Snowballs

What do you do for vacations? Are they big and elaborate or just relaxing time off from the daily grind? Ours are a mix of the two. We love going places and being in Europe makes that easy and kind of a requirement! But, we are also homebodies and just like spending time together as a family. For instance, when Nathan comes home at the end of the month, those 18 days will be spent lounging around the house, playing with the kids, and the occasional date.

My favorite vacation was spent seeing England and Scotland. When Nathan got home from Iraq back in 2004 we spent 10 days exploring those two beautiful countries (well, we went to Wales, too, but only for one short stop.). I fell in love with Scotland and cried the day we left. I would go back in a heartbeat. Of course, we took this vacation before we upgraded to a digital camera, so I only have these pictures from Stonehenge on my computer.

What is your favorite vacation spot?

Now, for another wonderful cookie! I know EVERYONE has a recipe for these, but it wouldn't feel right to be posting about cookies I make during this time of year and not post these. They have about a million names (Mexican Wedding Cookies and Russian Tea Cakes seem to be the most popular), but I like to call them snowballs. It's whimsical, and, well, that's what they look like!

Snowballs

1 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup pecans, chopped

additional powdered sugar for rolling

Cream butter in large bowl. Add sugar; cream until light. Stir in vanilla. Mix in flour and salt. Stir in nuts. Shape into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar directly out of the oven and again when cooled.

TWD Linzer Sables Update

So, I'm at Monica's (my friend who I gave all the cookies to) house right now and I just ate two of the sables. I am trying VERY hard to stay out of the kitchen so I don't eat them all. Needless to say, they have grown on me and now I am LOVING them!

Egg Nog Cookies

Today's installment of getting to know me may be a little sappy, so feel free to skip down to the yummy recipe if you want! :)

Nathan and I met on July 23, 2000. I was headed to the Salt River for a work outing and Nathan was home on leave. My supervisor was Nathan's best friend (and my sister's high school boyfriend), so Nathan was invited to come along to the river with our department.

We started talking right away and hit it off. We spent the day just floating down the river getting to know each other. As corny as it sounds, it really was love at first sight.

Nathan was only in town for a week after the river, so we didn't have much time together. He told me he loved me right before he headed back to Louisiana (where he was stationed) and I knew that I was in love with him, too!

Our families knew each other since my sister was dating Nathan's best friend so no one was shocked or worried that things were moving quickly. It was so great to have the support of both of our families from the get go!

He proposed the day after Thanksgiving and we were married July 21, 2001 (363 days after we first met). It was a whirlwind romance and I can honestly say that I love this man more and more every day. He is truly my best friend and soulmate and I look forward to spending my life with him!

Now if that wasn't enough sweetness for you, how about some delicious egg nog cookies? I love egg nog! I don't care that it isn't healthy or that a recent article on MSN called it a liquid cheeseburger. I will forever drink egg nog during the holidays! And drinking it isn't enough! Here is a wonderful cookie recipe showcasing this tasty holiday drink! YUM!!!!

Egg Nog Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup egg nog

1 tsp vanilla

2 large egg yolks

1 TBSP nutmeg, for tops

Preheat oven to 325.

Combine flour through nutmeg. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg nog, yolks, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Add dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake 20-25 minutes or until bottoms have turned light brown.

Buckeyes

Do you like to clean or is it just a necessary evil? I LOVE cleaning. I am a total neat freak and love to organize things. It really is an obsession. I can't handle clutter and messes. It is just one of my quirks.

Speaking of quirks... Is there anyone else out there who only hand washes their dishes or doesn't own a microwave? My friends think I'm crazy. I have a dishwasher, but it has never been used. I wash the dishes after every meal (goes with my can't stand messes thing...) and for some reason just prefer to do it by hand. I also don't own a microwave. We used to have one, but when it died I just saw no need for a new one. So, anyone else "crazy" like me?

Wow... maybe that was all too much information! Hmmmm... are you sure you all want to get to know me better? :)

This recipe is something I make every year for my cookie trays. You can't beat the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Sorry the picture isn't great, but, believe me, the buckeyes are AWESOME!

Buckeyes

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate for dipping

Mix all ingredients; shape into balls. Place on wax paper and refrigerate.

Prepare chocolate for dipping. Dip each ball and return to wax paper.

Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set.

TWD: Linzer Sables

Three different cookies have been chosen for December for Tuesdays with Dorie and I am excited! I love cookies and it is always fun to try new cookie recipes.

This weeks selection was Linzer Sables. The cookies themselves were tasty. I loved the flavor of the ground almonds in the dough. However, these are sandwiched together with jam. (There was the option to use chocolate, but I made a half batch and didn't want to open heavy cream for just a little.)

After the rugelach I should've realized that I am not a jam with my cookie kind of person. I like PB&J and jelly on my toast, but not with my cookies. I'm not even a fan of jelly donuts. So, these cookies are now sitting at my friend Monica's house. At least with cookies it is relatively easy to cut the recipe in half and then you aren't wasting too much if you don't like it!

Head over to Living the Life for the recipe and, as always, check out the blogroll!