A Recipe for the Season

We're always looking for and thinking about how the visual can connect us with God's Word. Here's a recipe that would be fun to do with children while you talk about the Christmas story. I can visualize using some of those "I wonder" kind of questions to generate a stimulating conversation--I wonder what swaddling clothes are?, I wonder what Mary was thinking when baby Jesus was born?, I wonder if baby Jesus cried?, etc. We're sharing this from The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas by Jeff Smith.

It's hard for us to resist a good cookie!

Babes Wrapped in Swaddling Clothes

Makes 4 1/2 dozen

The dough

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 8 oz. container sour cream
• 2 egg yolks (reserve the whites for the meringue filling below)
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• confectioner's sugar

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until grainy. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream egg yolks, and lemon juice. Blend the sour cream mixture into the flour mixture. Knead together to form a smooth dough. Place the dough on plastic wrap and pat it into a 6 x 8-inch rectangle. Wrap and refrigerate 2 hours, or overnight.

The filling

• 2 egg whites, reserved from the making the dough
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Whip the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually whip in the sugar to form a meringue. Whip until the meringue holds soft peaks. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Dust a rolling pin and the counter with flour. Roll the chilled dough out into a thin (1/8 inch maximum) rectangle on the floured counter. Trim the edges so the rectangle measures 24 x 15 inches. Cut the dough into 3-inch squares and dust with confectioner's sugar. Place a rounded teaspoon of the filling in the center of each dough square. With a tiny bit of water, dampen two opposite corners. Fold the two opposite corners over each other and press the center together lightly. Place the cookies on a nonstick baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Of course, if you prefer to stick to "non caloric" visual images on fabric you can see our selection of Christmas stoles here. It's not too late to place an order....shipping is always 2-3 business days USPS priority service.