The JMB Family

 We had a good Christmas, despite waking up to a cold house (our furnace broke down). Thankfully the repair man came and was able to fix it the same day! We are also incredibly thankful to our friends and family that either offered to bring space heaters or actually showed up at our doorstep with space heaters in tow! All I can say is we are incredibly blessed!!   The weekend before Christmas we baked our little hearts out! What was on our baking list you might ask, well let me share with you!   Christmas Ooey Gooey Cookies   Russian Teacakes   Spritz Cookies   Peanut Butter Blossoms   Peppermint Snowballs   Grinch Cookies   White chocolate covered pretzels    Rolo pretzels   I fully intended to do a bit more but by the mid-way point of Saturday my children jumped ship and left me to bake alone. Honestly I don’t care for baking or the sweets that it produces so my interest faded when they left.  White Chocolate C...

My absolute favorite Christmas cookie is Russian teacakes! Hands down. I remember making them with my grandma when I was a little girl. Making Christmas cookies with her is one of my most treasured memories. She was a saint. Russian Teacakes  Ingredients 1 C butter - softened 1/2 C powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract  2- 1/4 C flour 3/4 C finely chopped walnuts 1/4 tsp salt Directions Preheat oven to 400* Mix butter, 1/2 C powdered sugar & vanilla in large bowl Stir in flour, nuts & salt Shape dough into 1” balls.  Place 1” apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet & cool on wire rack. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack. Roll in powdered sugar again.

 Now this is a cookie I want to try out this year! What screams most amazing cookie better than “Ooey Gooey” in the name of the cookie!! This recipe is from I Am Baker (.) net  **Update** we made these cookies and they’re amazing to say the least  Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies are cookies that will melt in your mouth and are full of colorful sprinkles to get you in the holiday spirit.  Author  Amanda Rettke -- iambaker Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 stick or 113g) salted butter, softened 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 1-1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar 1 large egg, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2-1/4 cups (282g) all-purpose flour 1 cup (126g) confectioners' sugar, divided 3 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup Christmas sprinkles Instructions Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar until blended. ...

 Another favorite Christmas cookie! I made them with mint m&m’s for the technicians I worked with and they complimented how great they were! If you don’t like mint, that’s ok too! Grinch Cookies INGREDIENTS 1 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3-5 drops bright green food coloring 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cup red and green M&Ms plus additional 1/2 cup for topping cookies, if desired *mint or milk chocolate, you choose* INSTRUCTIONS Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until well-combined and light and fluffy (about 1 minute). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract and food coloring, until well-combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set mixer to low speed and gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. A...

 Christmas cookies!! One of our favorite Christmas cookies is peppermint snowballs! We hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Peppermint Snowballs  Ingredients 3 cups confectioners' sugar 1 ¼ cups butter, softened 1 teaspoon peppermint extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup white sugar, or as needed 1 cup finely crushed peppermint candy 3 tablespoons milk Directions Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets, or line with parchment paper. Step 2 Beat 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar with the butter, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and egg in a mixing bowl at Medium speed until well blended and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to Low, and gradually mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy using a wooden spoon. Step 3 Place the white sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll a small amount of co...

 It’s that time of year.. Christmas is upon us! In just over a month the kids will be ripping open gifts, stuffing their faces with sweets, singing Christmas carols and grinning from ear to ear. It really is a magical time of year. One of our favorite cookies to make for Christmas are spritz cookies. They’re a bit of work but they’re so good!! This is the recipe we use. Ingredients  1-1/2 C butter, softened  1 C sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract  3-1/2 C flour Directions Preheat oven to 375* Mix together butter and sugar, beat on medium speed until creamy Add egg and vanilla, mix well Add flour, mix on low speed Fill cookie press, press dough onto cookie sheet 1” apart Top w/ sprinkles Bake 10-12 minutes Move to cooking rack 

 Our youngest daughter and I are eggnog fanatics! Like we will stock up the fridge and enjoy every last drop each and every year. (Yes I know you can make it at home but I am afraid I’ll never make it right.)  Anyway, if you’re in love with eggnog like we are, then this recipe is for you!  Ingredients 8   oz   cream cheese   room temperature 1/2   cup   eggnog   room temperature 1   tsp   vanilla extract 1/2   tsp   rum extract 1/2   tsp   cinnamon 1/4   tsp   nutmeg 2   cups   powdered sugar Instructions Beat the soft cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract, rum extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat in the eggnog, and then the powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve with graham crackers or ginger snap cookies. Or vanilla wafers cookies are good too!