I have to be honest here!

I don’t know whether to call them molasses cookies or sorghum cookies.

I used sorghum, as you already know if you read my post Is It Molasses or Sorghum.

Last week I was invited to an cookie exchange. YeeHaw! I was so excited.

Until….

The person who planned it said some people do not like chocolate or nuts or gluten or coconut or cherries…..well, you get the pictures.

It was like taking a red marking pen to 99% of my Christmas recipes leaving me with a big fat……

MMMMM……….Molasses cookies.

It does not meet the gluten free categories, but it does not have nuts, chocolate, coconuts or cherries or any other doodad that would make you want to spit the cookie out.

If you love molasses or sorghum and of course cinnamon, cloves and ginger, (like I do) you will love this cookie!

In a mixing bowl, mix together the butter and dark brown sugar. Add the oil and the molasses. (I substituted sorghum). I also oiled the measuring cup with vegetable spray and that is what the measuring cup looked like after I pour out the sorghum…pretty cool uh?

Add the egg and vanilla. I have three types of vanilla at my house. Vanilla paste, vanilla powder and pure vanilla extract. I love using vanilla paste to my cookies, cakes, cup cakes and icings. I think the reason why is that I am in love with the little specks of vanilla seeds. This time I used vanilla extract because the dough is so dark you can’t see the pretty seeds.

This is what it looks like all mixed together.

In another bowl mix together the flour, ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and stir together. What you end up with is a rich beautiful cookie dough. Put the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

When the dough is chilled, take a medium size cookie scoop and start scooping out cookie dough. You need to roll each cookie in sugar after you get them scooped out.

I used demerara unrefined sugar. You are probably thinking, what the heck is that?? Well, it is unrefined sugar cane that has a molasses like flavor. You can read more about it here. The sugar crystals are bigger and they add a sugar crunch to the outside of the cookie, while keeping the inside of the cookie chewy. And the sugar taste like molasses! Interesting.

Place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake 9 to 10 minutes. Do not over bake these cookies. They will look a little underdone.

They will have these gorgeous cracks in them, showing a little undercooked inside.

Are they molasses cookies?

Are they sorghum cookies?

They have sorghum on the inside, and coated with a molasses tasting sugar on the outside.

Who really cares….bring me a glass of milk and a cookie!

Becky

Molasses Cookies

Adapted from Joy Of Baking

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup molasses

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish with sugar (I used demerara sugar)

Directions:

Beat together the butter and dark brown sugar with an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Add the oil, molasses, egg and vanilla and beat until incormporated. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and mix until well incorporated.

Cover and chill until firm.

Place sugar in a medium sized bowl. Using a medium size cookie scoop, scoop out cookie dough. Roll the dough into a ball and roll into the sugar, covering it. Place the cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet. With a flat bottom glass, flatten the cookie dough slightly. bake for 9 to 10 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. Bake until the tops of the cookies have crinkles but a little shiny inside. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.

My super hero even loved them….and he does not eat molasses or sorghum!

Enjoy!

Becky

I am so behind trying to keep you updated on ornaments, cookies, baking, FACS and everything else.

I certainly need a detention, no recess, extra homework or maybe a phone call home to Mom.

That is really what I want to do!… call my Mom…sometimes, only Moms know what to do when you are sick.

This is the second time I have had the flu this season…I am not kidding! I even had the flu shot. I am on my second round of antibiotics for a sinus infection too!

Whine, whine whine……

You see, only a Mom would want to listen to that!

My kids are or have been sick too… even the super hero is home sick today from work.

The only good thing going at my house is, that we celebrated my youngest grand girl’s first birthday, and that means, all you can eat birthday cake.

Hot tea, a piece of birthday cake and a call to mom…to whine….

Did I hear a violin playing somewhere???

The song I hear is….Flu River……

Becky

Here it is everyone!

Do you remember reading about my department at school making gingerbread houses for a local hotel in town? You can find the post Vacancy at Snowman Village.

Well, guess what? I went to the hotel today to delivery cookies and the display of all the houses the schools donated, along with the ones the hotel made are in a large display in the main lobby. It is amazing that they can take all of our houses and add it to theirs to make a really fabulous looking mountain village.

The church is so nice and take a look at those green reindeer! Priceless!

I love the log cabin made out of pretzels!

Skating or doing a polar bear plunge…..I would rather skate..brrrr

Tomorrow, we get to take students from out schools and have a holiday party. The students will be so excited to see their houses in the display. The chef made the houses to add to our houses, and the chef is also making a treat for the students tomorrow to eat!

At our pumpkin painting painting party he made all of us pumpkin pancakes…..warm off the griddle with real butter and maple syrup. It is a surprise was he is making tomorrow. Maybe a gingerbread surprise???

I love surprises!!!!

Becky

This is a well loved jar of Sorghum!

I love it on warm biscuits, warm toast, warm biscuits, off my fingers, warm toast…..a little taste off the spoon….

