Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

This cookie, prepared by Holly, was part of the Cross Timbers Daughters of the American Revolution Cookie Exchange on December 17, 2011.

Yields 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 10 chocolate covered peanut butter cups, cut into eighths

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and peanut butter cups. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Flatten the balls a little on the cookie sheet because they don't spread out too much.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool for 1 or 2 minutes on sheet before removing, or they will fall apart.

Gleanings for the Week Ending December 17, 2011

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Materials-coating advance could lead to eyeglasses that shed fingerprints – Hope this is something that gets to market quickly.

Water Wonders Every Child Should Know (Little Studies of dew, frost, snow, ice and rain)– A free e-book available from Google, published in 1907. Many black and white pictures of ice and snow crystals by Wilson A. Bentley.

Peppermint Biscotti - What a great way to us candy canes!

Feathers in fillable glass or acrylic ornaments - I bought some of these already made but may try to make some myself for hanging in windows.

Peppermint Crunch Bark - This is a recipe for a homemade version of a holiday favorite I previously purchased already made. I think I’ll make a batch before Christmas!

Chipmunks - These little animals can be such fun to watch! Over the years we’ve had a small population around our house and seen them frequently when we go camping.

Molecule of the Month - I look at this page produced by the Chemistry Department at the University of Bristol every year in December to read through a year of postings. In 2011 there were postings about Deet, Musk, Bleach, and Warfarin. I like the history of the discovery and uses for the molecules.

Book of the Week: Old Time Gardens (from 1901)

The black and white pictures in Old Time Gardens by Alice Morse Earle were the ‘hook’ for me. The Internet Archive has if you are willing to read it online; it’s the way I perused it - primarily for the pictures. There is also a version of the historical book published in 2005 and 'in print' from Amazon

Early on there is a photograph of the gardens at Mount Vernon (George Washington’s home) and I knew I would want to look all the way through. I found myself checking to see if some of the named gardens/locations still existed as gardens. One was a farm that was going through restoration - although the house was mentioned more prominently than the garden.

The other thoughts I have when looking at books of this vintage are historical. The book is a perspective of what the world was like for our great grandparents or great - great grandparents. It is heartening to understand that gardens in 1901 are something that gave joy then and the same types of places today are still pleasurable.

Cookies: Vanilla Peppermint Pretzels

This cookie, prepared by Glee, was part of theCross Timbers Daughters of the American RevolutionCookie Exchange on December 17, 2011.

8 oz Vanilla Melting Wafer

1 pk Peppermint Candy Canes

Pretzels sticks – size of your pinky or bigger

1. Hand break candy canes and put them in a quart fabric bag. Use a hammer on a wooden cutting board to make the peppermint chips. On parchment paper put 1 inch long peppermint sprinkle. Repeat across the paper at least 1 inch apart.
2. Melt the vanilla wafers in a double boiler.
3. Dip pretzels into vanilla; vanilla  coated side on peppermint strip. Sprinkle more peppermint on top. Repeat for however many pretzels you would like to make.
4. Let dry / firm up vanilla for 15 minutes.

For an alternate, pick the ½ dollar sized pretzel twists and have ½ dipped in vanilla.

Makes 4 dozen pinky sized coated pretzels.

Cookies: Toffee-Almond Sandies

This cookie, prepared by Nadine, was part of theCross Timbers Daughters of the American RevolutionCookie Exchange on December 17, 2011.

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp salt

2 cups chopped almonds

1 (8oz) pkg taffee bits

Granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating well. Add eggs, oil and vanilla, mix well.
2. Combine flours, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, stirring well. Add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in almonds and toffee.
3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in granulated sugar. Place on ungreased baking sheet 2 inches apart; flatten slightly with a fork.
4. Bake 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Coll slightly on cokkie sheets; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 5 ½ dozen cookies

Cookies: Mincemeat Pecan Cookies

This cookie, prepared by Glee, was part of theCross Timbers Daughters of the American RevolutionCookie Exchange on December 17, 2011.

