Sugar Cookies (Sisterhood Christmas Treats)

Sugar Cookies - the iconic Christmas cookie, and yet everybody's idea of that perfect sugar cookie varies drastically - Thin and crisp, or think and soft? Royal icing, or buttercream frosting?  Dough and frosting from a tube? Buy them from the grocery store?

The original Albright Sisterhood grew up with a multi-generational sugar cookie recipe that we continue to make every year - one which makes a soft sugar cookie and requires mixing the dough in advance and chilling it in the fridge for a few hours.  Yes, it requires the mess of rolling, cutting, re-rolling, cutting, and baking along with the extra work to make the frosting.  And it will probably also result in a kitchen full of colored sugar crystals and sprinkles. But the sentiment, memories, flavor, and tradition wrapped up in these cookies is, to us, worth each step of the process.

Sugar Cookie Recipe 

(from the kitchen of Leora Potter, our great-grandmother)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup margarine (margarine keeps the cookies soft; butter makes them crispy)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cream together margarine, vanilla, and sugar. Add eggs. Then mix in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. 
2. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour - but overnight works beautifully.
3. Set out dough to bring to room temperature. Roll out dough on a floured surface about 1/4 inch thick (may require kneading in a little more flour to keep dough from sticking on surface). Cut out cookies using desired cookie cutters.
4. Bake 8-12 minutes at 375 degrees (until cookies look dry throughout the middles - if cookies turn brown, they are over-cooked)
5. Let cookies cool.
6. Freeze, store, or frost cookies (frosting recipe below).

 

Buttercream Cookie Frosting Recipe 

(modified from the Wilton buttercream frosting recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup butter (real, unsalted butter)
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-4 Tbsp. water
• 1 lb. (4 cups) powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• food dye/color as desired

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Cream together butter, shortening, vanilla, and 2 Tbsp. water. Mix in powdered sugar and pinch of salt.
2. Add little bits of water to bring frosting to desired consistency. Mix in food dye to create desired color (Americolor brand is wonderful).

HELPFUL HINT: To get red frosting, first make frosting pink, then add Americolor red color, next let set for about 15 minutes (because color darkens over time), adding a little more red at a time until the right color

Royal Icing Option 

(for beautiful, stackable cookies)

The tutorial found here, is fabulous!  I recommend following these directions for royal icing sugar cookies.  I used these directions last year for some gift cookies.  However, we prefer the flavor of the buttercream frosting.

One More Sugar Cookie Tip:
Because it can be difficult to display and transport decorated sugar cookies efficiently, I sometimes bring a platter of unfrosted cookies with a dish of frosting for guests to frost their own sugar cookies.

Joanne for the Sisterhood

Chocolate Peanut Pretzel Bark (Sisterhood Christmas Treats)

Today we're featuring a guest post from a sister of a sister in the 'hood (Megan's sis, Melissa), who is going to share a favorite Christmas treat recipe from their grandmother. 

I don’t know about you, but this Christmas season has been rather stressful and busy for me. We live near lots of family members, and making sure we get time with all of them is a blessing as well as tricky. So when I need a quick and easy treat, I resort to my family’s Chocolate Peanut Pretzel Bark (NOTE: You may need an extra dose of self-control to keep from licking the bowl as you prepare this recipe). 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 12-oz. bag of semisweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate, if you prefer - just not milk chocolate)
• 1 12-oz. bag of peanut butter chips
• 1 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
• 2 c. pretzel pieces
• 2 c. unsalted peanuts (seasoned or dry-roasted peanuts taste weird – trust me)

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and peanut butter into a large microwave-safe bowl and begin melting process.  TIP: Don’t heat the chips for more than 20-30 seconds at a time before stirring. Burning chocolate is the WORST. I have a small, weak microwave, so I did three sets of 30-second melts, stirring in between each one. You will probably need less.

Crush up some pretzels until you have two cups of bits (HINT: this is a great phase for your little "helpers"). The easiest thing is to just dump a bunch of pretzels in a gallon ziplock bag and whack away with a wooden spoon.

