'Tis December

So now that it's December,
I can talk about Christmas openly. And decorate my front door.

And turn up the volume on my Christmas CDs. And bake Christmas cookies.

Doing so in November brings odd, disapproving looks from people who think October is Halloween, November is Thanksgiving, and December is Christmas.

I got out my holiday recipes to see what I was in the mood to make today and decided on "Peanut Blossoms." They're the peanut butter cookies with the chocolate kiss (or star) on top. I have made them every year for many years.

Except now I cheat.

I use a package of Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix. It comes in a pouch. So easy that I'll never make them from "scratch" again. I might try the same for sugar cookies.

Then I'll make turtle candy. And cheat again. Here's an easy way:

You'll need a bag of miniature pretzels. During the holidays, you can often find them in star and tree shapes, as well as the traditional knot shape. You'll also need a package of Rolo candies, and pecan halves.

Place the pretzels on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Unwrap the Rolos and put one on top of each pretzel. Place in an oven pre-heated to 250 degrees for four minutes.

Remove from the oven and press a pecan half on top of the chocolate which will squish it down and cover the pretzel holes. Then put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for a short time. Waa-lah! Turtles!

Here is a tip that isn't really cheating. It's just getting the most for your effort. I make miniature cut-out gingerbread men with a small gingerbread man cookie cutter. Making them "bite-size" makes so many more out of a batch of gingerbread dough. I use those silver ball decorations for the eyes and add a couple for buttons.

So now that my oven is preheated, I'm ready to get started. And if anyone comes to the door, it's okay that I'm baking Christmas cookies.

After all, it is December.

Tutorial: Graham crackers

My friend, Barb (remember her from "Making potato soup?") made homemade graham crackers.

That fascinated me. I thought they came
in a box and never even guessed at how
they might be made.

The same was true for English muffins.
But long ago, my sister, Christine, made them and gave me the recipe. Naturally, I had to try them. They are very easy.

As are graham crackers.

So let's get started and I'll teach you how to make them. You'll never buy another box in the grocery store.

You will need:


2 cups white flour
1/2 cup graham flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp. baking soda
A sprinkle of salt

Stir all ingredients together. I used my stand mixer, but you can just use a spoon or wooden paddle.


Roll out on a cookie sheet. You can make them as thin or thick as you like and can press to reach the edges of the cookie sheet.


With a sharp knife, mark squares and prick with a fork. Bake 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven.


After removing from the oven, make your lines again.


Let cool in pan. You did it!

Now get a fresh cup of coffee or a glass of ice cold milk.


And enjoy!

Elva Kaffe

If you drive down a quiet country road, not far from where I live, you'll come to a small area known as Kost. Many around here know Kost for its dam, great for fishing and a pictur-
esque hike. A road sign indicates there is a pottery shop nearby.

Drive just a bit further and you'll come to a quaint, white country church. You have now arrived at Kost Evangelical Free Church.


When Kost was settled in the 1880s by a large migration of Scandinavians to America, they formed clusters which met in homes for the purpose of worship. From there, the Kost church was established in 1886.

The church continues to honor its heritage and share it with the community. Once every three years, they host a festive Scandinavian event called, Elva Kaffe, inviting the people of the area to come for coffee and cookies as they begin their preparations for the holidays.

My friend, Mary Kay, and I attended last Saturday. What an elegant, charming and absolutely enjoyable event this is. What a delightful way to spend a crisp, sunny Saturday morning.

We were greeted at the door by a man in Swedish costume. Then we noticed all the hosts and hostesses were also dressed in clothing representative of the various provinces of their homelands.

Scandinavian decorations were everywhere. Hearts are traditionally used, as the symbol of love, reminding us all to be generous to one another during the Christmas season, as well as all year long. Pines, the symbol of eternal life, and pine trees are also commonly used.

All four Scandinavian countries were represented in various craft displays in a large room: Hardanger, wood carving, Julgranskorg (woven hearts), Huvudia (woven head wreaths), rug braiding, birch and vine crafts, rosemaling, spinning, basket weaving, and more.

Flags from all four countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Around the craft display room, there were demonstrations of Scandinavian foods, with samples being offered. All demonstrators were in costume, and you could hear Swedish being spoken. We tasted most all of the wonderful foods: abelskiver, krumkake, smørrebrød, krem, pepparkaka, köttbollar, fruit soppa, plättar and lefse.

