Cheese straws and memories

Whenever the bulky cheese grater appeared on the counter at home, it meant one of two things. We were either having pimiento cheese sandwiches for lunch or Mama was making cheese straws. 

Around this time of year, it usually meant cheese straws, but that grater with the hand crank also came out when Mama was helping with a shower or a wedding, including my own. 

I would get excited whenever I saw the cheese grater and Mirro cookie press on the kitchen counter. Not only would I get to sample the broken cheese straws when they were cooled enough to eat, but it also meant my cousins would be visiting. 

When Mama made cheese straws, either my Aunt Margaret or my Aunt Lottie would usually come to help so they could quickly finish a batch for whatever special occasion they were planning. This was often followed up with tubs of delicious fruit punch they would put in the freezer to serve at the party. 

The children would hover in the kitchen when all of this was going on. I remember my sister, Susan, and I would stand by the bowl where Daddy was grating cheese and watch it come out of the grater cylinder, making a mountain of fine orange cheddar that smelled so good. We would beg, just like hungry little birds, for handfuls of the soft cheese. Daddy would give us just a little bit, but Mama needed it for the cheese straws, he would tell us. I thought of  this last week when I was grating my cheese and my husband wanted to sample the sharp cheddar! I let him have a very little bit, but I wanted every ounce to go in my recipe. 

The cookie press, now called “vintage” on ebay, only came out for cheese straws, spritz cookies and Mama’s powdered sugar-covered nutty fingers. 

I loved looking at the recipe book that came with the press and the photos of the fancy cookies you could make using different plates. For the cheese straws, Mama used the star plate for the desired ruffled points that would get a little crispy in the oven. 

I enjoyed watching as Mama or one of my aunts pressed the cheese straw dough into the cookie press and turned the knob on the end, pressing out long rows of orange dough with lots of little points. Someone else would cut the rows into serving size pieces and make sure they were straight before going in the oven. 

The smell of cheese straws baking is unmistakable. Last week, when I baked a batch, I was taken aback when I got the first whiff of cheddar mixed with a little red pepper and paprika. It was the smell of Christmas in Mama’s kitchen. 

I have Mama’s Mirro press as well as one that my mother-in-law gave me. I use the working parts from each one of them to make the same  Christmas treats Mama made. 

My family loves cheese straws, and after I found my mama’s handwritten recipe a few years ago, I’ve made them a few times for us. It’s a lot of hard work with that decades-old press whose crank doesn’t turn as easily as it once did. I have tried to find a new cookie press, but I’ve had no luck finding one that operates the way Mama’s did. So last week, when I made my cheese straw dough and failed miserably with a new press that was sent to me, I went to Plan B. I rolled the dough into logs about as big around as a nickel, and cut the logs into pieces that resembled fat coins. I topped some with a pecan half. 

I couldn’t wait to taste one when it came out of the oven, and I burned my fingers in my haste. But within a few minutes they were ready to sample. 

Yes, it’s the same taste. No pretty little ruffles like Mama’s cheese straws, but they were so good. 

I worried what my tradition-minded family might say. I shouldn’t have. My daughter, Anna, has eaten almost the entire first recipe! 

The recipe

Most recipes I’ve found have the same basic ingredients for cheese straws: sharp cheddar cheese, butter, flour and red pepper. The difference is usually in how much butter, cheese and pepper are used. 

My dear friend and former sister-in-law Frances Wells Tomlinson adds Worchestershire sauce to her recipe. Mama used paprika. 

Since I have yet to find a cookie press on the market that works the way my mama’s old Mirro press works, I made this recipe as wafers or little biscuits. If you make it that way, you don’t have to buy special equipment. No, the wafers are not as pretty as Mama’s cheese straws and don’t have 

the crunchy ruffles. But they are good. Very, very good. And they are easy.

I experimented with this recipe three times in the last week, and it took less than an hour from start to finish each time. 

