Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs
* 1 (8-ounce) block dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer; cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and continue to mix until a smooth batter forms. Turn off the mixer and fold in the chocolate chunks using the spatula.

To form the cookies, scoop about 1/4 cup of cookie dough into your hands and roll it around into a ball; place them about 3-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets; you should get about 4 cookies on each pan. Press down the tops of the dough slightly and bake until the cookies are light brown, 12 minutes for chewy cookies, or about 15 minutes for crispy cookies.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough/cookie sheets.

Makes 1 dozen 5 inch cookies.

Alton Brown’s Fruitcake Recipe

* 1 cup golden raisins
* 1 cup currants
* 1/2 cup sun dried cranberries
* 1/2 cup sun dried blueberries
* 1/2 cup sun dried cherries
* 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
* Zest of one lemon, chopped coarsely
* Zest of one orange, chopped coarsely
* 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
* 1 cup gold rum
* 1 cup sugar
* 5 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
* 1 cup unfiltered apple juice
* 4 whole cloves, ground
* 6 allspice berries, ground
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted pecans, broken
* Brandy for basting and/or spritzing

Combine dried fruits, candied ginger and both zests. Add rum and macerate overnight, or microwave for 5 minutes to re-hydrate fruit.

Place fruit and liquid in a non-reactive pot with the sugar, butter, apple juice and spices. Bring mixture to a boil stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for at least 15 minutes. (Batter can be completed up to this point, then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before completing cake.)

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients and sift into fruit mixture. Quickly bring batter together with a large wooden spoon, then stir in eggs one at a time until completely integrated, then fold in nuts. Spoon into a 10-inch non-stick loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake another 10 minutes, and check again.

Remove cake from oven and place on cooling rack or trivet. Baste or spritz top with brandy and allow to cool completely before turning out from pan.

When cake is completely cooled, seal in a tight sealing, food safe container. Every 2 to 3 days, feel the cake and if dry, spritz with brandy. The cake’s flavor will enhance considerably over the next two weeks.

The candy cane was first introduced over 200 years ago, as a bent sugar stick given to kids to keep them quiet during a long Christmas mass at church. The original candy canes were unflavored and peppermint flavoring was not added to them until around 1900. They began to be sold in the United States in the 1920s, when they were hand-pulled in small batches in Albany, Ga. Candy canes are still a favorite of children, despite their plainness; in fact, over 1.8 billion candy canes are made each holiday season.

Because of its unusual hook shape, originally intended to look like a shepard’s staff, candy canes can be difficult to eat.

54% of kids, ages 6-11, say that the best way to eat a candy cane is by sucking on it, though 24% say that crunching is the only way to go.

The 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days that separate Christmas day on December 25 from Epiphany, which is celebrated January 6. It is NOT the twelve days before Christmas as many erroneously believe. Depending on the church, January 6 may mark Christ’s baptism (the Catholic tradition), or it may mark the day that the wise men visited the baby Jesus with their gifts.

In the past, there was a tradition of giving gifts throughout the 12 days, rather than stacking them all up on the morning of December 25. That tradition, as you might imagine, has never really caught on in America! We just aren’t that patient. The song, however, demonstrates that some people once stretched out their gifts (and gave some fairly elaborate gifts…) over the full 12 days.

* 1 (8 to 10 pound) turkey
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 medium onion, quartered
* 1 head garlic, halved
* Several sprigs fresh herbs, such as; thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage
* 2 bay leaves
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted

Adjust a rack to lowest position and remove other racks. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove turkey parts from neck and breast cavities and reserve for other uses, if desired. Dry bird well with paper towels, inside and out. Salt and pepper inside the breast cavity and stuff the onion, garlic, herbs, and bay leaves inside. Set the bird on a roasting rack in a roasting pan; breast side up and brush generously with half the butter and season with salt and pepper. Tent the bird with foil.

Roast the turkey for 2 hours. Remove the foil and baste with the remaining butter. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F and continue to roast until an instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees F in the thigh of the bird, about 45 minutes more.

Remove turkey form the oven and set aside to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Carve and serve with dressing.

1.9 billion - Number of Christmas cards sent to friends and loved ones every year

20.8 million - Number of Christmas trees cut around the country in 2002.

$561 million -The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and August 2005.

