Bear and his present :)
I don't have a picture of my Christmas present but I do have pictures from my Christmas present! David got me a camera and I absolutely LOVE it! First picture with the camera... :)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Karsjens Christmas
David and I celebrated Christmas early this year on Christmas Eve Eve. We bought a real tree with plans to purchase a fake one when they went on sale after Christmas....well, we didn't quite buy one after Christmas, so we'll see what happens for next year :) We started off the night with fondue and ended with opening presents!
I would just like the point out the tree topper we had for a while :)
Friday, December 23, 2011
mmm...cookies
I absolutely LOVE baking during this time of year. I mean, who doesn't love cookies? They're fun to bring around to the neighbors, give them out at work and maybe save a few for ourselves :) I might have been a little more ambitious this year with the amount of cookies that were made, but I couldn't take any out! I thought I'd share the recipes in case you wanted to make them too.
The first baking day was with David and his sisters at our house. Craziness! We had it a little more figured out this year in comparison to previous years. Each of us took a cookie (or truffle) and started it on our own and then we came together to do the rolling, dipping and baking. We made sugar cookies, peanut butter blossoms, andes mint cookies, oreo truffles and chocolate dipped oreos. Recipes below!
Sugar Cookies
Well, we're still trying to figure out what went wrong with these cookies, so I will share the recipe the next time we refine the ingredients :)
Peanut Butter Blossoms (or as the Karsjens call it, Kissy Cookies)
Recipe from Grandma Van Loon
Mix together : 1 3/4 C flour and 1 tsp. soda
Cream together : 1/2 C shortening, 1/2 C peanut butter, 1/2 C white sugar and 1/2 C brown sugar
Add : 1 egg, 2 T milk and 1 tsp. vanilla
Beat together the creamed ingredients and dry ingredients. Mix in dry ingredients. Shape into rounded balls (teaspoon size). Roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and place a milk chocolate (we tried dark chocolate this year) kiss on top of each cookie - pressing down so cookie crust cracks. Bake again 2-5 minutes more. If using a dark chocolate kiss, only bake again for 1 minute.
Chocolate Mint Cookies (Andes Mint)
Grandma Van Loon Recipe
3/4 C margarine or butter
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
Combine in microwave until melted.
Stir in : 2 C chocolate chips till melted.
Cool 10 minutes.
Beat in : 2 eggs, 1 1/4 tsp. soda and 1/2 tsp. salt.
Add remaining ingredients in order, mixing well.
Scoop onto ungreased cookies sheet.
Bake 10-11 minutes.
Place half of an Andes mint on cookie, let sit for a minute, and then swirl around to cover the top of the cookie.
Oreo Truffles
1 Package of oreos (we used the seasonal peppermint oreos)
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Crush oreos in bowl until fine.
Add cream cheese and mix.
Form into small balls and cool.
Dip oreo balls into melted chocolate chips and cool.
Second day of cooking! My friend Katherine came over and helped finish a few more kinds of cookies and cake balls :) I made snickerdoodles and ginger cookies last year, but added chocolate crackled cookies to the mix this year! I get a lot of my recipes from Allrecipes.com, including these three cookies!
Cake Balls
My sister-in-law Laura introduced these to me a couple years ago and they're definitely one of my favorites. I did buy the sticks to make them cake pops, but I may have gotten a little lazy...oops.
1 Box Devils Food Cake mix
1 Container of cream cheese frosting
Candy Melts
Make cake according to box and let cool completely when done.
Mash cake in a large bowl and add frosting.
Mix completely until smooth mush consistency.
Roll into small balls and cool.
Melt Candy Melts according to package, dip cake balls and place on wax paper to cool (sprinkle or decorate if you want!).
Snickerdoodles
Followed the recipe exactly.
Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Suggestion : Put the dough in the refrigerator for a little bit before rolling into balls.
Chocolate Crackled Cookie
Followed the recipe exactly.
And we're done! Try and figure out which cookie is which :)
The first baking day was with David and his sisters at our house. Craziness! We had it a little more figured out this year in comparison to previous years. Each of us took a cookie (or truffle) and started it on our own and then we came together to do the rolling, dipping and baking. We made sugar cookies, peanut butter blossoms, andes mint cookies, oreo truffles and chocolate dipped oreos. Recipes below!