I grated my own cheese the first time and used packaged, finely shredded cheese the other times. I had better results with the dough and final 

product with the batch using cheese I grated. 

This recipe is the one my mama, Helen Owens Boykin, used so many times for Christmas Eve parties, baby showers and wedding receptions, including my own. 

Helen’s Cheese Straws 

• 3⁄4 stick of butter, softened 
• 1⁄2 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese 
• 1 1⁄4 cup self-rising flour 
• 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 ⁄4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) 
• 1 ⁄4 teaspoon paprika 

With electric mixer beat butter until creamy. Add grated cheese a little at a time until incorporated. Gradually add in flour, salt, red pepper and paprika until mixed. My dough is crumbly at this point, so I use my hands to work the dough until it is soft. The warmth from your hands should make 

the dough form as needed. 

If you have a cookie press, use the star tip to make cheese straws. Cut in desired lengths before baking. Mama’s recipe says she made 60 to 70 3 1⁄2-inch cheese straws. 

If you don’t have a press, take a handful of softened dough and roll it into a log about as big around as a nickel. Cut around 1⁄4-inch thick. Repeat 

with remaining dough. 

Bake either version at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. 

Adapted from a recipe by Helen O. Boykin 

Tips for diabetics for holiday eating

There are so many opportunities to eat big meals and overindulge during the holidays from Thanksgiving dinner to a New Year’s Eve celebration.

If you have special dietary concerns, it can be a season of problems.

Lee Lamb, clinical and cardio-pulmonary rehab dietitian at Wilson Medical Center, talked about some of these pitfalls and good alternatives at last week’s meeting of the Wilson County Diabetes Support Group.

“You want to be prepared,” she said.

Those attending the meeting were greeted with a plate of diabetes-friendly food Lamb had prepared, including a green bean casserole made with frozen beans and bread crumbs and pumpkin pudding made with canned pumpkin and sugar-free Jell-O.

Much of the meeting involved participants sharing ways they had adapted favorite holiday recipes to be healthier and to fit into their diet as well as tips from Lamb.

Here are some of the ideas that came up last week:

• Use Splenda in pumpkin pie instead of sugar. Lamb pointed out it’s also good to make the pie crust-less or put nuts on the bottom instead of a crust.

•  A good holiday dessert is trifle made with angel food cake, sugar-free Jell-O pudding and light whipped topping.

• If you’re trying to adjust your diet, ease into the transition. One participant told how she is gradually weaning herself from sugar in her tea by adjusting the ratio of sugar and Splenda. It’s easy to do the same with whole milk and skim milk.

• Be careful what you drink at holiday parties. Calories can really add up with egg nog, hot chocolate and alcohol. You can make your own egg nog with low-fat or skim milk and artificial sweeteners. Lamm served delicious unsweetened, hot herbal tea at the meeting.

• Family members might press you to cook the same traditional recipes at Thanksgiving and Christmas with no modifications. But you don’t want to get off your regimen, even for the holidays. “It’s important to stay focused,” Lamb said. 

• One woman in the group asked for ways to make carrot cake healthier. Lamb suggested reducing the amount of sweetener and using Splenda. You can also add more pineapple and carrot, she said, use reduced-fat cream cheese or Greek yogurt cream cheese.

• “Don’t be afraid to cut things in half,” Lamb told them. For the onion dip she served at the meeting, she used half an envelope of onion soup mix stirred into Greek yogurt, not sour cream. And she provided carrot sticks for the dip, not chips.

• Stuffing was a favorite holiday dish for several in the group. Lamb said to make it healthier don’t add the grease from the turkey and use reduced-sodium chicken broth.

• When you’re at a big meal, don’t go back for seconds or thirds. And be careful with your original plate and the serving sizes making it one-half non-starch vegetable, one-quarter carbohydrate and one-quarter protein.

• Put away the food as soon as possible after the meal so you aren’t tempted to keep eating, and give away the leftovers. “Don’t keep that temptation around,” Lamb said.

