Old Fashioned Butter Cookies with Vanilla Frosting

Last weekend I invited MomMom over for my annual cookie baking extravaganza. Every year I pick a day to bake dozens of Christmas cookies to pack up in tins to give out to neighbors and friends, and to keep in our cookie jar too of course. I usually don't keep sweets in the house, but at the holidays I love having a stocked cookie jar and little bowls of Andes mints and other goodies around the house for friends to enjoy when they visit.

For years now I've been making all of MomMom's old family cookie recipes at Christmastime, and I like to have her here with me when I do it because I'm a sucker for nostalgia and really enjoy being with her when I make them. I also get little insider tips from her as I go along, which I love.

I made several batches of our favorite Crunchy Chocolate Pecan Cookies, moon cookies (my personal favorite, filled with pecans and almonds and coated with powdered sugar), and old fashioned butter cookies. Everyone loves the butter cookies, but the traditional cookie is a little boring to me. Add frosting, and well, now we're talking.

I LOVE frosting covered butter cookies. 

If you need a last minute cookie idea for Christmas, give these a try. Just don't tell MomMom I gave you the recipe. ;)

Old Fashioned Butter Cookies w/ Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Frosting
1 stick butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. milk
Red or green food coloring
Sprinkles for decorating

Cream the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla together until creamy. Add flour and baking powder a little at a time, mixing as you add, until a dough forms.

Separate the dough into two balls; flatten them out slightly into discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll chilled dough out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into cookies with either cookie cutters or a small round glass. Put on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. Cookies should just be slightly brown around the edges, but not brown all over. Immediately place on cooling racks until cool.

To make frosting
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and powdered sugar. Gradually add the vanilla and milk, and keep mixing until the frosting turns smooth. Add food coloring and mix until fully combined.

Once cookies are cool, top with frosting and sprinkles. Let harden before packing into containers.

Tomato, Escarole & Macaroni Soup

Well it's not quite Christmas yet, but it's Recipe ReDux time and this month we're focusing on "lucky foods" for the new year.

I have to admit, when I saw the theme I was a bit perplexed as to what to make. I've never thought of foods as being lucky, so I had to Google around until I found a list of traditionally lucky eats in different cultures. Here's a list if you're interested - I bet some of the things you already eat are on there. There certainly were for me. When I saw "leafy greens" on the list as a lucky food since they resemble money and supposedly can bring prosperity, I knew I'd be cooking greens today. Thankfully I already had a bunch of kale, mesclun greens and escarole in the fridge, because I definitely did not prep ahead for the challenge this month!

This soup comes together in about a half hour and resembles pasta fagioli, but without the beans and sausage you traditionally see. It's brothy, full of escarole and is super hearty without being too filling. Great for a Saturday evening on the couch!

Tomato, Escarole and Macaroni Soup

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package button mushrooms, sliced
1 head escarole, washed and roughly chopped
1/2 jar organic tomato sauce
3 cups water
1 vegetable bouillon
4 oz. whole wheat macaroni
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a stock pot, saute onions, garlic and mushrooms in the olive oil. Once soft, add the escarole; stir to combine and let cook until escarole wilts down.

Add the tomato sauce, water and bouillon. Bring to a boil, then add the macaroni, red pepper flakes and salt & pepper. Cook for approximately 15 minutes (depending on cooking time of the pasta).

Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

Riker's 2nd Birthday

I can hardly believe that our little baby Riker is really no longer a baby. He's a full blown toddler 2 year old. It's amazing how fast the past two years have flown by, and this little boy has brought our lives so, so much joy, love and laughter. I am grateful every day for the gift of being his mom - yes, even on the crazy days. ;)

Riker was so excited for his birthday and it made throwing his party this past weekend that much more fun. Putting him to bed Friday night was even easier than usual since he knew that when he woke up, it would be "party day" and he would get "cake" and "presents!" and everyone would sing "happy birthday Riker." He recited all of those words over and over with the glee of a, well a 2-year old. He also made us sing happy birthday probably 15 times, grinning from ear to ear and blowing out my Yankee candle on the kitchen table. That kid looooves his birthday.

We had planned a little pool party for Riker at a local gym, with just family, close friends and other kids that Riker plays with. After not being in a pool for a few months, all the kids seemed thrilled to go swimming for an hour.

The dads all went in with the kids while us moms snapped pics and chatted from the sidelines. I'm not really feelin' a bathing suit in December (Christmas cookies, I'm looking at you).

After pool time we had snacks, pizza and ice cream cake back in the party room, followed by some parachute fun in one of the studios.

It's safe to say Riker enjoyed every second of his party and being the center of attention. After the party our family came back to the house to watch Riker open his presents, which was a whole event in and of itself. It took about two hours since he wanted to stop and play with everything he opened. Can't blame the kid, he got a lot of great stuff from our amazing friends and family!

Something tells me he might be a carpenter when he grows up. ;) Happy birthday, Riker, we love you to pieces!

***

Matt and I stayed up later than usual Saturday night watching a movie (from start to finish, crazy!), so I was a little zapped on Sunday morning. We lazed around for a while eating a leisurely breakfast and sipping on coffee while Riker played with his new toys before getting a move on the day.

While grocery shopping on Saturday morning I spotted a new breakfast cereal - quinoa flakes - and was intrigued. They have a consistency similar to Cream of Wheat (though not as creamy) but have a ton more protein and nutrients. I cooked them up with some banana, walnuts and coconut palm sugar, and ate it with a clementine on the side.

The rest of the day included finishing up my Christmas shopping, baking about 6 batches of Christmas cookies, writing out Christmas cards (are you spotting a theme here?) and eventually eating shell-less fish tacos for dinner while catching up on Top Chef.

Not a bad little Sunday, that's for sure.

I'm on the bus headed home and my hotspot's about to die, so it's time to sign off and indulge in some Kindle reading for the rest of the ride. Have a great night!