This stuff is so good that even the place of “Hand Thrown Rolls” sells their version of molasses in their gift shop. For those that are not from Missouri, the place is called Lamberts. While you are eating a waiter comes out of the kitchen with hot rolls, all you have to do is raise your hand and he/she will throw you one. Catching them is another story.

My Mom tells the story of a man that would barter his “sorghum making services” in exchange for vegetables, milk and eggs. As kids they called him the Sugar Man. He would travel to all the local farms  at the right time when the sorghum was ready to be harvested. He would take the long canes of sorghum and squeeze the juice out of them with a stone wheel that was powered by a mule. The sap that came out of the sorghum was boiled down to make molasses or sorghum? It would be sorghum.

 A lot of people use the name molasses and sorghum interchangeable….includeing me. I grew up eating sorghum and perfer it over molasses, most of the time…

Confusing uh?

Molasses is made from sugar cane and not sorgum cane. You can have three different flavors of molasses due to the number of times you boil the sapp. Blackstrap (which is bittersweet tasting) is the last boiling. The first boiling of molasses is the sweetest. The problem is, you have to find somewhere to buy the sweet tasting one. You can find blackstrap in the grocery stores but I would not use blackstrap on my biscuit. Maybe that is just me.

I am a molasses and sorghum snob!

I found a farmers market in the big town of Springfield that sells sorghum that taste just like the sorghum my grandma would spoon out of a mason jar. I use it in my baking, including my molasses cookies, just cause I like too.

So tonight I made molasses cookies useing sorghum instead. Are they molasses cookies or sorghum cookies?

You decide!

Right now my house is filled with the smell of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, vanilla and sorghum from the cookies I just took right out of the oven. I will post the recipe tomorrow with pictures. 

Is it Molasses or Sorghum?

If the cookie taste extra yummy, I don’t think anyone will care!

Becky

For those of you that have been reading along this month, you know all about my advent tree. For those of you that don’t here is the link to the whole story at Christmas Advent Tree.

 My time just keeps on ticking away at my house. I got to thinking if we just stop winding up the clocks or take the batteries out, then I would have more time to get everything done I want to before Christmas. Every where I go I see a clock! On the computer, my phone, the dvd player, alarm clock, I can’t even cook without getting reminded about the time cause the time in on the microwave and the range. GEE!

On the other hand, I am taking joy in adding a new ornament to my little advent tree everyday.

Here is an update on the last three days.

Friday, December 7th was a gold bell.                Saturday, December 8th was the cutest littlest gingerman boy.

Here they are hanging on the tree. 

Today the oldest grand girl added another ornament.

It is a little present wrapped in red with a gold bow.

She hung it under the santa spy.

Maybe a present on the tree will make him take his eyes off of me!

Here is what the tree looks like so far…..

14 days left before Christmas!

Becky

If you read my post from yesterday, you know that I was out of town the whole day and, what a day that was! When we delivered my parents safe and sound back to their house, I stayed to watch her open her goodie bags from her siblings. It was so darn cute. She got cookies, and chocolate, some candles, a kitchen towel, a can of nuts, a sun catcher and she always gets a calendar from her brother Jerry.

I watched her taste a little sampling of everything! The Princess was in goodie heaven!

Dad was more interested in the sock stockings. Mom wanted to leave her stuff her sock, but Dad could not wait to see what was hidden inside his. The sock stockings has been a tradition in my Mom’s family for as far back as I remember. My Grandpa would fill up socks and give it to his children for Christmas. When I was growing up, we would have to get in the car to go to my grandparents house so Mom could get her stocking. Who says you have to get big expensive presents to make you happy? That stocking meant more to her that a gift card to McDonalds! My Aunt Lily keeps the tradition going by filling stockings for all the brothers and sisters. This year Dad got one too, so this is why he was so excited to see what was inside!

He was like a magician when he pulled out the large candy candy out of the stocking. He pulled out an apple and orange too.

He pulled out bags of candy and peanuts.

There is still one more goodie in the stocking. You want to take a guess?

It was a popcorn ball!

I am adding polident to Dad’s Christmas List : ). 

Before I left to drive home, Dad was telling Mom that when she emptied her stocking he would take her sock and add it to his sock, he would have a new pair of socks.

Gifts that keep on giving are the best kind, especially when they keep your feet (and heart) warm too!

Becky

My Mom calls this God’s Country.

Maybe it is because she and part of her 16 syblings were baptised in the nearby creek, or maybe because the family attended the nearby church, or maybe it is where they read the bible together at night….or maybe because the nearby cemetery has family members resting there.

Maybe it is all of the above.

I don’t know….I do know, I find peace and a coming home to days gone past.

When you open the cattle gate, it is like opening a door back in time. The memories are still there, lingering on the bushes. Waiting for travelers to brush by them, to latch on and take hold.

This place does it to me every time.

If you read my earlier post Playing Hooky you might remember me taking off of work and going with my mom, dad and brother to help decorate The Old Home Place for the annual Christmas Party. We spent the day putting the tree up, cleaning up after mice, hanging stockings, hanging doors…oh and cleaning the fancy two seater out house. Whew….