Add the pretzel pieces and peanuts into the bowl with melted chocolate. Mix thoroughly until everything is coated.

Pour the mixture on a 9x12 or other large baking sheet covered in wax paper, and spread it out as thinly as possible – once the chocolate hardens it gets pretty thick. Place baking sheet in the refrigerator (or outside if cool enough) for about an hour until chilled and hardened thoroughly.

Once chilled, break your "bark" into small pieces and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (or out on the deck, as my grandmother used to do – saves room in the fridge). Enjoy! 


Melissa for the Sisterhood

Praline Pecans (Sisterhood Christmas Treats)

I love the varied traditions and specialties that Christmastime brings out. And even though I'm a great lover of the vast assortment of Christmas cookies produced by everyone, my very favorite treat this time of year is my mom's praline pecans. She found the recipe for these in one of those cheap little paperback cookbooks years ago (you know, the kind that you can pick up in the grocery store check-out lanes - back before Google and Pinterest). And I think we just decided to try them out one year as gifts for our friends and coworkers. They were a smashing success with every recipient - and so my family's tradition of giving "Christmas Nuts" each year was born. So here, for the many friends and family who have asked for this over the years, is our "secret" (not really) Praline Pecan recipe. 

My "elves" getting ready to help me make a batch of Christmas Nuts

Praline Pecans (aka. "Christmas Nuts")

INGREDIENTS: 
(all can be gotten very affordably at Aldi - esp. the nuts, which are rather expensive everywhere else)

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cups (or 2 6oz. bags) of pecan halves
• 1 bag of craisins (dried cranberries) - OPTIONAL

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees (may need to raise temp in electric ovens, depending on how high your heat gets - I use 250 in a gas oven, my sister uses up to 300 in her electric). Spray a 9x13 baking pan (I highly recommend a non-stick pan) with cooking spray, and lay out the pecans in the pan. At this time, I also usually get my "cooling pan" ready as well - typically a baking sheet/jelly roll pan covered in foil (lip or edge around it recommended). 

Next, put the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter into a small saucepan, and heat for 1 minute on medium. After 1 minute, stir the ingredients and heat for another minute. The mixture should be starting to boil at this point - and once it is, you can quickly add the baking soda and vanilla, continuing to stir. Mixture will get really "foamy" at this point. One it reaches the Foam-Stage, turn the heat off, keep stirring it, and pour it over the pecans. Using a spatula, stir the pecans, covering as many as possible in the glaze. 

Put the pecans in the oven and bake in 3 20-minute cycles, stirring between each cycle (60 minutes total bake time). This is the time when I try to get little projects/cleaning tasks done. So I set the timer for the first 20 minutes, and get one bathroom done. Stir pecans. Set the timer for another 20 minutes, and vacuum the upstairs. Stir pecans. Set the timer for the last 20 minutes, and get the other bathroom done ... well, that's my ideal anyway. Most of the time, I set the timer and then spend 20 minutes settling disputes over Legos, changing diapers, cleaning up unrolled toilet paper, etc. You know how life goes. :-) 

When the pecans are done, IMMEDIATELY dump and spread them out on the foil-covered jelly roll pan to cool. If you need them to cool quickly, feel free to throw them outside (if winter), etc. Once they've cooled, you can break any clusters apart and store them or package them up in your gifting containers. 

For gifts, I usually get 2-3 cellophane bags worth out of a "batch" of pecans. We've also gifted them in those little put-together boxes at times. And if you want to just do one bigger gift to someone, you can give them the whole batch (I certainly wouldn't complain about a whole batch all to myself. :-) NOTE: If you want to add some color & texture to your Christmas Nuts, you can throw in a handful of craisins (dried cranberries). Lots of people like these, but since I'm not a fan myself, I usually just skip the craisins. 


Feel free to let me know if you have any questions about these. They're actually fairly easy and fast to make (beyond the waiting 60 minutes to cook). Hope you enjoy!

