SUPER EASY Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make w Kids...

"WHEN ARE WE MAKING COOKIES?!?!?" ....Does this sound familiar? With little ones living under our roof, this question comes up ALOT during the holidays. Facing a mile-long to-do list from Christmas decorating to shopping to cards to parties to classroom projects, seriously, who has the time to spend all day baking?  NOT ME.  Luckily, however, I have stumbled upon a few easy, foolproof recipes that require very few ingredients, involve simple kid participation, and taste yummy to boot!  The only trick is to give them away before you (or the kids) eat the entire batch.

SUPER EASY SUGAR COOKIES 

(from my very resourceful and sweet sister-in-law, Barbara Bossert)

• 1 box *lemon cake mix
• 1/2 cup oil (olive or vegetable oil)
• 1 egg
• 2 TBS water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Hand-mix together, oil, egg, water...then mix in cake mix until dough forms (no mixer required!)  

3. Using a spoon to scoop and then rolling b/w palms of your hands, form teaspoonful size balls with the batter.

4. Dip balls into (various) little bowls of sprinkles (kids love this part!)

5. Arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet approx 1.5 inches apart.  

6. Bake at 350 for 10 min, or until center is just set.

7. Remove from pan after 1-2 min and cool on wire racks.

(*Note, you can also use yellow/chocolate cake mix, or any flavor desired)

FUDGE CRINKLES 

(from Food.com)

• 1 (18 1/4 oz) box devil's food cake mix (Betty Crocker Super Moist suggested)
• 1/2 cup oil (olive or vegetable oil)
• 2 eggs
• confectioners' sugar (for rolling)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Hand-mix together, oil, egg, water...then mix in cake mix until dough forms (no mixer required!)  

3. Dust hands with confectioners' sugar and shape dough into 1.5" balls.

4. Optional: Let balls 'dry' or chill for a few minutes before rolling in sugar.

5. Roll balls in confectioners' sugar and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. 

6. Bake at 350 for 8-10 min, or until center is just set.

7. Remove from pan after 1-2 min and cool on wire racks.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT BARK 

(from Redbookmag.com)

• 12 oz high quality bittersweet/dark or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup coarsely crushed red peppermint candies

1. Line baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment. 

2. Melt chocolate in microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 min. Remove, stir, then heat 15-30 seconds more. Stir until smooth.

3. Pour chocolate onto prepared baking sheet and spread evenly into rectangle using spoon or spatula.

4. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint pieces.

5. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. 

6. Peel off foil and break bark into pieces.

It should keep about 1 month in an airtight container in refrigerator.

KIDS' TOFFEE 

(from Scholastic.com/Parentandchild Dec/Jan '13)

• 28 squares honey graham crackers
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 12-oz package semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini candy or sprinkles of your choice

Note > I doubled the above recipe to make two pans.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray w nonstick cooking spray.

3. Spread honey graham crackers until pan is full to all sides.

4. Combine brown sugar and butter in saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a rolling boil and remove from heat.

5. Pour over graham crackers and spread until evenly coated. Bake for 10 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and pour package of chocolate chips over whole pan.

7. As chocolate melts, use back of spoon to spread chocolate to all sides.

8. Sprinkle with candy or sprinkles of choice.

9. Allow toffee to cool for 1-2 hours.

10. Break into bite-size pieces and serve.

PRETZEL TURTLES

(from my dear friend and baking expert, Katie Schwaneke)

Mini pretzels (square/grid ones work well)

**Rolos

**Pecan Halves

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Arrange pretzels in a single layer on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet.

3. Place one Rolo on top of each pretzel.

4. Bake for 4 minutes at 300 degrees.

5. Place a pecan on top of each Rolo, pushing it down about half way.

6. Let cool for 30 minutes and store in air-tight container.

**(You can also make a variation on this by replacing the Rolos with Hershey Kisses and the pecans with red and green M&M's for a more festive-looking treat)

BIG SOFT GINGER COOKIES - a little more lengthy, but these have rave reviews and they sound delicious!!

