Monday, December 21, 2015

Peppermint Crunch-Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies


 My fireside tea is being hosted by another of my baking Santa's.    I'm using some of the gifts that I won from Gina's most generous giveaway.  Gina blogs at With Twigs and Branches.   Please stop by and tell Gina "hi".

The bouquet of roses that I'm using as my centerpiece is from my sweet friend Stephanie, from The Enchanting Rose.  The bouquet was delivered from The Bouqs Company and I must say that they are extraordinary! What a lovely surprise they were!  Thank you so much, Stephanie!


I'm using my Merry Christmas teacup from Johnson Brothers. 


Isn't this the sweetest, most old-fashioned pattern?  Perfect for a girl like me!


 This little Santa was given to me from my late beloved hubby, and has a special place in my heart.  Santa is checking over the cookies that are oh so tasty.  Please help yourself, as I think you'll love them!    If you already have a favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe, just use half milk chocolate chips and half of the Andes Peppermint Crunch chips, in place of the two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips. 


Peppermint Crunch-Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies (from culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com, found on tastebook.com) 
After researching, I found that the recipe is  actually adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz.  Here's the recipe:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
7 ounces milk chocolate chips

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by hand), beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium speed just until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, then stir in the flour mixture followed by the chocolate and peppermint crunch chips.
On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters. Shape each quarter into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably for 24 hours .  I froze my logs).
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Slice the logs into disks ¾ inch thick and place the disks 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the chips crumble out, simply push them back in.
Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes. If you like soft chocolate chip cookies,  err on the side of underbaking.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

Look at all these wonderful gifts that I received from Gina!  Thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart, Gina!  I was  overwhelmed by your generosity, and have enjoyed the Christmas CD's, the beautiful dishes, the darling towel,  the three Yankee holiday scented candles, the notepads and the books.  The handmade card was  soooo beautiful!  What creativity and love was put into that.  I so appreciate everything.



I am sharing this with these lovely parties:


Monday, December 14, 2015

Eggnog Bread






It was so warm in the Dallas area this past week...almost up to 80 degrees, that I set up my tea table outdoors!  The quilted topper is one that I made several years ago. I love how the holly print in the fabric matches the holly in the teacup. 



This pretty December Royal Albert teacup was gifted to me by dear friend, Rosie, which came from her late Mother's collection.  I just treasure it and it is my only teacup of the month that I have.




This cute Santa was one that my daughter bought for me and I just love him.  Isn't he sweet with his nightshirt and nightcap, and his bunny slippers?  His calendar is dated 1996 and I'm thinking that poor Santa really needs a fresh bowl of popcorn! It's held up pretty well, don't you think?  My daughter and I used to exchange Santa's each year. 



My daughter also gave me this Santa!  Notice his Santa slippers and I love his checkered trim on his clothes. 



This Eggnog Bread recipe is adapted from one on Allrecipes.com.  After reading the reviews, I decided to use some of the suggestions and I loved how it turned out.  Even if you don't like eggnog, I think you'd like this bread.  It's perfect for a teatime treat!  Here's the recipe:

Eggnog Bread   

Ingredients
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 and 1/3 cups of prepared eggnog
  • 2 teaspoons rum flavored extract
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
  • 1 package of vanilla instant vanilla pudding
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used freshly grated)
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of a 9x5-inch loaf pan, or three 3x5-inch loaf pans. (I made four mini loaves).
  2. Blend together the eggs, eggnog, rum extract, sugar, vanilla and butter.
  3. Sift together the flour, instant vanilla pudding mix, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add to eggnog mixture and stir just enough to moisten; pour into prepared pan or pans.
  4. Bake large loaf for 40 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Breads baked in the smaller pans require 35 to 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Cool completely, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil, and store in refrigerator.
Glaze: optional
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 T. eggnog
about 1/2 t. rum extract


My mandevilla vine is still blooming!

                                                                                               I was featured at:

I am sharing this with these lovely parties:


Monday, December 7, 2015

Meeting a Blogging Friend and Her Hubby


 Oh my goodness, I must tell you about the wonderful meeting that Celeste from Southern Daydreams and I had at a tea room!  Here I am after opening the lovely Fitz and Floyd platter that Celeste gifted to me.  


 I made Celeste some Christmas Jam, a loaf of bread, from my Civil War starter, and a teacup coaster, fashioned after the ones that Stephanie, from The Enchanting Rose makes.  Stephanie is the reason that Celeste and I became friends, as she placed me as the recipient of Celeste's teacup exchange.  Celeste lives not that far away from me, as we found out, and we wanted to meet each other.

 

 Here we are posing in the shabby chic tearoom! Celeste is as beautiful on the inside as on the out. 



 Guess who joined us??  Celeste's dear hubby fit right into our tearoom lunch.  Her hubby and I had a lot in common as we had,  at one time, worked with some of the same people, we discovered.   Do you notice Larry's clothing colors?  Yes, he loves Ohio State, also!  The dear, sweet man even said a blessing before we had our lunch.  We all chatted away for over two hours, just like we were old friends that have just picked up where we left off!  Larry even treated me so generously to my lunch, and besides all that, he bought each of us the most delectable macaroon at the tearoom's bakery to take home!! It was such an honor and privilege  getting to meet them.  You can just tell that they both love and adore each other.   As we were leaving the tearoom, Larry and Celeste so thoughtfully walked me to my car.   I watched them as they walked to their car, grabbing each others hand, just as my late beloved and I always did wherever we were.  It brought back loving memories for me. 


 Just look at the generosity of Celeste!  Isn't the platter so nostalgic and with such a sweet saying?  Inside the bag are candies that Celeste made for me to put on the platter.  If that was not enough, she made me an ornament, that is embellished in Celeste's own style!


 Here's my yummy macaroon (it was enormous and yes, I ate the entire thing!), and a few of the candies (oh,  are they ever good!).  I'm having a cup of Holiday Tea, from Harney and Sons to keep me in the Christmas spirit.

 Here's the front of the gorgeous ornament.

Here's the back of the ornament, which is just as pretty as the front.  



Thank you to Celeste and Larry for a wonderful afternoon of friendship, and for driving over near to me.  We were so sorry that our friend, Pat, from Gypsy Heart and Soul, who we were hoping to meet, could not join us, as she was not feeling well.  We will definitely plan another time to meet.  Hopefully, Larry will join us again!  Thank you to our dear, sweet friend Stephanie for making all this possible to begin with...all through a cup of tea!

 

I am sharing this with these lovely parties: 

Thank you for your kind visit!  xo

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