Yummy Christmas Treats

I think most families have some special treats that are created every Christmas or special holiday.

In our family I always bake Butter Balls, a cookie recipe from a 1955 Woman's Home Companion Cook Book.  I have seen these cookies called by other names, one that comes to mind is Mexican Wedding Cookies.

                              Butter Balls

Butter, 1 cup (2 cubes of softened real butter works best)

Powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons

Vanilla, 1 teaspoon  (real vanilla extract please)

Flour, sifted, 2 cups

Nuts, chopped, 1 cup ( I use walnuts)

Cream butter; add sugar and continue to beat until light.  Add vanilla.

Add sifted flour and mix well; fold in the chopped nuts.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie baking sheet, (gently shape with a spoon into a ball shape).

Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) 10 minutes or until a very light brown on top.

Roll in powdered confections' sugar while hot.  (I take a flour sifter and sift the powdered sugar over the cookies).

Makes about 3 dozen cookies. 

  

My husband is a diabetic and he cannot have the butter ball cookies anymore :(

He does love chocolate chip cookies however and I found a wonderful recipe on a diabetic website that I bake for him :)  I eat them too, as a good wife I believe in supporting him,  especially when it comes to cookies!

Just-like-Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2&1/4 cups all purpose flour (I am old fashioned so I sift it first)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt (I use 1/2 teaspoon)

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter or margarine (I use cubed real butter, softened)

1/2 cup SPLENDA Sugar Blend

1/4 cup SPLENDA Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate morsels

chopped nuts are optional but my husband wants them in this cookie.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

3. Beat butter, SPLENDA Sugar Blend, SPLENDA brown sugar and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Scrape sides of bowl.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended.  Stir in chocolate morsels.

4.  Spoon rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto ungreased baking sheets.

5.  Bake cookies 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned, Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack....

6.  Pour a cup of coffee or a glass of milk and eat a cookie!

Since there is sugar in these cookies a diabetic should not eat more than 2 at a time.  We put 4 cookies into a plastic freezer bag (we divide all the cookies this way) place them in a freezer and when we want a cookie we take out the number we want, you can let them thaw or place them in a microwave and warm them...yummy!

I love noticing the subtle differences in the way recipes were written in 1955 and now, it seems like now requires a lot more specifics....LOL!

Hope everyone has a Blessed Christmas and eats lots of goodies!

VE