Merry & Bright - Day 2

 

Good morning, and welcome to Day #2 of MERRY & BRIGHT! 

Isn't this house just beautiful? I've dreamt almost all of my life of living in a red house, and the green door just makes if for me.  The siding on our house is a light brown, not awful, and definitely works well with red and green.  This spring I plan to paint all the outside doors red and give the green shutters a fresh coat of paint to spruce them up. It won't be exactly a red house, but the closest I've ever come.

Betty Crocker's Holiday Almanac - 1959

I've had this cover saved on my Pinterest Christmas Board for awhile now. But when I came across it thi week, I decided to see if I could track down a copy of it online. 

That led me to the discovery of this lovely blog,  The Recipe Box Project and to a series of posts where she takes you through the pages of the booklet as she completed every task and made every recipe. You can find Day 1, here, and to find the rest of the series look for "Holiday Almanac" at the bottom of the post. I didn't look through every post, but I enjoyed the ones I did peruse and plan to go back and some point and read each one. It doesn't appear she's updated it since 2018, but there does appear to be a plethora of lovely posts awaiting our enjoyment. 

I found this pin of the cover of a 1958 edition, but haven't found much more on it so I'm unsure how many editions were published.

Cranberry Orange Pinwheel Cookies

A friend recently served these at a Christmas tea and I immediately asked for the recipe.

These are SOOOO good! You have to try them!

For the filling:

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 cup pecans

1/4 cup light brown sugar

For the cookie dough:

1 cups unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon orange zest, or roughly 1 orange

3 cups all purpose flour

In a food processor; add cranberries, pecans and brown sugar. Blend well until only small pieces remain. Set aside or cover and chill until needed.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add baking powder, salt, eggs and orange zest. Beat on low/medium for roughly 1 minute. Dough may be lumpy. Add flour by the spoonfuls, mixing on medium speed until ingredients have come together. Cover and chill for at least one hour.

Divide dough in half. Place one half between two sheets of wax paper. Roll into a large rectangle roughly 1/4-inch thick. Remove top layer of wax paper. Evenly spread out half of the cranberry filling over dough to 1/2-inch from all sides.

Begin rolling from one of the short ends. Dough may stick at first. Gently guide dough by pulling up on wax paper. Pinch to seal ends. Transfer rolled dough log to a clean sheet of waxed paper. Roll and tape shut. To prevent flat spots, place dough log in 2 large glasses or wrapped in cardboard paper towel insert.

Chill at least 24 hours. After several hours, gently roll log to check for any flat spots.

When ready to bake. Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice 1/4-inch thick slices. Space 1-2-inch apart on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are just turning golden. Let cookies rest on tray for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

Store in a covered container for up to a week. Remaining dough may be frozen. Label well with any instructions such as type of dough, baking temp, time, etc.

The House Without A Christmas Tree

Buried deep in my memory, I may recall watching this movie as a child. A little sluthing revealed that it was a made for TV movie that aired on CBS on December 3, 1972, which means I would have turned 11 just a few weeks before. If I didn't watch it then, I fell in love with it when I found it on You Tube, and have since ordered it on DVD. If you've never watched it, I recommend it. Perfect family movie for all ages.

- Enjoy!

❈