5 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups butter-flavored shortening

3 cups sugar

2 eggs

19-oz package condensed mincemeat, crumbled

2 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. Beat shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in crumbled mincemeat and vanilla. Add Flour mixture, and mix well. Stir in pecans.
3. Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet; flatten slightly. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

Note: These are great cookies to decorate with bottled icing!

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Cookies: Oatmeal Cherry Walnut Cookies

This cookie, prepared by Glee, was part of the Cross Timbers Daughters of the American Revolution Cookie Exchange on December 17, 2011.

Oatmeal cookies are an old favorite. The variation below uses dried cherries instead of raisins and whoopie pie pans  instead of cookie sheets to make perfect round cookies.

1/2 pound butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups oats

1 cup dried cherries (cut into smaller pieces if they are large)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat together margarine/butter and sugars until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Add combined flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix well.

Stir in oats, cherries and walnuts. Mix well.

Drop by rounded spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet or whoopie pie pan.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool one minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

About 4 dozen.

Road Trip in December - Arkansas

There was still a bit of fall color in Arkansas and the day was the warmest so far on the road trip. The interstate crossed the state through Little Rock and Hot Springs. The  area on either side of the roadway often seemed wet; the roadway was raised and sometimes not in great condition. 

The rest areas were well maintained but not as meticulously clean as Virginia and Tennessee rest areas. In one rest stop, the trash cans were all 'animal proof.'

Near Cotton Plant, Arkansas there was a huge swirl of water fowl circling and ribbons of others coming in. It almost looked like a whitish dust devil but composed of birds rather than dust. Unfortunately there was no convenient/safe place to stop and watch the aerial ballet. It must have been some part of the annual migration.

The pictures below captured some of foliage that remained. If the day had been sunnier, the drive would have been even more scenic. There were lots of pine woodlots and evidence of harvesting  that could be seen through a screen of trees left between the highway and the clear cut.

Road Trip in December - Tennessee

The Tennessee leg of my road trip took an afternoon of one day and the morning of the next....through Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis. I'd visited the state before - touring the Hermitage near Nashville and Mud Island in Memphis. This time I was just passing through; I pretty quickly got into the mode of thinking it would be a good place to plan an outdoor vacation...maybe even try camping again. Oak Ridge Lab - today and its history - also might be interesting.

There were still some areas where leaves were clinging to the trees but most were on the ground. In some of the higher places there were tiny patches of snow...lots of fog and frost in the morning. If the sun had been out the trees would have looked glittered. 

The rest areas in Tennessee always seem better than just about any other states. They are well designed and kept clean. Some of them are close to the highway; others are set back a little ways and seem more park-like because of the little bit of distance. The picture of the giant guitar below (upper left) is across the highway from the first rest area in Tennessee entering from Virginia (i.e. the eastern side of the state).

Road Trip in December - Virginia

Starting out in the dark to get the most highway behind me before the end of short winter day....and it was a frosty morning in the 20s.

By the time I got out of Washington DC metro area the sun was up but wasn't making much difference in the temperature. It actually was colder as I drove down the Interstate that runs parallel to Shenandoah National Park.

What can you tell about a state as you drive through on the Interstate? I noted rivers: Potomac, Shenandoah, James. There were signs about this still being part of the Chesapeake watershed. That caused me to think about where the water starts flowing to the Mississippi rather than the Chesapeake. 

Another perspective is the rest areas. Virginia's are Colonial style and are at least 30 years old. They have been renovated inside and, when I passed through, meticulously clean (always welcome on a road trip). There was a person - security or maintenance, not sure which - at each one. It was so cold that everyone scurried about their business as quickly as they could. I took a few pictures at each stop and continued on my way.

