HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

WOOHOOOOOO!!!

Bring on 2012!

Thanks to all of you who shared

2011 with us.  We had a GR8 year together, didn't we?  Can't wait to start the new one.

Just a reminder to join us all tonight ringing in the new year with Stitchin' Heaven...

TWITTER style!

Such a fun party last year, will be a blast again. Here's all the info you need to join in the fun:

click here

Who: YOU & Some really great Sponsors
What: New Year’s Eve 2011 Twitter Party
When: December 31, 2011 -   10pm-12:30am CST
Where: Twitter
Party : #SHPARTY Topic: Out with a Bang!

How: New to twitter? It’s easy and it’s free! Just follow the instructions below:

1. Get a Twitter account. You can sign up for free at www.twitter.com
2. Go to www.tweetchat.com (or the platform of your choice if you have another you prefer)
3. Enter SHPARTY next to the hashtag (#) at the top of the screen.  Once you do that all conversations and party goers for our party will show up in a list just below the top of the page.
4. Sign into Twitter if you aren’t already. You will be prompted to allow or deny the app to access your account. Click “allow”
5. You will be redirected to the party page where you will only see conversations for #SHPARTY partyers.
6. Use the text box to write your messages. No need to put #SHPARTY in each post because Tweetchat does that for you.
7. Party! We will post messages to the party and you respond. You’ll see the conversation roll. You may want to set the speed of messages, either slower to keep up or faster to get your messages almost as soon as they post without the delay. However you want, it’s your party! You can find how to set the speed right under your message box.

See you in 2012!!!

Cookie COUNTDOWN Day 7!!!

Oh the memories rolled up in these little goodies!

I asked my Mom where the recipe originated from and she said she wasn't sure. But that this was a treat her parents made together every year to give to their friends and neighbors 

spreading JOY and good CHEER!

This is me and my Grandma.  We called her Grandma O because her last name was long and quite hard to pronounce when we were little! (I think this photo emphasizes that she had hair and I, well, didn't.)

Anyway...one day during the holiday season my mom called her parents to ask a question of some sort and her father 

(Grandpa O!)told her they couldn't talk at the moment as they were in the midst of making more of these rice krispie balls. He told her they had already delivered over 200.

TWO HUNDRED!

Wow. All I can say is...I hope that back then you could buy caramels UNWRAPPED! (I used one bag and it made 12 treats...)

So here's what ya need:

It's that simple!

Okay, but I found those crazy MASSIVE JUMBO 

marshmallows and HAD to try those too.

That JUMBO mallow makes the normal one look puny!

Ok, I digress.

First take a few hours minutes to unwrap the caramels and put them in a saucepan.

Try not to eat too many.  It's hard. But you must, for the greater good, practice self control.

(I confess I ate two)

Next, set up your assembly line. Caramels on the stove,

marshmallows with a skewer ready to dip, a bowl of Rice Krispies, and parchment paper for cooling.

Next, melt the caramels.  Add two Tbs.of water and heat over a double boiler until smooth. If melted caramels seem too thick, add another Tbs of water.

Now...it's time for dipping:

YUM! Now ya gotta work fast and roll that beauty in the Rice Krispies. Sorry, I couldn't snap a pic of that step, my hands were kinda covered in cereal! I plopped the covered marshmallow in the krispies and used my hands to sort of pack the cereal on there and make a nice ball.

Let them cool and then those delicious morsels are ready to SHARE! Or....horde.

I love making these at Christmas time now.  I had forgotten about them because when we lived in Europe I could only get strawberry flavored marshmallows. Eeewww! 

But as I made these again, I enjoyed thinking of my Grandparents that are no longer with me.

I also get to take out this work of art that my Grandma O made.  She was amazing with yarn!  She would put this beautiful knitted afghan on her bed in December and you would get a peek of it when you walked down the hallway of her house.  It's utterly gorgeous!

And yes.  I know where I get my creativity.

I love a legacy, don't you???

We hope you've all enjoyed our little cookie countdown!

