Today is National Cookie Day!

Observe this important day by making at least one batch for your Christmas Cookie Table.

Join the Route 19 Writers as we browse and bake some of our own favorite recipes.

The Pittsburgh Cookie Table baking blogs here on Route 19 present a great selection. (Each recipe comes with hints for tasty reading or writing, too!)

If you have a taste for the classics, allow us to suggest our: 

Fruit-cake bars

Spritz

                    

• 
  

• Apricot-Pineapple-Macadamia Fruit-Cake Bars
• Double-Quick Shortbread
• Judy's Gingers
• Spritz

Craving something new and different? Try

    Bourbon Currant Cutouts 

Butter fudge fingers

Auntie Mary Fudge Slices

Chocolate might be the flavor you favor:

• Butter Fudge Fingers
• Auntie Mary Fudge Slices

Feeling nutty? Go for these super-easy

Walnutty Cheesecake Bars

You can spice things up with the grown-up flavors of

       Blackberry-Sage Thumbprints        Chocolate Spice Cookies

Or revel in ethnic favorites like

Cream cheese kolache

       

Aunt Lee's Biscotti

Cream Cheese Kolache

Grandma's Pizzelles

Spritz

Yugoslavian Kifle   

      
   

Yugoslavian kifle

Grandma's pizzelles

       
           
                                                       

Russian tea cakes

                                     

Easy, merry, and familiar—you can never get 

enough of these
family favorites:

•    Auntie's Light as Air Sugar Cookies
•   Double-Quick Shortbread
•   Judy's Gingers
•   Rum Balls
•   Russian Teacakes

     

Rum balls

Every good wish for your happy holidays from Susan Chapek and all the Route 19 Writers.

Mirro Cookie Press: Old and Simple Can Be Better Than New and Complicated

by Cynthia Light Brown

I grew up making Spritz cookies for Christmas. My dad would make several double batches with his 3 little girls dipping our fingers in to snatch some dough with the smell of almond extract wafting through the house and the dog gobbling up any cookies that fell off the table in the chaos. We always made green Christmas trees and rose poinsettias and if we were feeling bold maybe some yellow stars. The trusty Mirro cookie press clicked along for years and years pushing out probably thousands of cookies.

I have tried to make Spritz cookies. I got a cookie press from Williams-Sonoma a few years back for too much money. I tried for 2 years before admitting that the fancy ratchet design was just not working. I always gave up after one tray of cookies. Then I tried a Kitchen Aid cookie press with a somewhat different, but still fancy ratchet design. Still didn’t work. Then last year I tried a cheap cookie press. No comment. Mirro didn’t sell cookie presses anymore.

 

Ebay saved the day. Last January my new-old Mirro cookie press arrived for about $15. It was old, with a simple turning motion, even a little rusted. I tried it last Saturday and we now have hundreds of lovely, perfectly shaped green Christmas trees and rose poinsettias and even some bold blue snowflakes. I am in almond heaven.

There’s nothing wrong with fancy. I like a fancy dinner now and then, and I love my new-fangled iphone. But if you have a complicated plot, it needs to be based on a simple, solid structure. Original is over-rated if that’s all you have to offer; our favorite stories are ones that resonate in deep ways. Boy meets girl. Stranger comes to town.

There and back again. 



Recipe for Spritz Cookies

1 c. shortening (can substitute 1/2 with butter)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon almond extract
food coloring (optional)

Cream the shortening. Slowly add sugar while beating. Add egg and other ingredients. Add coloring if desired. Put in a Mirro cookie press and press to your heart's desire.

Hand-Me-Down Cookie Recipes

or, The Pittsburgh Cookie Table--Christmas Style, part 6

We've been talking about favorite picture books. This was mine.

You may be more familiar with the iconic red and white folk art cover of earlier and later editions, but Mom owned the version published in 1956. I discovered Betty Crocker soon after I learned to read. She offered much more than lists of ingredients and procedures. Every recipe came with an anecdote, a bit of cooking lore or tidbit of celebrity gossip ("Christian Dior. . .sent us this recipe as a special favorite.") Charming, tiny illustrations accompanied these little stories.

