Ship Full o' Pirates

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It’s too soon to take off from regular daily life (school) but it already feels so much like Christmas I’ve  got that antsy, chompin’ at the bit, rarin’ to go Christmas spirit.

I’m sure it’s due to the cold weather.  Funny that those of us who live in south Texas even have a “White Christmas” expectation.  I think it’s due to tv specials that teach us that for a really and truly home-style Christmas there will be snow, and all contrary weather is a big let down.

Well, we got our sweaters on now, so it must be Christmas!

The other thing that is prompting this Holiday feel is that the big three Cowboys have been goin’ to work with Hubs every day.  Weird, that.  It’s a neat deal for the littles to have me to themselves for the whole day, and at the same time, it’s a whole ton of work for me since my plan depends on a certain amount of assistance from those big Cowboys.  I even had to carry laundry baskets and put away my own groceries and water rabbits all by me onesie.  (Sorry - channeling Jack Sparrow for a second there!  {hi, carri})

The point is, it’s just odd here.  I am seriously considering taking the day off from school and just baking cookies and making cocoa.  I think I will!

Want my horribly sinful sugar cookie recipe?  It’s so bad for you, in many ways, but it’s the very tastiest cookie and stands up to little helpers wielding rolling pins and cookie cutters and the dreaded SPRINKLES!  (sprinkles are nasty, imo)  But these cookies are the BOSS of all sugar cookies!

Trail Boss Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup butter flavor Crisco (If your store is out or the butter flavor you can use plain.)
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 T milk
• 1 t vanilla
• 4 – 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ t baking soda
• 1½ t cream of tartar (If you don’t have any, go ahead and omit.  It doesn’t make a huge difference.)
• 1 t salt

In a large bowl cream the Crisco and the sugars together.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Add the milk and vanilla, mix well.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.  Give it a stir and mix it into the creamed mixture a ¼ at a time.  Mix well.  Cover the cookie dough, put it in the fridge and chill for an hour while sipping hot cocoa!

After you’ve enjoyed your cocoa, go clean the kitchen.  It needs it and you’ll have more room to work with hot trays of cookies coming out of the oven if you just clean up now, go, do.

Heat the oven to 350°F.  Roll out half of the dough at a time, to about ¼” thickness on a floured surface.  Cut with cookie cutters.  My favorites are the star, bell and tree.

Place the cookies about 2″ apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 6-7 minutes until edges are golden.  Remove immediately to a rack or tea towel laid on the table.

And speaking of your table, do the whole job there if you can.  It’s so much easier for the elves to help you if they can climb up into the chairs and work at the table than trying to work around the chairs they are gonna want to bring into the kitchen so they can reach the counter.

Now, you may ask, “Why, Mother Hen?  Why do you prefer the star, bell and tree cookie cutters over all the others?”

So, I’ll tell ya.  The star, bell, and tree cookies can be frosted (and look lovely) with un-colored frosting.  I may be willing to allow my kids to eat these cookies even though they have Crisco, sugar and white flour in them, but I draw the line at adding food coloring to the frosting!   Of course, you can use any cookie cutter you want, I know we’ll use a bazillion different ones.

And the hidden benefit of using only un-colored frosting is that it’s just simpler.  I won’t have to deal with a zillion little bowls of  differently colored frosting.  Yay!

Buttery Cream Frosting

• 4 cups confectioners sugar (Deep breath, remember, it’s just for Christmas!)
• ½ cup butter flavored Crisco
• 1½ t vanilla
• 6-7 T milk

In a medium bowl (Aren’t you glad you cleaned the kitchen a little while ago?) combine the first three ingredients.  Slowly blend in the milk to the consistency you like.  Then beat on high speed for five minutes.

Now, have some fun watching your elves frost the cookies!

Be sure you let the cookies cool all the way before you frost them.  Also, let the frosting dry all the way before you try to put them into a cookie jar or a ziplock bag.

Linked to Tempt my Tummy Tuesday and Chickens in the Road.

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