Last post of the year.... Thanks and MORE!

Hello everybody! December has been hectic with good activities here "en Mi casa" which is "Tu Casa" too! I've had visits from Mexico, friends and family! I also had lots of baking to do and cooking, I sold tons of Christmas Cookies and Chocoflan Cake so I got a new camera with part of the money I made from alll the baking (I was soooo needing it for better pictures) and I've also been enjoying hubby being home! He's been off of of work for about a week now, he'll go back to work on Wednesday (I wish I was rich to keep him always to ourselves! LOL!) So... it's been impossible to post more often or reply but once things go back to normal I am sure everything will be better here!

I just want to take the opportunity to thank you all for being with me in 2012! This year has been the "come back" of  "The Coffee Shop" and I've been very blessed to get to know more people through this blog! Thank you all for being here! For sharing, for commenting, for being so supportive! And for encouraging me with my projects! Thank you for trying my recipes!

I hope 2013 will be filled with new blessings that we can all share together!

Do you have any goals/resolutions for this year? Would you like to share? Whether they are personal or blogging goals... feel free to share

I lost 40 pounds in 2012 and I'm going for the rest this year! I hope I'll do a better job with homeschooling and finally have a serious calendar/schedule that I'll adhere too... and in the blogging area ... well... I hope our Coffee Friday Party just "takes off" !

By the way... join us this Friday ... we will have a featured blogger!

Pic: New Year's Eve 2007 ... I was the photographer -sigh-

... Anything else? Well... I just wish you all a Happy and successful 2013!


© Paloma K.

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting!

Hello everybody! As you know (I hope) I am part of an amazing baking group... The Cake Slice !

This time we all voted, like we do every month, and the "winner" was:

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

And AH! You have to trust me... They did not disappoint! They were MUDDY and good! Well... not muddy... not gooey but just so chocolatey moist! And the marshmallow frosting was just perfectly delicious and went really well with the cupcakes! I decided to half my recipe, 24 cupcakes would've been too many! But the 12 cupcakes I made were certainly enjoyed!

The Marshmallow Frosting required lots of precision and good timing! There were no "marshmallows" involved... you had to make your own! ... it was made with thoroughly beaten egg whites and candy (melted sugar until it reached 242 F) and then mix it all together at the exact time when the caramel reached the temperature (I had NO THERMOMETER!!!) and the egg whites were just right and stiff! I was nervous about it but ... everything went well! I am debating if I should post the recipe as well... I think I might but I am falling asleep and just exhausted from all the baking I've been doing, just today I baked about 300 cookies and 24 empanadas! but I didn't want to wait any longer because we're supposed to reveal our cakes on the 20th of each month and I didn't want to be late!

So... it was fun and totally worth baking these cupcakes! The recipe is a really great one from a book I've come to love: Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson... If you don't own it yet and you love traditional cakes, this is a must have!

Here are the pics (horrible pictures by the way) of my cupcakes... And yes... I am asking Santa for a new camera! LOL! Santa might be late though!

Perfect and stiff egg whites, just right!

This is the marshmallow frosting, had to be piped immediately!

My finished cupcakes!

Merry Christmas!

© Paloma K.

Keeping our Lights Shining Bright!

 Hi everybody! I promise I'll try to visit some blogs today! It's been really busy here... and then after the horrible tragedy in Connecticut I haven't been feeling like blogging... Such a horrible thing! It's made me sick to my stomach... My prayers with the families of the victims. May God's surpassing peace flood their hearts.
 
Today is a new day but even when it's new... nothing will be the same...  what happened in that school, may it be something that we always remember, to use it for something good, if possible... hug more our children, kiss them every time, avoid holding grudges, focus on what matters most...

This Christmas hold your loved ones tight! Don't focus on gifts but focus on Jesus, on His love, eternal, perfect, pure! And rejoice in that love with those around you! The events made me want to turn my Christmas lights off... I thought: "how can we be celebrating in the middle of so much pain?" But how can we not? When our hearts ache most we need to remember and celebrate that Jesus was born! in the darkest hour His light continues to shine! His light came to this dirty, painful world that didn't even want Him but that so desperately needed Him... and we continue to need Him today, my Christmas lights are shining to remember that! not just for "decoration" ... Let your lights shine this Christmas... not to represent "wealth, parties and good times" but to reflect on the fact that this dark world needs Him, and if we don't let our lights shine... who will?

John: 8:12 -Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”-

© Paloma K.

Coffee Friday - Update

Hello everybody! Just to let you know Coffee Friday will be back after the Holidays! Our  next Coffee Party will be on Friday January 4th, 2013! Keep taking pics of your coffee mug, coffee stains, coffee beans.... even a coffee ring! Anything coffee! send them to my e-mail love.for.coffee@gmail.com to be featured here or just mention "coffee", even if just randomly, on any of your posts to link up with us!

Here is our Coffee Party button...

<center> <a href="http://www.love4coffee.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Coffee Shop" src="http://goo.gl/XfoA6" /></a></center>

Enjoy!


© Paloma K.

Picture Post!

ooh! Lots of catching up to do replying and commenting on other blogs! I hope once January starts everything goes back to normal and I can blog more... I just want to say I'm here, we're enjoying the feeling of Christmas all around us and ... well... here are some pics of how we're enjoying!

Paper Snowflakes

More Crafts

Nutcracker!

Love!

My princesses

Of course!

© Paloma K.