We've had a great time baking and hope the smell of warm butter is also wafting through all of YOUR homes this Holiday Season.

Make sure you get your comments posted, because tomorrow, December 17th, we will announce our winner!!!

Oh...and since I've had my fair share of marshmallows today, I thought I'd leave ya with a little song...

Cookie Countdown Day 6

COOKIE COUNTDOWN  Day 6!

'Tis the season to be baking!  

Seems like everyone I know is in the holiday baking mood... the grocery store is crazy busy and Facebook is all a-buzz with posts about baking-this and baking-that!

I am doing the desserts for a holiday party tomorrow night, and have been in my kitchen ALL day.  Well, except to run to the grocery store a couple of times, and to do a couple of other errands.  My feet are soooo tired!  I am baked-OUT!  

When these goodies all run out, my family is eating Oreos.  Seriously.  Or Chips Ahoy.  Whatever they want to buy, when THEY go to the store.

I think I am going to just go back to sewing.  

(Oh, and I gotta wrap christmas gifts...)

OK. Well. Ready for another recipe?

These are just called 3-Layer Cookies.  Yummy!

First, LAYER #1:
2 cubes butter (one cube = one stick = 1/2 cup!)

1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
Mix and press into a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes.

There's been some confusion...am I the only one (besides my mom!) who says CUBES of butter?  A cube is a stick. You know, a 1/2 cup of buttery goodness.  In a cube. 

Liz made me buy a REAL  mixer a couple of years ago when she was visiting. Thank you Liz, I would have DIED today without my fun red KitchenAid!

I have made 12 pans of various cookies like this in the last couple of days. My fingers hurt from all that pressing!

NEXT, Layer #2:

3 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
4 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups chopped nuts (I used pecans)
Small pkg coconut (about 7 oz)
Mix and pour over crust. Bake at 300 for 15 min, then raise to 350 for 15 min more.

The BEST vanilla.  From Trader Joe's.

I was almost done chopping all those pecans when I remembered
I had this cool chopper. I should cook more often...I forget what's in those cupboards!

THEN, Layer #3:
1 cube butter
1 lb powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
Mix together and 'frost'. Chill and cut into 1" squares.

I am really really good at making icing. I lost count of how many bowls of various kinds of icing I made today! By the end of the day, I couldn't even THINK about licking the spoon.  Blech.

Just spread a big ol' thick layer of frosting on there!

Chillin' in the fridge.  Sorry no pic of the little bite size cookies all cut up and cute on a plate. I am going to bed!

This is what I look like after all day of being in the kitchen.  Scary.

Don't forget to enter the drawing to win a plateful-o'-fabric! Become one of our blog followers...or comment on this post. (You can comment each day of our cookie countdown to increase your odds of winning!)

Here's the recipe...Happy Baking! 

Another free printable recipe card by Smilebox

Cookie COUNTDOWN Day 5

Are ya cookie'd out yet?

Today marks the official first day of my 

Christmas Cookie baking.

I always kick it off with THIS special recipe

because today is my daughter's Birthday, 

and she'd rather have a whole panful of these

than a Birthday cake!

It's a special recipe from a friend of mine

who grew up in South Africa.

The only ingredient that might throw you for a loop is

this:

Golden Syrup.  

Very important!

It's lighter than Dark Karo syrup, 

but in a pinch, you can substitute it with Dark Karo.

First off you make the yummy crust...

(very similar to yesterday's White Cookies!)

Pat it all nicely in a pan and pop it in the oven

at 350 degrees until golden. 

About 15-20 mins

Meanwhile...make the caramel.

YUM!

Mix butter, sugar and Golden syrup in a saucepan

and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

While it boils, stir in 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

and continue to stir another 5 minutes.

Making sure to scrape the bottom to keep it from burning.  

You may get small burnt bits, but that's okay.

After the five minutes more of stirring, it should be a 

yummy thick looking caramel!  

Pour on hot crust and spread.

