Trying a new recipe for a kitchen gift

 For most of the Christmas season, I've been thinking about trying a recipe I found in an older Victoria magazine.  It sounded as if it might make a nice kitchen gift.

Yesterday, I finally got around to trying it.  We have a New Year's Eve fellowship coming up at church, and I thought we could take these nuts along as one of our contributions to the snack fellowship.  (I also plan on making a cheese log, and of course Mr. T will bring along a cookie and fudge tray.)

Here is the recipe:

BARBECUE SPICED PECANS

1 pound pecan halves 

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon each celery salt, paprika, and dry mustard

A large pinch of cloves

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350º.  

On a baking sheet, spread the pecan halves into one layer and bake for 10 minutes until lightly  brown and crisp.  

Transfer the pecans to a large bowl and, while sill hot, toss with the butter.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, add to the pecans, and toss to coat.  Let cool.  Store airtight up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 4 cups.

Now.  I wanted to make only a half pound, so I used only 2 Tbsp. butter.  If I had had more maple sugar on hand, I would have used 2 Tbsp. brown sugar.  I had 1 Tbsp. of maple sugar so I used 1 T. brown sugar as well.  I should add that I used smoked paprika for more of a barbecue flavor.

But I miscalculated when making the sugar and spice mixture and added the entire 1/4 tsp. of each spice (rather than cutting the amount in half as I'd done with the other ingredients), so I ended up adding 2 Tbsp. more brown sugar.  It was too late at that point to add more butter.  

The pecans came out quite tasty.  They are not overly spicy at all, so I might tweak the spices another time.  And if I can get it, I will definitely substitute maple sugar for light brown.

All in all, I'd call this recipe a success!

December 20

 

Today has been another full day!  We picked up a couple more Christmas gifts and did a lot of baking.  My hubby made another batch of Eggnog Logs -- the cookie part only they still need to be frosted.

I made a double batch of Christmas granola and will likely make another double batch tomorrow. Today's granola is for a friend who will soon have an influx of family coming to stay.  My hubby packed up a large container of cookies and a tin of fudge for the same dear friends.

I wrote Christmas cards for our church family, and both Mr. T and I prepared Christmas devotionals for our Sunday School classes.  These will be smaller classes than usual as so many folks are taking part in our Christmas cantata, and will have their dress rehearsal during the Sunday School hour.  

That may be it for Christmasy things today.  Tomorrow will need to be the day to write all the rest of our Christmas cards.  It's coming fast!

The Jar of Jelly -- a Christmas poem I have loved for years

 

  
The Jar of Jelly 

 To others' eyes, it may not look like much;
Wrapped up in festive ribbons and some seals
To make it look more Christmasy and gay.
But you for whom it's meant will find, I know,
All that is packed within the little jar,
You will translate the label properly
And see just what the contents really are.
"Wild grape -- " you'll say, and suddenly
You'll not be walking dusty city halls,
But down an autumn-gilded little lane
Between the jewelled vines of old stone walls.
Instead of dingy bricks beyond a court
You'll see a spruce-green hillside, sharp and clear,
Sweet fern and bayberry will scent the breeze,
The whirr of partridge wings delight your ear.
It is not much to send, this one small jar,
But you will see that in it, pure and true,
Shimmers the essence of the place we love,
Preserved especially by me, for you. 

-- Barbara Overton Christie 

 I've posted this before -- in 2006! -- but I am posting it again for the enjoyment of my newer readers.  I have loved this poem for many years.

  My mother had several issues of Farm Journal's Christmas Book, and I loved to peruse them every year. This poem was included on a page with recipes for gift jams and jellies. 

 I was fortunate enough to be given some old issues of the Farm Journal Christmas Book in later years, and the issue containing this poem happened to be one of them. I have enjoyed so much having these books for my very own. 

This poem in particular shows how even a very small gift can come straight from the heart -- and that it can be much more than just a jar of jelly.

Time to make some kitchen lists!