• Don’t fry your turkey, and when you roast it, remove the skin before eating.

• Take a 15-minute walk after every meal.

• When making chicken salad, try Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise and mix in fruit, nuts and seeds.

• Volunteer to take food to a meal or party you are attending. That way, you’ll be sure to have something healthy to eat.

• Don’t be afraid to modify and change recipes.

• Instead of using baking sprays, line your pan with aluminum foil.

lisa@wilsontimes.com | 265-7810

Lee’s Heart Healthy Green Bean Casserole

• 2 16-ounce bags frozen french cut green beans
• 1 10-ounce can Campbell’s 98 percent fat free or Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 cup skim or 2 percent milk 
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped bella/porchini mushrooms
• 1 small sweet onion sliced thinly into rings
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs (whole wheat, if possible)

Mix all ingredients (except sliced onions) together completely in a 9x13 baking dish, then top with thinly sliced onion rings. Bake at 375° degrees for 30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and top with panko bread crumbs. Continue baking an additional 15 minutes or until panko crumbs are browned.

Nutrition info: 

60 kcals, 1 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 mg chol, 90 mg sodium, 10 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 2 g protein

Compared to regular green bean casserole: 

161 kcals, 9 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 4 mg chol, 529 mg sodium, 17 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 3 g protein

Lee’s Low-Carb Pumpkin Pudding

• 1.5-ounce box sugar-free Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 15-ounce can 100 percent pure pumpkin 
• 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups 2 percent milk
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Optional: whip cream, graham crackers, small or large graham cracker shells

Mix sugar-free Jell-O pudding package with milk; stirring until thickened. Add in 1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Serve and enjoy. May top with 1 tablespoon whip cream and 1/4 sheet of graham cracker, or place in several small, or one large, graham cracker shells. 

Nutrition info: 

57 kcals, 1 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 5 mg chol, 201 mg sodium, 9 g carbs, 4 g sugar, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein

Compared to regular vanilla pudding: 

105 kcals, 1.5 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 5 mg chol, 238 mg sodium, 20 g carbs, 18 g sugar, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein

Compared to pumpkin pie: 

323 kcals, 13 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 35 mg chol, 318 mg sodium, 46 g carbs, 25 g sugar, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein

Lee Lamb

Christmas breakfast

I admit, I don’t do a lot of planning for breakfast at my house.

Sure, I make pancakes or waffles from time to time, but we all fend for ourselves with cereals, instant grits, muffins or bagels most mornings.

But come Christmas Day, I want a special breakfast, and I know that’s the case with many of you.

For years, I alternated between a simple sausage, egg and cheese casserole or an overnight coffee cake. Last year, I made a grits casserole, which I shared with my readers as well.

This year, I will probably do something different again, thanks to recipes I’m sharing today.

Two of these recipes came from new local cookbooks. One is from my church, Marsh Swamp Free Will Baptist in Rock Ridge, the other is from Fike High School. The third recipe is one I found online and loved and decided to make it as well.


Marsh Swamp’s “Still Saying Grace”

Beverly Boyette shared the recipe for apple-pecan french toast for the new Marsh Swamp cookbook. This recipe should be made the night before you serve it and chilled in the refrigerator. This delicious recipe requires no fancy ingredients, just some items you probably already have on hand plus a loaf of French bread, some apples and pecans.

I only made a few variations from Beverly’s recipe. I used brown sugar instead of granulated sugar because I adore brown sugar! And instead peeling and grating an apple, I left it unpeeled and diced it to save a little time. I also like the way the red peel looks on the finished product.

We loved this recipe. The toast had a wonderful flavor, and I enjoyed the texture of the baked bread. There were a few slices left over, so the next morning I toasted them in the toaster oven and had wonderful results. I’ll be making this one again, and not just for Christmas.