(from allrecipes.com)

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 2 t ground ginger
• 1 t baking soda
• 3/4 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1/4 t salt
• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• **1 T water
• **1/4 cup molasses
• 2 T white sugar

Note > I have not tried this, but one reviewer noted the dough was easier to manage AND the cookies didn't flatten as much when she substituted 5T brown sugar for the molasses + water.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

3. In large bowl, cream together butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, then stir in water and molasses. 

4. Gradually stir (dry) ingredients into molasses mixture.

5. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in remaining 2 T sugar.

6. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

7. Bake 8-10 minutes, allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely. 

30 Top Holiday Movies...

One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to watch all of the fun, heartwarming, hilarious, sentimental, and/or silly holiday movies! Some for the kids, some for the laughs, some for the classic ritual...Whatever your mood, there is an endless array of holiday flicks from which to choose!

Most of these I have seen, and enjoy year after year...however, a few I have yet to watch.  In no particular order, I gathered the following 30 selections from a few different 'Top Holiday Movie' lists.  I organized them into four different groups: The Classics, For Kids, Comedy, and Romance/Sentimental/Tearjerker. Clearly, these are not all Oscar-worthy films, but hopefully you will find them entertaining nevertheless! Happy holidays!

The Classics...

(1) It's A Wonderful Life

(2) Miracle on 34th Street ('47)

(3) Meet Me in St. Louis

(4) Holiday Inn

(5) A Christmas Carol

(6) White Christmas

For Kids...

(7) Charlie Brown Christmas

(8) Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

(9) Frosty the Snowman

(10) How the Grinch Stole Christmas

(11) The Polar Express

(12) The Muppet Christmas Carol

(13) Curious George, A Very Monkey Christmas

(14) Santa Buddies

(15) Arthur Christmas

Comedy...

(16) Christmas Vacation

















(17) Christmas Story

(18) Scrooged

(19) Home Alone

(20) Home Alone 2 - NYC

(21) Elf

(22) Four Christmases

(23) Deck the Halls

(24) Christmas with the Kranks

















(25) Home for the Holidays

Romance/Sentimental/Tear-Jerker...


(26) Love Actually

(27) The Holiday

(28) The Family Stone

(29) While You Were Sleeping

(30) Bridget Jones Diary

Addendum: After sharing a link to this post, some reviewers suggested the following additions...Thanks everyone for your feedback, I will have to check them out!

Die Hard
The Ref
Family Man
Christmas in Connecticut
Remember the Night
A Very Brady Christmas

What is Christmas?

One of my favorite holiday season rituals is reading all of the adorable Christmas books to our little ones. There never seems to be enough time to just sit and read, but we try to squeeze in as many as we can each evening.  Yet, I have not found many that seem to capture the true meaning of Christmas in a simple but straightforward way.  What is Christmas? by Michelle Medlock Adams accomplishes this.  As such, I have included the story below...

What is Christmas? by Mihcelle Medlock Adams

Just what is Christmas, anyway? Why do we celebrate? Why is December 25 a very special date?

It is about the Christmas tree, with all the twinkling lights? Is it about the Christmas cards, the ones my mommy writes?

Is it about the mistletoe, where Mom and Daddy kiss? Is it about the Christmas play, the one we never miss?

Is Christmas about Christmas gifts? I love them very much. Is Christmas about Santa Claus? His beard is fun to touch.

Is Christmas about candy canes? I think they taste quite nice. Is Christmas about Santa's list? They say he checks it twice.

Or maybe it's about the food! Mom's Christmas cookies rule! Or maybe it's about the snow. White Christmases are cool!

Is it about the Christmas songs, the ones we sing each year? Is it about the Christmas elves and Santa's eight reindeer?

No, that's not what Christmas is about! All of these things are really nice, and superduper fun. But Christmas is much more than that - It's all about God's son. 

God sent his son, Jesus the Christ, from heaven up above. He came to earth to save the world - God's greatest gift of love.