Later in life, Mom haunted used book stores all over the country, searching for copies so that each of her four daughters could own the same edition. She succeeded—no easy task, for people cling to these cookbooks. Five years ago, my dear sisters presented me with Mom's own marked-up copy.

As a girl, I read the book so many times I can still quote bits. (Won't you come into our kitchen and join us in our "Cooky Shines?") I can still lose myself in its steam-stiffened, stained pages.

If you haven't the luck to own a handed-down copy, the original 1950 edition is available in a 1998 facsimile. (Warning: only the 1956 version contains the Eskimo Igloo Cake instructions!)

One indispensable component of any Christmas Cookie Table is found on page 220:

RUSSIAN TEACAKES

These scrumptious snowballs melt in the mouth. They'll also crumble into powder if you're rough with them before they cool. So treat them tenderly, and bake lots. (They freeze well.)

MIX THOROUGHLY

• 1 cup soft butter
• ½ cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

SIFT TOGETHER AND STIR IN

• 2 ¼ cups sifted flour
• ¼ tsp. salt

MIX IN ¾ cups finely chopped nuts

Chill dough. Roll into 1" balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet (cookies do not spread). Bake [at 400 or moderately hot oven for 10 to 12 minutes or] until set, but not brown. While still warm, roll in confectioners' sugar. Cool. Roll in sugar again.

Makes about 4 dozen 1" cookies.

LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED: I'd never try to mail or ship Russian Teacakes. But I've learned how to carry them safely on planes and trains. Nest one in each hollow of those hard, clear plastic boxes in which are sold a certain kind of popular round, gold-foil-covered chocolates. (You will have to find a way to dispose of the chocolates, first.)

Since I'm reminiscing about hand-me-downs and family traditions, I'll share two Eastern European cookies my family always makes:

CREAM CHEESE KOLACHE

Kolache (or kolacky) means, simply, "cookies." There are lots of versions—Polish, Slovak, Czech, and so on. We pronounce it cuh-lotch-key, and we bake two varieties. This first kind is a two-bite treat, not too rich, and it freezes beautifully. (The other is more of a breakfast pastry, larger and with a yeast dough, and we wait to bake it until Christmas Eve.)

• ½ pound cream cheese
• ½ pound unsalted butter
• 3 cups flour

Begin with ingredients at room temperature. Cream the butter and cream cheese together. Then stir in the flour. Do not over-mix. Form into four flat, rectangular portions, wrap well, and chill overnight.

Roll out on well-floured board until so thin it's almost translucent. Cut into 3" X 3" squares. Drop about 1 teaspoon of fruit filling in centers. Overlap two corners of each square in the center, moistening the dough with water to seal. (The dough resists sealing; be firm.) Arrange kolache about 1" apart on ungreased pans (we like the air-filled, non-burning kind) and bake until tops start to turn golden brown (up to 15 minutes) at 375.

Just before serving, sieve confectioners' sugar on top.

LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED: Never, never, never fill your kolache with the commercial fruit fillings sold in 10 oz. jars. The filling will run out of your pastry and bake into fruit leather.

So what to use? Best is to make from-scratch fillings, simmering 1 pound of dried fruit and 1 cup of sugar in 2 cups of water until the goo is too thick to drip off your spoon.

But we're lucky enough to bake our kolache in Pittsburgh, where grocery store bake shops cater to home bakers by selling commercial fruit fillings in bulk.

YUGOSLAVIAN KIFLE

That's an outdated name, of course. I believe the recipe was Croation to begin with. These are fussy to make, and your grocery bake shop sells something that looks similar. Trust me, there's no comparison; these are super-flaky, and the filling has a delicate meringue crunch.

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup unsalted, chilled butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup sour cream

Make as for pie dough: in a food processor, pulse flour and butter together until it resembles coarse meal, with bits of butter still visible throughout. Add egg yolk and sour cream, and pulse just until a sticky dough forms. (Or you can make this pastry the traditional way, using a pastry cutter.) Shape into four flat rounds, and chill for one hour.