$31.9 billion - Retail sales by the nation’s department stores in December 2004.

15 percent - The proportion of total 2004 sales for department stores that took place in December.

$21.5 billion - The value of total retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2004.

32 percent - The percentage of adults who shopped online in 2003.

124 - Number of establishments around the country that primarily manufacture dolls and stuffed toy.

$3.9 billion - Total value of shipments for dolls, toys and games by manufacturers in 2003.

47,835 - The number of malls and shopping centers dotting the U.S. landscape as of 2004.

5-10 - Average pounds put on between November and January.

$835 - Average amount each American spent on Christmas last year.

Snickerdoodle Recipe

For the cookies:

* 1/4 pound (1 stick) margarine and 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 2 eggs, at room temperature
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the cinnamon sugar:
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 to 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (to taste)

To make the cookies: Place the margarine and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle and mix until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl before each addition. Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and mix until everything is well incorporated. Cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or freeze up to 2 weeks.

To make the cinnamon sugar: Place the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

To form the cookies, break off small pieces and roll into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Transfer to the oven and bake until just barely golden, about 8 to 10 minutes. For crisper cookies, cool on the cookie sheet. For softer cookies, cool for 2 minutes and then remove to a rack. Cool the cookie sheet between batches.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen.

~ In 1836, Alabama is the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

~ The biggest selling Christmas single of all time is Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”

~ Due to the time zones, Santa has 31 hours to deliver gifts? This means that he would have to visit 832 homes each second!

~ In 1937, the first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria.

~ Epiphany, 6th January, is the traditional end of the Christmas holiday and is the date on which we take down the tree and decorations. To do so earlier is thought to bring bad luck for the rest of the year. From the middle ages until the mid-nineteenth century, Twelfth Night was more popular than Christmas day, and even today some countries celebrate Epiphany as the most important day of the Christmas season.

~ In America in 1822, the postmaster of Washington, DC, complained that he had to add 16 mailmen at Christmas to deal with cards alone. He wanted the number of cards a person could send limited by law. “I don’t know what we’ll do if this keeps on,” he wrote.

~ Thirty-four to thirty-six million Christmas trees are produced each year and 95 percent are shipped or sold directly from Christmas tree farms.

~ Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees - 8.6 million in 2001.

~ The first Christmas tree retail lot in the United States was started in 1851 in New York by Mark Carr.

~ It took Charles Dickens just six weeks to complete “A Christmas Carol” in 1843.

~ “It’s a Wonderful Life” appears on TV more often than any other holiday movie.

~ “Rudolph” was actually created by Montgomery Ward in the late 1930’s for a holiday promotion.

~ If you received all of the gifts in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, you would receive 364 presents.

~ Christmas became a national holiday in America on June, 26, 1870.

~ Coca Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa for a winter promotion.

~ More diamonds are sold around Christmas than any other time of the year.

~ Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.

Today, December 8th, is National Brownie Day. To celebrate here is a terrific recipe for Triple-Chocolate Fudge Brownies.

* 6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
* 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 4 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a metal bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water melt the bittersweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate with the butter, stirring until the mixture is smooth, remove the bowl from the heat, and let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm. Stir in the sugar and the vanilla and add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the salt and the flour, stirring until the mixture is just combined, and stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into a well-buttered and floured 13 by 9-inch baking pan, smooth the top, and bake the mixture in the middle of a preheated 350 degrees F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Let the mixture cool completely in the pan on a rack and cut it into 24 bars.

www.popularfront.com/snowdays
Build your own snowflakes and share them with others.

www.santaspeaking.com
Read Santa’s personal blog, track Santa using their Norad Santa Tracker, get a personal call or email from Santa and get a text message sent to your cell phone when Santa is in your neighborhood (because we all know he can’t deliver to a house with awake children.)

www.claus.com
The self proclaimed “merriest place in cyberspace.” Check your naughty or nice rating on the new Nice-O-Meter, visit the new Toy Workshop to choose your personal Elf Buddy and see the most incredible Toy Making Machine yet. Play with the reindeer in the new Reindeer Barn, play games in Elf School, print your Honorary Elf Diplomas. or try funny holiday recipes.

www.allstarpuzzles.com/memory
A Christmas ornament memory match game.

www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/christmas/ginger
Build your very own gingerbread house online. (Only works for IE)