 and it’s been a favorite with our family since then!

MOM’S EASY LASAGNA

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cups uncooked medium noodles
1 cup cream style cottage cheese
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup shredded parmesan or mozzarella cheese

Directions

In a heavy skillet, brown ground beef along with chopped onions. Stir in the tomato sauce, sugar, salt, garlic salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, cook the noodles. Drain. Combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream. Spread half the noodles in an 11 x 7 x 1 1/2" baking dish. Top with a little meat sauce, cover with cheese mixture. Add remaining noodles and remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serves 6.

I stumbled upon my “golden recipe” early in my married life. It came from a Betty Crocker cookbook. It was quick, easy and enjoyed by everyone in the family. Like all easy recipes, if time permits, you can muck about with them to enhance them…I know my daughter has made some changes to this “basic” recipe…but left as is, they stand on their own. While my kids were growing up, we usually had this dinner once a week. I never heard, “Oh no, not again!” I would say that makes it rather priceless!

HAMBURGER STROGANOFF

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt or 1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (8 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
2 cups hot cooked noodles
Snipped parsley (or dried)

Directions

In large skillet, cook and stir ground beef and onion in butter until onion is tender. Stir in flour, salt, garlic salt, pepper and mushrooms; cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in soup; simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream; heat through. Serve over noodles. Sprinkle with snipped parsley. Serves 4 - 6.

So, there you have it…my answer to Tuesdays! No, I have no secret formula for abolishing Tuesdays altogether, not sure I’d want that responsibility anyway. Think of the global cost of switching over to a 6 day a week calendar, and I’m sure there would be some serious Biblical implications, too! (Wonder what God actually created on that first Tuesday. I’m guessing it was something simple!) Anyway…Tuesdays are here to stay! So, hunker in, batten down the hatches, circle the wagons, and get ready to take on 52 Tuesdays a year. A tried and true recipe just might make them a little more palatable! (BTW…As Tim was proofing this his comment was, “I thought everyone had trouble with Wednesdays. That’s why they’re referred to as “The hump.” My reply, “One man’s Tuesday is another man’s Wednesday!” Personally, the optimist in me feels good about Wednesdays…they have a round, cheery feeling…and it is permissible, without being delusional, to start thinking about the weekend. But, hey, it doesn’t matter if our challenging day is a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, they’re weekly, and survival is the key!)

How do you “culinaryly” cope with Tuesdays? Do you have a “golden” recipe you'd like to share? Let’s face it, some weeks feel like every night is Tuesday! Best to be prepared with a collection of “simple” meals! Just one more little note on Tuesdays…I seldom make enough food for one meal. Anything that freezes well, I double. So, when even “Easy Lasagna” seems too draining on a Tuesday, just defrost a meal, and, well, everyone is feed, Easy Peasy!

For dinner this past Sunday I made Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Cornbread Casserole, and Guacamole. It is one of my family's favorites. It reminded of a post I had written for One Generation to Another, March 25, 2008. Given the fact that I'm still under the weather (but feeling much better, and I attribute my quick recovery to every one's well wishes... thank you very much :) I thought it would be a good day to do a little recycling. Hope you enjoy!

Everyone has little things they do that give them a sense of security. Maybe it’s a secret stash of chocolate or $40.00 “mad money” tucked away in a secret compartment of your wallet or an obnoxiously noisy alarm clock inconveniently located across the room. In college I had a friend that always kept a “back up” boyfriend. There is no universal “security blanket”, but rather individual needs that may appear trite to someone else, but help us breathe a little easier.

Being the wild and zany individual that I am…I find solace in a well stocked pantry! I’m not talking about having 2 cans of mushroom soup, but rather 12. There are also chick peas and mandarin oranges, water chestnuts and canned salmon. You just never know! Although this may seem excessive to some people, if I see a recipe that calls for crushed pineapple…I’ve got it. Green chilies? I say chopped, whole or frozen? Avocados…of course! Come on, give me something hard! Tarragon, cumin, sage? Yep. Yep. Yep. Rye flour, barley, wild rice…long or short? Fresh carrots, onions, celery, peppers, chives…in the drawer in the refrigerator. You see what I’m saying? I didn’t need to do any special planning when Y2K rolled around…if the world market had collapsed and chaos ensued, I could have feed a family of 16 for four or five months without blinking an eye! I require a well stocked pantry…it’s an obsession…what a shocker!

