Butterscotch Gingerbread People
Makes about 12
1 small box butterscotch pudding mix (cook & serve)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
decorations or icing
Preheat oven to 350°. Cream pudding mix, butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat egg in. Add dry ingredients and mix until blended. Roll out on floured board and cut with cookie cutters. Add candy buttons, cinnamon candy hearts or other decorations as desired. Bake for approximately 10 minutes and cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cookies may then be decorated with icing as desired. Makes appx. 12 large cookies, many smaller ones, depending on size of cookie cutters.
Cinnamon Dough Ornaments
A richly scented ornamental cookie. These would be fabulous decorating a christmas tree, but don't try to eat them!
1 cup ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons white glue
3/4 to 1 cup water
Mix cinnamon and glue. Gradually add the water. Stir until a ball of dough forms. Roll out with rolling pin 1/4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters. Poke a hole and let dry at room temperature for 1 to 2 days, turning over every 6-8 hours. If desired, decorate with white Royal Icing. Hang with ribbon and enjoy the fragrance!
Edible Cookie Ornaments
1/4 cup vanilla frosting
9 ring-shaped butter flavored cookies or any ring- shaped cookies
1 roll (9 count) ring-shaped fruit flavored Life Savers
1 1/2 to 2 yards red string licorice or ribbon
Place frosting in small bowl. Add desired food color; blend well. Place colored frosting in decorating bag fitted with small writing or decorator tip, or in small resealable plastic freezer bag with 1 corner snipped off to make a very small hole for piping.
Place 1 cookie on flat surface; lightly outline center hole with frosting. Place 1 ring-shaped candy over frosting, pressing lightly and matching center openings. Pipe frosting decoratively on cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies; let dry. Insert licorice through hole in each cookie; tie in knot or bow. Hang ornaments on tree or use to decorate packages or gift baskets.
Brown Sugar Cookies
2 cups sifted flour, less if possible
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tablespoon cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
granulated sugar, for decorating
Blend 1 cup flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, and cream. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then add enough of the remaining 1 cup flour to make the dough stiff enough to roll. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill several hours. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place on a lightly floured cutting board and roll to 1/8" thickness. Use floured cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 8 minutes.
Tips on Mailing Cookies
Cookies that have a crunchy or hard texture such as Biscotti, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Crisps, Springerele, and Shortbreads make excellent choices for mail delivery. They tend to be fairly sturdy, so you don't have to worry too much about breakage. And since they already have a fairly dry texture, drying out isn't much of an issue.
Cookies that have a slightly chewy texture, like Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal-Raisin, Snickerdoodles, and White Chocolate Cranberry cookies also ship well. These cookies will tend to dry out if they are in the mail for more than a week, so if their destination is a long way off, you might want to ship them by express to ensure that they arrive just as tasty as when they left.
Macaroons and Pignoli mail beautifully. Their chewy, moist textures only seem to improve after they've aged a few days. Who wouldn't want to receive a single, perfect chocolate-dipped coconut macaroon as a special treat? *yummy*
Dense bar cookies such as Fudge Brownies, Blondies, or Peanut Butter Bars are delightful to receive in the mail. Just be sure to individually wrap each one with plastic wrap to keep that moist, gooey, dense texture from drying out.
Good things come in secure packages. Once you've baked and cooled your cookies, you're ready for the next step: packing them. There are a few guidelines you should follow when it comes to preparing cookies to be mailed. Follow these and your special packages should arrive fresh, in one piece, and great tasting.
Don't pack crisp and soft cookies together. The moisture from the soft cookies will seep into the crisp cookies, making them lose their delightful crunch.
Don't overstuff your container. Your cookies may be damaged. Likewise, don't under-pack your container. The cookies should fit snugly. If you have too much space, crumple up a bit of tissue paper to fill the holes.
Pack cookies in a sturdy tin or airtight container. On the bottom of the container place a piece of bubble wrap, then line the container with parchment paper or cellophane, leaving enough to tuck over the top once the container is fully packed. Place one layer of cookies in the container. Cover with parchment paper. Arrange another layer of cookies, followed with more parchment paper, and continue this layering until the container is full. Tuck the cellophane or parchment paper over the top, then place another piece of bubble wrap on top, and seal your container.
You now need to pack your tin or container in a heavy-duty cardboard box that's large enough to allow a two to three inch cushion between the tin and the wall of the outside box. Place a layer of shipping peanuts, air-popped popcorn, or crumpled paper on the bottom of your shipping box. Set your cookie tin on this bottom layer. Then fill in the sides and top with more shipping materials. Seal the shipping box with two-inch-wide shipping tape. Place a mailing label on the box, and you're ready to send those treats on their way. Rest assured you won't be seeing any "Return to Sender" messages coming your way!
This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace, now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped home and put in the memorial museum in Fort Hood,Texas.
The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad.
Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country; he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors. Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months.
To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.
There's more!
