Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies~A Christmas Tradition

When I was growing up Christmas was a much awaited holiday.  Santa always brought toys, and socks, and an orange in our stockings.  We were allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve and it was always pajamas!  My Mom made Chocolate Butter Fudge; a recipe I have only made successfully one time!  It is the best and I am going to try it once again this year.  She also made these delicious oatmeal shortbread thumbprint cookies...with yummy mint frosting tinted pale pink and mint green.  It can't be Christmas without them.

Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 T. vanilla
Cream this together until fluffy.

Add:

2 cups flour

1/2 t. salt
1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

Mix well and rolls into small balls, about the size of a walnut. Press your thumb into the center. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Mint Frosting

3 T. butter, softened
2 C. powdered sugar
4 T.  heavy cream
1/8 t. mint extract
1/4 t. vanilla

Red or green food coloring

Mix all butter, powdered sugar, and cream together till well mixed. Add the mint extract....it should be very subtle and the vanilla. Tint the frosting very PALE pink or green.

Chewy Granola Bars~A Family Favorite !

I LIKE granola.  Crunchy and yummy!  I LOVE granola BARS....crunchy and yummy. BUT....I ADORE these Chewy Granola Bars. I totally thought I had posted this recipe....ages ago.

   I can't remember where I got the recipe for these. They are easy to make, no-bake, real food...ok except for the rice crispies,  full of oatmeal goodness.  They even have a little bit of chocolate on top.  You can also add-in any favorite you have like raisins, craisins, nuts, peanut butter, more chocolate, dried fruit.

Chewy Granola Bars

2/3 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. honey

1 stick of butter

pinch of salt

1 t. vanilla

If you like peanut butter, add 2 T.  and melt with the rest of the ingredients.

Place in a saucepan and melt together everything but the vanilla. When it comes to a boil, let it go for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla off the heat.  Stir into the following ingredients that have been mixed in a big bowl.

4 c. rolled oats.....

I take out 2 cups and pulse it in the food processor until it is a little finer.  5 pulses. Add back to the bowl.

2 c. Rice Krispies

Any add-ins you like.

Mix and mix and mix until it is all coated with the honey mixture.

Pour into a greased half-sheet pan and spread evenly.  Take another 1/2 sheet pan and put it on top of the granola mixture and press firmly to compress the bars.  Sprinkle 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips on top and smash again.

Cool for at least 2 hours at room temp. or 15 minutes in the freezer. Cut into bars.

I wrap them in plastic wrap or put each bar in a snack-size ziploc. 

Makes 24 bars.

Cultured Butter Amazingness!

Mmmmm....there is nothing that tastes like freshly made butter. Is there anything better, you ask?  Well, yes...there is. Freshly made CULTURED butter. What is cultured butter?  

Cultured butter is made from heavy cream that has "cultures" added to it. Those cultures can be from yogurt, creme fraiche, buttermilk, or kefir grains. You add them to the cream and let it sit on your counter for 12-48 hours. The cultures add a delicious tang and depth of flavor to your butter.  It tastes so.good.

I used my Kefir grains to culture my cream. Kefir is a drinkable-style yogurt that contains friendly probiotic bacteria that are super good for your digestive system. It is made with milk.  The grains look like little pieces of cauliflower in the milk. I strain them out of each batch and re-use them for the next one. They last quite a long time.

To make the butter I used I quart of cream (NOT the ulra-pasteurized kind....raw cream can be used as well.) and my kefir grains. I put the cream in a quart-sized Mason jar and added my kefir grains. Put on the lid and give it a good shake. Let it sit on the counter till thick. I left mine out for about 24 hours.  Taste it to see how tangy it is and if you like it.  Mine was to my liking @ 24 hours. If you like it a little more tangy, leave it out a few more hours. No more than 36 hrs.

I then strained out my kefir grains and added the cream to my Kitchen-Aid mixer and whipped it until the butter separated from the buttermilk. It took about 5 minutes and it is MESSY! Have a large dish towel ready to cover your mixer....it splashes everywhere! Once it became butter, I drained off the buttermilk ( Save the buttermilk for baking or feeding the chickens...they love it!)and added some COLD water, about 1/4 cup to the mixing bowl and whipped the butter to expel all the buttermilk.  If you don't get all of it out, your butter will spoil faster.  I did this 3 times until the water was clear after mixing. Drain and then add salt to taste, or leave it out.  I added a good pinch to my butter.  Store in an airtight container. Use just as you would regular butter!

I paid $9.99 the other day for about 1/2 cup of cultured butter from Vermont! I will never do that again!  Try this easy, delicious butter!