My children often tease me about it. HOWEVER, they can come over and say,

“You know what sounds good, Mom? Chicken Enchiladas.”

“No problem”, I say.

“MMMM, apple crisp sounds yummy, too”

“Okay, start peeling apples.”

No one needs to make a grocery run…you just have to forage in the kitchen. (BTW…they, meaning our teasing children, are not above pinching a jar of this or a can of that on the way out the door…saving themselves a trip to the store! “Thank you, Mom”.)

I’m not sure what prompted this compulsion. It’s not like we were deprived of food as children or ever went hungry. As newlyweds we weren’t impoverished, living on Ramen Noodles and PB&J sandwiches. And it’s not like I was Scarlet O’Hara, rooting through an abandoned garden, looking for a rouge potato, swearing, “As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!” I think the explanation is much simpler…I like to cook and I like to feed people. OMG…I’m like Remy the rat in “Ratatouille”!

I may be a bit over the top…or more to the point…over the cupboards (where “backups” are stacked to the ceiling) when it comes to supplies but in part, that is because I have the room. I’ve had much smaller kitchens, with no back up fridge and freezer, so I couldn’t keep all the supplies I have on hand today. But I find it very interesting, when you talk to other people, what they think falls under the heading of “must have” staples. For instance, I could live without garlic powder, since I have fresh garlic on hand, but my kitchen must have dried basil, parsley and bay leaves. I could do without my jar of spaghetti sauce, but don’t take away my stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. You can take the margarine, but I’ll keep the olive oil. I could survive with less, I’ve done it before, but I’m delighted I don’t have to.

Where you are in your life and how much time you have to spend in the kitchen, has a tremendous impact on what you’ll find stowed away in your cupboards and fridge, and what you consider “essential”. I might be aghast to find out someone does not own fresh celery, yet they might find it down right disconcerting to know I have almost no prepared foods. So, there you have it…I’m like a squirrel burying nuts in my kitchen on the off chance there will be a hard winter! Rational behavior…I think so. Do others agree? They don’t have to! And, no one seems to complain when I'm able to make their favorite meal at a moment's notice!

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

The first time my brother tasted these I had brought them to a family gathering. After he had taken a bite he asked me, “Did you pick these up at a restaurant?” “No”, I replied, “Why do you ask?” “Well, they’re so good. They taste like something you’d get at a Mexican restaurant.” I couldn’t decide if I had just been complimented or insulted! Anyway, they are extremely delicious, and given the flavor, well worth the effort!

Ingredients

1 can (19 oz) enchilada sauce (any variety)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I make Chicken Soup then fish the meat out!)

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz)

1 cup sour cream

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chilies

1 medium onion, chopped small, and sauteed in 1 T. olive oil until translucent

1/2 package powdered taco seasoning

1 package (11.5 oz) flour tortillas for burritos (8 tortillas)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz)

Optional toppings: chopped avocado or guacamole, green onions, sour cream, taco sauce, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, etc.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce over bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. In medium bowl, stir together chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, sauteed onions, powdered taco seasoning and chilies.

2. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; arrange, seam side down, in baking dish. (Note: I fold my enchiladas burrito style by bringing the 2 sides in then rolling the tortillas. This stops the yummy inside from seeping out the ends.) Top enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; cover baking dish with foil, sprayed side down.

3. Bake 35 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until hot and cheese is melted. Serve with optional toppings.

We all have our kitchen essentials…those things that we use frequently and would be lost without. It’s always interesting to hear what other people consider to be staples. Besides the normal milk, flour, butter, and egg variety staples, what do you consider to be basic and irreplaceable in your kitchen?

Several weeks ago I asked for special chicken soup recipes. I got a few, plus I got this email from Meghan, at A Bolder Table, with a recipe... not for chicken soup, but for another soup that sounded too delicious to pass up. When I went shopping the other day, I bought everything I need to make the soup. Think I'll be doing it tomorrow. Can't wait! Make sure you stop by Meghan's blog, A Bolder Table, look around, and make sure to say "hi". But be warned... I've got a list a foot long of her recipes I want to try. Thanks a bunch, Meghan!

