2011/2012/2013 Poinsettias!

These were my poinsettias from Christmas 2011!  The remaining two from the Costco three-pack I bought November 2011.  I have never had much luck with keeping poinsettias alive through Christmas, much less until now.  I thought they were pretty much goners after that Christmas and just tossed them (pots in all) in the far right corner and side of my kitchen garden.  I was surprised to see tiny leaves reappear on the stalks in the spring and felt certain our drought would finish them off.  But no, they kept growing, roots now attached firmly to the garden dirt.  Our crazy temperature changes must have triggered the color change.

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Here's a sweet way to begin the New Year, with a little bit of the old year!

Yet another yummy variation of my favorite chocolate cookie recipe -- Click for the Christmas Candy Cane Kiss and the original with the M&M's.

My daughter and I were at the new HEB grocery store and saw these Guittard Green Mint Chips ($2.89). Inspiration --The Cool Mint Oreos. Same green, same chocolate combo. . .

So I substituted the M&M's/Kisses with a bagful of these. Honestly, they are a bit chip-intense. I think you could cut back the amount around 1/2 to 3/4 cup -- save and snack on later! : D

I seem to be on quite the mint kick lately -- Starbucks Peppermint Mocha (skinny & now available sugar-free, thank you *Bux!), those Rold Gold Peppermint Dipped Snowflakes pretzels (thank goodness Costco sold out of them), candy canes, white chocolate peppermint fudge, Candy Cane Lane and Two Leaves and a Bud Peppermint (upcoming review) teas, toothpaste. . .(Kidding, I'm not eating Colgate! Though that tip about brushing your teeth after eating or before to keep from succumbing to temptation does work!) 'Tis the Season and all that! Right?!

This time I tried 1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa and 1/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa, to make it even chocolatey-er and really punch out the green mint further. And rolled them in regular sugar.

I will also offer this tip, hand stir in the chips. They seem to be a bit fragile and started breaking up in my Kitchen Aid mixer. I also think this may be a seasonal item and you may want to grab an extra bag now for St. Patrick's Day baking!

CHOCOLATE MINT CHIP COOKIES

1 ¼ cups flour

1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder

1/4 cup Hershey's cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup sugar (Healthier option: Just a little over 1/2 cup)

½ cup unsalted butter, softened (Healthier option: Minus 1 tablespoon)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Guittard Green Mint Chips - 1 1/2 to 2 cups/bag

Preheat oven to 350. In medium bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In large (to be covered) bowl, combine sugar and butter. At high speed, beat 2 minutes until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla, beat 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture. Chill one hour or until dough is firm. Roll dough in 1” balls and then roll in sugar and place 2” apart on cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, switching racks at 5-6 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Merry Christmas!

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.

W.T. Ellis

It's Christmas Eve. . .

. . .There's magic in the air!

Oh, isn't she pretty?! She may still be at Another Place In Time! Call 713/864-9717

Hello Kitty, Hello Winter!

Last Day of Fall

Taken with my Samsung Infuse phone at night with the flash, unretouched. I thought it was a a really neat shot of my tree transitioning to Winter. The brilliance of the red oak leaves in the day cooled to blue in the night. . .

Christmas in the mail

I thought this year's Christian Christmas stamp was pretty! It's called "Madonna of the Candelabra" by Rafael from the Walters Art Museum.

Kitchen Tree

This was our 2' kitchen tree, on the pass-through counter. I love the "snowball" trim - it is actually ribbon from The Container Store.

This year's Christmas Cookie!

Here is the second version, rolled in a mix of powdered sugar and sprinkles! They look "iced" cool!

I love those chocolate peanut butter cookies, don't you? They are also called Peanut Butter Blossoms or Black-Eyed Susans. I got all excited when I saw the Candy Cane Hershey Kisses at Target. And since I am highly addicted to Starbuck's Peppermint Mocha (skinny/non-fat and now in a sugar-free version, thank you!) I thought they would go great in a chocolate cookie. I was surprised after dragging out all my Hershey cookbooks, I couldn't find a chocolate/chocolate Kiss version. So I flipped through my other tried and true cookie recipes and came up with this, our 2011 Christmas Cookie. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT KISS COOKIES

1 ¼ cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses

Preheat oven to 350. In medium bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In large (to be covered) bowl, combine sugar and butter. At high speed, beat 2 minutes until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla, beat 2 minutes. Beat in flour mixture. Chill one hour or until dough is firm.

Roll dough in 1” balls and then roll in colored sugar (Wilton has a nice white sparkle sugar which I mixed with green sugar) and place 2” apart on cookie sheets. Bake 10 minutes, switching racks at 5 minutes. Cookies should start to have cracks. Gently push a Kiss in the center and bake for an additional 2 minutes – watch carefully before the tip starts to brown. Cool and enjoy!

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
_____

These were originally the Cocoa M&M Cookies from the March, 1995 issue of McCall’s magazine. You can change it back by adding 1 cup of plain M&M’s and rolling the balls in confectioner’s sugar.

Here's the link to my March 13, 2008 post with the pastel-colored "Easter"/Springtime M&M's

Hello Kitty Target Ornament

Albeit 2 1/4" tall, a definite buy for a buck at the Target Dollar Spot. Isn't she adorable and the perfect size for a tiny tree or package decoration?

Target Dollar Spot Christmas Finds

From upper left - the camera cropped off the true size of the cards, which are really nice and a real deal -16/$1. At that price, you could easily glue a sequin at the top of some of the trees for added glitz.
Clockwise continuing - Cute yarn wrapped ornaments/gift tags/decorations. I have them hanging from my entertainment unit knobs. $1 each
And set of two Christmas trees, which light up! for $2.50 I plan to add some glitter and sequins to make them sparkle.

Koolickles!

These slices below were from a whole pickle. I think it best to preslice them first. But they do look pretty and holiday-ish.

I found this recipe in the August/September issue of Country Woman magazine, page 51. Click here for the recipe. I used Cherry Kool-Aid. They taste...interesting. Kinda grow on you, like sour cherry pickles. Might make for an interesting Christmas/holiday gathering treat. (Though personally, I'd bring something else as a backup!)

Chantal Finds! Get thee over there tomorrow, Houston peeps!

First, I found and bought four of these little guys for $5 each. The 2 cup size. They also had two more larger sizes for $10 and $15. I plan to use these to bake my gingerbread in and to give as gifts...and use as a holiday decoration!

If you donated four canned goods to the Houston Food Bank at the Chantal Warehouse entrance, they gave you a 20% off coupon. Which I used on this $10 tea and teapot set, so I paid $8 for tea and a teapot and an infuser! I found this in the back warehouse section, on the shelves -- not in the front of the store. Bloomingdale's is currently selling this set for $50!

Shoot, I'd pay $8 for the tin alone! I love the embossed flowers and the cool yoga girl on the label! Wow! I just checked -- This tea alone is worth $19.50 on the Kusmi website!

The outlet is open tomorrow from 12-5 PM. And also for the next two weekends. Click here for directions and times.