C.H. Admirand, Sara Humphreys share Christmas yummies

Yep, you read that right. Today's guest post is about food! C.H. Admirand, author of Welcome Back to Apple Grove (out today!), and Sara Humphreys, author of Unclaimed (out today!), join HEA to make us drool … I mean, to share their favorite recipes for Christmas treats.

C.H. ADMIRAND's FAVORITE CHRISTMAS RECIPE

When I was little, I loved the thought of putting out those special Christmas cookies for Santa Claus. Dad always told us that by the time Santa got to our house, he was really tired and had had too many glasses of milk, so that's why we always left a glass of brandy with Santa's cookies.

My grandmother always made icebox cookies, my great aunt made the walnut crescent cookies, and Mom made chocolate-chip cookies and fruitcake. Me, I'm not a big fan of fruitcake — as a kid, it just didn't look right — hard to explain why, but, hey, I was 4 or 5 at the time.

When I was 14, I decided I wanted to add my own contribution to our holiday cookies and found a recipe for sugar cookies. By trial and error, I perfected the thickness to roll out and the timing to leave it in for a crisper cookie or a moist cookie (my personal favorite). Our dad had 32 sweet teeth, so he was more than happy to be a guinea pig while I tested out different batches. My older brother and two younger sisters were grudgingly drafted to help decorate the cookies with Grandma's Confectioner's Icing, food coloring and a variety of sprinkles. Over the years, I've tweaked the recipes to make them my own.

C.H. Admirand's Sugar Cookies

In a large bowl, sift and reserve:

2¾ cups sifted Hecker's unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

In another large bowl add:

¾ cup soft butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Stir in flour mixture until smooth. Chill for one hour or until firm. Roll out a small amount at a time on a floured surface, cut and put on greased cookie sheets. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

When our oldest son started using the Silpat silicone baking mat, I was skeptical, but now I swear by them! I always use them in baking on any type of cookie sheet. Decorate with Confectioner's Icing and sprinkle with red or green sugar sprinkles (my favorite), adding a cinnamon red hot for Rudolph's nose and the snowman's buttons. If you're in a hurry, you can sprinkle the unbaked cookies with red or green sugar sprinkles and then bake them … sadness without the icing, but, hey, they'll have that all-important touch of sweetness.

Grandma's Confectioner's Icing

The original recipe In Grandma's words: a stick of butter, confectioner's sugar, milk, and vanilla. Simple, right? LOL! I still do it her way, adding sugar and then milk until I reach the desired consistency.

Here are the proportions for those who still need them:

1/3 cup soft butter or margarine (depends on what's in the fridge which I'll use)

¼ cup milk (or strong coffee for variation)

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 pound confectioner's sugar, sifted (approx. 3½ cups — this from my oldest son, who likes to measure)

Optional: food coloring and assorted sugar sprinkles, cinnamon red hots, etc.

Mix with a wooden spoon until quite smooth and fluffy. Ice cooled sugar cookies, decorate with sprinkles, etc., and let them dry (so the icing will harden) before stacking them in containers.

To celebrate my 15th book, I'm giving away the signed trilogy: A Wedding in Apple Grove, One Day in Apple Grove and Welcome Back to Apple Grove to one lucky winner. Be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you!

Bake. Share. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays,

C.H.

SARA HUMPHREYS' FAVORITE CHRISTMAS RECIPE

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a good cook. I'm not being modest. I'm being honest. I try to cook well, and because I'm insanely tenacious, I'll keep trying, but it will never be one of my gifts. I think cooking and baking are an art form, and I have the utmost respect for anyone who excels at it. My brother-in-law is an incredibly talented chef, and his Cuban sandwiches are to die for!

That being said, I do not have a recipe that's mine. I can barely manage not to screw up other people's recipes, so the idea of creating my own is outside the realm of my reality. Put it this way: When I bake cookies, the first thing my boys do is check to see if the bottom is burnt. They refer to it as "Mom's burnt touch."

Nice.

In the spirit of giving, I would like to share with you a recipe that's been floating around Pinterest and Facebook. I'll be attempting to make these tomorrow and though I have high hopes, my guess is I'll be able to post my results on that Pinterest #FAIL blog. You know the one I mean, right? The one that shows the Pinterest photo that is right out of Martha Stewart's Handbook and then right next to it is the reality #FAIL photo and everything is a hot mess. Yeah … that will be mine.

This is my favorite recipe because there is no actual cooking involved.

Oreo Balls

Ingredients:

1 package Oreo cookies

1 block cream cheese, softened

1 pack cooking chocolate (Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips are the best)

Method:

1. Place Oreos in a bag/blender and smash/blend until they're the consistency of dirt.

2. Mix the softened cream cheese into the smashed Oreos.

3. Roll the mixture into balls.

4. Melt chocolate in the microwave.

5. Cover balls in chocolate then leave to set in the fridge.

Let's hope I can manage not to screw this up.

How about you? Are you a good cook? Post a comment here and I'll pick one person to win a copy of Unclaimed!

Merry Christmas to all!

Sara

Find out more about C.H. and her books at www.chadmirand.com and Sara and her books at sarahumphreys.com.