Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop 2016 - My Day

So when my friend Carol announced she was going to host this blog hop again this year, I quickly emailed her and said I'd love to join in!  I can't wait to see everyone's fun creations!  Thanks for a fun idea and for hosting Carol!!!

 

I am known in certain circles as the "One Who Brings Cookies"  and it is fun for me to make them for others to enjoy.  If you would like to see what I posted last year look here.

I still have been scaling back the amounts of baking I do in this last year as my husband continues to be on a very low carb diet.  

I must say I appreciate the opportunity to share with a few like-minded people who might not consider my cookies/baked goods to be a hindrance to their diet :)

 

Treat 1:

Pumpkin Bread

I know, this isn't a cookie BUT IT IS SO GOOD!!  My mom has made this bread at the holidays since I was very small.  As a teen, I would devour half a loaf in a sitting...I still could but I have discovered calories since tiptoeing into middle age so I try to make do with a slice...

Recipe:

1 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. nutmeg

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup nuts, optional

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup water

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Measure dry ingredients, combine and set aside.  Mix eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water.  Combine wet ingredients with dry and stir well.  Fill two loaf pans half full with batter and bake at 350F for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Treat 2:

Date Pinwheel Cookies

This is my grandma's best recipe in my opinion although she was a whiz at making her own homemade noodles - so it might be a tie. 

Recipe:

1 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Crisco butterflow shortening

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup water

splash of orange juice

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups flour 

Prepare Filling -

Combine dates, water, and sugar and cook together on low heat until thickened, add a splash of orange juice.

Cookie Dough-

Cream together shortening and brown sugar, add well beaten eggs.  In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and chill dough in refrigerator for at least an hour.

Split dough into 3 equal pieces. Return 2 to the refrigerator and roll out the other into a rectangle and spread 1/3 of the filling mixture on top.  Roll into a jelly roll shape and chill in the refrigerator.  Repeat with 2 other pieces of dough.  After chilled slice into 1/4 inch slices and bake at 350F for around 10 minutes.

Makes around 3 dozen cookies.

A note about the appearance on these cookies: nostalgia requires me to take the dough rolls out before well chilled and bake them because I want these cookies to look how they did in my Grandma's later years...you can make them "prettier" by waiting longer for the chill but they taste the same wonderful either way.  I enjoy seeing them look like hers and I can identify with her impatience to get the first taste!!  :)

Hope you have a wonderful December and Merry Christmas!

Here is the schedule with links for today and the rest of the week, please go visit everyone on their special day!!

December 5

Just Let Me Quilt - Giveaway

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

krislovesfabric <------you are here!!

December 6

Creatin’ in the Sticks

Brenda’s Quilting Blog

Bumbleberry Stitches

December 7

What’s Up With Kim

Granny Can Quilt

Rosemary’s Recipe – posted at Just Let Me Quilt

December 8

Deb’s Rustic Quilting

Treasured Nest

Just Let Me Quilt