 Yes, if you haven't already, it's time to give some serious thought to all that'll be happening in your kitchen this December.  List-making is really a must if you do any baking or candy-making over the holidays.  I make a tentative cookie list, a tentative candy list, and a tentative kitchen gifts list every Christmas.  If I don't do this, I will be sure to forget something I wanted to include.  I have made most of my tentative lists for 2024 already.  The one you see above is a "Kitchen Gifts" list from a previous year, fancied up for blog presentation.

Many of you have probably made similar lists already.  But if you haven't, now's a good time to begin!

Above you see a glimpse of my lists for this year.  I'll offer a more detailed look at them over on my Christmas blog.  

I also will be making a fourth list, what I'm calling for lack of a better title a ministry list.  When I can, I like to help friends who may be busier than I and have a houseful of company over the Christmas season.  For one family, for example, my list will include two frozen lasagnas and possibly another main dish as well, in addition to cookie trays and probably some breakfast items like granola and coffee cake.  You may be able to help out a friend in a similar situation, and if so, you will need a list.

Tomorrow we'll talk about another helpful list of a slightly different sort.  Meanwhile, have fun with your own list making!

December 8

 

 Well, let's see where things are with our Christmas preparations.  First of all, the Gooseberry Patch Christmas wallpaper above is on my desktop.  Love it!  I very much enjoy Gooseberry Patch art work and am so tickled to be able to have it on my computer.  If you would like to check out their wallpapers, go here: Gooseberry Patch free wallpapers.  They have them for all seasons, not just Christmas.  You are sure to find something fun that you want to use.

In the illustration above, I love that gorgeous metal loaf pan.  My grandmother used to have bakeware resembling that.  I love that this illustration pictures Christmas kitchen gifts!

I've been busy trying to scan and list more vintage Christmas cards at my Etsy shop (link in sidebar).  So many cards, so little time!  Below is one of my recent listings.  This one is especially sweet.

I got a few Christmas gifts ordered and most have already arrived.  I prefer to start wrapping after the tree is up so that I can just place the gifts under the tree and not have to keep them in some "way station" (like our bedroom) until later.

The photo below is from many years ago when we actually had a small narrow tree in our bedroom.  It sparked a memory.  Maybe you would like to read about it.  Go here: "How Beautiful!"

 
Today my hubby is out of town for the day and I'm really hoping to get some cleaning done in our bedroom, as well as perhaps bake a variety of Christmas cookies and write a few blog posts.  We will see!

Speaking of my hubby, he has continued to be busy making fudge and baking Christmas cookies.  He made some Special Holiday Fudge which our faraway daughter particularly enjoys.  So some of that will be winging its way to her soon.  It's a chocolate fudge with raisins and nuts in it.  Tastes a little bit like a Chunky candy bar.

 
He's been trying out the new cookie press from Amazon and is completely unimpressed with it.  In fact, I think we will be returning it.  It was a little sturdier than he hoped, but the ratchet system for pressing out the cookie dough is terribly weak and has nearly broken after just one use.

We kept an eye on the weather forecast for a week and finally, on Tuesday night, it was warm enough to spend the night at our little camp.  It was a very rainy night, but our daughter, son-in-law, and their youngest braved the trek through the woods to visit for awhile.  I do apologize for the dark and blurry tablet photo, but it gives you an idea of my hubby's temporary system for keeping electric window candles in place.  It's a big improvement over last year's method.

 We love the idea of lighting up the night at our cabin in the woods even when we aren't there, so we have window candles and upstairs tree on a timer.  We hope it shines out a little Christmas cheer to passers-by!

 
A few Christmas cards have arrived, so soon we will be taping those up in our hallway. The photo below is an older one (we no longer have wallpaper in the living room, having covered it with gorgeous wide pine boards) but you get the idea of how our card display usually looks.

 
No definitive word yet on when we'll be setting up the tree.

Okay, I am off to accomplish something rather than just talking about it!

A tasty disaster!

