Covid Journal, Day 278: Making Merry: Cookies, Kahlua, Dog Treats and Fudge

38, damp and cloudy after a day and night of rain showers. Hoping for a chance to see the big star tonight--it was disappointing not to be able to see it on the Solstice.

Yesterday was a busy, busy day, starting with packing some ebay packages to go out--and Bettina, the quilt is in today's mail! Then I sat and studied over my notes about Otmer Riley, a young local man who died tragically and mysteriously in 1906. I went into town to record an interview about Otmer for the library, joined in this project by my friend Mike Ruben. A quick run to the store for a few things and I was home to get baking. 

I had to make the obligatory Peanut Butter Blossoms, aka Hershey Kisses Cookies. These are so popular; I am making up cookie plates for the neighbors and they love them. So do my grandchildren, so I make them even though I am not a big peanut butter fan. 

I also made peanut butter fudge, using that new method of mixing a tub of frosting with a jar of peanut butter and microwaving it. Have you tried this? 

It's super-simple, and since I am totally unsuccessful at making fudge the traditional way, I thought Id give it a try. It's quite good. Here's how:

Line an 8x8" pan with waxed paper. Mix one container of white frosting--I used cream cheese--and one 18-ounce jar of smooth peanut butter in a microwaveabel bowl. Heat on high in the microwave for 30 seconds. Pull out and stir together well. Return to the microwave for 30 seconds longer. Remove and stir well. Spoon immediately into the prepared pan, and refrigerate. It will be ready to eat in about an hour.

How simple is that? To tell the truth, I don't like peanut butter fudge either, but they do, so... 

My other project yesterday evening was homemade kahlua, or coffee liquer. It too is super easy, just takes a little time. 

Basically, it's strong coffee, sugar, vanilla, and either grain alcohol or vodka--I use vodka. Make the coffee twice as strong as usual; you'll need 12 cups of coffee for this large recipe, but you can cut it down, of course. Add 2 pounds of sugar, mixing well to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.  Add 8 ounces vanilla extract-- I admit, I cheated and used the imitation stuff because otherwise this would be a little costly to make--and 750ml vodka or grain alcohol and mix well. Pour into clean, sterilized bottles and seal. And done. 

We had to taste test it of course. To use, mix equal parts of the liquer with milk or half and half. We use 2% milk, and it's rich and delicious. Warning--a little can go a long way, so use a small glass! 

Along the peanut butter theme, I tried my hand at homemade dog treats the other day. The verdict: one dog loves them, the other won't touch them.  I think I'll look for one that doesn't use peanut butter--maybe my Daisy is allergic would like a different flavor.

Here's the recipe I used.

2  1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup natural peanut butter 

1 cup water

2 tablespoons honey

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, and the egg. Add peanut butter, water, honey and stir until you have stiff dough. the dough becomes very firm and sticky. you may need to use your hands, or the paddle attachment on your mixer.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough about 1/2 inch thick and use a cookie cutter to make fun shapes. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden. Store in an airtight container.

Other Christmas activities--finishing up my cards. Seems like there's always a few I miss sending on the first round, but I hope I've got them all done now.

And packing gifts. We're not gift-heavy here, just one per person. I've got them all in bags, but need to write the tags and add tissue paper to jazz them up. One step at a time--I'll get this finished today, I hope.

I hope all your planning, cooking, and baking are going well. It's a busy time for sure, but isn't it nice to have something that for once takes precedence of Covid in our minds? Stay safe and well as you head into these last hectic days before Christmas actually gets here.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.