Monday, January 26, 2009

Manic Monday and some snowballs



What gives you hope? I hate to sound cliche. But, the kids do.


How often do you get your haircut? I am growing out the Victoria Beckham swisshy haircut....so about every 6-8 weeks.


Describe your worst haircut. Describe? How about some visuals? (This was 1990. ) First, to get my hair that curly, it would take twice the amount of normal perming solution. Then what is up with that spaceship shape of my hair. Friends don't let friend perm!



What's your most treasured piece of jewelry? My wedding ring. Why? It is a symbol of a relationship I have with Husband, the commitment we have to each other.

Fleur-de-Lisa hosts the original Manic Monday here

For muffin Monday, we are almost finished with the cookie recipes we wanted to try. This one is called Pecan Snowballs. (Kind of appropriate, since we are supposed to be slammed with a snowstorm tonight.) Can you see the Littlest Pet Shop animals amongst the silly faced kids? They had to have them in the picture!

1 cup pecans
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

*Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes. Let cool and roughly chop.

*With an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until fluffy.

*Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts and salt.

*Gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated.

*Mix in the pecans.

*Shape the dough into tablespoon-size balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

*Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

*Transfer half the balls to a second parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart.

*Bake until lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.

*Place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large bowl. Toss the warm cookies in the sugar and return to the baking sheet. Sift the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over the cookies before serving.

*Plate and share with friends!

*To Freeze: Instead of refrigerating the balls of dough, freeze them on the baking sheet before storing them in bags for up to 2 months. To bake, follow the recipe instructions, baking from frozen, and use the upper end of the time range. Yield:

Makes 34 cookies
writeNutrient();
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 120; FAT 8g (sat 4g); CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12g; CALORIES FROM FAT 57%; SODIUM 15mg; PROTEIN 1g; FIBER 1g; SUGAR 6g

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Kids giving us hope isn't ever cliche to me. :)

Oooh Tommie, I love that wild hair. Perms were so big back then.

Janet said...

how long do you think cookie batter will last after you mix it and store it in the fridge?

Monogram Queen said...

I agree kids are not a cliche'!

Ha haaaa you were right in style back then chick! I think my wild "skunk" 'do was my worst hair don't! Yep black with a blonde stripe down the middle. My nieces and nephews STILL giggle about that one!

amariaf2000 said...

Me and hubby both LOVE these cookies!! I should make them again soon! They look delish! Please eat one for me - Thanks ;-)

Desert Diva said...

Loved your comment about children... You still looked "cute and perky" in your photo - hair and all.

Anonymous said...

YUUUMMMYYY!!!! I'm so eating vicariously through you! :)

gina said...

"agabel" has some talent!!

:)

We are supposed to get with that storm in the wee hours of tom. morning- if I have enough confectionary sugar in my cabinet we will make these too. Otherwise, I'll probably make another blueberry cake. :)

Izzy, Emmy 'N Alexander said...

Love the hair photo!! LOL!

Corey~living and loving said...

oh man......I soooooooooooo need a cookie right now. You are killing me slowly with these yummy cookies.

LOL
have a great day!

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

lol @ spaceship shape!!!
i can never stand to see my photographs of an awkward teen that I was......and my mom still thinks that she had the prettiest daughter in the neighborhood!!!! Moms!!!!

IamDerby said...

YUM! Love snowballs! My dd has a million of those little petshop guys. I am forever stepping on them