Christmas Cookies - Christmas Wreaths

Hello everybody! I have a very easy (and fun) recipe to make Christmas wreaths... These are not exactly my favorite cookie in flavor.... You know? but I always feel like they are a MUST HAVE for how festive and "Christmassy" they are!

Before I share the recipe let me give you a quick update on our Coffee Friday... I will be re-taking it in January! I already have some great bloggers that will be featured! So... don't think that we're done with our Coffee Party! Keep posting and mentioning "coffee" in your posts so you will be able to link up with us! Our Next Coffee Friday will be on the 4th of January 2013! Do not miss it! Here is our Coffee Friday button if you want to add it to your blog as a reminder!

<center> <a href="http://www.love4coffee.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Coffee Shop" src="http://goo.gl/XfoA6" /></a></center>

Now... Our Recipe:

Christmas Wreaths:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter 30 large marshmallows 1 1/2 teaspoons green food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups cornflakes cereal cinnamon red hot candies to decorate

Directions:

1.	Line baking sheets with waxed paper. Set aside. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows, cook until melted while stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add food coloring, vanilla, and cornflakes.
2.	Quickly drop heaping tablespoonfuls (I use a small ice cream scoop) of the mixture onto waxed paper, and form into a wreath shape with lightly greased fingers. Immediately decorate with red hot candies. Place them in the fridge to chill before removing from waxed paper, and storing in an airtight container.

Note: it really helps if someone - a little one even - helps you add the hot candies as you shape the wreaths so they stick better.

Have fun!

© Paloma K.

Christmas Traditions

Hello everybody! I hope you've been enjoying the recipes I've shared with you! I've posted several cookie recipes and you can also check my Recipe Index for more yummy dishes/desserts!

Today... I want to ask you about Christmas traditions... Do you have any? Anything that you do with your family every year that you all enjoy? some little thing that you probably haven't even realized it's a tradition but you love doing on Christmas?

Share with everyone here... maybe someone will read them and even make your family tradition their own!

Something we do here every Christmas season is watch the movie:

 Such a beautiful movie!! We watch it a week or two before Christmas. We also love "White Christmas" and something we do on the very Christmas day is sing Christmas Carols with song books made for the whole family, the Christmas songs books get out at some point in the night and everybody sings together and Josh (my hubby) reads some Bible verses on the Birth of Jesus between some of the songs. It's very beautiful and we used to do this with hubby's family but now that we moved to Texas we "skype" to "be" with them.

Do you do anything special? I'd love to read all about it!


© Paloma K.

Christmas Cookie Series - Haystacks!

Hello everyone! Here I am just trying to at least get to post something! I will also dedicate some of my time today to stop by some blogs that have been kind enough to leave a comment here! Thank you all! for reading, liking, sharing, pinning!

Now... Let me share a quick and easy recipe to make the very popular "Haystacks" which are also known as "Chinese Cookies" and "Chow Mein Cookies"

There are many recipes out there... but these is the one I've found to be simpler and yummy... of course you can modify it to your own taste.

 

 Haystacks (aka chow mein cookies/chinese cookies)

Ingredients

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels 1 cup butterscotch morsels 1 can (5 oz each) Chow Mein Noodles (5 oz = about 2-1/2 cups) 2 cups miniature marshmallows (optional, I don't use these) 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts

Directions  (First of all line two big baking sheets with parchment paper)

Melt chocolate and butterscotch morsels in the microwave (on high for about 2 or 3 minutes, make sure you stir ONE time, after 1 minute). Once it's melted, stir until smooth. Add chow mein noodles, marshmallows (if using) and peanuts. Stir until well coated. Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto your prepared baking pans (not much space is necessary between each cookie, just enough so that they aren't touching). Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Enjoy! Note: Store in sealed container in cool area or freeze so they stay good longer, to thaw just get them out of the freezer (to room temperature) and wait a couple of minutes.

© Paloma K.

Christmas Cookies Series - Peanut Butter Blossoms

Hello everyone! Thank you all for your comments... I promise I'll get to each one of them eventually! It's a busy season and I'm also baking not only for myself but baking for exchanges (even gift exchanges) and also trying to sell some of the cookies I make (and one or two chocoflan cakes! why not?!)

Right now I am going to share the recipe to make another Favorite Christmas Cookie... "Peanut Butter Blossoms", some people also call them "Hershey Kisses Cookies". I love these! but I am not sure if it's really the flavor I am so in love with or just the way they look! I know they are good... but also... love starts through the eyes... and these lovely cookies sure make you fall for them "at first sight"

Here is my recipe:

 Ingredients: (all ingredients should be at room temperature)
Yield: Makes about 80

• 1 cup butter (softened)
• 1 cup peanut butter 
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• extra: 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling (decorative purposes mainly)
• 1 bag -12 oz.- of Hershey Kisses (milk chocolate) 

Elaboration:

Preheat oven at 350F
Slightly grease cookie sheets
Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter, peanut butter, sugars until smooth.
Beat eggs one at a time, stir milk and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients just until incorporated.
Make little balls (about 1") with dough, roll them in additional sugar. Bake them in preheated oven for about 8 minutes. Press 1 kiss of hersheys into each cookie and bake for 2 more minutes. Cool in wire rack.

Note: to make the dough balls I use a small ice cream scoop and drop them on the sugar where I will roll them, that will make the dough easier to handle too.

Enjoy!

© Paloma K.