Megan for the Sisterhood

Felt Monogram Ornaments

I love felt for so many reasons. The colors are endless, the textures are finger-friendly, the edges never need finishing, and the cost is unbeatable at 25 cents a sheet. I started making many of our crafts out of felt years ago and still haven’t gotten over it (in fact, even starting to sell some online now). So this post will show you a simple ornament tutorial made from felt that can be completely made by hand…no sewing machine required (inspired by this post here).

SARAH'S FELT MONOGRAM ORNAMENTS

You’ll need to cut 2 circles of desired color and a white monogram letter. You can either eyeball the letter and cut it out or print out an enlarged letter from your printer, trace it onto the white felt, then cut.

Blanket stitch your white monogram letter to one of your circles. This is done by inserting your threaded needle down through the monogram and up through the edge of the monogram, wrapping your thread tail around the needle and pulling the needle through. Repeat all the way around your letter and inside any letter holes if you wish. 

On the second colored circle, hot glue a tab of ribbon or twine to the top center.

“Sandwich” the two circles together, making sure the side with the hot-glued tab is facing the inside. Begin a running stitch through the circle “sandwich” edge and at the halfway mark stop to add some polyfill to the inside. Finish the running stitch making sure to tuck the finishing knot on the back or the inside edge.

Hang or wrap your ornament - and enjoy gifting these to your friends and family! 

Sarah for the Sisterhood


**Check out Sarah's felt etsy shop here**

New Children's Books of 2014

Cyber Monday is upon us, friends.

So, before you panic over all of the options (especially if you're looking for some GREAT new children's literature for your kids), we'd like to highlight a few new books that have come out in the past year that we have loved, or at least our kids have loved in some way - and maybe you'll even be able to snag one as an Amazon Lightning Deal (cause who doesn't love a good lightning deal?). We read many new books, but these are the ones that were our "top picks" - included my Very Top Pick for 2014. (To see what that is, scroll to the end) 

NOTE: If you read this post today (12/1/14) and decide to get a book off of Amazon.com, TODAY ONLY you can use code HOLIDAY30 to get 30% off of any print book (yes, that's off of their already-low book prices. And if you're a Prime member, you can select their "No-Rush Shipping" and earn $1 credit- every time - towards kindle books, movies, or music). Okay, sales pitch over. No, we do not work for Amazon. Just excited about good deals. :-) 

Best New Children's Books of 2014 (IMO)

Have You Seen My Dragon

by Steve Light

• Great for - boys, fantasy lovers, ages 2-5.
• What I love about this book - I love the pen and ink drawings in this books, especially with all of the black and white pictures with the few colored characters/objects scattered throughout. The book is a little bit of a "seek and find" theme (even though the "dragon" should be found rather easily). But I also loved all of the "city" objects that can be identified throughout - a great teaching tool if you don't already live in a big city and see these things on a regular basis. 
• What my Son loved about this book - my four-year old loved that this book was about a dragon. Simply put, he's into dragons these days. So if you have a son or child who loves dragons and loves getting caught up in all things fantasy, then they'll love this book. 

Maple

by Lori Nichols 

• Great for  - boys and girls; siblings; any child who just got or is about to get a sibling. Ages 2-6. 
• What I love about this book - EVERYTHING. Okay, so I'm prone to hyperbole, but my kids and I did really love this debut picture book of Lori Nichols'. So much so, that we already own it (daughter's birthday was in October, etc.) And not just this book, but the sequel as well (but I'm getting ahead of myself). Anyway, I love the soft, meticulous, beautiful illustrations. And the perfect depiction of little Maple, happily playing outside with "her tree" (you'll never guess what kind). And her realization one day that trees are fine, but little girls need more than trees for friends. And the new tree that starts to grow next to hers. :-) I'll stop there and let you finish the story yourself. But it's a sweet, fun story that we loved reading through.
• What my kids loved about this book - Both of my kids loved this story. And my son really connected with the idea of being an oldest child and getting a "new sibling" (he's about to get another in a few months). In fact, he connected so much with this story that he is begging me to name our new little girl "Maple." We'll see what happens come February ... :-) 