10 Favorite Meals to Take Traveling

Food that can be packed and taken with you when you are going to be traveling can result in significant savings and, in many cases, save time by allowing you to eat something you enjoy whenever you are hungry. Over the years, I've discovered that my preference is 'anything but a sandwich' and I've started almost always opting for reusable containers rather than disposable. I also tend to like to package my meal so I can eat it all at once or as several snacks. Use good sense if you are traveling by air and pack items that can be easily accepted through the security checkpoint (i.e. no liquids or gels). My favorite meals when traveling are:

1. A container of small tomatoes, carrots and celery along with a tub of peanut butter (the small tubs of peanut butter can be purchased or you can make your own with small containers)
2. A container of plain yogurt with some fresh fruit  and chopped pecans on top
3. An apple with piece of favorite cheese
4. A pumpkin/pecan muffin
5. A small piece of dark chocolate, a few whole almonds, 2 dried apricots
6. A peanut butter and jelly burrito
7. A piece of crustless quiche
8. Apple crisp with a piece of cheese
9. Carrot, pineapple, raisin salad with marmalade/olive oil dressing
10. A few mixed nuts with a pear

You probably have noticed that these are light meals. I feel better if I eat less when I travel. How about you?

What are your favorite meals for travel?

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 10, 2011

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

• The economics of Christmas lights – Seth Godin’s thoughts about why Christmas lights and good/free internet content are indicators of healthy communities
• Lassen Volcanic National Park – year long time lapse from the visitor center webcam…snow…plows…the melt…corn lilies
• Tools vs Insight – Another thoughtful piece from Seth Godin…we need to spend less time learning new tools and more time using them.
• Paper Stars – An interesting idea – maybe to use up odd bits of wrapping paper. They could be hung on a tree or wreath too.
• Future Agenda: The World in 2020 – Insights from a project to look at trends and predict what will happen by 2020.
• Crochet Chain Mini-Wreaths – Simple idea for tree ornaments
• Kepler 22-b…an Earth-like planet – Wow! 600 light years away is pretty far though.
• NASA Mars Rover Finds Mineral Vein Deposited by Water – The Opportunity rover just keeps going and going.
• Why Aren't We Smarter Already? Evolutionary Limits On Cognition – There is already evidence that there are not-so-good side effects to cognition enhancing drugs. Perhaps nature has it about right.
• Our Beautiful Planet…timelapse vignettes – A preview of Tom Lowe’s film. So beautiful.

Model Train Displays in Gardens

Model trains are a popular display in garden conservatories at Christmas time. I've visited two recently: The US Botanic Garden in Washington DC and Brookside Gardens in Maryland.

The display at the US Botanic Garden is supplemented with magical habitats (castles and fairy houses) and models of well known buildings like Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and George Washington's Mount Vernon. There are traditional looking trains, Thomas engines and small cars that buzz very rapidly around their tracks.

The display at Brookside looks more traditional at first glance. Then little items like a yoda watching the train (upper right image below) begin to be noticed. There is a model of the Brookside conservatory included in the exhibit and it has a tiny model train running in a loop inside.

Trains among the foliage of a lush and warm conservatory is very appealing on a cold December day. Visiting one is a great December tradition to sustain or begin!

Waking Up in the Morning

If you were completely without external constraints on when you needed to wake up – what would your preferred awakening be like?

Most of us would respond that we prefer to just wake up on our own with a gradual transition from sleep to wakefulness…feeling rested and ready for the day ahead.

I sleep fairly easily and could probably achieve this as long as I

• Go to sleep about the same time every night and
• Get up when I first awaken in the morning rather than dozing.

Those are two pretty significant provisos and require discipline that sometime is not possible. The most likely nonconformities are – I stay up later if I am in the middle of something at bedtime and I sometimes decide to go back to sleep in the morning…sleeping longer and waking up with a headache if it goes on too long. If I am not at home, my sleep is different….not quite as sound because I am more wary or a bit uncomfortable; that doesn’t necessarily mean I need to sleep longer, it just may interfere with my biological clock that would normally wake me up.

So – almost everyone, including me, will try various other methods of waking up.

The loud, harsh alarm clock is dreaded but common. It does wake you up. The big negative is that it is jarring. Discipline is required to not hit the snooze button to recover from the shock. Whatever advantage finishing the sleep cycle might provide is completely gone too. It isn’t too bad if it is really just the backup plan and you are really already awake because it is your normal time to get up.