I have a food blog , but I'm mostly vegetarian, so I don't have a chicken soup recipe. But, your talk of family tradition and grandma's soup makes me think of my Roasted Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup.

I make it all the time, and the secret ingredient is from my spouse's grandmother. She is Indonesian and lives in a small village on Java. She gave us a few kilos of her own grown and hand made powdered ginger. I perfected my simple recipe with her ginger, and now it is all used. The next time I make this soup I will have to use store-bought ginger. We'll see if it is just as good.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

Ingredients:
peeled, chopped sweet potatoes (2 pounds? How much soup are you making? There is no definitive measurement here, so 4 large sweet potatoes might be a good place to start.)
peeled, chopped carrots (again, no measurement. 1/2 pound, maybe.)
1 large yellow or sweet onion, sliced
1 cup veggie broth
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider
water
2 TB (or more) powdered ginger (please feel free to use fresh ginger if you have it available)

Preheat oven to 375. In a large Pyrex baking dish, combine the yams, carrots, onion, veggie broth, and olive oil. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce the yams and carrots. Remove from oven and let cool for 15-30 minutes.

Next, add the roasted ingredients to a blender. Add the apple cider and a few cups of water. Puree until smooth. If you have a smaller blender, you might need to break this down into two separate batches. When it is all smooth, transfer to a soup or stock pot and simmer on medium low heat for 15-20 minutes. Add more water to reach your desired consitency, as well as the ginger. Stir the soup somewhat frequently, and don't leave it uncovered and walk away. If it is too hot, it will jump out of the pot and make a mess. Be warned! Enjoy.

Remember... If you would like to share your favorite chicken soup recipe with our readers, just email us the recipe, along with a little something about the soup, your website, if you have one, and a pic is available. It's always so much fun to "swap" recipes with friends!

Sue, over at Happy Healthy Cooking, shared her favorite go-to chicken soup recipe with us. For those of you that are trying to reduce the amount of sodium in your diet, this soup has far less than our rather salty offering! I love the addition of the wild rice. She also uses rosemary and thyme to add sublte flavor to her soup. I can't wait to give this a try. Make sure you stop in at Sue's blog and check out all her yummy looking recipes. Thanks again, Sue!

BTW... We are in the process of organizing our recipes. Hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, they will be in a much easier to use format.... I hope, I hope :)

Here is my go-to chicken soup recipe. We love it!

This soup is very mild flavored. If you'd like, you may add a bit more salt to taste but we prefer it the way it is -- not too salty. The original recipe called for mushrooms, but I substituted carrots since Randy doesn't care for mushrooms. Be sure to use bone-in chicken breasts. They add more flavor to the soup than boneless chicken does. Plus, they are less expensive.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Yield: 8 cups
2 skinless bone-in chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
7 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups thinly sliced or chopped peeled carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced celery (include the leaves)
3/4 cup brown rice (not "minute rice")
2 tsp. crushed garlic
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. dried rosemary
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

Coat a 4-5 quart pot with nonstick cooking spray and preheat over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for a couple of minutes on each side or until the chicken is nicely browned.

Add all the remaining ingredients to the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until the chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool enough for handling. Cook the soup for an additional 30 minutes or until the rice and vegetables are tender.

Pull the chicken meat from the bones, and tear it into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken to the soup, and simmer for an additional minute or two. Serve hot.

If someone asked me what my favorite food was, I'd say soup. I know that's not very specific. There's hundreds, nah thousands, of soups from simple broths to creamy bisque's. But it doesn't matter to me. I have yet to meet a soup I didn't like. Okay, I take that back... there was this eggplant monstrosity I had in Stratford that made me rinse my mouth out BUT that was certainly the exception. Having said that, if pushed, and required to chose my very "favoritest", I would have to declare good old fashioned chicken soup. Here is a post from One Generation to Another first published November 6, 2007. Meet me on the other side for a "wrap up" and challenge! 

I happen to be one of those people that loves to cook. (Sure beats the alternatives like cleaning or the four letter word ironing…okay, I know ironing has 7 letters, but the root word is only 4 letters, but I digress.) Anyway, I’m not talking gourmet cooking, but rather those savory comfort foods that can soothe and console, calm and placate, not to mention gratify the palate. These are the soups and stews, breads and desserts, veggies and meats whose aromas’ fill the house with a sense of anticipation and promise. There’s nothing like coming home to the smell of tonight’s dinner simmering on the stove. When the children were growing up, it was always my practice to make twice as much as I think I needed to allow for “a small taste”, a last minute dinner invitation, or leftovers for lunch.