Maple and Willow Together

by Lori Nichols

• Great for - boys, girls, siblings, ages 2-6
• What I love about this book - See comments above (more of the same). But I also love how this particular story perfectly captured the essence of real sibling life. As in, it's not all daisies and roses. But I especially love the resolution in this story - it's just sweet. And fun. And fairly realistic. :-) You'll enjoy it. 
• What my Kids love about this book - They mainly love that we got another book about Maple. But it was also a good teaching tool, as my 4 and 2 year-olds are currently working through "sibling irritation" at very high levels these days. No, this book is not going to address how to best deal with your kids when they fight; but it brings up a perfectly portrayed scenario that you can use to start up a conversation (that's not in "the heat of the moment").

Go! Go! Go! Stop!

by Charise Mericle Harper

• Great for - any kids, ages 2-6, kids learning colors
• What I love about this book - I suppose I could say that I love that this book teaches the meaning of red, green, and yellow traffic lights. If I sound hesitant, it's only because this wonderfully fun book has induced a season of "RED LIGHT/GREEN LIGHT" (yes, the game) in our house that never seems to end. My son won't do anything now without me "giving him the green light." :-\
• What my Kids/Son love(s) about this book - As I mentioned, my kids think this book is great. Boys will love it because it has lots of silly, fun-looking construction vehicles. And our daughter loves it because of the basic color scheme that she has started identifying - red, green, and yellow (at the very end). So if you are ready to play 38,000 games of Red Light/Green Light, then by all means, buy this book. (Seriously, I'm sure your kids will love it. I'm just green-light-ed out.) 

And the winner for my 2014 children's book list is ... 

The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit

by Emma Thompson

• Great for - EVERYONE. ALL AGES. 
• What I love about this book - So far, I haven't found anything to NOT love about this book. But here's my simplified list: 1) The AUTHOR - It's by Emma Thompson. She's genius, folks. Sheer genius. 2) The CHARACTERS - It's about Peter Rabbit. No it's not an original Beatrix Potter tale, but Thompson, like no other, gets as close as anyone could. 3) The PICTURES - Eleanor Taylor = another genius. They're beautiful, and look so much like original Potter paintings. 4) The STORY - it's such a fun story, and with so many fun, big words (just like our friend Beatrix would use). 
• What my kids love about this book - Actually, they don't yet, But that's because it's very new, and I've been too cheap to actually purchase it (I've only read through it in a bookstore). But I'm lobbying for my mom to take care of this dilema come Christmas ... 
• THE BEST PART!!! - This book comes with a CD of Emma Thompson herself reading the story. My kids are really into story-on-CDs these days. And I honestly can't wait to hear this one being read by one of my favorite actresses. It's going to be a winner. I am really really hoping this is a lightning deal tomorrow. :-) 

Well, I hope that helpful to you. If you want to know about any other newer books, just let me know. I can tell you that This is a Moose, The Pigeon Needs a Bath, and EIEIO: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm with a Little Help from a Hen did NOT make the cut (just not impressed, no matter what the reviews). But happy book-browsing either way - and may your reading days with your kids be merry and bright! 

Megan for the Sisterhood 

Albright 2013 Memory Quilt

Today Jill is sharing a special project that she completed for our parents for Christmas - a Family Memory Quilt. If you haven't yet, check out her Etsy shop featuring the many personalized quilts she has for sale. Perfect for those of us who aren't quite this crafty. 



Since we couldn't all be together as a family this past Christmas, I decided, with the help of the other sisters, to create a special memory quilt for our parents. 

 While different family groups were together around Thanksgiving, I had them trace their hands and place their signatures onto paper. This was done for all family members, except Dad and Mom. 

Taking the hands and signatures I transferred the outlines onto fabric and hand-embroidered them (using just a simple backstitch). Each family group had their own color thread, and these became the white squares within the quilt.

A special square I added, was the year - important, as this is the Albright family as of 2013, which will be growing by at least two more this year (Sarah expecting her fifth in the next month, and me expecting our second in August). 



Dad and mom were clearly surprised and excited by the gift - so mission accomplished!