Last Christmas post

Coconut Corn Nut Cookies
Applehood & Motherpie Handpicked Recipes From Upstate New York Copyright 1981

1 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups corn flakes
2 cups coconut or chopped nutmeats I used coconut
2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Cream margarine and sugars.
2. Add eggs
3. Stir in remaining ingredients and spoon onto greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12 minutes.

Yield: 4 dozen
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This recipe caught my eye because the title made me think that there were corn nuts in this cookie. It doesn't (that would be odd, I think) but it sounded like a good cookie and I had corn flakes, coconut and margarine so I made these. It was a nice addition to this year's cookie line up. It may or may not make another appearance in the future.

I'm sure you could use butter in these but I always buy one package of margarine to make my Welsh cookies since that's what I've always used for those and I'm too afraid to veer from tradition on that particular cookie. This recipe used up most of the excess margarine.

This and the Crispy Chocolate Truffles were the only new recipes I tried this year. Oh wait, I tried a chocolate and rice crispies concoction that wasn't bad but after I made the Crispy Chocolate Truffles I sort of forgot about that recipe. Maybe this won't be the last Christmas post! Actually, you probably won't hear about that one until next year if I make it again. I think it has possibilities.

So what else did I make this year? Let's see. I made Welsh cookies, fruit cake (without nuts), snickerdoodles, chocolate chip brownies (with Christmas sprinkles), thumbprints, gingerbread men, spritz, white chocolate cranberry cookies, graham cracker chewies (without nuts - wasn't as good but that may have more to do with the fact that the bottom crust was a bit overdone), South Seas cookies, sugar cookies (rolled in Christmas sprinkles before baking), peppermint bark, crispy chocolates (in the little paper cups in the bottom picture - a mixture of chocolate chips, corn syrup, rice crispies and maybe something else), rum balls (not pictured), chocolate and carmamel covered Lorna Doones and pretzels.




Highlights and other notes from Christmas Baking 2010:

Snickerdoodles are always surprisingly delicious. They look so plain but the texture and flavor always blow me away when I take that first bite. They get better as they age too.

Like last year, I topped Lorna Doones and small round pretzels (last year I used pretzel sticks) with caramel and then dipped them in chocolate. The first batch ended up in the trash. The caramel was way too hard - a hazard. I used chocolate chips and shortening for the coating and it was too soft. What a waste - Lorna Doones are not cheap! I swore I was just going to forget those this year. Well, I couldn't forget them. I remade them and the caramel was PERFECT the second time around. As soft as it could be and still set up and be dipped. The second time, I used chocolate coating which is expensive but so easy to work with, it's worth it. These were definitely one of my favorite things this year.

One reason I couldn't just not make the caramel was that I needed some of it to make the South Seas Cookies. They were a big hit again but I might make them smaller next year.

I was only making the Peppermint Bark since it was one of my older son's favorites in the past but I don't even think he touched it this year (I think he forgot it was there). I probably won't make it again. The CandiQuick I use for that is expensive and I personally don't care for Peppermint Bark and I don't think anyone else was raving over it besides my son. It is kind of pretty though.

I like my cookies and treats to be fresh on Christmas so I tend to do everything at the last minute. Sometimes I don't remember what holds best and don't know where to start. Note to myself for next year - the Crispy Chocolate Truffles and caramel and chocolate covered Lorna Doones and pretzels can be made first. They stayed fresh and looked fresh for quite a while.

I've tried freezing cookies before and didn't care for that but this year I baked off some dough for the Cranberry and White Chocolate cookies that I had left over in the freezer and that worked out well. Next year I'm definitely going to make more doughs ahead of time and freeze them.

And that's the end of Christmas Baking 2010!



Question of the Day: Have all of your Christmas decorations been taken down yet? I took them down before the New Year, a little early for me. The outside decorations are still up since I am not in charge of those. It's such a big deal for him to put them up and then they only get turned on a handful of times and stay there until God knows when (even though we just had a 50-degree day last weekend - perfect weather to take down Christmas lights - don't you think?)