Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

It is December. One whole week is already gone! Only 2 1/2 weeks until Christmas!! Oh my! Is it time to panic yet? For us procrastinators, it probably is. I admire the organized and disciplined women who start their holiday preparations very early and orderly. That is not me! I can't even think of things until the last minute. I have tried using holiday planners such as the Flylady has available. And I just found a holiday planner that Peter Walsh has put online, and signed up on that site, and there are Yahoo groups devoted to organized planning schedules to get ready for the holidays. But I either never seem to get started or I fizzle out long before I get done. Shame on me. I just can't seem to stay focused. I often read a blog called A Slob Comes Clean. Maybe I should call this blog - A Procrastinator Fesses Up ??

I am going to change things up a bit here for December, and not follow my daily theme schedule. Instead I will do as several other bloggers are doing and do some things dealing with Christmas.

As I was looking through a couple of my cookbooks, looking for a recipe for 7 layer bars, I saw a couple of cookie recipes I had cut out of newspapers, pasted in the cookbook, and wrote "good for Christmas" beside them. Actually one said "Excellent for Christmas". They are simple recipes and very good. I will start with the 'good for Christmas' cookies. I apologize for not having any pictures of cookies I made, and most likely won't have any, since I am not making anything for the holidays. I have no reason to. I have no family coming, that I know of, and I certainly don't need to eat them all. I might make something to add to a gift basket I am thinking about, but we will see if I get that far.

SESAME SEED COOKIES

Cream 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add 2/3 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 beaten egg, pinch salt and 1/2 cup sesame seeds. Drop by spoonfuls on greased and floured baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes at 375.

TIP: Did you know that you should keep sesame seeds in the fridge? They can get rancid otherwise. Poppy seeds should also be kept in the fridge. I never knew that several years ago.




Next is the "Excellent for Christmas" cookies -

ALMOND COOKIES

Combine 1 cup butter, 3 tablespoons white sugar, 1 teaspoon almond flavoring, 2 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roll in balls and flatten with glass. Bake at 400 for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool. Frost with powdered sugar frosting, flavored with almond extract.


I just noticed as I typed that the original print says both almond flavoring and almond extract. I am sure they meant the same thing.




One more simple cookie for today -

SIMPLE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Blend 1 egg and 1 cup sugar. Add 1 cup crunchy peanut butter. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Top each cookie with a chocolate star. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.


Yes - there is no flour in the recipe! That is not a mistake. This is good for those who have wheat allergies or must eat gluten free. This recipe has been around long before anyone heard of gluten free. You will have to make sure there is no gluten in the chocolate and peanut butter, however.

Sweet eating!