There are better sounding alarm clocks that play music or nature sounds. They too wake you up unless you are a very sound sleeper or the volume is turned too low. Again – they work best if you are really already awake and you avoid the snooze feature. Remember – the snooze feature will not allow you to get any quality sleep since it is too short; it’s only function is recovery from the shock of waking up which you want to avoid anyway by waking up at a consistent time each day.

Setting a timer – say 8 hours – from whenever you go to bed is another technique. I tend to be at my best with about 7.5 hours actually in bed. I’ve found that being in bed for over 8 hours actually makes me feel ill! My timer has a harsh beep so it has a lot of similarities to the alarm clock. I only use this option when I am traveling across time zones and know that my biological clock will be unreliable.

Of course – it helps to have the sun rising when you awaken. I’ve had an east facing window in my bedroom for the past 20 or so years and like the early light. It isn’t there in the winter time when I get up but it helps for a greater part of the year. I’ve considered what it would be like to gradually change my bedtime so that I would always get up at dawn. There is an app that would provide an alarm relative to sunrise….but I haven’t tried it yet.

There are also alarm clocks that start with light to wake you up…simulating a sunrise. Most of them have noise that eventually kicks in if the light does not do the trick. That would seem like the gentlest approach to waking up at a consistent time. Most of them are pretty expensive so a simple timer that turns on the lights in your bedroom may be something to try first!

While we are on the subject of waking up….think about what is driving the time and way you awaken. The determining factor has changed over time for me:

• 40 years ago – being at work or school by a particular time
• 20 years ago –picking my daughter up by a certain time in the afternoon required an early wake up time/start at work
• 10 years ago – leaving home early enough to avoid a lot of traffic for the morning commute to work
• Now – recognizing that I am a morning person

Brookside Gardens (Maryland) in December

Brookside Gardens has their seasonal 'Garden of Lights' happening in the evenings but I went during the day for a winter walk. With the early winter foliage and the intricacies of the lighting displays, there was plenty to see. The bulbs for next spring have been planted under netting but there was a squirrel that escaped with at least one bulb while I was there.

The sea monster/dragon (with a smaller one by its side) looks a lot less fierce in the daytime than it does at night. It fits well in the drained pool in the garden near the conservatory.

The lights used to make this flower were very densely packed....quite a bright glow along the pathway through the gardens.

Road Trip Preparation - Reading

I am planning an extended road trip that will involve driving more than half way across the US and back. Along with plotting routes, checking info on the internet, and making hotel reservations, I’m doing some focused reading to prepare myself for the journey. Building up my knowledge about what the natural world holds has always been an interest of mine and a theme for much of my traveling.  Here are the favorite books I’ve collected through the years and am referencing now.

• Roadside Geology Series. This series of books came out in the 1980s and offers geological notes by mile marker along major highways. For the first half of the trip, I’ll be on my own so won’t be able to reference the books while I drive. Still – I’ve perused them enough to observe the geology along the highway crossing the Appalachians then the Mississippi River; skirting the hot springs of Arkansas then onto the relative flatness of a prehistoric seabed in Texas; climbing to the Edwards Plateau passing sand dunes of silicon then gypsum; crossing the Rio Grande rift.  On the way back, I’ll have a sidekick and the person not driving can provide geological commentary as we move along the interstate highway.

• Audubon Field Guides. The one I am looking at the most right now is the Field Guide to the Southwestern State. This well formatted book with lots of illustrations gives information on habitats, flora, invertebrates, and vertebrates. This is not the optimal time of year for botanizing….but whatever there is to see, I’m primed to see it.

• Field Guide to the Birds. The Field Guide to the Birds of Texas and Adjacent States by Roger Tory Peterson is the one I am looking at now. The copy I am referencing is probably over 30 years old --- used frequently in the past and still worth taking.

• The Off the Beaten Path series of books is also on my bookshelf but I’m not referencing them much this time since I am sticking to the interstates to get to my destination as quickly as possible; maybe they’ll be a primary reference when I can spend more time off the main highways.