The other day my son, Adam, was visiting and looked over at the stove. A kettle of chicken soup was cooking. He fished out a steamy carrot, popped it in his mouth, and after doing what appeared to be a war dance as he hopped around the room fanning his scalding mouth, commented that I ALWAYS have a pot of chicken soup going. Truth be told, it’s an hyperbole to say I ALWAYS have a pot of chicken soup going, but I do often enough for it to be a seemingly ubiquitous feature of my kitchen.

You might well ask, “Why the fixation with chicken soup?” Well, chicken soup is relatively easy to make, it’s nutritious, fairly inexpensive and often considered a good remedy for colds and flues…something to do with the mucous membranes, I think…BUT my main reason for making chicken soup is the fact that, oh, probably a third of the recipes I make call for cooked chicken or chicken broth. Starting a pot of soup around noon, when I have the time, allows me choices as the day progresses. If my schedule gets crazy, a few noodles and a piece of bread can turn the soup into a meal. If time permits, I am prepared to make casseroles, cacciatore, enchiladas, or unique “throw together” meals at the last minute.

Want your house to smell “homey”? Nothing, and I’m a bit of a connoisseur on household scents…to be discussed at a later date…says “home” like the smell of chicken soup. (Hmmmm…note to self…send Yankee Candle the suggestion to include chicken soup scent in their lineup.) Anyway…chicken soup IS synonymous with home and comfort…globally. All cultures seem to have their own version. Throw a matzo ball in the middle, and you have a Jewish classic. Curry and apples enhance India’s Mulligatawny. The Greek Lemon/Egg Soup is called Avgolemono and has a wonderfully surprising tartness. It is one of my personal challenges, as this list grows to unfeasibly gargantuan proportions, to try more chicken soup recipes.

So, if you haven’t already, discover the joys of chicken soup. If you don’t see yourself as a “bona fide cook” you will be delighted to find how easy it is to make. It won’t be long before your family associates it with home and comfort and you’ll find it to be a welcomed friend in your kitchen.

KIMARA’S CHICKEN SOUP

This is my own recipe that evolved over the years. The longer the soup cooks the more flavorful the veggies and chicken become. Flavors will intensify the longer you cook so reduce bouillon cubes if you plan to let it simmer all day.

Ingredients

3 pound bag boneless/skinless chicken tenderloins or breasts*
1 gallon water
2 cups chopped celery(approximately 5 large stalks)
2 cups chopped carrots(approximately 6 large carrots)**
1 large onion, chopped
6-8 chicken bouillon cubes*
4 bay leaves
2 t. dried basil
2 t. dried parsley
1/4 t. pepper

Directions
Place chicken tenderloins and water in a large stock pot. Heat to boiling, skimming until all foam is gone. Add veggies and seasoning. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer. Cook 2 – 4 hours. Remove chicken and chop into bite sized pieces. Return to soup. Remove bay leaves and serve with noodles. Note: If you are cooking the chicken for another recipe, it will be fully cooked and ready to remove after 45 minutes. 

*Can use fresh, whole chicken. If you do, use 4 pounds to account for bone weight and skin chicken to reduce fat. Also, if using a tasty, fresh chicken, you will probably be able to reduce the amount of bouillon cubes you use. Remember, you can always add more if you need them, but can't take them out. If reducing bouillon cubes, or omitting all together, salt to taste.

**I often add more carrots since I can lose many to “tastes” and because everyone in my family loves the cooked carrots. If you plan to let your soup simmer all day, or if you like your veggies firmer, wait and add carrots in the last hour of cooking.

So, this is My chicken soup recipe. If you try to pawn off any other chicken soup on Bug, he will promptly point out that this is NOT Gammy's soup. Truth is... this IS the soup my children and grandchildren grew up on, and thus, their standard. And now, the challenge. As said earlier, I really want to expand my chicken soup repertoire. I've been to Southeastern, Chinese, Greek, Mexican, and Italian restaurants and they all have their own versions of chicken soup. So... do you have a favorite recipe for chicken soup that differs from my recipe? If so, I would LOVE for you to share it with us! And, what do you get for contributing? Well, the satisfaction of sharing with fellow readers, a link back to your blog, (if you have one) and my heart-felt gratitude! If you'd like to share a recipe, email it to weefolkart@yahoo.com. Include your name, a little anecdote about the soup, your website, and, of course, the recipe. If you have a pic of the soup, that would be great, but not necessary. Oh, yes, another reward for sharing a recipe is our cute little button that you can proudly display on your website!

