Baby, It's Cold Outside...

This Year's Christmas Trees

It's going to be darned cold today, but I'll be cozy inside, baking cookies for the exchange party tomorrow. The wind picked up late last night, and it was even snowing a bit. Neither dogs nor cats wanted anything to do with going out. 

I ran to the store yesterday and got eighty pounds of bird seed, so I know I'll be able to keep our flying friends nourished so they can stay warm. I'd love to think they're all sheltered in the rafters of the Compass Barn, but I suspect most have sought shelter in the woods above the farmhouse when they're not eating.

Once the cookies are done, I'll be stitching. Anything to stay busy - and indoors. As I write this, it's 11º, but with the 17 mph wind, it feels like -7º. Warm socks and sweaters are definitely in order around here.

Stay safe, my friends. 

February Artist Trading Cards...

The last of the February artist trading cards from the Handmade Treasures swap arrived yesterday. These are all of them. One is a "coin", which is also an option in this group. I've receive a couple others from other members, and this one is really nice, too.

There was quite a varied interpretation for the "Love" theme for the month. I noticed more dimensional cards, and more cards that incorporated machine or hand stitching. I'm not even able to choose a favorite this time.

The prompt for March is "Shamrock", so now I'm contemplating how I can meet the challenge without being Captain Obvious. lol I'll play around with a few ideas after Handsome gets home. I have a few things I need to concentrate on before then.

I baked my Florida friend, Cathy's Koulourakia cookie recipe, too. I love her recipe which features bergamot essential oil (food grade, of course) in the mixture. Once they're formed, they get an egg wash, are topped with sesame seeds, and then baked until they're done. Handsome really likes them, too, so I wanted to have something special for him when he gets home. I have a little more baking to do over the weekend, but I'll be stitching, too.

Sebastian Squirrel did get an acorn, but not a real one. I found a sweet acorn button I've had for years. I'll share a photograph along with the rest of my Monday post so you can see how cute he looks now. I may make a new spoolie this weekend, but the critter will be a surprise (to both of us!). I'll choose which animal once I get to the "pulling materials" phase. I'm going to make a cuppa first, and then tackle a few cleaning tasks. As much as I'd love to, I can't ignore the homekeeping duties that are summoning me. Hi, ho....hi, ho... (Sing it with me, now!)

A Little Baking...

Much of the weekend was spent needle dancing, but a bit was spent making Koulourakia cookies. These look a little more golden because of the rich, almost orange color of the farm fresh eggs I use for baking (and in this case, also as an egg wash). Seriously, once you try farm eggs, you'll never go back to store-bought!

I'm back in the studio today. I have some tidying up to do, and I need to make a few phone calls. Then I'm back to creating gifts. Don't worry, though. I'm taking it easy so I can enjoy my tasks. Tag will see you tomorrow, and I'll be back on Wednesday with more photographs.

Baking Successes...

Baking Day at the Farmhouse

 

Just had to share a successful baking day, following my Spritz cookie incident. On Thursday, I made 16-1/2 dozen total cookies. All three of these cookies were first-time attempts for me.

The first recipe I made was a Lemon Crinkle Cookie, using a lemon cake mix and real lemon juice as the main ingredients. My friend, Wendi shared the recipe with me. Once all the ingredients are mixed, the dough is dropped by teaspoonfuls into confectioners sugar and formed into balls to bake. Easy! Yield: 6-1/2 dozen

The second recipe is a Molasses Cookie recipe. These are chewy and delicious, but I think my measuring technique of fluffing the flour, gently scooping it into the measuring cup and leveling is the reason the cookies look flatter. Next time, I'll just scoop the flour into my measuring cup, level it off and pour into the mix. A surprise in this recipe is a 1/2 cup of oatmeal! YUM. Yield: 6 dozen

The final cookie is special to me. When we still lived in Florida and met with the knitting/crocheting ladies every Tuesday night, we always had a gift exchange at Christmas time. My friend, Kathy R. always brought delicious Greek Koulourakia Cookies. 

Before we moved north, I asked Kathy if she would please share her recipe. She did share with all of us, and I've kept the recipe safe for six years, never mixing up a batch. The truth is, I loved those cookies so much, and they looked so difficult, that I was afraid to attempt to make them...until Thursday. I'm so glad I finally did!

They turned out just the way I remember Kathy's, and they're now at the front of my cookie-making list - year-round!! A perfect biscuit-type cookie to pair with a hot cuppa tea. Yield: 3-1/2 dozen

I'm feeling pretty chuffed right about now. Forget about those Spritz cookies for the rest of this season. I'll watch some YouTube videos and see if I can learn some new techniques to try again next year. In the meantime, my 2022 choices will be these three (plus chocolate chip, of course)!