Drifty's Snowball Soup

And to think we'd never had snowball soup until today.  It sure is good, especially when cooked up by Drifty the Snowman himself.  Continuing one of our favorite Christmas traditions again this year, we went to see the latest Paul Deiss play at Swift Creek Mill Theatre with our friends "Miss" Dawn and Nathan.  This was our fourth year, hard to believe.

Gosh, I hope Sam doesn't outgrow them for a long time because I don't think I ever will.   At least now he can continue to be my cover.  You see,  I can make it seem as if I'm only going for his benefit, the whole dedicated mother schtick, but I absolutely love these plays just as much as he does, possibly more.

Paul Deiss has been writing these Christmas plays every year for the past 19 years.  Each play has the same lovably crazy characters involved and places them in a different madcap adventures.  The backdrop is always at the Claus' house up at the North Pole in the hubbub right before Christmas.  Just seeing the sweet set when we walk in every year makes me smile.  And unlike a Disney movie, nobody's mother dies.  How refreshing!

There's Cowboy Jim, Pepita the Elf, Drifty the Snowman, Mrs. Claus, and usually some sort of late appearance by Santa Claus, sometimes even by chimney!  (He's busy after all this time of year!)  Somehow the sweetly air-headed Drifty manages to steal the show with his silly antics, so silly that even the kids are laughing uproariously at how silly he is.  Drfity has some problems getting the drift, so to speak.  And there is plenty of adult-laced humor woven into the story to keep the parents cackling just as loudly.

We've absolutely loved every year, but today's may have been our all-time favorite.  Then again we do say that every year.  There was a hilarious guest star, the ever-perky Darla Bean from the "Cooking With Darla Bean, Starring Darla Bean Show," a hilarious spoof on Paula Deen's Southern cooking persona.  Mrs. Claus had won a spot on her show to make her famous gingerbread cookies, and Darla came up North to film it.  Lo and behold Mrs. Claus got sick, and Drifty drafted herself to fill the void by whipping up her personal favorite, snowball soup.

It was only at the end that there was the big reveal -- Drfity's snowball soup consists of melted snow and nothing else.  In true Drifty fashion, no one really cared because of her nutty antics.  She has a gift for cracking herself up!  Sorry to spoil the ending, but alas it was the last day today. We've got to wait a whole year for another adventure.

In the meantime we'll be listening to our "Christmas With Drifty" CD.  Hopefully we'll get some snow this year so we can try out Drifty's recipe, strictly following the directions of course.


LibbY

Sugar Cookie Heaven

Don't know about you, but I've never been a big fan of sugar cookies in general.  Sure, they're pretty to look at Christmas-time with all of their various shapes and decorations.  Other than that, though, they're pretty blah, usually stale, and seem like a big ole waste of calories in general.  Why not hold tight until something with chocolate comes along?  They were pretty low on the hierarchy of sweets until the Great Awakening took place.  A packaged mix was just fine with me.  They were just sugar cookies after all, more for decoration that anything else.

Well, it all changed right before Thanksgiving when my friend Denise found this magical recipe online.  It dates back to Sweden in 1877, an oldie but goodie.  She got her ingredients in a row and started a bake-a-thon.  After one bite, just be polite of course, I was hooked -- as in the whole hook, line, and sinker!  In the spirit of Julia Child, I agree there can never be too much butter.  (No wonder why everyone thought she was such a great cook!)  But now I have learned a corollary to the Butter Doctrine -- you absolutely can't go wrong when butter AND shortening are involved, especially in large quantities.

So I'm off to soften not one but two sticks of butter to make another batch.  Soon I may need pants that are a size bigger, but what a way to go down, right?

Bon appetit!

LibbY

PS If you make these delectable cookies, take heed of Denise's brilliant idea.  Before flattening the dropped cookie dough, dip the glass in flour so the dough doesn't stick to the glass!  It's the simple things that matter in life, and this is one of them!

PPS They also freeze very well!

Sugar Cookies Recipe

Photo by: Taste of HomeSugar Cookies Recipe

87% would make again

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This is truly an "oldie", dating back to a Swedish woman born in 1877! Her daughter, Esther Davis, shared the recipe with me and she came up with all the exact measurements, since the original cookies were mixed by "feel" and taste. These are my favorite cookies and I hope they'll become yours as well.

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Sugar Cookies Recipe

• 30 Servings
• Prep: 30 min. Bake: 10 min.

301040

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Additional sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture.
• Shape into 1-in. balls. Roll in sugar. Place on greased baking sheet; flatten with a glass. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 5 dozen. 
  
  If Cooking for Two: Freeze baked cookies in airtight containers or freezer bags to enjoy anytime!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Sugar-Cookies

A Christmas Miracle

Yes, we've had one here, a Christmas miracle.  It's December 4, and we've already ordered our Christmas cards.  I know some of you already have yours out in the mail already, and an elite one percent of you even got yours out in November.  (You know who you are, Loretta!)  For us, though, this is downright miraculous.  Usually I'm trying in vain to get a good picture of Sam until at least December 26 or so.  There are lots of scenes reenacted over and over again, fake smiles, and eyes not looking anywhere near the camera.  

The next step is me scurrying in and out of Sam's Club from December 28-30, trying to get the dang card finished.  Oy vey.  One year they got printed wrong three times.  It was so insane that they eventually gave them to me for free.  As much as I do love a bargain, it just wasn't worth it.  And the final and perhaps most excruciating step is procrastinating for a good week or so in addressing them all and actually getting them out the door and mailed.  We've got until Epiphany, right?

Not this year, though!  We expedited matters and took our huge allotment of really bad pictures over the Thanksgiving Weekend when we were up in Bedford Springs, PA.  The place was already decked out for Christmas before Thanksgiving, which is still kinda cheating in my book.  Moral objections aside, we joined into the fray of the Leapfrogging-Over-Thanksgiving phenomenon.  Hey, if Black Friday can start on Thursday, then Christmas card pictures are fair game as well, right?  

So here's a token not-looking-at-the-camera shot.  Got it -- check.

Then here is a left-hand-too-far-to-the-left shot.  

And here is a leaning-too-far-to-the-left shot.

Here is another location, pretty cute.

And yet another.  Meh.

OK, three time's a charm, right?  No, definitely not.

As it turns out pretty much every year, we decided to use the very first shot.  However, we made some changes.  We decided to order them online AND have them shipped to us rather than schlepping to pick them up somewhere. Supposedly they've already shipped.  

We're on the verge!  It could happen -- it really could -- we could actually get them out BEFORE the first day of Christmas!  Oops - forgot all about the stamps!  How did I forget that crucial step?  It's time for a detour to the post office.  I think I can, I think I can.

Hey, I just had an epiphany of sorts!  Doesn't posting it here count as it being officially "out there?"  So here it is, December 4, baby.  Woo hooooo!  I mean, HO, HO, HO!  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!