 

Photo by Ashton at Something Swanky

One of the kinds of fudge that I really wanted to make this Christmas was some Salted Caramel Fudge.  I had written about this fudge in 2019 during Christmas in July on my Christmas blog.  You can read that post here: Salted Caramel Fudge.  I had found the recipe on the blog Something Swanky and have waited all this time to try it.  Looks good, don't you think?

So it was on my mental, if not my actual candy list for Christmas 2021.  If I had really been thinking, I would have had us make this fudge during our candy making day with the grandkids.  It's one of the easy fudge recipes that has you melting baking chips (white, in this case) with sweetened condensed milk (caramel flavored or dulce de leche in this case).  I had a can of the former in my pantry so that is what we used.

But this was after our candy making day, and Mr. T wanted to make something else from the candy list, so I suggested this easy sounding recipe.  As you see in the recipe if you follow the link, after melting the morsels and condensed milk together and spreading the mixture in a square pan, the next step is to melt either milk chocolate or dark chocolate morsels, spread them over the top, and then sprinkle on some sea salt.

And right there is where Mr. T ran into trouble.  He asked me if I thought he should chill the caramel layer or let it set for a time before adding the chocolate layer.  The recipe didn't say.  It had you seemingly going from one step directly to the other.  Well, I assumed there was probably a good reason for adding the chocolate layer right away ... namely, so that it would adhere well to the caramel layer and not flake off when the fudge was cut.  So I told him to go ahead and add it right away.

When he did, he was quite dismayed.  Rather than staying as an even layer on top of the caramel fudge, the chocolate (we had used dark chocolate) oozed down into it in a most uneven, and to his mind, unsightly way.  You can see a few of the remaining pieces and how they looked in the photo below.

When it was cooled and cut we found the fudge to be absolutely delicious.  However, he was still troubled by the way it looked.  

We usually put masking tape labels on our cookie and candy tins so we can easily locate the varieties we want for a specific use.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I later saw the way he had labeled the salted caramel fudge container:

This not only brought a chuckle to me, but it's been fun for others too.  On Monday night, we had our two oldest granddaughters over for our traditional "Christmas Eve" supper and gifts with them.  (This event hasn't taken place on the actual Christmas Eve for many years.)  Before they left that evening, we invited them to choose an array of cookies and fudge to take home with them.  They had liked the salted caramel fudge, so Mr. T brought in the tin so they could take what they wished.  I was busily hunting for plastic containers, so I didn't see this reaction, but I sure heard it as two laughing young voices chorused incredulously,  "Tasty Disaster Fudge?!?"

It may have a funny label, but it's a very delicious fudge.  Next time, he will let that first layer set before adding the chocolate.

A Christmas cookie quote

 

I ended up posting quite a few photos (a couple of them are above) of Mr. T's Christmas cookie baking on Instagram throughout December.  Invariably someone would ask what we could possibly do with all of those cookies.  Well, as some of you know, we freeze them and then bring them out for neighbor gifts, hostess gifts, gifts for friends, fellowship dinners at church, and the like.  This year we didn't have a lot of room in the freezer, but it's been cold enough for the cookies to stay frozen on the front porch:

I recently ran across a quote that describes exactly how we use our cookies.  Every December, I get out all of my Gooseberry Patch Christmas books (one at a time) and page through them.    Book 6 is one of my favorites; in fact, I wrote a review of it on my Christmas blog: Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book 6.  This morning I was browsing through the cookie section and came upon a really sweet quote that I wanted to share with you all, for I think you will all recognize the truth of it.  There are sidebar quotes sprinkled throughout the book.  This one is from Rebecca Suiter of Checotah, Oklahoma.

"There is nothing like a plate of beautifully decorated cookies to highlight your Christmas table or to give to a special friend, and most of all, there is nothing like the cherished memory of making them with your children and grandchildren!" -- Rebecca Suiter

Isn't this so true?  Below is a plate of cookies my hubby arranged to take to friends.

And here is the dessert table at our daughter Carrie's on Christmas Day.  Isn't it beautiful?  The large cookie tray in the back was our dessert contribution and was also arranged by Mr. T.  