Beverly’s recipe is in the breakfast casserole section of the new Marsh Swamp cookbook. There are 379 recipes in the book in many categories from slow cooker roasts to turkey dressing. The desserts are varied as well and include an apple gingerbread pie, chocolate velvet cake, graham streusel cake and creamy dreamy pralines.

I’ve gone to Marsh Swamp my whole life and can vouch for these wonderful cooks! I can’t wait to try a number of these recipes.

I included more than a dozen of my own favorite recipes in the cookbook, including some of the most popular ones from my food column, including meatball soup with pasta, meatloaf, tomato pie, cheesy grits and sausage casserole and microwave pickles.

There are many things I love about a local church cookbook. The recipes usual reflect the tastes and traditions of the area and many have personal stories behind them. I especially love the ones in our cookbook that have notes.

For instance, the note for Doris Lee Barnes’ sour cream cake reads: “I baked this cake for many birthdays. I always wrote the date that I baked this cake, and in copying it for this book, I counted that I had baked this cake 23 times for different birthdays.”

Our three-ring binder cookbook is for sale from church members as well as at Barnes Equipment on Rock Ridge School Road and Forest Hills Hairstyling on Forest Hills Road across from the Moose Lodge. It’s $15 and would make a great Christmas gift!


Fike High School’s “Golden Demons Cookbook”

Also in time for Christmas giving is a Fike cookbook. The Future Business Leaders of America had the 94-page volume published to raise funds for member trips to state and national conferences as well as to raise funds for students who need financial help at the holidays, according to business teacher Paula Cobb.

“The Fike Golden Demons Cookbook” is $10 and can be purchased at the school. It’s the perfect size for a stocking stuffer!

The cookbook has recipes from students, teachers, staff members and parents.

There’s a wonderful variety, and a number of recipes caught my eye including Elvis Presley’s frozen banana sandwich from Wanda Etheridge, rainbow slaw from Pamela Letchworth and old-fashioned beef stew from Tyrone McCoy.

The recipe I’m sharing today would work well for Christmas morning. Orange cranberry muffins use an orange supreme cake mix as the base with colorful cranberries mixed in. The recipe is simple to make the day before for breakfast the next day.


Easy breakfast casserole

Finally, I tried a very good casserole last week. I have seen many versions online and adapted one for my family.

I made this casserole and the apple-pecan French toast in about 45 minutes. I was able to do it so quickly because I used pre-cooked turkey sausage crumbles instead of cooking my own sausage.

The casserole starts with a layer of refrigerated crescent rolls. The sausage is sprinkled on top, then the cheese and an egg mixture. Cover the casserole with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator if you don’t want to cook it then.

My husband and I loved this. It was also delicious warmed over the next day in the toaster oven. I will make this again soon so we can have the leftovers for weekday breakfasts.

You can certain vary this recipe to suit your tastes, changing the cheeses or adding spices, such as oregano. I opted for salt and pepper only. I’m boring, I guess!




Breakfast Casserole

• 1 package full cooked turkey sausage crumbles (I use Jimmy Dean)
• 1 package reduced-fat refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk (I use skim)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste

Spread crescent rolls over bottom of 9X13-inch pan, pressing seams to make one large sheet. Bring up sides of pan a little to form a crust.

In a bowl mix eggs and milk. Stir in cheese and sausage, salt and pepper. Pour over crust.

If not cooking then, cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator.

When ready to cook, bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Make sure eggs are set and crust is a golden brown.

Adapted from Pinterest




Apple-Pecan French Toast

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 medium apple, peeled and shredded
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 loaf French bread, cut in to 12 1-inch slices
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• Maple syrup

Coat the bottom of a 13x9-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or brush with melted butter. Combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, apples and vanilla. Place bread in a single layer in baking dish. Pour egg mixture over bread. Turn bread over to coat other side. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle pecans over top of bread slices and drizzle with melted butter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until puffy and brown. Serves with maple syrup. Serves 4-6.

