WELCOME to the 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BLOG HOP!
12 Days of Christmas
December 1st - 12th 2013
Hosted by: As You Wish Reviews & Confessions of the Paranormal
Sponsors: As You Wish Tours & Book Dragon Designs
Hosted by: As You Wish Reviews & Confessions of the Paranormal
Sponsors: As You Wish Tours & Book Dragon Designs
In the spirit of the holidays, I'm sharing a cookie recipe and a giveaway. You can also enter the main giveaway for huge prizes. Read on, enter, and enjoy!
One thing, above all others, really hold the essence of holiday spirit for me. No, not the malls or the lights or the haunting melodies of carols...
For me, it's cookies.
Juvenile, right? But I know a lot of you are nodding your heads, hoping no one sees you, because you're all about the cookies, too.
I'm not a cookie baker, but my mom is. And man...I look forward to her cookie plates every year. She started weeks in advance, freezing tray after tray in her big freezer downstairs, and shameless old me sits in her kitchen like the kid I used to be, waiting until her back was turned so I could sneak my favorites off the plate.
Candy Cane Cookies are the biggest pain to bake (at least for a non-cookie-baker), but the payoff will make you glad you did it. Minty, crunchy, fun to eat--everything a cookie should be. Plus, you'll wish you'd grown up with me because you'll immediately regret every year up until this one because this is the first year you get a candy cane cookie. You're born again. And you're welcome.
Seriously. They are THAT good.
CANDY CANES
Recipe by Carol Schott
1 c. soft shortening
1 c. 10x sugar
1 egg
½ tsp. Almond extract
1 tsp. Vanilla
Sift together and stir in
2 ½ c. flour
1 tsp. salt
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Blend shortening, sugar, egg and extract together. Blend well with flour mixture. Divide in half. Blend ½ of mixture with ½ tsp. red food coloring. Leave remaining dough white.
Divide into 1 inch balls (both the red and the white dough). Then roll each ball into 5” logs. Taking 1 white piece and 1 red piece, twist together and bend into candy cane shapes.
Bake 400 degrees, ungreased cookie sheet 5-6 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from oven and, while still hot, sprinkle with a mixture of 1 tablespoon sugar and CRUSHED peppermint candy.
HINT: you can also shape them into wreaths or sticks (easier) Dough is very soft so I suggest you chill it for at least an hour and work with small batches on floured surface . Also, these are sooo good, make a double batch. You won’t be sorry.
GIVEAWAY
Here's a special giveaway for Demimonde readers.... and the grand contest entry form follows it. Get clicking and good luck!
Win an Amazon gift card and a copy of BLEEDING HEARTS and journey to the place where the Demimonde began...
Shy and sensitive Sophie has all but given up on love until she meets Marek, a mysterious stranger who seduces her with his striking good looks and his take-charge attitude. Yet the darkness she senses within him may be more than she is prepared to handle when Marek draws her into a world of vampires, werewolves, and treachery. Forced to leave behind the comfortable routines and certainties of her past, Sophie makes unbearable sacrifices and uncovers hidden truths about herself and the world around her...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
SEE THE OTHER STOPS ON THE HOP by clicking HERE. You'll find great recipes and countless ways to win, since many other authors are also hosting giveaways.
And don't forget to enter the main contest!
Grand Prize: $150 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
First Prize: One (1) eBook from Every Participating Author
RAFFLECOPTER DIRECT LINK
Good luck and happy holidays!
I just started to hop, so I guess your Candy Canes would be. :) Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your tweet is too long and it wouldn't take. I had to shorten it. :)
DeleteSo much for writing tight, LOL! I trimmed it... thanks for the note, Susan!
DeleteI'm loving these jam filled ones, but there were also some very yummy sounding chocolate ones.
ReplyDeleteI think anything chocolate would be top of my list!
ReplyDeleteThumbprint cookies! Love them.
ReplyDeleteI live cand canes and your cookies seem the easy ones to make with them thanks
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty easy as long as you keep the dough chilled...if it warms, it's sticky and harder to twist into shapes. But that's part of the Christmas tradition, too...all the panic that goes into making them ! :)
ReplyDeleteThe Cake Cookies are my favorite. They are so chewy and you can make some many different flavors.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Giveaway!
With so many wonderful recipes it is hard to pick just one. The Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies sound delicious. Thanks for the great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI loved the ones with the jam inside!!!
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful for this giveaway. I might not win but I know that there's people who care.
ReplyDeleteI was so upset after reading a comment from an author and she wrote, STOP WHINING, WE ALL HAVE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN. I couldn't believe that. I wanted to respond to her comment and ask how old her kids are? Does she make any.money, if msrried does her husband work? Have you bought 1 Christmas present?
I haven't purchased one gift because there's no money. My daughter's fifteen so I can't get help from organizations. My son is nineteen and in the Army and I can't buy him anything. You know my kids understand. I am not happy about it. I'm crying everyday because it upsets me that my kids aren't going to have a Christmas, not so much my son but my daughter isn't going to have a Christmas. There's no tree in our house. Christmas is another day. I hate that Christmas was.turned into a day of exchanging gifts and such. I think it's all blown up and every year is gets worse.
Peanut Butter Cookies are my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI started the hop with your stop, I put your cookie recipe in my collection. Thanks for the hop and giveaway.
ReplyDeleteWhite chocolate macadamia nut cookies because they're my favorite.
ReplyDeletebituin76 at hotmail dot com