I grew up with Scandinavian food and customs. But if you don't know what any or all of those are, let me just say that all are delicious. We were given a recipe book with directions for making these wonderful treats ourselves. Instructions were also provided for making some of the holiday crafts at home.

The Swedes say: Var sa god. Be so kind as to come to the table for a cup of coffee.

Across the hall from the demonstration room was their Kaffe Stuga. Tables were set for us to enjoy coffee. An elegant serving table, complete with silver service and crystal cake plates, was prepared with Scandinavian cookies, Jul kage (Christmas bread) and Kranse Kaka.


A tower of individual, graduated pastry rings is used to make Kranse Kaka, traditionally served at weddings.



Decorated with the country's flag, it is served from the top ring down and is broken into pieces and eaten as a cookie. It has a wonderful almond flavor, and uses only three ingredients: almond paste, granulated sugar, and egg whites.

It will be another three years before we can enjoy such a festive celebration again. You can believe that Mary Kay and I already have our calendars marked for 2013.

Tusen tak (thank you) to the Kost Church for hosting this wonderful event.

We are in the holiday spirit already. God Jul!

Nostalgic recipes

Searching for the orange bread recipe from 1953 that I made earlier this week, I found another oldie.

So today I made Woody's Bran Muffins, a recipe I got in 1976.

Woody's was a restaurant located right off Highway 61 in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Of course, Cottage Grove, once a suburb of 3-bedroom ramblers that all looked the same, no longer resembles what it was in the 70s, and Woody's has long since closed.

Back then, we lived in Cottage Grove in a 3-bedroom rambler, very near Woody's Restaurant. After the kids were off to school and before my husband left for the office, we loved to have breakfast there together to start the day.

They were great breakfasts: basted eggs, hash browns, an orange slice, and always a bran muffin.

And there really was a Woody.

I met Woody when his sister was a patient at Mounds Park Hospital in St. Paul. I was working there and he was visiting his sister. I told him how much we loved those wonderful bran muffins. Flattered, he offered me the recipe:


The best part about this recipe, besides how good it tastes, is that it makes enough for an army (or perhaps a restaurant), and keeps in the frig for six weeks. So when you want them fresh from the oven, voile, you have your batter all ready. Efficient, huh?

I baked some today. Mmmmmm, so good. And what great memories!

P.S. If you click inside the recipe, it will be enlarged and easy to read.

Baking orange bread

It all started with Valencia oranges sent from my sister, Christine, to Mom for Mother's Day.

Valencia oranges are rather large and very, very juicy. So when Mom attempted to peel them, she found the skin too tough to peel away, but assumed she could just cut them in half and then in quarters and eat them that way. She had orange juice dripping down her arms.

So she asked if I wanted them. Well, of course, I did. Living on Social Security is making a scrooge out of me and I figured there must be a way I could get all the nutrition and value out of a dozen free oranges.

First, I juiced them. I got the most wonderful glass of juice I ever tasted, and a sore wrist from all the squeezing. Then I looked at the 24 half-shells and thought, hmmmm, I should zest these and freeze the zest for later uses. How frugal is that?

And then I thought of Ruth Stephens' orange bread, calling for a cup of finely chopped orange peel, cooked with sugar to make a wonderful syrup.

"Miss Stephens" (we never called her anything else) was a teacher at Summit Academy, a private girls' school, and our neighbor on Lincoln Avenue as I was growing up. The day we moved into our "new" home (in 1953), Miss Stephens brought a loaf of orange bread to my Mom as a welcome to the neighborhood gift.

She always looked the same. She wore her hair pulled back in a bun and wore sensible shoes and plain clothes. She lived in a huge two-story home that was sparsely furnished and austere looking. She worked in her garden and her lawn was meticulous. She baked molasses cookies. And she was the most interesting person. We were fortunate to have her as a neighbor and friend all those years.

So it is Miss Stephens' orange bread recipe that is baking in my oven today. I wish I could transfer the aroma right into this blog for you.

I doubled the recipe and got two large loaves and three small ones. Here is the first batch fresh from the oven.