(probably should keep a bit on the bottom of the pain to 

taste test after it cools!)

Let the caramel cool completely.

I actually put mine out in the garage, er, fridge to hasten the process.

When it's nice and cooled off...

Melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips in 

a glass bowl in the microwave stirring after 

each 30 second interval

Then spread the chocolatey goodness right on top of the cooled caramel shortbread.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Oh. My.

Now let the chocolate set.  My daughter loves

it when they're VERY cold.  

Last year she kept her "Birthday Pan" in the 

fridge out in the garage and everyone but her 

forgot about them. It took her a whole month, but 

she polished off the entire pan!

(she's a little skinny thing too....

I think my hips balloon just lookin' at 'em!)

So finally...

Cut and DEVOUR!

Here's the full recipe:

In between cooking and cooling time....you know, while you're impatiently waiting.  How about some last minute holiday shopping?? Have you checked out the OUTLET section in our shop? All patterns $2 and fabric $5 per/yd!  If you shop during the hop, leave us a note  letting us know you're one of our blog hoppers and we might just throw in a surprise with  your order! 'Tis the season, after all....

Cookie Countdown Day 4

COOKIE COUNTDOWN! Day #4

In our house, these are just known as...

the white cookies

All four of my boys love them.  They will eat pretty much everything, but they ASK for these.

They might be everyone's favorite.

(But here's a lil' secret...

they are also the easiest to make!)

It's not an old family recipe, at least not from my family. My mom (known affectionately as 'Mama C' in Quilt Market circles!) got this recipe from her friend Martha. (She was a wonderful quilter too!)  And so all of her quilter friends call these cookies "Martha's cookies".

We just call them "THE WHITE COOKIES".

And my boys know what I'm talking' about.

Here's the recipe:

2 cubes softened butter 

2/3 cup sugar 

2 tsp vanilla 

1/4 tsp salt 

2 cups flour

1. Mix all of the ingredients together to make the dough and press into a cookie sheet.

2. Spread powdered sugar on top (as much as you want, I use LOTS, about 2 cups!) and press into dough. A lot of it will still be "loose" on top.

3. Bake 350 18-19 min. Cut into squares while still warm.

YUM!

On a  scale of 1 to 10.... 

these cookies are about a 1 for easy!

and definitely a 10 for DeLisH-ish-NeSs!

 Do YOU have a recipe to share? 

send it to lizziebgirls@gmail.com and 

we'll post it here.

And to be entered to win a plateful-o'-fabric, become one of our blog followers...or comment on this post. (You can comment each day of our cookie countdown to increase your odds of winning!)

Cookie COUNTDOWN Day 3

Who doesn't love Chocolate and Peppermint together?

I have so many cookie recipes with this 

combo that it's hard to choose just ONE!

However...these fudge-y brownies are outta this world.

Click for a downloadable pdf of the recipe:

Peppermint Brownies

Here's another yummy peppermint/choco

combo that I tried just recently.  

WHOOPIE PIES!

I found it on 

the blog "Tater Tots and Jello"

and you can find it there too by clicking

*here*

We also have a reader recipe to share!

These are Rita's fav...

Digital recipe card customized with Smilebox

Thanks Rita! 

 If YOU have a recipe to share, 

send it to lizziebgirls@gmail.com and 

we'll post it here.

Also, just a quick clarification about our 

"rules" for entering our giveaway. 

This is what we had posted:

1. Visit our blog each day of the hop and
leave us a comment about the recipe posted that day

2.Become one of our awesome blog followers

3. On the last day, leave us a comment with a list of ALL
the recipes and if you tried any!

You do NOT need to do all THREE of these things!

If you are a one of our blog followers and leave us a comment this week, you will be entered to win. The more posts you comment on, the more chances you have to win.  The same goes for posting on the last day...it just ups your chances!  We use a random generator to choose winners, so it makes sense that the more your name is in there, the more chances your name has of being picked.  

Make sense?

Let us know if you have any questions!

Happy Hoppin'!