Sugar Cookies
Well, we're still trying to figure out what went wrong with these cookies, so I will share the recipe the next time we refine the ingredients :)
Peanut Butter Blossoms (or as the Karsjens call it, Kissy Cookies)
Recipe from Grandma Van Loon
Mix together : 1 3/4 C flour and 1 tsp. soda
Cream together : 1/2 C shortening, 1/2 C peanut butter, 1/2 C white sugar and 1/2 C brown sugar
Add : 1 egg, 2 T milk and 1 tsp. vanilla
Beat together the creamed ingredients and dry ingredients. Mix in dry ingredients. Shape into rounded balls (teaspoon size). Roll in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and place a milk chocolate (we tried dark chocolate this year) kiss on top of each cookie - pressing down so cookie crust cracks. Bake again 2-5 minutes more. If using a dark chocolate kiss, only bake again for 1 minute.
Chocolate Mint Cookies (Andes Mint)
Grandma Van Loon Recipe
3/4 C margarine or butter
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
Combine in microwave until melted.
Stir in : 2 C chocolate chips till melted.
Cool 10 minutes.
Beat in : 2 eggs, 1 1/4 tsp. soda and 1/2 tsp. salt.
Add remaining ingredients in order, mixing well.
Scoop onto ungreased cookies sheet.
Bake 10-11 minutes.
Place half of an Andes mint on cookie, let sit for a minute, and then swirl around to cover the top of the cookie.
Oreo Truffles
1 Package of oreos (we used the seasonal peppermint oreos)
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Crush oreos in bowl until fine.
Add cream cheese and mix.
Form into small balls and cool.
Dip oreo balls into melted chocolate chips and cool.
Second day of cooking! My friend Katherine came over and helped finish a few more kinds of cookies and cake balls :) I made snickerdoodles and ginger cookies last year, but added chocolate crackled cookies to the mix this year! I get a lot of my recipes from Allrecipes.com, including these three cookies!
Cake Balls
My sister-in-law Laura introduced these to me a couple years ago and they're definitely one of my favorites. I did buy the sticks to make them cake pops, but I may have gotten a little lazy...oops.
1 Box Devils Food Cake mix
1 Container of cream cheese frosting
Candy Melts
Make cake according to box and let cool completely when done.
Mash cake in a large bowl and add frosting.
Mix completely until smooth mush consistency.
Roll into small balls and cool.
Melt Candy Melts according to package, dip cake balls and place on wax paper to cool (sprinkle or decorate if you want!).
Snickerdoodles
Followed the recipe exactly.
Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Suggestion : Put the dough in the refrigerator for a little bit before rolling into balls.
Chocolate Crackled Cookie
Followed the recipe exactly.
And we're done! Try and figure out which cookie is which :)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
And We're Off!
Being an engineer, I've never really thought of myself as a 'blogger,' or a writer for that matter, but after enjoying reading other people's blogs and thinking real hard, I thought, "I can do this!" Yes, the writing may be in the form of a technical paper, but I will try my best :) (I may even make David write)
David and I always look forward to this time of year. It's that time when you get to see your family more often, bake desserts, decorate the house, turn on the fire and just spend quality time together. With this being our first Christmas in our new house, we have put up lights outside! Having your own place definitely has it's perks! We baked dozens and dozens of cookies last Saturday with David's sisters and it will continue today with a friend to finish four more varieties (picture to come).
Christmas Eve Eve will be David and I's Christmas. Fondue and cookies I think are on the menu! Christmas Eve is spent with the Gunderson side in Bloomington, and we will finish the night with both immediate families going to Hope's Christmas Eve service. One of the perks to having our families be so close in proximity is the minimal driving time (approx. 2 minutes)! Christmas will be spent with each families and their traditions. A couple more presents need to be bought, but other than that I think we are ready!
Merry Christmas everyone!
David and I always look forward to this time of year. It's that time when you get to see your family more often, bake desserts, decorate the house, turn on the fire and just spend quality time together. With this being our first Christmas in our new house, we have put up lights outside! Having your own place definitely has it's perks! We baked dozens and dozens of cookies last Saturday with David's sisters and it will continue today with a friend to finish four more varieties (picture to come).
Christmas Eve Eve will be David and I's Christmas. Fondue and cookies I think are on the menu! Christmas Eve is spent with the Gunderson side in Bloomington, and we will finish the night with both immediate families going to Hope's Christmas Eve service. One of the perks to having our families be so close in proximity is the minimal driving time (approx. 2 minutes)! Christmas will be spent with each families and their traditions. A couple more presents need to be bought, but other than that I think we are ready!
Merry Christmas everyone!
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