Grandma B’s Christmas recipes #12

Well hello! I bet you’ve been wondering what happened to me? I’m so sorry to disappear for a bit – but the month of December was a whirlwind of craziness- but it was so much good and fun, I didn’t mind! So here we are and I haven’t blogged for a while! How about we talk Christmas?

When it comes to Christmas goodies – my girl, Mackenzie and I love to bake. I dare say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, because my mom does too – and so did Grandma! This year we decided to make several of Grandma’s cookie recipes for our treats that we share with friends and family.

Here’s the list of what we made that were in her recipe box – some of which I’ve featured here before!

Ginger Cookies – always warm, chewy and delightful
Dad’s Oatmeal Cookies – which we dressed up for Christmas with coconut, pecans, craisins and white chocolate chips
Magic Layer Bars – some call these 7 layer bars – but Grandma’s version didn’t have 7.
Sugar cookies – we did a half batch of cutouts and had fun frosting them with my mom a few days after Christmas, so they didn’t make it onto the tray below.
Rocky Road fudge – This is the fudge with graham cracker bottom and marshmallows mixed in.

We also made Oreo Balls, Buckeyes, Egg Nog Cookies and rice Krispy treats. All of these goodies together made for a festive tray to share at Christmas! Here’s a Christmas hack for you: I also purchased a few goodies from Trader Joe’s to decorate the tray- mini chocolate mint stars and peppermint meringues. Man, do I love a pretty tray of Christmas Cookies.

Here’s the recipe for the Magic Bars – so simple, but definitely yummy! It won’t take much effort to try these! Let me know if you do! And Happy New Year!

Grandma B’s recipes #11 ginger cookies

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Well, friends Its been a while – September and October have been busy with anniversary and birthday celebrations, and travel and so much more. But, Mackenzie and I decided to make a new recipe this past weekend!

We needed to make a fall dessert and so we chose this recipe: Ginger Cookies!

Let me tell you – these cookies did not disappoint! In fact I’m going to tell you to make them. now. don’t wait. They are fantastic. soft and chewy, and perfect for fall or Christmas baking.

I can’t say that I remember Grandma making these cookies – maybe one of my aunts or my mom can recall having them before? But in any case, they are worth the time. If you enjoy ginger, sweet and spicy flavors, these are for you!

As far as the recipe goes, we followed the card instructions and didn’t really make many changes. I did add nutmeg and cloves to the sugar mixture that we rolled the dough in and it added a nice little bit of warmth and zing. We did make them a little big, so the batch was just under 2 dozen cookies. I do think you could make them a little smaller, and bake them for a shorter time.

Alright – that’s it for now – please let me know if you make them and how it goes! I hope you love them as much as we did!

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Grandma B’s recipes #4 & 5: Gilding the Lily

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A long time ago I learned the phrase “gilding the lily” from my Aunt Jean. (Of course it was in reference to food.) She told me about how her husband, my Uncle Ernie, used to spread preserves on the already magnificent cream buns that Grandma made.

Let’s pause here for a moment. My Grandma Brubacher used to make the best treat ever known to man. The cream bun. It is a sweet yeast roll with a delicious fluffy cream spread in the middle. Nothing else needed. Spreading preserves on a cream bun is a quality example of “gilding the lily”.

With that in mind let me tell you about my creations from Grandma’s recipe box this week. I made cookies: Butterscotch Oatmeal Drops. And I also made a fruit concoction called Polynesian Fruit Fluff.

Sunday after church we had company over for lunch- our pastor and a mutual friend of ours who was visiting from out of town. I’ve never felt so confident about using Grandma’s recipes in this setting, following her example of hospitality. Sunday lunch – what could be more like Grandma?

We had a cold lunch of sandwiches and pasta salad, that kind of thing. The fruit fluff and cookies were perfect on the menu! But, let me tell you what happened! Our pastor, Al, loved the cookies and the fluff so much – and he pulled an Uncle Ernie! He scooped a spoonful of the fluff right onto his cookie.

That’s right. He definitely gilded the lily. And he was quite happy about it!

Here are the recipes – and a few pictures for you to enjoy!

A few quick notes about the recipes: I added mini chocolate chips and white chocolate chips to the cookies instead of nuts. It seemed more festive. For the fluff, I did not use dream whip – I guesstimated the amount of cool whip and it seemed right. Also – I added mini marshmallows to the fluff!

Let me know if you try any of these recipes! I’d love to hear about it!