It's a chance to share news: a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books,
and share what's coming up on your blog in the week ahead.
T H E W E E K I N R E V I E W
Happy December! I hope everyone had a good week... or at least made it to the weekend in one piece. :) Most of the week was fairly quiet for me as the Board were all out of town at a conference. That gave me plenty of quiet time to catch up on things that had fallen by the wayside during the craziness of November. That all ended Friday when it seemed that every person who walked in my office had a problem they wanted to hand off to me. Uh, thanks? It made for a long day but after that, hello weekend!
Our tiny blast of colder temps seems to be over as it's been in the 70's all week. By tomorrow it's going to be close to 80 degrees. *sigh*
Thanks to everyone who entered the Thankful For Books giveaway! The winner (chosen at random by Rafflecopter) was April C. and she has already received her book. :)
I am not a baker (at all) but for some reason I've been itching to make some holiday cookies. Anyone have a favorite holiday cookie recipe they'd like to share? My baking skills are, uh... limited, so it needs to be something foolproof. Anything that requires dough to be rolled out might be beyond my ability. LOL
This week's 80's music fix is Winter Wonderland (1987) by the Eurythmics. Annie Lennox has such a gorgeous voice and I've always loved her version of this classic.
O N T H E B L O G
W H A T I R E A D
One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson - ⭐⭐⭐.5
If I Only Knew by Corinne Michaels - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
If the Fates Allow by Rainbow Rowell - ⭐⭐.5
Layla by Colleen Hoover - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
C U R R E N T L Y R E A D I N G
Forever Wild (The Simple Wild #2.5) by K.A. Tucker
N E W A D D I T I O N S
eBooks
Small Town Christmas (Anthology)
Christmas With You by Kennedy Fox
Audiobooks
Bombshells by Sarina Bowen
Library Loans
The Becoming (The Dragon Heart Legacy #2) by Nora Roberts
Last One Home by Debbie Macomber (because of Sam)
T O T A L L Y R A N D O M
Sometimes it's nice to be busy at work because it makes the day go faster, but everyone dumping their problems on you doesn't sound fun!
ReplyDeleteRight? I never mind busy, but problem after problem? Ugh.
DeleteNot a cookie, but my favourite sweet holiday treat, which is also perfect for gift giving, is White Christmas and it’s easy to make: 3 cups rice bubbles, 1 1/2 blocks copha, 1 pkt red & green m&m's, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 cup fine desiccated coconut, 1 cup icing sugar, 1 cup powdered milk *optional add mini marshmallows, small soft gummies
ReplyDelete:Melt copha in a small saucepan on low heat, allow to cool slightly. Mix dry ingredients. Pour copha over ingredients and mix well. Quickly spread into a shallow slice dish. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, score with knife into squares. Return to fridge util set. Slice and store in a sealed container.
Wishing you a great reading week
Thank you for sharing, Shelley! I had to Google copha as I'd never heard of it. Sounds like it's the same things as Crisco over here. I also looked up a photo of the treats and they look so festive! These would be great for the family gathering on Christmas Eve. Thanks again!
Delete70s sounds nice...We just dropped into the 30s last night. So cold and rainy here!
ReplyDeleteI am actually the opposite of you. I do not feel like baking for Christmas and I'm always the one who makes those rolled sugar cookies for the entire family. Ugh. I want to find a simpler recipe for them.
Rolled sugar cookies... waaay too much work for me! LOL Good luck finding something quicker and easier. :)
DeleteWhen you were asking for cookie advice, I was thinking of the pull-apart cookies from the market. LOL! My daughter makes my Tante Ilse's Linzer torte cookies, but I am not sure if they are easy because the kid is a good cook. Looks like the RR short was underwhelming. EEK! I liked the Midnight one, but it's been a long time since I read something from her as I was not a fan of the fan fic plot in Fangirl.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think your daughter's baking level is light years from my own. LOL
DeleteSame here, I was uninterested in the fanfic aspect of Fangirl so all the Simon Snow books held no interest for me. I was excited for her return to contemporary, even a shirt short, but this one fell flat for me.
Yeah, I'm not a baker either. I would just get those break and bake holiday cookies from the grocery! Hahaha! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHa! Slice and bake... that's sounding ideal about now. :)
DeleteI'm more of chef than a baker, so I'm afraid I'm no help here. In fact, my one attempt at baking cookies last year ended with inedible abominations that were burnt to a crips and stuck to the baking sheet. Thankfully my husband is a master baker!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, sounds like you should stick to cooking not baking. :)
DeleteAnd husband?? Did I miss something Ethan? I've always seen you refer to your boyfriend or partner... did I miss an announcement along the way? :) (If so, big congrats!!)
I made it to the weekend in one piece, but only barely lol. Sorry you had a rough Friday! I hope your weekend is going well. 70's sound pretty good since it's in the 30's here but I can see where you'd want a break from the heat.
ReplyDeleteCookies... one of my favorite parts of the holidays although yeah I'm not exactly a baking guru!
Forever Wild looks great.
Sounds like we had a similar week Greg! Hope this week is going better for you.
DeleteI'm glad you are having nice weather and at least some quiet time. I'll have to think about the cookies. I have so many recipes but they all seem easy enough to me because I have been cooking a long time and have tried many recipes. Not all of them are successful recipes but at least I have a lot of experience. At least you have some good looking reads!
