Pip-a-neir

Well, as hard as I tried, the pip-a-neir did not get made the day after Thanksgiving. It did however get made that Saturday.  I will tell you, that it is a task usually set aside in my family for as many in the family to join in as possible.  We have the Christmas tunes on, we laugh and joke, and have lunch together after.  It makes for a lot of great memories. Some of my favorite actually.  For the last- I don't know how many- several years I have been the one to finish off the dough (getting it to the perfect rolling consistency) and rolling out the ropes to pass on to everyone else to cut and place on the cookie sheets for baking.  This year, not even Will would help me.  I did it all on my own.  I'm not complaining mind you, I love pip-a-neir too much, but I didn't make any great memories this year, it was kind of lonely.

For those who have forgotten, pip-a-neir is a danish cookie.  It is like a molasses cookie, but has some anise in it too for a little spice to the flavor.  It also looks like kibble.  Don't let this be off-putting!  It is actually a great selling point.  I will bring a small bag to work, (and used to bring it to school back in the dark ages) people never want to try it, they think I'm crazy for eating dog food.  That's OK, see, that means there's more for me!  What did I tell you--- great selling point!

So for those interested in learning how to make it, here goes....
Ingredients

1/2 c crisco
1 dash salt
2 eggs
2 c molasses
1 c sugar
9 c flour (more or less)
1 teaspoon anise seeds or cardamom seeds
1/3 teaspoon cloves
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1 dash white pepper
2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 c walnuts chopped

Cream together crisco, salt and eggs.  Add molasses and sugar mixing well.  Combine anise, cloves, cinnamon, white pepper, baking soda and chopped walnuts with one cup of flour.  Add to molasses mixture.

Continue to add flour one cup at a time.  I find that every time I make this I use different amounts of flour.  It is usually between 6 1/2 and 7 1/2.  Once you can't stir any more, start mixing it with your hands.  Kneading the dough till smooth and you have a great consistency for rolling it out into ropes.  Roll into ropes and slice into bite size pieces.  Bake on a grease cookie sheet at 375 degree oven for approximately 7-10 minutes, or until golden brown.  DO NOT OVER BAKE.

If you like a softer cookie, cook for about 7 minutes, or if you like crunch cook for 9-10 minutes.

This is the disclaimer found at the bottom of my recipe. ;-)
*This is an old Danish Christmas cookie recipe that we always made between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The oldest children rolled out the ropes while the younger ones sliced them..... lots never made it to the cookie sheet, but Gram never gave us the devil for it.

Here is one rope made, always want to have some flour on the board.

you wat to have a little space between pieces on the cookie sheet or they stick together.  Not that that's a bad thing.  We always look for the largest cluster.

And this is about a third of a batch cooling on the rack.  We usually let them sit in the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes after coming out of the oven because they should still be pretty soft, then transfer them to the cooling racks to finish the cooling process.

Making the dough can be a great sensory project for kids who like and/or need that sensory input.
I mean, who doesn't like to get a little messy and knead some dough?  Trust me, it can be a great stress reducer for adults as well........

Thanksgiving

Now is the time to be thankful, I hope most remember to be thankful throughout the year and not just today.  I have a wonderful family, we have our fair share of crazy, but when needed we come together and support and love each other, for them I am thankful.  My wonderful son, was able to find ways of coping throughout the hectic day that did not involve a full, or even partial, melt down (verbal or physical) he was polite and patient, and able to use his words.  For all this I am thankful.  

I did miss my parents at Thanksgiving mealtime, however, was able to bring a plate (more like a very over-sized bag FULL of food) to them so that they didn't miss out on the wonderful food because of my mothers health.  I also was able to visit for a short while before my son quietly explained he needed to get home.  For that I am thankful.

I was able to start the process of decorating for Christmas, the bulk will be done tomorrow.  I have placed the colored snowflakes in the windows, pictures to come, and a few other items were placed.  For that I am thankful.

From my favorite Christmas movie, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Complete with book trees that I made earlier this fall

I love the Bumble.  'Cause Bumbles bounce!

Had to give the misfits a home......I will love you Charlie!

While driving home I was treated to the most beautiful sunset I've seen in a very long time.  I was enchanted.  For this I am thankful.

Yes, I was driving, I don't recommend anyone take pictures and drive at the same time, but how could I pass up this view?  Sorry mom.

What are you thankful for today?

All in a Pumpkin

What's that you say?  Well, it's a new recipe I tried today.  I received it from a colleague of mine.  It tasted delicious and is the perfect meal during the colder months.  It would have been better if I had had a couple of people to share it with me, but alas I ate alone tonight.  I just hope the left overs taste just as good.  House smells great too.
Think of it this way, it's a way to clean out the fridge and have a tasty meal to boot.  Mine tasted almost like a Thanksgiving dinner all rolled into one.  Want to know how to make it?

Well, first you get a pumpkin (a pie pumpkin, or sugar pumpkin is best) you cut off the top, clean it out of the stringy stuff and the seeds (I saved mine and they are baking right now- another yummy fall treat)

Then you want to rub a little salt and pepper on the inside to taste.  Make your filling- it can be anything you like.  I put in prosciutto, cheddar cheese, broccoli, carrots, and dry stuffing mix.  Again, that's what I had on hand, but anything will work, it's all a matter of what you like.  I mixed it all together and stuffed the pumpkin.  After I stuffed the pumpkin I poured 1/4- 1/2 cup of heavy cream over the top of the filling.

I put mine on a baking sheet covered in tin foil ( makes clean up so much easier) I think you are supposed to put the top of the pumpkin back on but I forgot.  My filling was perfect for me, but was told it is much more liquid when the top is on during baking to keep it from evaporating.  You can choose what you like.  I baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 - 2 hours depending on how big your pumpkin is.  Check by piercing the skin of the pumpkin  with a fork if it goes in easily then it is done.  Then you can just cut it into sections- pumpkin and all to eat, just don't eat the skin.;-)

I couldn't eat the half.  It tastes a lot better than it looks I promise.

There you have it: All in a Pumpkin.  Enjoy.....