Today I started doing a little Christmas baking with Brielle. I've been searching for a good recipe for Peppernuts for over a year now. The ones that I made last year were good but not what I was looking for. I remember them being tiny little cookies (nut size...hence the name) that were full of wonderful spices and were crunchy. I think I finally found that recipe. I found it in an old Mennonite cookbook so the directions are quite vague, but I think I have it figured out. Some of these Mennonite recipes don't list flour in the ingredients, they just say in the directions to add flour until dough is easy to handle. OK! What if you add too much or not enough? One persons description of "easy to handle" may not be the same as anothers. Whatever! Crazy Mennonites. :) Anyways, I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Remember this is a Mennonite recipe....so it makes an insane amount of tiny little cookies....
Peppernuts
2 cups White sugar
2 cups Syrup (I used Rogers golden...I know these are sounding extremely healthy already)
1 cup Butter
3/4 cup Milk
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 Tbsp. Vinegar
1 tsp. Pepper (freshly ground is ALWAYS the best)
1 tsp. Cinnamon (those that know me well, know that I doubled this)
1/2 tsp. Cloves
1 tsp. Nutmeg
2 tsp. Staranise (Impossible to find, I left it out)
8 Cups Flour
Melt Butter. Mix sugar, syrup, butter and milk. Add soda and Vinegar. Sift flour and spices. Add to first mixture. Mix well. It should be a fairly hard dough. Set in a cold place for several hours (I left it in the fridge overnight). Roll in thin rolls (approx. 1/4 inch - 1/2 inch thick) and slice into little squares (again around 1/4 inch - 1/2 inch thick). Bake at 425 F. for 10-12 minutes. (I personally found this to be too long, I think my oven is a little hotter than most. I baked mine for around 8-9 minutes).
Enjoy. They take a little while to make but are not difficult to make what-so-ever!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
A little something to make you smile
Brielle recieved a magazine today which I was glancing through and couldn't help but laugh at these little poems...
CHEESE
Cheeses come in many types,
There's Cheddar, Swiss and Bleu.
To name all the varieties
Would take a week or two.
CHEESE
Cheeses come in many types,
There's Cheddar, Swiss and Bleu.
To name all the varieties
Would take a week or two.
Cheese is often smelly,
On that everyone agrees.
No wonder when a person farts
They say he "cut the cheese".
MUSHROOMS
Mushrooms help to flavor things
Like pizza, meat and soups.
You'll find them growing in the dirt
In filthy little groups.
Mushrooms can be any size
From tiny to humongous.
They taste so good you'd never know
You're munching on a fungus.
CHICKEN
Chicken cooks in many ways
Like fried or grilled or boiled,
Creamed or baked or microwaved
Or barbequed or broiled.
People all around the world
Eat chicken every day.
Why'd the chicken cross the road?
To get the heck away!
FISH
Fish are slick and scaly.
They're bony and they smell.
In some ways it's a miracle
So many of them sell.
If fish are really brain food,
The way we've all been taught,
Then how come all the fish we eat
Could not help getting caught?
MILK
Milk is used in batter
And in cream cheese and in butter.
When someone milks a dairy cow,
The milk squirts out her udder.
But milking can be tricky,
If you tickle her, who knows?
The cow may start to giggle,
Making milk come out her nose.
EGGS
Eggs will make a perfect meal
When scrambled, boiled or fried.
They can be a good main course
Or just served on the side.
Eat them any time of day,
You can't go wrong with eggs,
Unless you crack one open and
You see a pair of legs.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Good ol' Calgary Weather
This morning was beautiful out. I got the kids dressed, Brielle in capri's and a t-shirt, Micah in shorts and a t-shirt. Around 11am we headed out of the house to do some shopping at Costco, and a few other errands. The sky was blue with clouds. It was bright enough out that I had to wear my sunglasses on the way into the city. After we ran a few errands we headed into Costco. It was still nice out at this point. We were just about done our shopping when Jon called me (we'd only been in Costco for 45min). He tells me to quickly finish up what I'm doing and get home. I asked him why and he said that a friend of his called him and told him that they were having nasty weather in the north end of the city and it was heading south. Jon said that it was starting to reach them already. So I got myself into the annoyingly massive Costco line-up to pay for my groceries. As I begin to walk out of the Costco building I'm greeted with a freezing cold wind. Once I get outside the cold wind is joined by a freezing down pour. Luckily I managed to snag a parking spot that was only 2 cars from the doors. I ran to my car and just as I reached the car the wind and rain were teamed up with massive balls of hail. I quickly got Brielle out of the cart and she ran to get to her side of the vehicle. Meanwhile Micah's rubbing at his neck saying "ouch, ouch, ouch" and crying. After putting Micah in the car and calming him down while my back is being pelted with ice balls I had yet to get the now soggy groceries into the trunk of my car. What an episode. As much as I love living this close to the mountains, it certainly has it's down side. Oh and in case you're wondering the sun is once again shining and the ground is no longer even wet. All I have to say about this is....."Good ol' Calgary Weather!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