After 45 minutes, prepare the filling:

• 2 egg whites (reserve the extra egg yolk for the egg wash)
• 1 dash cream of tartar
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar until meringue-stiff and sugar is dissolved. Fold in the vanilla and walnuts.

Remove one portion of dough from chiller. Roll into an 8-9" circle on a well-floured board. Gently brush with melted, unsalted butter. (Dough is delicate!) Cut circle into 16 pie slices. Put ½ teaspoon of nut filling on each wide end. Roll up and place on ungreased cookie sheet (we use the air-filled, non-burning kind). Gently brush with egg wash (1 yolk whisked with about 1 tbsp. water). Bake until golden, 20-25 minutes at 375. Cool on pan for 2-3 minutes. Remove cookies to rack while still warm, or they'll glue themselves to the pan.

It's traditional to dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED: Some of my sisters recommend rolling and shaping the Kifle right on the cookie sheet; and instead of brushing with melted butter, they spread the dough thinly with softened, whipped butter. All of us agree that a rolling pastry cutter works best for dividing the dough; a knife tends to drag and distort it.

A Dash of Pepper: Cookies with an Edge

Or, the Pittsburgh Cookie Table--Christmas Style, part 5

These pictures give a taste of the Minnesota Dance Theater's Nutcracker Fantasy, celebrating its 46^th birthday this weekend. I judge this version, choreographed by Loyce Houlton, to be the most dramatic and witty Nutcracker ever.

(Hint: the Mouse King loses the battle, but wins the war.)

The original E. T. A. Hoffmann Nutcracker is perhaps not quite a children's tale. It's a little less sweet, a little more complicated, and has some unexpected twists.

So do today's cookie recipes. These cookies can be lifted from the dessert buffet to form a sub-set Grown-up Cookie Table next to the cheese board at Happy Hour. The unexpected ingredients include thyme, bourbon, and black pepper.

CHOCOLATE SPICE COOKIES

I got this recipe from a friend, so the origin is unknown—but the dry, cakey bite and the prep method make me suspect that the recipe might originate in Italy. If you use commercially-ground black pepper, most people won't be able to guess the mystery ingredient. If you grind fresh peppercorns, the flavor will be more assertive.

I prefer the un-glazed version for those I serve with wine and cheese.

• 1 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup milk
• 6 heaping tablespoons of cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon or more of ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon or more of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon or more of ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon or more of [finely] ground black pepper

Mix all dry ingredients together. Make a well in the middle. Add cooled butter and milk. Work together until smooth. Roll into ¾" balls. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, or until firm.

If desired, frost with a simple glaze of confectioner's sugar and milk. Makes 3-4 dozen.

BLACKBERRY-SAGE THUMBPRINTS

I found this recipe in the 2007 Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies magazine.

Besides being beautiful and presenting unique flavors, this cookie has an earthy texture that comes from adding cornmeal.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried sage, crushed
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1/3 cup [seedless] blackberry preserves
• Small fresh sage leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, cornmeal, dried sage, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks, lemon peel, and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture.

Shape dough into ¾-inch balls. Place balls 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Lightly press the tip of your thumb into the center of each ball. Fill each center with about ¼ teaspoon blackberry preserves.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely. If desired, garnish with small fresh sage leaves. Makes 60.

BOURBON CURRANT COOKIES

Simple, elegant, and not too sugary—kinda like Martha Stewart herself. She's published this recipe on the Web and in print.

You can't tell from the photo, but I always cut mine with miniature cutters—that way they make the perfect cracker-sized nibble for cocktail parties.

• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup bourbon
• ½ cup dried currants
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream

Heat oven to 350. Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, flour, bourbon, and currants; mix well.

Roll dough ¼ inch thick and cut into desired shapes. [Make glaze, using the lightly-beaten egg and the heavy cream.] Brush cookies with egg-glaze mixture.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool.

LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED. Mom always insisted we make our Christmas cookies small enough to eat in one or two bites. As a greedy young person, I hated that. But she was right. Smaller cookies mean that everybody can sample lots of different kinds. I also end up with fewer half-eaten discards abandoned (and often hidden—especially under furniture in carpeted rooms) by persons whose eyes were bigger than their tummies.