Notes: In the photo, you’ll notice I used diced apples. I also had a wide loaf of French bread, so I didn’t have as many slices.



Orange Cranberry Muffins

• 1 box orange supreme cake mix
• 1 box (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)

Mix ingredients. Place in baking cups in a muffin tin and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.

One for you and one for me

How many of you have been to a cookie exchange?

I went to my first one Saturday with my friends at Marsh Swamp Church.

We enjoyed music and door prizes and choosing from among several dozen varieties of cookies, fudge, candy and other sweets to eat and take home.

On Friday afternoon, I made three recipes with the help of daughter Anna and cousin Nancy Boykin. We chatted and stirred and cut and rolled and had a fun time.

Everyone who attended Saturday’s exchange was asked to take at least three dozen pieces of a holiday treat. In return, we all got to take home at least three dozen treats.

I was brave and made three new recipes! I’ll share two of them here today.

The first, tiger butter, was so easy that I had it made in less than 10 minutes. This delicious candy — made with white chocolate, dark chocolate and peanut butter — is similar to a fudge, but because I spread it thin, it reminds me more of a candy. This easy treat is delicious, and I heard several people say the same thing I noticed, that the candy melts in your mouth! This recipe made more than enough for the exchange, so I saved some for our family Christmas Eve gathering.

I made two recipes from Better Homes and Gardens’ special interest publication “100 Best Cookies.” It was so hard choosing what to make from this magazine because there are so many options! But I chose salted peanut bars and sandies.

The recipe for sandies is almost identical to my recipe for nutty fingers or lady fingers. When I make nutty fingers, I have to drag out the Mirro press that has been in my family for decades. It’s seen better days, and my husband has to turn the crank for me to press the batter through the hole to make logs. It’s not an easy task. I had already thought I’d forgo the Mirro press and make the nutty fingers as cookies this year, so when I saw the round sandies, I decided this was all the incentive I needed to try something new.

They were so easy to make and taste just like the nutty fingers my family requests each year. Before the week is out, I’ll be making two more batches of this recipe for my extended family to enjoy.

Anna and I tried many delicious treats at Saturday’s exchange, from cinnamon hard candy to chocolate dipped pretzel rods — and took home containers filled with the fruits of our friends’ labor! I asked my friends to share their recipes for my column, and several of them did just that.

These are easy recipes that you can prepare before the week is out.

We had such a nice time at the cookie exchange, and I urge others to organize or attend a similar event next year. Our exchange included young girls, moms and grandmoms and was such a nice way to spend part of a Saturday morning. Anna and I will most certain be back next year.



Melted Snowman Cookies

• 30 ounces ready to bake sugar cookie dough
• 16 ounces vanilla frosting
• 2 packages (7 oz.) white decorating cookie icing
• Bag of large marshmallows
• Butter or margarine, for greasing your plate
• 6-8 small Ziploc bags

Bake the sugar cookies according to directions and slice about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

While the cookies are cooling, take the container of vanilla frosting and use your favorite food coloring and split into several bowls and use the food coloring to make all different colors of frosting to decorate the cookies or if you’re in a hurry, buy individual tubes of icing. Put each color frosting in a different Ziploc bag, and snip one corner of your bag to make your piping bag.

Next use decorating cookie icing, and frost your cookies. Make sure to let a little bit of icing spill over the edge, for the melting effect. Use a spoon to help spread the icing.

Lightly grease a small plate with the butter or margarine. Place a couple of marshmallows at a time on the plate, and microwave for about 5 to 6 seconds. You want them to puff a little but not double in size, or melt. Grease your fingers and pick up your marshmallow and place it on the edge of your cookie. Press it down slightly. Then decorate the cookies. I used scarves, bows, earmuffs and arms to decorate.

Makes about 12 to 15 cookies.

