Rural Missouri - December 2012 - (Page 24)

H E A R T H & H O M E Scrumptious treats make the season merry and bright Making Merry Kringle’s Ginger Cookies 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar 1 stick butter, room temperature (no substitute) 1 large egg 1/4 cup molasses 2-2/3 cups ﬂour 2 teaspoons ginger 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon salt Cream brown sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer. Add the egg and molasses; mix well. Place dry ingredients in large bowl. Stir to combine. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Mix by hand. Roll out on well-ﬂoured surface to less than 1/4-inch thick and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake on sprayed cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 to 14 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool. Decorate as desired. Note: For cookies that will be used as decorations (and not eaten) — roll dough 1/4-inch thick and bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 325 degrees and bake 15 more minutes. Spray with a ﬂat ﬁnish craft varnish to help preserve the cookie decorations. I by Heather Berry hberry@ruralmissouri.coop page design by Megan Schibi t’s the season to be jolly and enjoy those favorite holiday goodies most of us only get once a year — when someone like Mom or Grandma makes those treats that always remind us of Christmas. Bakers and candy makers of all ages seem to spend a little more time in the kitchen during the holiday season preparing the sweets they know their family and friends crave all year long. They dig out Grandma’s fudge recipe, Pa’s favorite date loaf or Auntie’s secret cookie recipe and tempt people with their goodness. There’s nothing quite like sitting in the kitchen watching someone stir up a batch of cookies you know are going to sit on a plate for Santa’s arrival that night. If you don’t let kids help in the kitchen very often, the holidays are the perfect time to work on making edible gifts for people and decorating cookies with icing and sprinkles. Somehow, sugar cookies just taste better when you decorate them yourself. No matter what your favorite holiday goodies are, ’tis the season most noted for sharing, so why not mix up an extra batch of cookies or fudge to share with those in jobs who might not get many thanks for what they do — the postal worker, dry cleaner, teacher, nursing home attendant, soldier, veteran, pastor — the list goes on and on. Just taking the time to let people know you’re thinking of them this holiday season can make their days a little brighter. Have a Merry Christmas! Old-Fashioned Plum Pudding Pudding: 1 cup milk 3 cups soft bread crumbs 1/2 cup shortening, melted 1/2 cup molasses 1/2 cup raisins 1/4 cup currants 1/2 cup candied citron, ﬁnely chopped 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1 cup ﬂour Sauce: 1/4 cup butter or margarine 1/2 cup half-and-half 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1 cup packed brown sugar or granulated sugar Fresh berries and orange peel for garnish Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 4-cup heatproof mold. In a large bowl, pour milk over bread crumbs. Stir in shortening and molasses until well mixed. Stir in remaining pudding ingredients until well blended. Pour into mold. Cover with foil. Place mold on rack in Dutch oven. Pour in boiling water up to level of rack. Cover and heat to boiling. Keep water boiling over low heat about 3 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (If adding water during steaming is necessary, uncover and quickly add boiling water.) In a medium saucepan, mix all of the sauce ingredients. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Unmold pudding and cut into slices. Serve warm with sauce. Garnish with fresh berries and orange peel. For a bonus recipe, visit this page in the digital edition at www.ruralmissouri.coop. 24 WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP http://www.ruralmissouri.coop http://WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - December 2012

Rural Missouri - December 2012
Table of Contents
Comments
Columns
Faith in fruitcakes
Best of rural Missouri
Pursuing dreams
Outdoors
Out of the Way Eats
Beauty from math and metal
Spreading the Masonic message
Hearth and Home
Rooted in Missouri
Marketplace
Around Missouri
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - December 2012