It is a Girl Scout tradition to make S’mores when you’re camping. The name s’mores comes from always wanting “some more”. They are a delicious combination of melted marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker. We’ve come up with some variations, which are truly decadent!
Contributed by Debbie Continue reading
Springerle are German in origin. They are hard, dry anise-flavored cookies, ideal for dunking in tea or coffee but perhaps most loved for their visual quality. I got my first springerle rolling pin from my husband’s mom, who had gotten it in Germany on a trip. We were supposed to make a food from our family heritage and bring it in to share with the class when Carolyn was in 2nd grade. We made these cookies from my Rose’s Christmas Cookies book and decorated them with gold dust..wow were they amazing! And I loved dunking them in tea for a little treat. After that I started searching out beautiful cookie molds. I’ve got quite a collection now from The House on the Hill, who sell them on the internet. Now, I consider them a holiday tradition. I make them the week before Thanksgiving, they have to be made at least 2 weeks before you serve them. Continue reading
When I was in college at Cornell, I belonged to the Tri-Delta sorority. I loved it and in a big university like Cornell, it was nice to have a small group of friends that kept one from feeling lost.
After I graduated I discovered that one of the nice bonuses of belonging to a national sorority is that you can find an alumnae group in just about any city. I made new friends (and was introduced to some nice boyfriends) and felt at home right away because of the alumnae groups in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego. They always had nice social events. When I lived in Boston we had a cookie exchange and I got some wonderful recipes, this was one of them. Contributed by Debbie Continue reading
These are so fast and easy, and people love them. They don’t last quite as long as some of the others, so I am generous with them in my trays. This is one of my mom’s recipes. Continue reading
This is one of my mom’s recipes, and one of my all time favorites!
Lemon Coconut Squares
1st layer
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cups brown sugar Continue reading
This is my most cherished recipe. I remember my mom making these beautiful Santas and bringing them to my class when she was room mother and I always thought they were so beautiful and so good. The cookie cutter was made by “Aunt Chick” and it is still available through Gramma’s Cutters. The one I use I got from my Grandmother who may have gotten it as a present from my mom one year. It is red plastic and has a special indentation that helps you know where to decorate. The cookie cutter comes with instructions of how to decorate the Santa. Raisins cut in half and shaped in a half moon go into the dough before it’s baked. Egg white tinted red is brushed on his hat and sprinkled with good quality red sugar. His cheeks are painted with the egg white but not sugared and his lips are tinted with diluted red color with a paintbrush. I use royal icing on his pompom, hat rim, beard and moustache and let him dry a few hours before I stack them in a tin. He is a showstopper. I also make trees from this dough and paint them with green tinted egg white and sprinkled with green sugar then decorated with cinnamon red hots to look like ornament, and piped with white icing swags. And Stars painted with yellow egg white and yellow sugar. A double recipe makes 42 Santas and 51 trees. I usually make 1/3 or 1/4 recipe and that is plenty, about 10 Santas and 10 trees (unless you have children..in that case make more, kids love to make and eat the cutouts!) Continue reading
Lizzie wanted a dog for 5 years before I finally gave in and we found Angel at the pound. Angel is a golden retriever and a real sweetheart. Angel’s first Christmas with us, Lizzie made a bunch of Dog Biscuits for Angel and for our friends and family with dogs in the family. Angel loved them! Continue reading
This Cheese Bread is amazing! It’s got lots of wonderful flavors going on from the fresh garlic and the cheeses. I liked to serve it with soup or pasta. Contributed by Debbie
My, how my kids love these sugary rolls! I make these a lot for special holiday dinners like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. They are so easy and easy to make ahead. This is a recipe I got from my Aunt Mary Anne but I can remember my mother making it too.
Holiday Orange Rolls Continue reading
These are known as “Carolyn’s Sticky Buns” in our house. There is a tradition in our family to make a big batch of these and take them to the Del Mar Fair with a thermos of coffee. They sell big buns at the fair for $2.50 and I think these are even more delicious. We also make them for Christmas morning (as if we really needed something else sweet!) I could never decide if I liked sticky buns with caramel and pecans baked into the bottom..or if I liked them dripping with buttery icing. Either way I used this recipe, which I cut out of the San Diego Union in 1993. Contributed by Debbie. Continue reading