 Cookies have always been a big part of our Christmases.  And now you see, in case you were wondering, why we bake so many.

Two more of the candy recipes we used

 

 I had promised to share recipes from our candy-making day with the grandkids.  Over on my Christmas blog, I have shared the links to recipes for Creamsicle Fudge and Rocky Road Fudge.  I will share the links for the other two candy recipes here at my kitchen table today.

One is the Candy Cane Fudge.  You see Sam preparing the first layer of it above.  It's the type you make in the microwave, using chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk,  which makes it relatively fast and easy.  (Of course, if you don't have a microwave or prefer not to use one, the melting steps can easily be done using a saucepan on the stovetop.)  Unfortunately, I misread the recipe and thought it called for 1 cup of crushed candy canes in each layer, rather than a total of 1 cup.  You sprinkle half in the bottom of the square pan before adding the chocolate layer, and mix the rest into the white portion for the top layer.  

 We also failed to find the mini candy canes the recipe calls for and thought it would be no problem to use the large ones.  But Sam (who is incredibly strong) found it quite a task to crush the larger candy canes and ended up doing so out on the porch using a hammer!

All in all, though, in spite of my mistakes and missteps, this candy turned out well   It seemed a little too sticky at first (and that could have been due to using too much crushed candy), but after it set in the fridge for awhile, all was well.  Here's what it looks like (Taste of Home photo):

And then the last candy we made was Chocolate Dipped Orange Slices.  This has become a huge favorite among our family and friends, and is so easy!  You just melt chocolate chips and then dip the orange slice candies (the ones at our supermarket are naturally flavored!) in the melted chocolate and place them on waxed paper to harden.  I use dark chocolate chips to make them really good.  Julia made these and I failed to get any photos of the process.

There you have it!  I hope to try one more fudge recipe this week, but we will see.

Christmas baking update as of December 10

 

So we're 1/3 of the way into December.  It's been a busy month so far for Mr. T,  helping others with carpentry projects.  But every spare moment has found him in the kitchen, baking up a floury storm.  Here's a list of his progress so far:

2 double batches Chocolate Spritz

 
A double batch Peanut Blossoms

A double batch Whipped Shortbread

 

A double batch of Sacher Torte Cookies 

A triple batch of Eggnog Logs

 

A double batch of Secret Spice Cookies (the ones with red and green sugar on racks below)

 

A double batch of Chocolate Mint Crisps

A double batch of Christmas Tree Spritz

4 batches Heavenly Delight fudge

And I think that may be all, so far.  There are still a few varieties left on my tentative cookie list.  We're hoping to do some candy making with some of the grandkids, maybe tomorrow.

Festive packaging for kitchen gifts

I'm sure it's pretty clear by now how much I enjoy making and giving gifts from the kitchen.  I love wrapping them festively, also.  For me, this has always been one of the most fun aspects of giving kitchen gifts, especially at Christmas.  It's fun to devise packaging out of what I have on hand, but it's also fun to watch those after-Christmas sales for specialty items that will make our kitchen gifts even more special.

To be honest, many of my favorite wrapping items come from the Dollar Tree, so they are inexpensive enough to start with. They have some great plastic jars, tubs, and canisters, along with tins, with fun and festive motifs.

Oh, and cookie bags to put plates of cookies in may also be found at the Dollar Tree.  For most of my cookie trays to neighbors or friends, I will put the cookies on a foam plate and tuck it into a gallon size plastic bag.  The assortment of cookies is so pretty that no embellishment (other than possibly a ribbon and/or a sprig of evergreen) is needed.  

The bags from Dollar Tree are usually printed with a small design like holly or snowflakes, and the packages of three also include a bit of ribbon and a gift tag, if you choose to use them.  I often do.

