A belated Happy New Year to you all!
We hope you had an enjoyable holiday season- we certainly did.  We have all sorts of fun things planned for the new year- like a Super Bowl party- even if the Bronco's don't make the Super Bowl, but we sure are hoping they do. We will be having another of our pancake breakfasts and show and tell mornings, a high tea at the store.
The class schedule is also just about ready to be released and on it we have lots of new offerings and a new teacher- Jeri- who will be  teaching some sewing classes for kids... so keep your eye out for these happenings and much more!

As always we want to say a sincere thank you for making us your neighborhood quilt shop!

Happy Quilting-
Carrie

Day 12 of the 12 Tastes of Christmas

Today's the last day of our goodies... we sincerely hope you have enjoyed these treats at the store, or at least getting the recipes, maybe for some new goodies to add to your holiday cookies and treats!

The cookie today was Eggnog Snickerdoodles. There encompass all the best part of both Eggnog and Snickerdoodles and are now Carrie's favorite Christmas cookie. We hope you enjoy them too.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Day 12

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

2½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

16 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1½ cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1½ tsp. rum extract

1½ cup powdered sugar

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1.    Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.    Whisk first 4 dry ingredients together in medium bowl. Using stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 – 6 minutes. Add eggs and rum extract and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, slowly add flour mixture and mix until just combined.

3.    Working with 1 tablespoon dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Using greased bottom of measuring cup, press each ball into ½-inch thick round.

4.     Bake until edges are lightly browned, 8 – 10 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cookies cool completely, about 45 minutes.

5.    Combine powdered sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl. Using a fine-mesh strainer, dust cookies with sugar mixture before serving.

Cookie Recipe for Day 11

Day 11's cookies are called Joy cookies and they are a joy to each- shortbread with chocolate, coconut and almonds...

Day 11

Joy Cookies

4 dozen cookies

From: Eating Well Magazine

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup canola oil

1 large egg

1 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. almond extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. melted semisweet chocolate chips

3 Tbsp. toasted coconut

48 sliced almonds

1.    Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a 15-by10-inch baking sheet with 1-inch sides with cooking spray.

2.    Beat sugar, butter, oil, egg, milk and almond extract in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder and salt until well blended. Spread the dough into the prepared baking pan in a thin layer.

3.    Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Cut into 48 bars.

4.    Decorate each bar with a drizzle of melted chocolate, a sprinkle of toasted coconut and an almond slice.

Day 9 & 10 of the 12 Tastes of Christmas

Due to our snow yesterday we had lots of leftovers, so the Coconut-Lime Dream Bites are the goodie of the day for both day 9 and 10. But they are soooo good! These have to be our new favorite bars!
We hope you think so too.

Day 9 and 10

Coconut-Lime Dream Bites

15 bars

From: Americas Test Kitchen

1 2/3 cups cake four, sifted

¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

¾ tsp. salt

11 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces and chilled

1 cup packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. baking powder

1 cup (3 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut

4 tsp. grated line zest plus ¼ cup juice (2 limes)

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1.    Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°. Make a foil sling for 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

2.    Process flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and ¼ tsp. salt in food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles course meal, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press into even layer with fingers. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 156 minutes. Let crust cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes.

3.    Meanwhile, whisk brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, remaining ½ tsp. slat, and baking powder together in bowl. Stir in coconut and walnuts. Pout filling over warm crust and bake until filling is set, about 25 minutes. Let bars cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes.

4.    Combine lime zest and remaining 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar in bowl. Whisk confectioners’ sugar and lime juice together in second bowl until smooth. Pour glaze over warm bars and spread into even layer. Sprinkle with lime sugar. Let bars cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours. Life bars our to pan, Cut into 15 pieces.

Day 8 of the 12 Tastes of Christmas

Today's goodie was Festive Fruit & Nut Balls. They were rolled in coconut and are like all the best parts of fruit cake with out the cake!

Enjoy-

Day 8

Festive Fruit and Nut Balls

36 cookies

From: Eating Well Magazine

¾ cup sugar

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cut pitted and snipped dates

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 cup chopped pistachios, preferably unsalted

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp. rum extract

¾ cut shredded coconut

1.    Combine sugar, cranberries, dates and eggs in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, is pale yellow in color, registers at least 170°F and when a spoon is pulled through it, it leaves a clear trail. This will take 6 – 14 minutes, depending on how hot your stove’s medium-hot setting is.

2.    Remove from the heat; stir in pistachios, walnuts, pecans and rum extract. Let stand until cool enough to handle, about 45 minutes.

3.    With damp hands, form mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in coconut. Place the finished balls on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and store in the refrigerator.