Thoughts on Plotting

I’m wrapping up this year with frantic dashes out the door for last minute gifts (yes, oh young ones, the madness continues, even as your children approach thirty). At the same time, I’m mentally preparing myself to move on to a new writing project. Which project I choose is still a mystery to me. Will it be the half finished (or is it half begun) YA novel I started, shockingly, in 2002? I had no idea it had been so long ago until, looking for the most current version, I revisited the ten or so early ones in a folder on my desktop. Should I maybe choose the historical fiction novel I’ve been mulling over for years, partly because I know I would enjoy the research it involves? Or will the winner be the new idea that hit me last month completely out of left field? (a definite warning sign of a possible passing fancy) To make things even more complicated, I listened to a segment on NPR this morning which discussed the new multi-platforming movement in Kid-lit and realized, after bemoaning feeling like a techno-dinosaur, that my “passing fancy” idea may adapt itself perfectly to this format.

To hear the NPR article go here.

However it ends up, I’ve decided that my musing time might be a good opportunity for a refresher course on the basics of writing, especially since, to quote the NPR article, “As fun as the online missions” (i.e. multi-platforming) “may be, everything still revolves around the books.” Whew! So I dug out a number of “how to write” books from my shelves and decided to wrap a few suggestions on plot development into a neat little package for you. Though each author offers their own treasure trove of thought and insight, I’ve chosen Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s straightforward, The Craft of Writing the Novel .

And for a second little gift, check out Auntie's Light As Air Sugar Cookies, the lightest, most delicate sugar cookie you'll ever taste!! (Don't be mislead by the word light)

Happy Holidays

Fran McDowell

Problems of Plot

In Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird she refers to a manuscript she had submitted and which her editor rejected.

The passages are from her chapter on Plot Treatment.

"The editor went on to say, I had in effect created a beautiful banquet but never invited the reader to sit down and eat. So the reader went hungry." "The book felt like a house with no foundation, no support beams, which was collapsing in on itself . . ."

Some truths about plot:

Plot comes into focus by perpetually asking yourself “what if . . .”

Plot delineates your main character’s journey toward change.

You can learn a lot about your plot by summarizing it in twenty-five words or less.

Theme and plot are two different things. Define your theme, keep it before you, and refer to it often.

Some necessities in plotting:

Keep your Main Character (s) your central focus. Other great characters might be important, but don’t allow them to shift focus from your MC, (I almost always end up with a main, and a supporting, character. And my supporting character almost always emerges as the more engaging of the two, something I then have to correct)

Give your MC a problem that is important to him and that is fraught with obstacles. Then find a way in which only he can overcome them. (note a comment further down on credibility)

Create each obstacle as pitting the MC against something within himself.

Increase the emotional tension by giving your MC the burden of having created the obstacle, at least in part, himself.

Recognize the climax, or turning point, in your story (I’ve been shocked to find that my own stories have occasionally fooled me when readers describe the turning point for a character differently than I intended)

Know your hook—the suspense that compels the reader to keep reading.

Include intriguing subplots that feed into the main plot, but never let them steal the show. For fellow subplot freaks . . . control the urge!!

Auntie's Light As Air Sugar Cookies

1 C powdered sugar

1C white sugar

1C butter

1C salad oil

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

41/2 C flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cream of tartar

***************************

Oven 350

Cream sugars, butter, oil & vanilla. Add eggs. Beat until fluffy. Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Chill. Roll into balls, then flatten with a glass dipped in sugar.

Bake 10 to 12 min.

An Editor's Advice on Creating the Perfect Cookie (or Cookie Table)

Or, the Pittsburgh Cookie Table—Christmas Style, part 4

Today's gift to you is a delightful forest to wander in—Brooklyn Arden. It's a forest of words--the blog of Cheryl Klein, an editor at Arthur A. Levine Books.

Here's one of her newest books. Are there cookies on that cover? Everywhere Klein works, I spy cookies. I suspect she's almost as obsessed about cookies as I am.

Consider, as evidence, these two selections from Klein's writings.