But I also give out two special cookie plates each year to folks who enjoy a particular cookie.  For them, I like to find a special plate to include with the cookies as part of the gift.  These cookies -- Eggnog Log Cookies for one person, and Sacher Torte Cookies for the other -- are still pretty, but not colorful, one being cream-colored and the other chocolate.  I usually look for plates at after-Christmas sales the year before.  The Gooseberry Patch plate was found at one of their great  online sales.  The clear tree-shaped plate looks like glass, but is plastic and I found it at our supermarket after Christmas a couple of years ago.

The Dollar Tree always has festive jars or canisters that are perfect for hot chocolate or other drink mixes, or for jar mixes for cookies, etc.

Pretty printed plastic snack bags are great for things like Chex Mix or flavored pretzels.

Mugs like the one above are perfect for mug cake mixes.  I got that one at our local supermarket after Christmas one year.  The gift bag below holds a mug cake mix and accompanying marshmallows.

The pretty tin below came from Jo-Ann Fabrics, I think.  Love it.  Smaller square tins like this are perfect for packaging fudge.

Speaking of tins -- I shared this tip last year on my Christmas blog, but it bears repeating: Any tin you buy to use for gifting or storing your kitchen gifts, whether you buy it at a thrift store, yard sale, or regular store, needs to be washed and thoroughly dried before packaging anything in it.  Wash it like any dish, but to dry it place both tin and cover in the oven and set the oven temp at 290º or so.  Less than 300º, anyway.  When the oven reaches temperature, turn it off.  Leave the tin, or tins, there until the oven cools down.  It is now ready to use.  (If the tin seems to have rust spots or other discolorations, line it with waxed paper before adding your baked goods.)

I love giving small loaves of quick breads or fruitcake for Christmas! These make nice gifts for family, friends, or neighbors, and are a nice little thing to have on hand when someone drops by at holiday time and you’d like to give them a small remembrance. They also work exceeding well in care packages to send to faraway family and friends, because they are sturdy and keep well.

I have a way of packaging these little loaves that is so much fun for me. First, of course, when they are cool I wrap them in plastic wrap and then in foil. I almost always bake these ahead and freeze them, so I want to be sure they are well wrapped.

Next, I wrap them in something else -- either plain brown kraft paper, or -- my favorite -- a cut-apart paper bag. A country shop in our area uses bags which are brown with black print and which look just like an old-time newspaper. I always make some purchases at this shop around Christmas time, and I always save the bags. Regular newspaper might look neat, too.

Then I tie something around the loaf, just as you would tie ribbon around a gift package. I might use red ribbon, or colored raffia, or jute. I stick on a label indicating the contents of the package -- “Chocolate Banana Bread” or “Eggnog Fruit Bread” or whatever. And then, under the bow, I’ll often tuck something decorative, like a sprig of fir, or some silk holly, or I’ll glue on a couple of tiny pine cones.

(And of course, if your tastes run more to the sparkly and elegant, you can wrap your loaves in gold or colored foil paper and use pretty ribbons and shiny trims like mini Christmas balls or charms.)

 

 The brown paper bags in the photo above hold mulled cider mixes.  I package the spices in coffee filters tied with kitchen string, then in small brown paper lunch bags.  I sew the labels on (and the bags shut) with my sewing machine, using red thread.

Hope these ideas will spark some inspiration for your own kitchen gifting this Christmas!

Kitchen gifts remembered

 

This started with a post I wrote years ago (2007) on my Christmas blog, when I'd been doing some thinking about gifts from the kitchen: how they come from the giver's heart and also from the heart of the home. When I was growing up, our family always gave away lots of cookies, fudge, and yeast breads at Christmas time: My mother made pans and pans of her maple fudge, but she also made lots of Christmas cookies,  and loaves of cinnamon swirled bread which she topped with a thin white icing plus sliced almonds and a few candied cherries.  We were also the recipients of some kitchen gifts, so I'm going to share a few of those memories and recipes this morning.