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Thanks Anne. Actually I've been so drained after work the last few weeks that baking is the last thing on my mind. This might not be the year that homemade cookies happen. LOL
DeleteOh that is so funny you don't bake haha I recommend watching the Six Sisters Stuff on youtube....they have some great recipes on there that are easy to do.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to some recipes for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWT85doW4po&ab_channel=SixSisters%27Stuff
Some of my all time favorite dishes to cook and bake come from them and they are so fun and sweet to watch.
Thanks for the link, Renee! I've visited their blog over the years but didn't realize they had a YouTube channel!
DeleteI hope next week at the office will be easier! And I am afraid I can't help you with the cookies!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sophie! :)
DeleteOh, I don't like issues when I'm about ready to start my weekend! Hope you had a relaxing one. Funny, I've been thinking about cookies too. I want to do some sort of cookie I can use cookie cutter with and be able to decorate so I can make them with my grandkids this weekend.
ReplyDeleteHere are a couple of recipes I've made that turn out well:
The first ends up being like a soft ginger cookie even though they're called Molasses Cookies. I've made them for years and love them!
https://www.marthastewart.com/316044/molasses-cookies
This one is a more recent add to my recipes but really good too. Soft Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip:
https://www.livewellbakeoften.com/soft-chewy-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/
You've reminded me I need to read the second book of The Simple Wild still!
Cooking with kids can be fun... if a bit messy. :)
DeleteThe molasses cookie sounds right up my alley. I much prefer soft cookie over crunchy. Yum!
"That all ended Friday when it seemed that every person who walked in my office had a problem they wanted to hand off to me." Wow, sounds like we have the same job, lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much of a baker either, but I did find a recipe for white chocolate cranberry cookies that I like and that's pretty easy to make. The recipe calls for brandy but I just use vanilla extract instead because I'm too lazy to go buy the brandy, lol. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10917/white-chocolate-and-cranberry-cookies/
The white chocolate cranberry cookies sound delicious. And thanks for the tip about subbing vanilla for the brandy. I don't keep brandy at the house (although it would be most welcome this week! LOL)
DeleteI LOLed at your comment about baking. I make a lot of recipes from Sally's Baking Addiction. She has a lot of approachable recipes so maybe you could see anything from her site strikes your fancy?
ReplyDeleteSally's is a new one on me, I'm going to check it out. Thanks for the tip, Nick!
DeleteWe nearly broke a record for hottest day last week. It got up to 76 and the record was 79. Today is pretty cold though, it's super windy and the high is 51. So that's something...
ReplyDeleteYou can never go wrong with the the Eurythmics!
Sounds like your weather has turned cooler! It's still in the 70's here but I'm not complaining. Better than the 80's or 90's! :)
DeleteAck thank goodness for the weekend! I love baking, let me give you some of our favorites that my littles make with me...
ReplyDeletehttps://sallysbakingaddiction.com/soft-caramel-snickerdoodles/#tasty-recipes-69988-jump-target
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/peppermint-white-chocolate-cookies/#tasty-recipes-69707-jump-target
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies/#tasty-recipes-75896-jump-target
I cut the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp
https://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/chocolate-mint-snow-top-cookies/
Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog
Thanks for the links, Jen!! Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie so the caramel snickerdoodle recipe definitely caught my eye!
DeleteNot a cookie, but Scotcheroos are my favorite Christmas treat. Some recipes use Rice Krispies, others use Special K cereal. Both are delicious but my preference is the Special K version. Here's a link to the original Rice Krispies version https://i.pinimg.com/564x/2a/62/62/2a62627af777eaf02a6f68c53686891a.jpg
ReplyDeleteI've actually heard of Scotcheroos but never knew what they were. Thanks for the link, Jinjer!
DeleteI'm not much of a baker either, but I LOVE Peanut Butter Blossoms. It's basically peanut butter cookies with a Hershey kiss on top, and you can buy the peanut butter cookie dough at the story. LOL Super easy, but oh so good. I need to start making some cookies soon though...I've been craving them.
ReplyDeleteLauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
LOL I love the idea of starting with store bought dough. That’s about my baking level. 😛
DeleteHappy December!! It's just crazy to me that it's already almost Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThat Totally Random quote is hilarious!! LOL!! And so true unfortunately.. whahaha.
Have a great week and happy reading.
I feel the same! How is the year almost over?!
DeleteThat meme is HILARIOUS and true!! I gained weight during that pandemic that will not come off. lol
ReplyDeleteI was never a baker but I do it more out here. I make a molasses ginger cookie using the recipe on the back of the Ginger People ginger pieces bag and everyone goes crazy for them.
I was going to try more basic cookies this year but it's a crapshoot whether they will come out right lol
Karen @For What It's Worth
Ugh, I can relate. I spent a year or so taking off about 35 lbs and the last year has been spent gaining back 20+. *sigh*
DeleteMolasses ginger cookies sound yummy! I’ve yet to commit to actually making anything. lol It’s a matter of finding the time.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE BAKING!
ReplyDeleteI had to think about "Arretjescake" right away. Which is a real December treat in The Netherlands and can't go wrong! I've made it with the kids in my classroom multiple times.
https://www.yummydutch.com/blog/baking/cakes-and-pies/2500/grandmothers-recipe-arretjescake.html
The Arretjescake looks delicious, Esther! And the fact that there's no actual baking means even I can probably make it! :) Thank you for sharing!
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