cookies

I'm out to buy more candied fruit today, we're making more leb cookies tonight. Why? Hubby has been eating them like crazy and we only have two bags left. Plus we like to have extra so we can give away a bag or two at Christmas time.
I pray for the eleven people who lost their lives in the snowstorm that covered the Midwest.  What a sad Christmas it will be for their loved ones. Dear Jesus, Please hold them in Your almighty hands and fill them with joy and peace knowing that Your Son was born at Christmas but he also died at Easter to save us all. Thank you for Heaven and thank you for the real reason we celebrate this season, Your Son's Holy Birth!

the ugly cookie

Last night Hubby and I ate leftover chili and baked leb cookies. Last year's batch was very good but lacked in candied fruit as he only dumped in one cup. This year he make sure to put in plenty fruit and walnuts and pecans. So how did they turn out? Not the greatest I'm sorry to say, and I've never seen an uglier cookie. We choose not to ice them as we've found they freeze better naked. Next year instead of our grandmother's recipe we might just choose one from the Internets. Here's a five generation picture that I display in my dining room. That young girl is my mother, the little boy is my oldest brother, my grandmother and her mother are standing and great, great grandfather is seated next to my mother. My grandparents were German Lutherans. I love this picture as it really shows my mother's 'Mona Lisa'  smile.

Leb Kuchen

Yesterday while Hubby mixed up a huge batch (12 cups of flour) of leb kuchen. I did some decorating. Since both of our grandmothers came from Germany, this is a cookie that we both grew up with. No picture of the finished product yet as they are still resting. Yes, the cookie dough has to set overnight. He uses a combination of both recipes and they both say to do that. So this weekend we had a fun trip to Kansas City to see family, got some decorations up and of of course, the leb cookies are waiting to be baked.

I know this doesn't show much effort but I have accumulated lot of Christmas decorations through the years and this wreath made of jingle bells is one of my favorites. This year I put it on my pie safe which sets in the corner of my kitchen.