So, Christmas is the Lord's birthday, the day he came to earth. Forever we will celebrate his very special birth!

Okay, now I get it. Santa Claus and Christmas trees and presents are okay.

But Jesus is the real reason we have a Christmas Day!

It Came without Ribbons, Tags, Packages, Boxes, or Bags!

Consumed by consumerism? For the first time, I noticed the Black Friday sales began the night OF Thanksgiving this year! What??  Do we even have a chance to go around the table and share 'what we are thankful for', or enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie?  Corporate America anticipated that the bargain-hunting-masses would actually set out to Target, Best Buy, or Toys R Us, despite the post-Thanksgiving dinner-induced food coma? Don't get me wrong, I certainly appreciate a good bargain, but this holiday encroachment has officially gone too far.

It is a debate that dates back hundreds of years...The over-commercialism of Christmas.  The early Puritans and other religious organizations historically denounced the holiday, politicians and economists are still currently debating it, and of course as Nicole Winfield of The Huffington Post wrote in her 12/24/11 article, "Pope Benedict lamented that Christmas has become an increasingly commercial celebration that obscures the simplicity of the message of Christ's birth. "Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light" he said."

....link to article as follows:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/24/pope-laments-christmas-co_n_1169142.html

Accordingly, pop-culture has thrown its hat into the commercialization debate ring.  Introduced in 1965 as a prime-time TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas touches on this satirical theme and serves as a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas: the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  Even Dr. Seuss's Grinch discovered this reality (after his plan to stop Christmas from coming failed miserably) as he declared, "It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!...Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"  I think the Grinch is on to something.

It is easy to critique our culture and the over-commercialization of Christmas; it is quite another challenge frankly, to keep it at bay.  We easily become lured into endless gift-buying with the onslaught of catalogs, commercials, promotions, sales, for the countless PEOPLE in our lives with whom we wish to share something special.  Furthermore, as a parent of little ones, it is even MORE challenging to curb this consumerism, since the reminder of the 'Elf on the Shelf' (and his daily monitoring and reporting to Santa of who is naughty versus nice) is a powerful disciplinary tool during the Christmas season! Our children are constantly reminded that if they misbehave, they may end up on the naughty list and receive nothing more than the dreaded coal in their stocking.  So, they work hard to behave well (as reminded), so that Santa will fulfill their Christmas wishes, which (bless their hearts) are likely to include Thomas the Train or Spiderman, rather than world peace ; )

Of course, for those of us who are Christians, our intended focus is again, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  Without getting too 'preachy' here...we aim to enrich our faith with the season of Advent, the preparation for the "coming" of Christ, and the many surrounding traditions and services.  This is a season of increased prayer, fasting, and good works.  Perhaps the most important symbolic ritual is the Advent wreath.  The circular wreath shape with no beginning or end reflects God's love and his promise for eternal life. It is made of live greenery and has four candles, representing the four Sundays of the Advent Season.  The 1st, 2nd, and 4th week candles are purple and stand for penance, preparation, and sacrifice.  The 3rd week candle is pink, highlighting the "Gaudete Sunday", a celebration that our preparation is more than half-way complete.

I love the tradition reminder of using the Advent wreath every evening at dinnertime to say special prayers.  If we discuss the true meaning of Christmas each day, and thank God for our blessings, the inevitable over-commercialization of the season will hopefully be kept at bay.  Similarly, I like the idea of giving children only three gifts, as did the three Wise Men to baby Jesus.  Finally, this year, I plan to start a new tradition of giving four different types of gifts to those in need, during each of the four different weeks during Advent.  The first week we gathered toys, the second week books, the third week food, and the fourth week will be service.  Hopefully the rotation of these gifts to those in need will help to keep our focus during the Advent season.

