As I mentioned in the previous entry, our schedules this weekend were a bit off kilter, but we are back in action! In order to stay on track we decided to do 2 cookies yesterday to catch up from the "No-Bake Saturday" we ended up having.
Mom stepped into the kitchen as a special guest for us yesterday, as Nicole was at work. BTW, Nicole ended up working 22hrs this weekend.....CRAZY!
Meet the Angel Drops!
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup diced dates or chocolate chips
1 cup broken pecans
1 Tbsp flour
-Beat egg whites with salt and vanilla until soft peaks form.
-Gradually add sugar, beating till stiff peaks form.
-Sprinkle dates or choc. chips with flour.
-Fold dates/cc into egg whites.
-Drop by teaspoon about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
-Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.
These are more of what, I learned, is called a "meringue" cookie, so expect a slightly different texture....something I failed to do and was not quite sure what to think when I took the first bite!
Before we head into cookie #5, I have to let you know that both the angel drops and the russian tea cake recipes have come from a cookbook that my parent's church's women's group compiled in 1975. I can safely say that the women who contributed this book were (and I say this lovingly) "Old Biddies" then and may have passed onto glory as I speak and while the recipes are good, they do not take into consideration the technilogical advancements that our current day ovens possess. You'll see what I mean in a bit!
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| Joy standing by.. |
Cookie #4 is one of my absolute favorites! It's yummy, crumbly, and a powdery mess but, in my mind, it is a quintessential Christmas delight.
Meet Russian Tea Cakes (also known as "Snow Balls" and "Mexican Wedding Cakes")
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (aka powdered sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour (sifted)
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup nuts (cut up)
- Using a hand mixer (easiest!), on low speed "cream" butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
-The "old biddie" recipe says to "sift" the flour and salt together but I just added them straight up and it was fine...SO, add flour and salt to your "creamed" mixture.
- Mix in nuts.
- Chill Dough.
- Take dough and roll into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
-Bake until set, but NOT brown. *400 for 10-12 mins
-While still warm, roll the cookies in powdered sugar, let cool, and roll for a second time.
Here's where some problems came in.... It says to bake at *400 but, atleast in my oven, that was WAYYYY too hot. Within 5 mins the bottom of my cookies were charred and had to be thrown out. Thankfully I had another small batch that came out uncharred, but I will be having to re-bake the majority of my tea cakes. Thanks, Old Biddy Cook Book!
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