Heather Scott



Peanut Clusters

• 1 6-ounce package chocolate chips
• 1 12-ounce package butterscotch chips
• 1 12-ounce package salted Spanish peanuts

Combine chocolate and butterscotch chips in 2-quart bowl. Heat in microwave on 60% power for 4 minutes, stirring once during melting. Stir in peanuts.

Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper and let set.

Microwave time may vary, but it’s better to start low and add time because you can’t use it if it’s overcooked.

Beverly Boyette



Tiger Butter

• 2 6-ounce packages white chocolate squares
• 1/2 heaping cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Coat a large baking pan with wax paper.

In a medium-size bowl, melt white chocolate according to box directions. I used the microwave. Stir the chocolate to blend. Mix in the peanut butter.

Pour mixture onto waxed paper. Spread with the back of a spoon to desired thickness.

Melt chocolate chips. Start at 30 seconds in microwave. Stir. Continue heating at 15 second intervals until melted, but be careful not to overcook.

Dot the surface of the white chocolate mixture with the dark chocolate. With a knife or toothpick, swirl the dark chocolate into the white chocolate to make pretty marble designs.

Let the candy stand to harden. Can briefly place in refrigerator if needed.

Cut into squares or break.

Lisa Batts



Babe Ruth Bars

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup Karo Syrup (light)
• 1 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 5 1/2 cup Special K cereal
• 12 oz. bag milk chocolate chips

Mix sugar and Karo syrup together in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over peanut butter stir until creamy. Add Special K cereal gradually, stirring to coat flakes. Put mixture in a 9x13 dish sprayed with cooking spray or greased lightly with butter. Pack down until even. Melt chocolate according to directions then pour over mixture; spread evenly. Let chocolate harden then cut into bars.

Wendy Skinner prepared this from a recipe given to her by Pennettie Bass.



Classic Christmas Sandies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 cup powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in water and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour and the pecans. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 to 60 minutes or until firm enough to shape.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake about 15 minutes or until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.

Place the 1 cup powdered sugar in a large plastic bag. Add cooled cookies, in batches, to bag. Gently shake to coat.

*Notes: I didn’t toast my pecans, and I used a small scoop to form the balls. Also, instead of coating my sandies in a bag, I rolled them in powdered sugar that I poured onto a plate.

Lisa Batts, as prepared from a Better Homes and Gardens recipe

Make yummy memories

I really admire people who make gorgeous Christmas cookies: buttery cutouts decorated with elaborate frosting, dainty wafers dusted with powdered sugar, layered cookies oozing with sticky goodness. But I also admire moms and dads who make Christmas cookies with their children and don’t mind getting sprinkles all over the table and floor.

My husband and I decorated cookies with our children from the time they were old enough to shake sparkly red sugar onto mounds of cookie dough. Every year we’d buy new bottles of pretty sprinkles and let them shake on as much as they wanted. When they were finished, the kids would stand by the oven and peek through the window, watching their cookies bake. Afterwards, we’d all sit around the table and munch on sweet sugar cookies and drink ice cold milk. The kids loved it, and so did my husband and I.

Over the weekend, we repeated the tradition, this time with our 3-year-old granddaughter, Sora, who loves to decorate cookies whether it’s for the Fourth of July or Sunday afternoon snack.

This time around, the cookies weren’t homemade. They weren’t even the slice and bake kind. I purchased already-baked butter cookies — the flower-shaped kind with the hole in the middle.

Sora watched me frost one of the cookies with vanilla frosting I had dyed green, then she picked up the plastic knife I had provided and frosted her own. She liberally added red sugar, cookie confetti and red hots to decorate her cookie “wreaths.” She had so much fun with this impromptu cookie-decorating session before church on Sunday. It was so easy and an inexpensive way to enjoy a holiday tradition.

Were her cookies the perfect example of a magazine-quality cookie? Of course not. But they were pretty to us and were delicious. She also got a good lesson in frosting cookies.