Words, Wisdom, Art & Heart: Making A Picture-Book Cookie is a talk Klein gave at a 2007 Los Angeles SCBWI Speakers' Day. Read it at http://www.cherylklein.com/cookie.html

I do hope Klein's Picture-Book Cookie recipe will be included in her forthcoming book Second Sight: An Editor's Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children or Young Adults. Alas, this book is still pre-published, so I can't give (or receive) a copy this year. But I'll announce it on this blog as soon as it's out of the oven.

Klein's an essayist as well as an editor. Her light take on how to design/select sweets gave me lots of . . . food for thought. Two years later, Klein's Hypothesis of Sweets still makes delectable reading: http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2009/01/hypothesis-of-sweets.html.

Brooklyn Arden is found at http://chavelaque.blogspot.com; we offer a quick link at right. But before you leave Route 19, take a look at this recipe.

It follows Klein's hypothesis that the ideal sweet combines two (but no more than two) sweet tastes. In this case, the flaky pastry wrapper is the dry crisp, while the fudge filling is the creamy.

The first version of this recipe I ever made appeared in a 1980 Ladies Home Journal, under the name Auntie Mary's. I loved their unusual shape and their fudginess. But the pastry was a misery to handle. This version, found a few years back in a Taste of Home magazine collection, makes a dough that is still tender and flaky, but rolls and shapes easily. So that's the recipe I'm presenting here.

The recipe is officially named

FUDGE-FILLED DESSERT STRIPS

But my family still calls them

THOSE AUNTIE MARY FUDGE SLICES

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• Confectioners' sugar, optional

[In my view, the confectioners' sugar is essential.]

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add the flour. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth, about 3 minutes. Divide dough into [equal] fourths [I use a kitchen scale and shape the dough portions into rectangular patties]; cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle.

In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips in milk. Stir in walnuts. Cool to room temperature.

On an ungreased baking sheet, roll out each portion of dough into an 11-inch x 6 ½ -inch rectangle. [I make a template on a piece of parchment, and roll on that.] Spread ¾ cup chocolate filling down the center of each rectangle. Fold long sides to the center; press to seal all edges. [Remove the parchment template.] Turn over so the seam sides are down.

Bake at 350 for 27-32 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. [Sift a generous amount of confectioners' sugar over them at this point.] Cut [while still a bit warm] into ½-inch slices. Makes about 3 dozen.

LIFE'S LESSONS LEARNED: Recipes often call for softened butter. But softened doesn't mean melted. Your butter is ready as soon as you can dent it with a gentle push of your finger. If your finger sinks all the way in, or if part of the butter is liquefied, the butter will not yield perfect results. Use it for a melted-butter recipe instead.

The Magic of Christmas

Last weekend my family and I traveled about an hour north of Pittsburgh to cut down our Christmas tree. We’ve been going with my brother and his family for the last several years to cut down our trees together. The first few years were rough. Trudging through the snow carrying one son wrapped in blankets in the snugli baby carrier, while balancing the other on my hip because he was too tired or cold to find the perfect tree. One year I thought my husband would have a heart attack after he used a dulled handsaw to cut down the ten foot tree, then drag it by himself from the valley all the way up the snowy hillside to our car. I nearly caved several times and picked the tree already wrapped and ready to go. Almost. But that was seven years ago. My kids are four and eight now, and we’ve all become seasoned tree hunters. We use a chainsaw, a handheld GPS (marking the perfect location of our favorite trees), walkie talkies (in case we get separated), a digital camera to take photos to compare our favorite trees and a measuring tape to ensure we have the right size before we make the cut.

We drive our truck down the hillside and let the kids sit in the warm car with hot chocolate while we cut the tree and lift it into the truck. Not to sound cliché, but we live and learn. It’s the struggles and the triumphs that bring magic to holiday stories like these. If we simply bought a tree every year at our local greenhouse, that would make for an awfully boring story. And our tree would cost $85.00 instead of $20.00. The magic lies within the colorful details and the special memories we’re making for our family.

