Well, I didn't get as much done this week as I'd once hoped. PMM was derailed by a stomach virus, which naturally derailed me too. Pretty hard to get much done while doling out sips of gatorade every five minutes. LOL I will try to get my dipped gingersnaps done today, as they are my dh's partner's favorites.
Have had a request for Chocolate Truffle Cookies, which are one of my family's favorites.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies
1 1/4 c butter, softened
2 1/4 c confectioner's sugar
1/3 c baking cocoa
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c flour
2 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup chocolate sprinkles

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and cocoa until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Add flour, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Shape into 1-inch balls, dip in chocolate sprinkles, and place on ungreased baking sheets 2 in. apart. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. About 5 dozen
We usually double this. They are very, very good! :-)

 

In Iowa, Santa drives a John Deere, what else? These photos are from our community lights display; different sections are paid for by different area businesses. This one is, you got it, from John Deere.  

 

Montserrat wanted to know how we kept our waistlines in check with all the baking we do. Well, you haven't seen our waistlines. LOL Dh and I are not exactly in the running for Thinnest People. :-)
But, when I do Christmas baking, we each get one or two things, then I immediately pack them for the freezer. Then we make up trays and give the vast majority of it away. We started doing this long ago, when we didn't really have money to buy "real" presents. And now that things aren't so tight, I've tried a time or two to "switch" over to buying stuff, but people seem to expect the goodies now, so. :-)
Anyway, I have a lot of "big batch" recipes. I made 11 dozen Chocolate Truffle Cookies yesterday, and Saturday I will be making 14 dozen Dipped Gingersnaps.
Here is the recipe I made last Saturday:
Macy's Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
2 c butter
2 c sugar
2 c brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 c flour
5 c old-fashioned oats
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
24 oz. chips (I like to use one bag chocolate and one bag peanut butter)
1 tsp salt
3 oz Hershey's bar, frozen

Put flour and oatmeal in batches in the blender, processing until powderlike. Do the same to the frozen Hershey's bar. (Do the flour and oatmeal FIRST.)
Mix butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in a VERY LARGE bowl. Combine dry ingredients and chopped chocolate bar. Add to mixing bowl and mix well. Stir in chips. Bake on ungreased sheets at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
OK, now, you need a very large bowl and a super-powerful mixer if you want to use an electric mixer. I have a big, deep dough mixer, the hand-crank kind. I use this, and it is a hard, tough job to get this batch mixed! I did it on Saturday so dh could help me mix. We burned off a few calories just with the mixing, let alone the running around with cookie sheets. LOL

Well, the baking is in full swing here now. We've had a busy week! Saturday we made a huge batch of our favorite chocolate chip cookies, Macy's Cookies. This recipe makes 14 dozen! Saturday evening we went to Bah, Humbug! a local school's Christmas play/concert. A young woman we know and love played the Ghost of Christmas Present. :-) It was nicely done. Sunday, I found myself without a calling. Having just been released from a Primary calling so I could focus on Teacher Development, I found that the entire Teacher Development position, program, and all, has been discontinued! LOL I helped out in the nursery, not being sure what else to do with my newfound freedom. :-)
Today I made some plain cookies for us to take with us tonight. For FHE tonight, we will drive around looking at Christmas lights, and drive through our town's large for-pay display. It is a new tradition begun last year, and was a lot of fun!
Then, we made a double batch of Chocolate Truffle Cookies, one of my dh's favorites. I'm about baked out for today, but hope to get more done tomorrow.
Fa la la la la!

Happy Birthday Tallman!
Thirteen years ago today, after so much waiting and hoping and praying, I finally became a mother. And Tallman finally arrived, after uncharacteristic dilly-dallying! :-)
It's hard to believe it's been thirteen years, and I'm now the mother of a teenager. It was just the other day I was carrying him around and people were stopping me and exclaiming about his eyes and his soft blond hair that stood straight up.
Anyway, Tallman arrived on Pearl Harbor Day, 1993, and weighed in at 10 lbs. 15 1/2 oz.
Happy Birthday, Tallman, you're the best!

It's Saint Nicholas Day! We read about him and about the various German/Austrian traditions here. Our pfeffernusse are in the oven now.
Also today we are trying a new recipe, Nutmeg Sugar Crisps. The dough for that is chilling now.
Tallman's Church youth group are in charge of bellringing at our local Hy-Vee today so he'll be coming and going as he takes his turn. They have a pizza party lined up for all the bellringers this evening.

Peppermint twists! These will be packaged up (the ones I salvaged from being eaten) in Christmas mugs with a bag of hot chocolate mix and given as gifts. They were a bit of trouble but pretty and tasty enough to do again.

It's still a German-Austrian Christmas celebration around here! Yesterday we learned about Barbarazweig, although we did not do it ourselves. We also made peppermint twists (not necessarily German, although they were yummy!) We made gingerbread cutout cookies and decorated them last night for FHE. No pictures, the kids ate them too quickly. :-(
Today we made pfefferneusse dough. We'll bake it in a few days, then put the cookies aside for a week or two before eating! I sure am glad that this German-American housewife has a mixer and does not have to do all this mixing and beating by hand only. :-)

Next I begin Fudgefest. I'll be making 8-10 batches today. No, that's not necessarily German either, but we always do it. We are keeping it simple this year, and only making chocolate and possibly chocolate-raspberry. I'm frustrated, though, that my favorite Hershey's Raspberry Chocolate Chips are not in my stores this year. I am trying a new product but do not know if it will melt and turn out well. We'll experiment at the end of Fudgefest.
I'll post recipes if anyone is interested.

Well, once again it's been a long time! I spent a few days driving to Kansas City to shop with my mom and sister. We had a terrific time, and much of my shopping is done. We've been trying to decorate for Christmas, surviving an ice storm and power outages, and getting ready for Christmas School. Today is the first day!
This year we will be focusing on traditions, crafts and recipes from Germany and Austria for Christmas School. About.com has a nice German advent calendar; Dec. 1's entry is here. Our activity for the day has been to make an Advent wreath; we put it on the table around a lovely Nativity candle set I own and use as a centerpiece. I'll try to post a photo of the completed centerpiece later.