One of the main things you must get over when decorating cookies with children is the desire to make them perfect or even pretty. Let the cookie be their creation. Let them use their imagination and decorate as they see fit. As the child gets older, his abilities will certainly improve, and he can help out more.

He can add the pretzel antlers to reindeer cookies and carefully drop on eyes and a mouth when the cookies come out of the oven. The older child can also help roll out cookie dough and press down the cookie cutter to make snowmen, Santa Claus and Christmas tree shapes.

Look through Christmas cookbooks and at online cooking sites and find cookies you and your child will enjoy making together. When you’re out shopping, let her pick out one or two bottles of sprinkles she likes and let choose someone special to share the cookies with them when they are finished.

And one more very important thing. Take photos of your child while he’s decorating her cookies.

It’s fun for me to look back and remember those days.



Reindeer cookies

• 1 package ready-to-bake cookies (I used chocolate chip)
• Mini twist pretzels (two per cookie)
• M&Ms for eyes and mouth (I used red and green M&M baking bits)

Preheat oven as directed on package.

Break cookie squares into individual pieces. Gently shape squares into slightly vertical rectangles. Place pretzels at top, where antlers would be on a reindeer. Put cookie onto cookie sheet and gently press down so pretzel goes into the cookie. Don’t press down too much; you don’t want the cookie dough to be much thinner than it is from the package.* Repeat with remaining cookies, leaving space for the cookies to spread out.

Bake according to package directions.

When cookies come out of oven, add eyes and mouth while cookies are still hot.

*You can add the M&M’s at this point, but they will “bleed” into the cookie while baking. But it is safe at this point for a younger child to add the eyes and mouth. Have him put the eyes close together because they will spread out when the cookie bakes.



Cookie Wreaths

• 1 package butter cookies with a hole in the middle
• A tub of vanilla frosting
• Green food coloring
• Assorted sprinkles

Mix drops of food dye into the desired amount of frosting. Stir and continue adding dye until frosting is a pretty shade of green.

Frost the cookies. Decorate with sprinkles.

Eat a few cookies and enjoy the time spent with your child!

Christmas breakfast

So many of our Christmas traditions involve food: baking cookies, stirring up a batch of chocolate fudge, sipping a favorite holiday punch, sitting around the table at Grandma’s house sharing turkey and the trimmings on Christmas Day.

Many of us have Christmas morning breakfast traditions as well, whether it’s cinnamon rolls or a cheesy sausage and egg casserole.

For a number of years, Daddy made scrambled sausage and eggs on Christmas morning, and I’ve made the same at my house a few times. I’ve done several other things at my house as well from casseroles to a delicious cinnamon coffee cake that sits in the refrigerator overnight and is ready to bake while the family opens presents.

If you don’t have a tradition of your own, you might want to try a new breakfast casserole that I’ve made several times in recent months — once for breakfast and other times for dinner. The casserole is simple enough — made with sausage, grits, cheese, milk and eggs — and takes about 10 minutes to assemble.

I was not a big fan of grits until the last year or two, so this casserole wouldn’t have caught my attention before now. But I started seeing a number of versions of grits casseroles in cookbooks and decided to make one myself.

I don’t like a lot cheese in egg dishes, so I cut the amount of Cheddar cheese in half — from a whopping four cups to two cups (which is still a lot for me!) I also used turkey sausage instead of pork sausage, and to make the recipe even easier purchased sausage crumbles that were already cooked and ready to mix in my casserole. When I make grits, I use the instant kind in the little pouches, so I did the same for this recipe, making four pouches of grits.

You can add a number of spices and seasonings into this dish — including garlic powder and thyme — but I prefer the recipe as I’ve written it here.

This casserole is wonderful comfort food, whether you serve it for lunch, brunch or dinner. Prepare a pan of hash browns or tater tots and serve with a bowl of fresh fruit and toast with jelly, and you’ll have a satisfying meal.

If you have any leftovers, the casserole is delicious warmed up in the microwave the next day.