Today was the day of the party.

We (mom, dad, sister, brother and I) were all meeting at a local grocery store to get into one car for the journey. We always talk about who is coming, who we can’t wait to see, who is sick, new babies and all that family stuff. Eventually, our talk always includes the mystery meat question of who will put what in what dish .”What” is usually something brought back from a recent hunting adventure, and the head  is now hanging on someone’s wall. Appetizing uh??? : )

Well, the Princess, aka my mom who does not eat chicken, had already decided she was going to either eat Aunt Lilly’s chili or my brothers pulled pork. She did not know that my sister and I had a little surprise for her. When we went in to the grocery store, we wanted to bring our own mystery meat.

We found some…..

Frog Legs…..hop diggity!

The Princess, was not amused. We told her to try one….it taste like chicken…..

Good thing there is not a dungeon in this castle.

My Uncle Jerry and his wife Aunt Lois were happy to eat frog legs.

The Princess thought they would croak and she would too….ribbit

Even when the frog legs hopped onto people plates, we still had a banquet that even Golden Corral could not match.

All the food would not fit on one table, so we moved  food to another table. We even had to use another table for brother to carve the turkey.

I am so full!

After eating, the aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great grandchildren and everyone else that I might have missed, sing Christmas Carols.

After singing, my Uncle Jerry reads out of the bible. He reads the scripture about when baby Jesus was born.

After that, it is present time!

There is goodies for everyone! I got some caramels (my favorite), hand soap, notebook, peppermint and a bag of doritos!

My Aunt Lily hands out the Chritmas Stockings. (Direct from the Hanes Factory at the North Pole)

I embroidered names on pillowcases for my mom that she made, to give to her brothers and sisters.

 I embroydered a total of eleven pillowcases altogether. I wish all 16 syblings could have gotten one. But the 5 missing syblings are resting at the nearby cemetery.

After all the presents were given out, it was about time to leave.

Before the long drive home, everyone makes a visit to the fancy two seater outhouse.

There is one good thing about the fancy two seater outhouse.

It is the best place to get cell phone service. My brother says it’s because that the cell phone signal shoots out of the moon in the door.

Redneck humor…..

It was time to clean up and go home. I dumped out the dish pan water.

We loaded up the car with our goodies and drove back down to the cattle gate.

We made memories, recalled old memories and left some memories behind…

In God’s Country.

I can’t wait to go back!

Thank you for letting me share my day!

Becky

Is it the 6th day of December already?  

I have hardly started my shopping, which is not normal for me. I usually have at least half my shopping list bought by now.

 Wrapped….well that is another story. I have a bad habit of waiting until the night before the Big Red Guy comes down the chimney before I drag the wrapping paper out.

This year, I have to do better!

Do you want to know why….?

Well, the Big Red Guy has sent a spy to my house…..

Here he is….

He does not look too happy with his assignment.

Maybe he will look happier on the tree….and if he is hidden among the branches he will not be able to spy and tell the real Big Red Guy, that I am moving slow buying my presents this year.

He already has a wrapped present and a decorated tree in his arms…..

What is my excuse?

December 6th, Countdown to Christmas….19 day left…..tick tock…tick tock…..

Can someone turn off the timer!

Ho Ho Ho

Becky

I made another quick shopping trip to Walgreens and used my $5 off coupon if you spend $20 and my last $8 of register rewards.

Guess what I bought?

More Turkey Bacon.

Now lets get one thing straight. Turkey bacon is still a turkey dressed up to look like a pig, it is like, “pretend bacon.”

But, it just has 15 calories a slice, it is microwaveable, I can cook it at home, throw it in a ziploc with my toast and honey, and munch away on it while I drive to work. If I am busy driving, talking on the phone to the “Princess”, aka my mom, I hardly notice the lack of bacon fat and sound of crispy bacon.

My son won’t touch it….and laughs when he hears the microwave in the morning.

 At just $1.29 a package, and that is fine by me!

Here is what I bought:

I package 6 roll Charmin (I don’t think I can ever buy enough TP)

1 box of 45 kitchen trash bags (I don’t think I can ever buy enough trash bags)

2 boxes of 30 yards of Reynolds wrap (With holiday cooking breathing down my neck, I need every roll)

3 Butterfingers (Please, who can say no to a Candy bar?)

and drum roll please…..

5 more packages of Turkey Bacon

With coupons and register rewards I spent a total of….

………$8.02….

A savings of 74%

It is so much fun to gobble up a bunch of savings….and turkey bacon!

Gobble Gobble!

Becky

Do you want to take a guess what the ornament will be today?

Do you have a sweet tooth?

If you answered YES, then you will love the December 5th ornament.

Can you see what it is?

It is a little wrapped piece of candy ornament.

Straight from Santa’s kitchen to my little tree : )

20 days left….so much to shopping to do….so much candy to eat!

I will start with the candy first!

Becky