(FYI... I'm really hoping someone has a killer recipe for cream of chicken soup!) Thanks in advance to everyone that participates! 

I was very excited to see this recipe. It is unlike any cookie I've ever made. How cool is that? Chiska shared this recipe and gave us a lovely little story about how it came to her family. I can't wait to give this a try. Thank you so much, Chiska, for this lovely contribution!

I wasn't sure if there was still time, but I wanted to send you this recipe and finally got it made so I could take a picture. Thanks for sharing all the fun recipes.

This cookie is a recipe that my mother's aunt made for Christmas. Her "recipe" didn't exist and so my Mom tried to come up with her own and then eventually found a recipe that also revealed it's name, Kefil and it's German origin. It's the cookie that gets made when there's no time for anything else. I was a little nervous about involving my 4 year old this year, but it was great fun. He spread sugar and got to use a pizza cutter to cut the cookies with a little help. We used a bash-n-chop as a straight edge to try and get the sort of uniform.

Edit: Chiska just shared her blog with us. Pay her a visit at Muddy Spring :)

Aunt Margaret's Kefil

3 1/2 Cups flour
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Cup Butter
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/4 Cup water
Full Small Container of Sour Cream (original recipe calls for 3/4 Cup if you'd rather not have so much sour cream)
1 Whole egg
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup of sugar (this varies a little depending on how much you sprinkle on it, I tend to use more)

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup water. Combine flour and salt, cut in butter as you would for a pie crust. Add dissolved yeast, sour cream, egg and vanilla. combine thoroughly by hand. Cover with a damp cloth and refrigerate for 2 hours. Roll into large rectangle, sprinkle with sugar (think cinnamon rolls), fold into thirds, roll again. Sprinkle with sugar, fold in thirds again. Repeat one more time. After the third sprinkling fold in thirs and roll lightly, sealing the edges. (This should be a smaller rectangle). Then cut into strips and twist. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Baking time at my high altitude (about 6800 feet) is about 22 minutes. I recommend removing them from the cookie sheet as soon as you can after removing them from the oven. They tend to stick even to the greased cookie sheet.

I can remember the first time I had these Chocolate No Bake Cookies. I LOVE fudge, but it can be tricky to make. These cookies satisfy me every bit as much as fudge, but with much less work! I haven't made them for a while, so a big thanks to Beth, at Snoodle, for reminding me about them and for sharing the recipe. Although we don't have a pic, you can imagine that they would be a lumpy-bumpy glob of brown, adding a fun color and texture to a holiday Christmas tray. BTW... they are yummy year round and are a PERFECT cookie to make with children. Remember to pay Beth a visit at Snoodle!

My family, like so many others, are very nostalgic. My siblings and I have all started our own families, but we all cherish the same items that we had to share during our childhood. My sister gave each of us a copy of our beloved Betty Crocker's Cooky Book (as you've found: reissued) for Christmas a couple of years ago so that mom could keep hers! Apparently, it didn't actually come oily, penciled-in, and scorched!
There's always a discussion about who will make the Chocolate Crinkles p. 23 and the Candy Cane Cookies p.37. There's never a doubt that Grandma will make the Sugar Cookies. We all know that dad likes to help decorate them with the Grandkids!
Those are my favorite Christmas cookies, but my favorite cookies are the No-bake Cookies that used to sit on my lunch tray in Elementary school. My daughter is now a Kindergartener at the same school, and the current lunch lady was happy to share the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
-Beth
Snoodle.typepad.com

No Bake Cookies
1/2 cup milk
2 t. cocoa powder
2 c. sugar
1/2 stick butter
1 t. vanilla
3 c. oats
1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. peanut butter

In a saucepan, melt butter, add cocoa, sugar and milk. Stir, bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Add the peanut butter. Mix well. Add oats. Drop on wax paper and cool.

