Want some macaroons?

Well, you're in luck! You can have a batch ALL TO YOURSELF!

Mmmmmmmm.

My friend, Jaclyn, is holding an online auction this week and next week to raise money for her brother, Joey's, school. Joey is autistic and attends a fantastic school called the Elim Christian Academy. The auction is made up of purely homemade donations, and each item is up for about two days.

To bid, click here and leave a comment. If you win, Jaclyn will pass your contact info to me, and I'll ship you the cookies! It's that easy! And think of how good you'll feel while you're eating those cookies, knowing you've made a difference for the students at Joey's school (plus they taste good, too).

As an added bonus, you won't just get the macaroons -- you'll also get a set of five beautifully handmade cards by Sarah at Right as Rain.

Aren't they pretty?

Go bid! These items are for up for auction until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday.

Out with the old...

Well, we did it. We said goodbye to our trusty old oven and welcomed a new member of the family:


It was just like when you buy a new car and have to leave the old one on the lot, all alone and seemingly sad, as you drive away in your shiny new toy. It was sad to see her go. She was such a hard-working, reliable oven. Until the very end, anyway.

But alas. Change is good! Our new oven is pretty and has officially been broken in. The first day we got her, Mike made a fantastic batch of baked ziti, and I whipped up some Coconut Cloud Macaroons.

I will admit that I was nervous. It's hard to get used to how a new oven bakes. But this one has a light that I can turn on to peek in on the cookies without letting all the heat escape!! I know, this is a basic feature that practically everyone has. But I had never had it, so it's pretty exciting for me.

Christmas baking galore

Ah, holiday baking. Yes, it's been over a month since Christmas, and yes, my posts have slowed down a bit in that time. But that's because I've been recovering from baking overload.

I spent what felt like EONS baking, baking, baking last month. Several holiday potlucks, a cookie exchange with Mike's co-workers, packages of goodies to our families and treats for our own gathering on Christmas Day.

And you know what? I loved every minute of it. There's something about singing along to The Carpenters Christmas album and mixing up a batch of cookies that gets me in the holiday spirit.

When all was said and done, I made....

Tons and tons of fudge. Some plain, some with walnuts, some with macadamia nuts... but all good.


Cherry Chuckles. These are a favorite, traditional Christmas cookie in my family. Growing up, no one ever wanted to be stuck with the job of chopping up all those candied cherries (and honestly, it's still annoying), but the end result is always worth it.

I made them for the first time on my own last Christmas, our first in Phoenix. This year, I think they were even better. They taste like HOME. (Needless to say, I ate approximately 30 of them.)


Chocolate chip cookies. Again, my family's recipe, and a Christmas must-have:


Other assorted goodies, including macaroons and my usual festive, chocolate-covered pretzel sticks. Plus, a new addition this year: Mike's Nana's famous roll-out cookies.

Most people would call them sugar cookies, but in Mike's family, they're know as roll-outs. And they are beloved. Mike began describing them to me around Thanksgiving, angling for me to get the recipe from his mom and try them out.

My mom-in-law was nice enough to take me through the recipe step-by-step, giving me tons of tips from her experience of many years making them with Nana. She stressed that the cookies were a two-person job (one to roll and cut, one to bake and sprinkle), so my friend Kelly came over one night to help me.


I thought maybe they would need some kind of frosting, but Mike was appalled at the suggestion. Just sprinkles, he said. I could tell this was important to him, so I obliged.

And he was right -- they're delicious! They weren't quite what I was expecting. They're thinner and crispier than most sugar cookies I've had. But they've got such a great light, buttery taste, and they stayed fresh for much longer than the rest of the cookies. Plus, they were a huge hit at our place on Christmas Day.

I will leave you with the image of my kitchen counter, leading up to the big day:


Merry (extremely belated) Christmas!!

Christian's macaroons

One of the best things about being off work this week is it gave me time to get my package together for Christian, my Operation Baking Gals soldier in Iraq.
I decided to bake macaroons because they are always popular, they'll be a nice change from all the chocolate chip cookies he's sure to get, and they stay fresh forEVER. And even when they're stale, they're good. So my hope is that by the time they finally get to him, they'll still be edible.
I baked the cookies last night and then this morning, I began the all-important packing job. These boxes travel far, and they are thrown around, so the pack job is very important.
I alternated layers of paper towels and cookies, and followed the suggestion of another Operation Baking Gal, who said an apple peel tucked into each layer of paper towel is the best way to keep the cookies fresh. Her grandmother used this technique when sending snacks to her grandfather when he fought in WWII.


See how pretty the cookies look all layered? I'm sure they won't look like that when they arrive, but I packed them in with about a half a roll of paper towels, so I'm hoping for the best.

Now all I needed to do was pack everything into the box, which I picked up from the Post Office last week!

Oops. When I bought this container yesterday, I measured the height and the width to make sure it would fit in the box. I somehow forgot to pay attention to the length.
No worries. I just really shoved it in there -- hey, maybe this will keep the cookies from being jostled around a lot, right?
I tossed in some extra snacks for him and the other soldiers in his unit, and wrote him a note to tell him a little bit about me and to thank him for his service.

Then I used a LOT of tape.

Now I'm off to the Post Office!

Macaroons for cancer research

Baking for no apparent reason is fun. But baking for a good cause is even better.
Many of you know about the training I've been doing with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to hike the Grand Canyon and raise awareness and funds for cancer research. My friend Kelly and I are chronicling our efforts on our AZ Hiking Chicks blog.
On Saturday, we held a yard/bake sale fundraiser, and I donated a few things to the cause -- a coffee pot, some of my husband's shirts, and, of course, some baked goods.
Making macaroons (or "Coconut Clouds," as the recipe calls them) for this fundraiser was a no-brainer for me. The recipe is just about as easy as can be, the cookies stay fresh way longer than any cookie should, and they are undeniably one of the best things I make. I get a lot of requests for these bad boys.
I always have yellow cake mix and a bag of coconut on hand for last-minute invites to a friend's house for dinner or a work potluck.
All you do is mix the batter:

Roll the dough in some extra coconut:

Throw them on a cookie sheet:

And in 10-12 minutes, the smell in your home will make your mouth water.

Don't tell anyone... but I saved a few cookies from this batch for myself.

Coconut Clouds
Ingredients:
2-2/3 cups flaked coconut
1 package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine cake mix, egg, oil, water, and almond extract in a large bowl. Stir in 1-1/3 cups of the coconut. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into the remaining coconut. Roll to cover lightly. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool one minute on baking sheets; remove to cooling racks. Cool completely and store in airtight container.
Yields: 3-1/2 dozen cookies
Source: Favorite Brand Name Recipes: Santa's Favorite Cookies and More (Eagle Brand and Baker's Joy)

My notes: The almond extract is KEY to this recipe. Something about the combination of the yellow cake mix, coconut and almond is SO good. I've always wanted to try these with another flavor of extract, but I've never been able to bring myself to do it. It would be like cheating on almond.
Also, when I make these for Christmas, I sprinkle a bunch of red and green sprinkles into the batter before rolling them in coconut. Then when you bite into them, you see a little hint of red and green. It's quite festive.