It’s the same with your writing. You have to get your character from point A to point B. While the beginning and the end are important, it’s the magic that happens in the middle of the story that the reader will remember. All too often as writers, I believe we have a clear visual or written outline of our story, and we don’t want to stray from that structure. But sometimes, if we don’t let the characters choose their own paths, the story becomes contrived and forced. You simply lose the magic because as the writer, you’re not able to give up the control and allow the characters to take over. One time I wrote a scene where the girl reached over and kissed the main character. He was surprised at how forward she had become. So was I. It wasn’t something I had planned for her to do. And that’s a good thing. As writers, we need to give our characters enough independence to get into trouble and create their own magical stories.

If my husband and I weren’t persistent in finding easier ways to cut down our tree, we would still be tired and sore from dragging the tree and the kids or worse yet, given up completely on cutting down our own tree. And where would that have left us? With no traditions or memories to share with our children. The same emptiness a story has without a magical middle. Or the frustration a writer feels getting through a first draft. If you give up, the story doesn’t get written.

So this holiday, my gift to you is five magical ideas to make your holiday special and five magical ideas to make your stories sparkle.

Holiday Ideas

1. Cut down your own Christmas tree. (Wear boots, gloves and park close to where you’ll cut)
2. Make ornaments for your loved ones. (Every year my mom and dad gave my brother and I an ornament to celebrate something special that happened that year. I kept the tradition for my sons. Above is a homemade ornament my mom received over 30 years ago from a boy in her cub scout den. It still hangs on our tree today. Here’s a link to a similar ornament. http://kids.creativity-portal.com/d/projects/sled.ornament/

Or pick up the Big Fun Christmas Crafts and Activities (Williamson Little Hands Book) by Judy Press where you’ll find fun and easy holiday crafts to do with your children. http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Crafts-Activities-Williamson

Little/dp/0824967860/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292129230&sr=1-1

3. Mix together reindeer food to sprinkle on the ground Christmas Eve so the reindeer can find their way. Here’s how:

      Ingredients:

      ½ cup uncooked oatmeal

      ½ cup glitter (sparkly holiday colors)

      ½ cup red or green sugar crystals (used for cake decorating)

Place ingredients in a plastic bag, seal and shake. Sprinkle it on your lawn on Christmas Eve so the reindeer can find their way.

4. Buy used books at your local library or a used book store for a person who can’t get out to purchase new books or make a wreath like this one. Follow this link to learn how: 

http://www.ilovetocraft.com/holiday/christmas-yarn-wreath.shtml. Take the books and the wreaths to a local nursing home for the residents to enjoy.

5. Give a gift of homemade goodies to someone. (See recipes below)

Story Sparkles

1. Write your first draft uninhibited. Tear off the scabs.
2. Make a bad scene way worse.
3. Put your characters in unique or awkward situations.
4. When rewriting, start with a blank page and rewrite it ALL so you’re not tempted to leave in mediocre first draft writing.
5. Write a story that excites you, and it will surely excite your readers.

I will leave you will my Aunt Lee’s biscotti recipe. She just turned 90 last month (Happy Birthday Aunt Lee!) and sent me her recipe and along with four dozen biscotti to eat. Yum.

Biscotti recipe:

Ingredients:

1 C. shortening (if you’re looking for an organic non-hydrogenated shortening, I highly recommend Spectrum)

5 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

5 tsp. baking powder
4 cups flour

1 tsp. anise extract
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream shortening and eggs. Add flavoring and remaining ingredients. I put my dough (bowl and all) into the refrigerator for at least an hour. The dough will be easier to work with.

Mark the dough into four sections. The dough may be rolled into a log shape. Keep the logs narrow because it will spread when baked. Grease pans (6x12). Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until brown.

When loaves are slightly cool, slice and return to the oven to toast. 

I will also share with you my Grandma’s delicious pizzelle recipe:

Ingredients:

2 C. flour

1 ½ C sugar

¾ C butter or margarine (melted and cooled)

1 Tbsp. anise extract or vanilla

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 Tsp. baking powder

Preheat pizzelle iron. Mix flour, sugar, butter, anise extract and eggs. Drop 1 tablespoon onto heated pizzelle iron and close. Cook about 30 seconds or until golden brown.

Both of these Italian cookies go great with coffee.

Happy holidays!