Michelle and I are getting ready for our Holiday break. Family is coming in, along with lots of cooking and playing. We still have a couple of cookie recipes to share. We would like to thank everyone that shared a recipe with us. It is always fun to see what other people make around the Holidays, and it has helped Michelle and I with content!

Today, a very special thank-you to Laurie Ann. She is sharing a recipe for Chai Tea Cookies. I'm afraid I won't get a chance to try them until after Christmas, but we need cookies then, too :) They sound so yummy. I LOVE Chai Tea. I can't wait to bite into one of them. Make sure you make your way over to Laurie Ann's Blog, The Rebel Blossom, and see what else she has been up to! Thanks Laurie Ann!
 
Hello! I hope I am not too late to contribute a cookie recipe...
This is a great recipe, fast, easy and Oh! so tasty! If you like Chai Tea or Chai Lattes...give these a try!

Chai Tea Cookies

2 cups pastry flour {whole wheat or white, both are good}
1 tablespoon Chai tea from tea bag
1 cup butter {unsalted}
2/3 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Shape into log. Wrap in parchment and freeze 1 hour. Preheat Oven to 350.
Slice and bake for 13 minutes. Cool on rack. Makes about 24 cookies.
Enjoy!

I am attatching a picture...there is only 1 left...they are THAT good :)
Merry Christmas!

EDIT: It had been my plan to just include the last paragraph of this blog, first printed December 8, 2008 on One Generation to Another. Since this morning, I've gotten 3 requests for the complete blog... so here is the post in its entirety... titled... Polish for the Day.

I have a strong Polish ancestry. With the possible exception of contamination from an amorous invader that I am unaware of, I am 100% Polish. (Poland's history is laced with invasion and occupation from...well, from just about all neighboring countries!) I think I'm fairly rare today...a fourth generation American with a pure blood heritage. It stopped with my children, however. Their father is...well, he's a mutt. Nothing wrong with that; mutts have many wonderful qualities including hardiness and longevity. But this does mean I can't share my pedigree with my children; they too are mutts! What I can share with them, however, is the few remaining vestiges of my Polish ancestry.

You would think with all this Polish blood pulsating through my veins that I would be well versed in the culture and traditions of Poland, but I'm not. Both my maternal and paternal great-grandparents were born in Poland and came here hoping to improve their lot in life. Like most immigrants, they settled with their own kind. They spoke Polish in their homes and amongst their friends. It was their children, my grandparents, that ventured out into the American melting pot and brought English into their homes. So, the progression was, my great-grandparents spoke predominantly Polish, my grandparents spoke Polish in their homes, but English everywhere else, my parents could read Polish and speak it well enough to converse with their grandparents but English had become their native language, and I, well the only Polish I know is this rather naughty song that some relative taught me, but it would prove useless if I needed to communicate with a Pole!

Polish traditions followed the trend of the Polish language, with each generation giving up a little more of their connection to their motherland, until now, I'm left with the cultural equivalent of a little naughty ditty! The only time my Polish ancestry surfaces is at Christmas dinner. I serve pierogi (stuffed dumplings), kielbasa (sausage), golabki (stuffed cabbage), makowki (poppy seed bread), kluski (thick buttered noodles), kapusta (sauerkraut), mizeria (cucumbers and sour cream) and sernik (cheese cake). If that sounds Greek to you, it does to me too! In our house we use the English words for most of these foods.

The lovely thing about Christmas dinner, besides some seriously delicious food, is my connection to my past. There was a time when these foods were a mainstay in my ancestors' daily life. Today, they are reserved for special occasions; actually A special occasion, Christmas dinner. I wish my grandparents were still around to share this feast with us. Since they can't be, at Christmas I bring not only the memory of Bushia and Grandma Pearl in the kitchen with me, I bring their pictures. On my kitchen counter are photographs of my grandmothers as young women, taken at a time in their lives when they would have been busy preparing Christmas dinners.They remain with me in the kitchen throughout the month of December. I rather think it would make them happy to know I still feel a strong ancestral tug. I also have pics of my mom and daughter there too, even though they spend the day helping me with Christmas dinner. But it pleases me to see the 5 of us together, knowing full well, that if not in body, certainly in spirit, we're sharing in the festivities of Christmas day, and that although my connection to my ancestry may be tenuous, it's still alive!