Cookie Count Down December 1st Old Fashion Ginger Bread Men

Ingredients

5 to 5 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour

1  teaspoon  baking soda

3/4  teaspoon  salt

2  teaspoons  ground ginger

1  tablespoon  ground cinnamon

1/2  teaspoon  ground nutmeg

1/2  teaspoon  ground cloves

1  cup  (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1  cup  packed light brown sugar

1  large egg, at room temperature

1  cup  unsulfured molasses

1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Directions

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium until smooth.

Add the molasses and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, blending until smooth.

The dough should gather into a semi-firm mass. (If it's not firm, add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour, but not enough to make it crumbly.)

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.

Divide in half. Flatten into disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

 On a floured surface, roll each disk to 1/8 inch thick. Use gingerbread-man cutters to make shapes.

Transfer them to a large, parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Decorate, if desired. Bake until firm to the touch, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly before transferring to a rack.

During this Holiday Season we all get a bit overwhelmed.. We can help with some of your preparations... Visit us at Harmonizing Homes, LLC or 

Shore Chicy Designs  or call  917-699-1262..we will be providing you a recipe a day for the next 24 days...Happy Baking

Cookie Countdown November 30 Angeletti

Angeletti

Makes 36 cookies| Hands-On Time: 30m| Total Time: 1hr 00m

Ingredients

• ·     8  tablespoons  (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  pure vanilla extract
• 2  large eggs
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling the dough
• 2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt

Glaze:

1 1/3  cups  confectioners’ sugar

1/2  teaspoon  pure vanilla extract

2  tablespoons  multicolor nonpareil sprinkles, for decoration (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 375° F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and eggs until blended.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined (do not over-mix).

With floured hands, roll level tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets,

spacing them 2 inches apart. 

Bake until puffed and the bottoms are pale golden, 7 to 8 minutes.

Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar,

2 tablespoons water, and the vanilla until the mixture forms a thick but pour-able glaze (add more water if necessary).

Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and let set, rounded side up, on a rack set over a piece of parchment paper. 

Sprinkle with non-pareils, if using.

Allow the glaze to set, about 20 minutes.

 Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

During this Holiday Season we all get a bit overwhelmed.. We can help with some of your preparations... Visit us at Harmonizing Homes, LLC or 

Shore Chicy Designs  or call  917-699-1262..we will be providing you a recipe a day for the next 24 days...Happy Baking

Cookie Count Down November 29th

Pecan Sandy Cookies

Makes 24 cookies| Hands-On Time: 20m| Total Time: 2hr 00m

Ingredients

       2  cups  all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

       4  teaspoon  kosher salt

    1  cup  (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

    1/2  cup  confectioners’ sugar

    1/2  cup  granulated sugar

    1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

    1  cup  chopped pecans

Directions

     Heat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.

    With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be crumbly). Mix in the pecans. Roll heaping tablespoons of the dough into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Bake until the edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Note: Total Time includes cooling time.

During this Holiday Season we all get a bit overwhelmed.. We can help with some of your preparations... Visit us at Harmonizing Homes, LLC or S

hore Chicy Designs  or call  917-699-1262..we will be providing you a recipe a day for the next 24 days...Happy Baking

Cookie Count Down - November 28th

Toffee Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients

·         2  cups  all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

·         1 1/2  cups  old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

·         1/2  teaspoon  baking soda

·         1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt

·         1  cup  (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

·         1  cup  packed light brown sugar

·         1/2  cup  granulated sugar

·         2  large eggs

·         2  teaspoons  pure vanilla extract

·         4  1.4-ounce chocolate-covered toffee candy bars (such as Heath or Skor bars), finely chopped

·         1  cup  semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1.     Heat oven to 375° F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment.

2.     In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.

3.     With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined (do not overmix). Stir in the toffee pieces and chocolate chips.