Note to self for future reference: Donation/Recipients during Advent were as follows:

Week 1, Toys - The Blessing House, toys/household goods collected for children's crisis care center, temporary home for kids in need due to emergencies/other adversities.
Week 2, Books - Ruffing Book Drive, books collected for sick children at Metro Hospital in Cleveland
Week 3, Food - Ruffing 8th Grade Food Drive, food collected for residents/guests of Malachi House, home for the dying poor in Cleveland
Week 4, Service - TBD

"And what happened then...? Well, in Who-ville they say, that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day! And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight, he whizzed with his load through the bright morning light, and he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast! And he...HE HIMSELF...! The Grinch carved the roast beast!"

The above info is obtained from catholiceducation. org, link and excerpt provided below...

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0369.html

"On one hand, the faithful reflect back and are encouraged to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s first coming into this world. We ponder again the great mystery of the incarnation when our Lord humbled Himself, taking on our humanity, and entered our time and space to free us from sin. On the other hand, we recall in the Creed that our Lord will come again to judge the living and the dead and that we must be ready to meet Him.

A good, pious way to help us in our Advent preparation has been the use of the Advent wreathe. (Interestingly, the use of the Advent wreathe was borrowed from the German Lutherans in the early 1500s.) The wreathe is a circle, which has no beginning or end: So we call to mind how our lives, here and now, participate in the eternity of God’s plan of salvation and how we hope to share eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. The wreathe is made of fresh plant material, because Christ came to give us new life through His passion, death, and resurrection. Three candles are purple, symbolizing penance, preparation, and sacrifice; the pink candle symbolizes the same but highlights the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, when we rejoice because our preparation is now half-way finished.

The light represents Christ, who entered this world to scatter the darkness of evil and show us the way of righteousness. The progression of lighting candles shows our increasing readiness to meet our Lord. Each family ought to have an Advent wreathe, light it at dinner time, and say the special prayers. This tradition will help each family keep its focus on the true meaning of Christmas. In all, during Advent we strive to fulfill the opening prayer for the Mass of the First Sunday of Advent: “Father in Heaven, ... increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of His coming may find us rejoicing in His presence and welcoming the light of His truth.”

Simplifying (and Savoring) The Holidays

After reading  The Plain Dealer article by Terry Plato "Make Holidays More Meaningful by Saying No" (December 2, 2012), I could not agree more, yet it is SUCH a tricky balance.

Link to article provided below...

http://www.sheenasstitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Make-Christmas-Meaningful.pdf

The Night Before Christmas? Check.  Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer? Check. The Elf on the Shelf? Check. Frosty the Snowman? Check. Charlie Brown Christmas? Check. How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Check. Llama Llama Holiday Drama? Check...OK, OK, OK, you get the idea! You start out enjoying the holiday season, but overload quickly turns into "ENOUGH ALREADY!!" You want to engage in plenty of holiday festivities; however, you do NOT want to over-schedule, often resulting in seasonal burnout.  It is like when the hostess of a dinner party spends hours cleaning her home, grocery shopping, and arranging for a nice dinner party, anticipating a fun evening celebrating with friends...when in reality, she is too exhausted from the grind of putting it all together to actually enjoy herself!  My friend Katie and I often talk about this phenomenon as "The Curse" since we recognize it would be far less stressful to throw a paper-plate gathering, but we are 'cursed' by our Mothers' Martha-like tendencies...

When you have little ones, this tricky balance becomes all the more elusive.  You realize there is only a short window in your children's lives when they can experience the magic and wonder of Christmas.  So, you feel a heightened pressure to attend anything and everything related to Christmas they MIGHT enjoy: the neighborhood Christmas tree lighting, the horse and carriage ride through light-filled winter wonderland, ice skating with Santa, The Nutcracker, a train ride on the Polar Express, Christmas caroling, a Jingle Bell 5K...not to mention the requisite Christmas cookie baking/exchange, gingerbread house making, Christmas card mailing, kids' craft projects, home decorating, tree trimming, gift giving, toy/food drive fulfilling.  The holiday to-do list is endless.  Don't get me wrong, all of these activities are wonderful and worthwhile as they stand alone.  Yet, packing too many into an already busy month of December can create havoc on the 'fun' odometer.  Furthermore, they often distract us from focusing on the main celebratory purpose: the birth of Jesus Christ.