Great-aunt Bessie always made large batches of Chex Mix and gave tins of it to everyone on her list.
I've done a bit of research to try and find the recipe Bessie would have used. It's somewhat different from the Chex Mix of today. I seem to recall that there were short, thin pretzel sticks in it, peanuts, and Cheerios. I definitely remember fighting with my siblings over the Cheerios. These seemed to absorb the butter and seasonings better than anything else, and were really tasty. Somewhere I can picture the recipe, written in Bessie's handwriting on Ralston Purina letterhead (her late husband had worked for Ralston, and they were also the company Chex cereal was originally made by, so this was quite meaningful) but I haven't been able to find that paper. Bessie would pack the mix in recycled cans which she covered with Con-Tact™ paper.  This is the best I've been able to do as far as finding a recipe for it: Bessie's Mix.

I don't recall my grandmother giving kitchen gifts in my childhood,  but in later years, she also had a traditional homemade gift that she would give -- large jars of creamy hot chocolate mix. She would stir all the ingredients up in a gigantic bowl and then transfer the mix to jars for giving. It made a very rich-tasting cup of hot chocolate, so we kids were always happy to see that jar!  Here's her recipe: Gram's Hot Chocolate Mix.

 Gram also traditionally made a special kind of fudge. I think it was basically the "Five-Minute Fudge" and that she used to use both chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in it, maybe in equal quantities.

Neighbors also shared kitchen gifts with our family. There was a German family who always brought an assortment of delectable homemade cookies. Another neighbor traditionally made a pear quick bread. And another delivered her gift on New Year's Day -- a dessert called Pumpkin Snow (made from her own pumpkins) with an accompanying jar of custard sauce.

What fun it all was! When my hubby and I got married over four decades ago, we decided to share Christmas cookies with our neighbors.  Some reciprocated with jars of salsa or loaves of homemade bread.  Not sure where the neighbor gifts will be going this year amid coronavirus fears, but we will be giving plenty of kitchen gifts to our family.  So happy to keep these memories going.

Friday five for January 10

Friday again, and what do I have to show for it?  It seems as if this has been somewhat of a "blah" week, and yet I have many blessings to be thankful for:

1.  Though far from perfect (cluttered background), the photo at top makes my heart sing every time I look at it.  It represents so many delights: a sweet table runner I carved out time to sew a few years back using Christmas fabrics from my stash; an ironstone pitcher from the family heirloom set I am blessed to own; and sprigs of pine from our own acreage and winterberries gathered on a walk.  The berries are drying out and getting wrinkled, but this arrangement is still on the table.  (It will be leaving soon, though.)  Below is a photo of the runner back when I first finished it.

2.  A nice afternoon and evening last Saturday.  Our dear friends Sam and Jenn came for supper and a Bible study in the evening.  During the afternoon, we took a quick trip to the neighboring town so that our son-in-law Jim could cut Mr. T's hair.  (He's handy like that.)  We took a bit of extra time to play a game with the grandkids.  The photo below is NOT of that game; it's from Thanksgiving and is a different game altogether.

3.  A wonderful New Year's message from Pastor Anglea, our pulpit supply on Sunday; titled "Unto the End", it really encouraged us to keep on keeping on.  In other New Year news, I was able to complete a Shutterfly calendar the other day to take advantage of a free offer.  Below is a screenshot of July's page.  I put this calendar together in quite a hurry, but it still came out quite well.

4.  Several nice days this week so we were able to get out and walk.  The time of day had to vary a bit due to other commitments, but the weather was doable each time.  Even on Monday when we were walking in snow flurries!  Photo below is from 2018 but looks much the same right now.

5.  A bit of creativity in the kitchen this morning.  I've had a container of this Bran Muffin Batter in the fridge ever since we made my mother-in-law's muffins on Christmas morning.  I wanted to bake the muffins before the batter went bad (it's supposed to keep 6 weeks, but it usually doesn't last more than a month) but I wanted to bake a variety of muffins.  I put a teaspoon of strawberry jam in each muffin cup for the first dozen.  For the second dozen, I added some dried cranberries and some chopped toasted walnuts to the batter.  Had just a bit too much batter, so baked some in a small loaf pan.

And that is this week's Friday five!  What blessings can you thank God for today?