Citrus Trio Butter Dipping Cookies

I just picked up the annual Choir Fruit Sale cases of oranges and grapefruit. I have at least one lime in the refrigerator, and a lemon shouldn't be too hard to come by. After I make the traditional roll-out shape cookies (it wouldn't be Christmas without them), I plan to try these.

Citrus Trio Butter Dipping Cookies

Ingredients
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Dash salt
• 1 lime, zested
• 1 orange, zested
• 1 lemon, zested

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Add the butter, cream cheese and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. On the lowest speed, gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, just until blended. Divide the dough into 3 bowls, and gently stir in the different zests among the bowls, making 3 different citrus doughs.
Roll the dough into a long 1/2-inch in diameter rope by hand. Cut the dough into 2-inch lengths and arrange them on a cold ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before removing with a spatula to cool completely on baking rack.

I found instructions for zesting a citrus fruit on the Food Network site. Next curious challenge: with so many oranges in the house, can I zest several at a time and freeze the results?

Stumble It!

Pre-holiday weekend at the Casa de Daisy

The tree is up. The decorations are scattered around the (cluttered) house. The spare table is set up as a wrapping station in the main room. We're getting there. Little by little, we're getting there.

But.... you knew there was a 'but,' didn't you?

Daughter is snowbound in Virginia. She expects to leave Sunday afternoon if the runways and roads are clear. She's on the charter flight with the school's football team, the coaches, and the families, all traveling for a championship football game. She is chief photographer for the school paper and athletic department, so she was lucky enough to travel on the plane and get a hotel room, too. Her return has been delayed, which makes the timing of getting her home a little dicey.

Nothing, well - very few presents are wrapped. I'm alternating my time today between laundry and schoolwork, making time to watch the game and scan the sidelines for La Petite and her camera. Wrap presents? Maybe tomorrow morning or in my sleep tonight. I have to catch up on schoolwork, big time, before I can even consider wrapping anything. If the schedule goes as planned in Virginia (which La Petite says "looks like Wisconsin right now!"), I'll be meeting her bus on campus later tonight. Late enough, anyway, that I may want to sleep in Monday and get a sub. That means sub plans, which means more schoolwork today.... sigh.

Maybe I'll wrap a present or two today just to help me feel the spirit. Maybe I'll pack a few Christmas CDs to play in the car on the drive. Maybe... just maybe, I'll feel less Grinch-like after a few more stacks of papers are recorded in my gradebook and the to-do pile becomes smaller.

Or maybe, just maybe, I need chocolate.

Stumble It!

Plurkers in Pictures

Ah, my Plurk friends. They cheer me up when I'm down, help keep me up when I'm already feeling pretty darn good. Together, we are a network of friends, professional colleagues, and more.

We share our accomplishments: "earning" a badge for having an empty inbox --

-- or building a house of cards, er, sorry, I meant a castle of hotel room keys.

We share Good Morning greetings --

-- and say good night.

Here's hoping you wake up to the smell the coffee or other delicious aroma, enjoy your friends' notable and not-so-notable achievements, and sleep like a baby tonight.

Stumble It!

Rear Window - and Squirrel?

While I was hiding in the bathroom on a snowy day, this little furry creature came running up the lilac bush right outside the window. I laughed out loud - so loudly I gave away my hiding place and Amigo called to find out what was so funny.

The nimble furball with the long tail then tried to get to the roof. Why? No idea.

My new little fuzzy friend then slipped and slid down the tree, eventually grasping a branch for dear life. At one point even the tail was wound around the branch for balance.

Finally, the small furry one found a secure perch and stopped for a snack. By this time, I was enjoying its presence so much I didn't mind that it was nibbling on my lilac buds and branches. In a snowstorm, food is hard to come by for the urban wildlife.

Stumble It!