Posted December 19, 2018
Well darn! Between work and organizing for a GA, we've been missing a great holiday party! What a wonderful and fun thread, PaterAlf and skimmie. The wife and I are throughly enjoying listening to the music while reading through the traditions, stories and recipes. Bravo, great job on unbotching the festivities, and thank you both for spreading holiday spirit and cheer here. :D
Since Mannheim-Steamroller has already been posted, we'll contribute a song from another of our favorite groups with a timely message: Where Are You, Christmas? - Pentatonix This is a capella (voices only), no instruments.
Our contribution to the party is a favorite old family recipe we like during the holidays which is fairly fast and easy to make. I think the conversions from American measurements are close but you might want to check that.
Spiced Raisin Drop Cookies
yields ~ 6 dozen
Ingredients
1 cup water (240ml)
1 3/4 cups raisins/sultanas (375g)
1 cup butter (240g)
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar (350g)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5ml)
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (420g)
1 teaspoon baking powder (5ml)
1 teaspoon baking soda (5ml)
1 teaspoon salt (5ml)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (5ml)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (1.25ml)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (1.25ml)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (1.25ml)
dash of ground clove
1/2 cup chopped nuts (75g) - optional, or you can substitute chocolate chips/bits
Directions
Put water and raisins (sultanas) in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until water is almost gone. Remove from heat and leave to cool but do not drain.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). (This is an old recipe, so probably no fan.)
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices; add gradually to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts and raisins (sultanas).
Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches (5 cm) apart onto greased or lined baking sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Place on wire racks to cool. Dust lightly with powdered sugar (icing sugar) and cinnamon before serving. Enjoy!
Our personal holiday tradition officially starts with Yule (mid-winter for us northerners), where we light the candles, decorate the house and the tree, and wrap the gifts from 'Santa' selected for the family we sponsor from the community Wishing Tree. Baking begins - the best part about helping here is I get the first samples! ;) The next day the gifts will be delivered along with a gift card for a local store so the family can have holiday dinner and a few things to pick out and exchange for themselves. The afternoon before Christmas Eve we'll put on our Santa and Mrs. Claus costumes (Unfortunately the hair and beard does not need as much whitener and the suit is not taking quite as much padding these days) and travel to the shelters to help distribute donated toys and items to the children there. The children are told that as Christmas Eve Santa is very busy, he's decided to make a special visit to them the day before. From there we'll visit the children's ward at the hospital, and even the nurses get a candy cane and cookie. :) Christmas Eve and morning is for family and close friends. On Christmas afternoon we and some friends visit the local senior center to sing songs, play games (bingo, charades) and bring some laughter to those seniors who may not have family around that year. Believe me, those senior ladies can play a mean game of poker over recipe swaps!
As a young child, my wife's ambition was to become one of Santa's elves. From her childhood perspective, they helped spread hope and joy and encouraged goodness and thus helped the angels. That is probably the key to our holidays - for us the holidays are about sharing and spreading hope, joy and a sprinkle of magic. It is the spirit of the season that is important to us personally, a time we look back to appreciate where we've come from and learn from it, then look forward to brighter days where we hope to grow and become better individuals.
We believe in the spirit of Santa, so we'd like to be in. However, we are part of the Secret Santa thread, so I hope it is okay with Santa to include a list of 'stocking stuffers' here in lieu of our wishlist, or wait until the Secret Santa event is over.
BioShock™ Remastered
Dungeons 3: Lord of the Kings DLC
EVERSPACE™ - Encounters DLC
Heroes of Might and Magic® 5: Bundle
Knights and Merchants
Tales of Maj'Eyal: Ashes of Urh'Rok DLC
Wishing everyone a joyous Holiday Season, with a sprinkling of magic. ;)
Thanks again skimmie and PaterAlf for such a great thread!
Since Mannheim-Steamroller has already been posted, we'll contribute a song from another of our favorite groups with a timely message: Where Are You, Christmas? - Pentatonix This is a capella (voices only), no instruments.
Our contribution to the party is a favorite old family recipe we like during the holidays which is fairly fast and easy to make. I think the conversions from American measurements are close but you might want to check that.
Spiced Raisin Drop Cookies
yields ~ 6 dozen
Ingredients
1 cup water (240ml)
1 3/4 cups raisins/sultanas (375g)
1 cup butter (240g)
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar (350g)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5ml)
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (420g)
1 teaspoon baking powder (5ml)
1 teaspoon baking soda (5ml)
1 teaspoon salt (5ml)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (5ml)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (1.25ml)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (1.25ml)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (1.25ml)
dash of ground clove
1/2 cup chopped nuts (75g) - optional, or you can substitute chocolate chips/bits
Directions
Put water and raisins (sultanas) in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until water is almost gone. Remove from heat and leave to cool but do not drain.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). (This is an old recipe, so probably no fan.)
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices; add gradually to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts and raisins (sultanas).
Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches (5 cm) apart onto greased or lined baking sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Place on wire racks to cool. Dust lightly with powdered sugar (icing sugar) and cinnamon before serving. Enjoy!
Our personal holiday tradition officially starts with Yule (mid-winter for us northerners), where we light the candles, decorate the house and the tree, and wrap the gifts from 'Santa' selected for the family we sponsor from the community Wishing Tree. Baking begins - the best part about helping here is I get the first samples! ;) The next day the gifts will be delivered along with a gift card for a local store so the family can have holiday dinner and a few things to pick out and exchange for themselves. The afternoon before Christmas Eve we'll put on our Santa and Mrs. Claus costumes (Unfortunately the hair and beard does not need as much whitener and the suit is not taking quite as much padding these days) and travel to the shelters to help distribute donated toys and items to the children there. The children are told that as Christmas Eve Santa is very busy, he's decided to make a special visit to them the day before. From there we'll visit the children's ward at the hospital, and even the nurses get a candy cane and cookie. :) Christmas Eve and morning is for family and close friends. On Christmas afternoon we and some friends visit the local senior center to sing songs, play games (bingo, charades) and bring some laughter to those seniors who may not have family around that year. Believe me, those senior ladies can play a mean game of poker over recipe swaps!
As a young child, my wife's ambition was to become one of Santa's elves. From her childhood perspective, they helped spread hope and joy and encouraged goodness and thus helped the angels. That is probably the key to our holidays - for us the holidays are about sharing and spreading hope, joy and a sprinkle of magic. It is the spirit of the season that is important to us personally, a time we look back to appreciate where we've come from and learn from it, then look forward to brighter days where we hope to grow and become better individuals.
We believe in the spirit of Santa, so we'd like to be in. However, we are part of the Secret Santa thread, so I hope it is okay with Santa to include a list of 'stocking stuffers' here in lieu of our wishlist, or wait until the Secret Santa event is over.
BioShock™ Remastered
Dungeons 3: Lord of the Kings DLC
EVERSPACE™ - Encounters DLC
Heroes of Might and Magic® 5: Bundle
Knights and Merchants
Tales of Maj'Eyal: Ashes of Urh'Rok DLC
Wishing everyone a joyous Holiday Season, with a sprinkling of magic. ;)
Thanks again skimmie and PaterAlf for such a great thread!