I went to my coffee group this morning and our lovely hostess had begun to put up some Christmas decorating. It was so pretty, and made the cold outside retreat a bit in the face of such festivity. So i came home and found these little wooden nutcrackers that I got at the dollar store a couple of weeks ago.
Now for something different---- a recipe!
I've never talked about food too much here, but as you know it is a big source of enjoyment in life.
I took a bit of baking to the retreat we had last weekend, and promised to share a couple of recipes, so here they are: I'm sorry that there are no photos, but I can't make them again so soon-- maybe closer to the holidays..
Pralines (The pecan "fudge") -- (this makes a Lot of them, you might want to make half)
4 cup white sugar
1 cup broun sugar
1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups of milk
1 more cup of butter
4-5 cups of pralines, chopped or whole
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
Place the milk, 1 c of butter, salt and both sugars in a large saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and cook to softball stage, stirring often--( this could take a while, like 20 minutes). Remove frrom eat and add the remaining butter, beating constantly. When you feel it beginning to thicen, add the nuts and vanilla. When thick, drop quickly by teaspoon on wax paper or foil Leave space between each candy for eac one will flatten like a pancake. Or if you prefer, just pour into a buttered pan and cut into squares. I have found that if they don't set, you can just scrape it all back into the saucepan and reheat it and boil a little longer.
Carrot/Apple cake
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil or margarine
2 cups flour (white or a mix of white and whole wheat)
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon and any other spices you like, such as ginger, cloves or nutmeg
2-3 cups of grated carrots
1-1/2 cups of grated apples (skin still on, it is not noticeable later)
optional 1/2 cup of coconut
1 cup of walnuts or pecans
Beat oil with sugar, and beat in eggs. Stir in the dry ingredients, then add the carrots, apples and nuts. Grese a cake pan and pour in the mixture. I often double this recipe, so I use a large lasagne pan, but have also cooked it in loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit until knife inserted comes out clean, about 40 minutes. This is a very moist cake!
Cream Cheese Icing
1/4 c butter or margarin
4 oz package of cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup of icing sugar
Beat together the cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy, and continue to beat while adding the icing sugar. If you want chocolate icing, add some cocoa powder with the icing sugar.