Have you done this kind of theme reading before a trip? If so – what was your theme and favorite book?

Kindle Fire – Week 3 Review

Three weeks ago, an early Christmas present from my husband arrived –  a Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi.  I’m documenting my journey getting comfortable with it over the first three weeks. The 1^st week review can be found here; the 2^nd here. The review items for week 3 included:

• The Kindle will allow me to be more ‘paperless’ when I travel since its screen is large enough that I can read my itinerary. I simply put things in the inbox of the email that I might need. As long as everything synced while the Kindle Fire could communicate with the wireless network, the email is there while I am on the road and not connected to anything.
• I have also used it for a recipe again. This time I set the timeout for 45 minutes so didn’t have to touch the display while I was cooking.
• I discovered that the Internet Archive has a lot of their texts available in Kindle format. I downloaded several to read while I waited for my car to be serviced. Since it is an OCR’d version and there are bad characters/words occasionally. I will probably use the ‘read online’ version when I know I am going to be connected while reading.

At the end of week 3, I’m still very pleased with my Kindle Fire and am making good use of its features every day. Is there still more to discover? Probably…but the steepest part of the learning curve is done.

Recipe of the Week: Quik Beet Muffins

I had several open packages of Nestle Quik powder in my pantry – left over from when it was my daughter’s favorite drink. I decided to do some baking to use it all up. These muffins were supposed to turn out red – but they are really brown with the chocolate. The mint chocolate flavor is still wonderful so this is a great way to get a little extra veggie nutrition and still have a wonderful treat.

15 ounce can of sliced beets

2 cups Quik (or 1 ½ cups sugar and ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder)

½ cup olive oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin pans.

Drain the beets, reserving ½ cup of the juice. In a food processor, puree beets with the reserved juice to make about 1 ¼ cup puree. Add Quik and olive oil. Pulse until blended. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs and extracts well.

In large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour and soda). Pour in the beet and egg mixtures, whisking until smooth.

Pour the batter into muffin pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve at room temperature topped with powdered sugar sprinkles or whipped cream.

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 3, 2011

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

• Painting Of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area  - Robert Dalegowski’s painting made while he was artist-in-residence there…capturing the feeling of the place
• Coral pictures – 5 pictures of coral that show the tremendous variety in appearance of these animals (actually mostly their skeleton is what is seen)
• Fixing the Pentagon's Broken Windows - Small Steps Can Bring Focus, Efficiency – An opinion piece that takes New York’s ‘broken windows program’ and applies it to the Department of Defense
• The Art of Everyday Wonder – Joanna Paterson’s blog…full of nature photos of Scotland and accompanying poetry
• Caterpillar molting video – almost like a little dance
• Yarn/thread and glue bowl – a great craft project – colorful and functional
• Gulf Islands National Seashore – a warm place to visit…maybe at its best in the winter?
• Spicy Orange Greens – Collar greens are not a routine food for me…this sauce recipe sounds so interesting though…something to try

Celebrating December 2011

What do you celebrate in December?

In my family there seem to be more than the normal events to celebrate with the addition of a birthday and an anniversary. The ideas below are more generic –the ‘winter holiday’ celebrations:

• Take a winter walk. This is just the beginning of winter so there is a lot to notice in the natural world transitioning from fall. Winter is the starkest time of year but there is a beauty in clear cold days – crystalline nights.
• Holiday light displays are popular in the December evenings. I enjoy walking through the one at a local garden, rather than driving. There is wonderful hot chocolate with whipped cream on top at the nature center too – a perfect treat on cold nights.
• Finding or making the perfect gifts is the prelude to witnessing the delight of recipients.
• Baking favorite foods is part of the tradition in almost every family. My particular favorites are oatmeal raisin cookies and red cake (plain or with whipped cream or with cream cheese icing).
• Gearing up for gatherings of friends and family with lots of party mix and veggie trays always ready is another happy prospect.
• Cards/letters of seasonal greetings are sent out early in the month and then arrive from others.

December is the special month to savor all the good things that happened over the past 12 months and to fill your thinking with optimism for the New Year to come.