What this article points out is that although there are millions of festivities in which to participate, we do NOT have to say YES to them all.  Perhaps to truly celebrate the season and enjoy the spirit of Christmas, we need to pick and chose a little more.  We do not have to attend every holiday party.  Rather, if it feels more obligatory than enjoyable, we can respectfully decline and opt for low-key dinner/movie/walk-around-and-soak-up-the-holiday lights date night with our spouse instead.  Such a relaxing evening is increasingly sounding like heaven to me! We need to 'get OVER' the idea of decorating the perfect home, selecting the perfect gifts, sweating over the perfect Christmas card, hosting the perfect dinner party.  It is OK to have high standards in the realm of Martha Stewart-isms, but when it makes us exhausted, stressed-out, and cranky, (along with everyone around us) this quest for perfectionism will certainly backfire.

I embraced this 'good enough' concept this year while decorating our home.  After engaging in bizarre yoga poses to retrieve every box labeled 'Christmas' off our basement storage shelves, I decided to simply forgo the tedious (and physical) process of trimming our banister with garland, bows, ornaments, the works.  Of course it always looks pretty once it is up, but since we traveled this year for Thanksgiving, our home decorating weekend was reduced to an afternoon.  After reading a December 2012 Better Homes and Gardens article by Berit Thorkelson, "Sanity Savers", I learned a few tips about how to "skip the holiday stress and keep things simple." Thorkelson suggests to align your home decorating with your extent of holiday travel...so simply stated, if you are traveling more, decorate less.  As it turns out, my simple singular swag across the banister is actually more graceful and beautiful than expected!

With regard to kids' art projects, I could spend days sitting with them while we cut, color, glue, paint, and create just about anything from intricate snowflakes, to elaborate Christmas trees, to colorful ornaments, to gingerbread houses.  And along with all of that creativity and fun comes a HUGE mess to clean up.  But, this year I have decided to swap out a few of these projects with some store-bought foam-sticker 'projects' the kids can enjoy, complete independently, and perhaps with some Hershey Kiss bribery, even clean-up by themselves! A win-win for everyone!

Similarly, rather than sweating it out slaving over every 'amazing' holiday cookie recipe, I have decided to simply stick with my sister-in-law, Barbara's 4 ingredient recipe: box of yellow cake mix + eggs + oil + variety of sprinkles for the kids to decorate = easy, fun, and delicious holiday cookie baking! Of course every year, we tear out new recipes that would be fun to try, but knowing my (mis-)baking tendencies, it would likely send me over the edge.  I'll stick with my tried and true, thanks.

Also, when it comes to gift giving, which I always truly enjoy, I have always gone to great lengths researching and selecting gifts for family members or community food/toy drives.  But as our nieces and nephews are getting older, I recognize that they likely do not want their Aunt Claire picking out their books, games, and clothes (how embarrassing!)  Rather, I have decided, gift cards added to simple wrapped gifts are likely to please them more, and keep gift giving simplified and streamlined. Similarly, I have decided that whatever I can gather and give to local charities will surely be appreciated versus scrutinized.

Finally, when it comes to hosting a gathering of any kind, I have discovered it is OK to take short-cuts! As I tend to do, I recently hosted a little neighborhood girls' get together, and I literally planned it ONE day in advance! Rather than cleaning the house top to bottom, I focused on the areas where guests were likely to gather: the kitchen, living room, guest bathroom.  I limited the flower, wine, and food selections to a trip to Trader Joe's.  Was all the food gourmet or homemade? Or course not, but did everyone (myself included) have fun? Of course we did!

With each passing year, I am learning more and more about how to keep it all in perspective when it comes to truly enjoying the holidays.  Sometimes I need to keep "The Curse" at bay, and embrace a 'good enough' approach to the holidays.  I need to read, write, draw, exercise, and laugh more, shop and stress less. After all, when our kids look back on their memories of Christmas, they are likely to cherish those that were spent with family and friends, laughing and having fun....MOM included!