4.     Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pans, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5.     Storage suggestion: Keep the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 

   During this Holiday Season we all get a bit overwhelmed.. We can help with some of your preparations... Visit us at Harmonizing Homes, LLC or 

Shore Chicy Designs  or call 917-699-1262 ..we will be providing you a recipe a day for the next 24 days...Happy Baking

 J    

D

H

I

Oysters and more

As you know I like to write about about nature, gardening,  interior designing and food....Today I would like to share an experience that I had over the weekend....it took place at the Biergarten at The Standard, New York..it was part of the Food Network -New York city Wine & Food Festival "Eat.Drink.End Hunger" October 11-14, 2012

The event actually took place under the High Line.....an amazing venue...filled with famous chiefs, oyster farmers from Window's Holes, Hog Necks, Mystics, Wiley Points and Pemaquids, Watch hills... The event was filled with chefs from various restaurants with their oyster specialties...... We even caught the glimpse of David Burke from Fish Tails.. and conversed with Ben Sargent from Hook, Line and Dinner...  

We learned how to open an oyster with ease and about oyster farming from a New Jersey Native...... It was a total Oyster Bash, not to be missed next year...

5 Steps to Organizing Your Closet

Well most of us this week experience the harsh reality that summer is over…..It is time to do the clothing transition….it is also a excellent time to organize and purge.

Step One Designate a staging area and empty your closet out. You can use your bed or a cleared-out corner of the room. This important first step requires you to remove everything: clothes, hangers, boxes, folded blankets or piles of old magazines. Use a collapsible clothing rack to hang clothes so you can clearly see and sort exactly what you have. The rack is a nice addition for your laundry room once the closet project is over. Take your time with this process, maybe play some of your favorite music and ask a friend or family member to help if heavy items need to be moved. Step Two Organize items into specific categories and take inventory. You can place like items in cardboard boxes, plastic containers or in piles, and use labels to help keep track of each group of items. Some organizers suggest starting with "keep," "toss" and "donate" piles, while others prefer their clients to start with broad categories (clothes, shoes and linens) and then divide everything into smaller subcategories (sweaters, winter boots and sheets). During this stage, take the time to group small items like batteries or toy soldiers together in bags or jars, so they don't end up "lost" among the boxes or piles of larger items. Step Three Eliminate items that don't belong in that particular closet. One of the big causes of clutter and disorganization in the home is items that belong in the kitchen or bedroom, are found hiding in closets all over the house. Over time, the temptation to stuff something like a box of appetizer plates in a bedroom closet or extra towels for the bathroom in the entry closet can cause you to make some bad storage decisions. This is the time to return out-of-place items to their rightful home. But try to stay focused on planning one closet at a time. You can turn your attention to other closets at a later date. Step Four Remove unwanted items. This might be the most difficult part of the closet planning process. It helps to establish some basic rules up front, like anything with holes or pairs of shoes or socks missing their partner must go. Ask yourself some questions: • Have I worn this shirt or skirt in the last year? • Does this jacket still fit? • Do I really need 12 baskets that look exactly the same? The answer to many of the questions will likely be "no" and then you can decide if you want to donate items to charity, try selling items online, hold a garage sale or take unwanted items to a local consignment store. Some great local thrift shops are: Second Time around Shop in Toms River Treasure Chest Lakehurst Habitat for Humanities If you don't want to sell your used goods, hold a swap meet with friends and neighbors who want to eliminate clutter from their home. Many times a beautiful sweater that looks snug on your daughter can be a perfect fit for the child down the street. Just avoid the tragic storage mistake of leaving the swap meet with items you don't need. Step Five Clean the closet itself. While you might think an empty closet is "clean", now is the time to wipe down the closet walls and vacuum or mop the closet floor. Once items are removed, you will probably find stray clothing tags, store receipts or dust bunnies. If the walls need painting, choose a paint that is specifically formulated to be mold and mildew-resistant. You will feel a sense of accomplishment once you are done….and you will be ready for the dreaded winter!!!

Feeling Fallish

As I sit today wrapped in a shall writing on this cool September Morning at the Jersey Shore I can't help but think Tweed...

The color of the cup that I choose this morning even tells me that I am in the fall mode...The fact that I felt the urge to get my kitchen organized yesterday was pure indication that the summer frenzy was over. The floors will remain sand free until next May.....sad but true...

Ralph Lauren Tweed Run - England

Ralph Lauren Home

Ralph Lauren Tweed Euro Pillows

Schumacher Fall

Schumacher Fall