Cheesy grits and sausage casserole

• 1 1/2 packages (9.6 oz. each) turkey sausage crumbles (I use Jimmy Dean)
• 4 pouches of grits (or grits for 4 servings) prepared according to package directions
• 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir cheese into hot, cooked grits until the cheese melts. Whisk eggs and stir into other ingredients; add milk and stir until combined.

Pour into casserole dish, which has been prepared with baking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes until cooked through.

Microwave sweets

A friend seemed surprised Friday to find me shopping for stocking stuffers. He claimed it was too early for that. Not at my house!

I like to do my shopping early, plan ahead what I'm cooking for the holidays, and save time wherever I can. That includes cooking.

I've always been a fan of the slow cooker, and I used my very first tax refund check to buy a microwave oven. I made a lot of quick recipes in that first microwave and continue to take shortcuts, from melting chocolate to boiling water, in my microwave.

So why not use that same appliance for holiday treats? My go-to fudge is a very simple recipe made in the microwave oven, so it was no surprise that I was drawn to another microwave fudge recipe, this one for Super-Easy Rocky Road Fudge, found in Nestle's "Holiday Recipes" publication. The photograph alone, showing off the marshmallows and walnuts, was enough to convince me to give it a try.

As the name implies, this fudge is simple, requiring just a minute in the microwave followed by a little stirring. The only time-consuming step for me was cracking the walnuts. I know that was the hard way to get chopped walnuts, but they are so good freshly cracked.

When I poured this fudge into a baking dish to cool, I made sure to leave plenty of the chocolatey treat behind in the bowl so I could eat it still warm. It was heavenly, especially the bites with chocolate, nuts and marshmallows.

If you have kids at home, let them help you make this fudge.

But you might want to keep the kids out of the kitchen for microwave peanut brittle. The mixture is just too hot for little guys. In fact, you really need to think ahead with this recipe to make sure you are prepared to get the hot bowl out of the microwave oven.

I've never made a lot of peanut brittle. As I've said before, I don't like to make recipes that require a candy thermometer, but this one does not. The nut and sugar mixture cooks in the microwave for a total of 8 to 10 minutes until bubbly and brown. The unmistakable aroma from the microwave also signals it's time for peanut brittle! I found this recipe at allrecipes.com and read the many reviews. I'm glad I did. I followed recommendations and used a glass mixing bowl with a handle so I could safely remove the very hot bowl with very hot ingredients from the microwave. My microwave is above my stove, so it's even more important to remove this mixture carefully, using a reliable pot holder (which I have very few of!) My microwave oven cooks fast; I used the 6 minutes recommendation for the first cooking and about 2 1/2 after stirring.

I spread out the peanut brittle on a cookie sheet prepared with spray but wasn't careful enough to spread it evenly. Some parts of my peanut brittle were thicker than others, and a little chewier than I like. Next time I'll be more careful to spread it evenly and quickly.

I hope you'll consider this delicious recipes when you're planning your holiday goodies this year.



Microwave Oven Peanut Brittle

• 1 1/2 cups dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 pinch salt (optional)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Grease a baking sheet or use cooking spray and set aside.

In a large glass bowl with a handle, combine peanuts, sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cook in microwave for 6 to 7 minutes on high; mixture should be bubbly and peanuts browned. (Bowl and ingredients will be very hot.) Stir in butter and vanilla; cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Quickly stir in baking soda, just until mixture is foamy. Pour immediately onto greased baking sheet and spread to consistent, thin layer. Let cool 15 minutes or until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

Allrecipes.com



Super-Easy Rocky Road Fudge

• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Line 13- by-9-inch baking pan with foil; grease lightly.

Microwave morsels and sweetened condensed milk in large, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on high, 100 percent, power for 1 minute; stir. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Stir in vanilla extract. Fold in marshmallows and nuts.

Press mixture into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces.

Nestle