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| My winning Christmas cookie styled in Country Home magazine |
It's time to bake the Christmas cookies,
and after sharing my parents' Swedish home,
I am now sharing the not-so-secret RECIPE
for my special Swedish Spritz-like
sugar cookies with buttercream icing.
It's our family's favorite cookie and especially
loved by our eldest son, Luke, so we call them
Luke's Christmas Love Cookies
but they are also known as
Swedish Christmas Cookies
because my Swede peeps say they
are so reminiscent of Spritz.
Can I tell you one of the sweetest moments of my life
like EVER?
Little Luke, perfect and precious in his platinum blonde
two-and-a-half year old body calls my name...
MAMA
I look up.
"Yes, babe, what are you up to?"
I'M JUST LOVIN' YOU.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
There will never be enough x's and o's or good words
for me to adequately express how my heart simply
OVERFLOWS with AFFECTION
when I recall that little voice and sacred moment.
And I'm so happy to share it with you intimately
right now
because, friends, today was a tough day.
I know you know them.
I think tomorrow will feel better, don't ya think?
I think this because I am getting older and know
some things about love and sorrow.
Like how they can mingle and at times make you feel
as though you're just not strong enough to bear
what it is you must bear.
But love is real, babe.
It's stronger than hate.
Stronger than cancer.
Stronger than death.
So when I type these words from my little corner
of the heartland in the USA and share images
inspiring me at any given moment,
please know that I am also exhaling my love
on all the letters because I truly care.
You are just so perfectly made to be loved.
If you have a moment and believe in such things,
I'd be so grateful if you whispered a little prayer for me.
Merci.
Baking these buttercream frosted, buttery cookies
is a holiday tradition I have enjoyed with my kids,
for almost 25 years...
and they even won a contest
in this lovely magazine:
When I submitted my entry and cookie recipe,
I explained that as my boys grew into teenagers
it became a little tricky to find bonding
activities, yet cooking and baking in the kitchen
is something you're never too young or too old
to enjoy together.
Keep reading to get the recipe for these
yummy Christmas cookies, and take a
peek at some shots of my kitchen at
the fixer upper in its pared down glory
before we add some festive greenery
and accents.
Remember how the kitchen looked when we began?
We didn't have to trash the cabinetry, it simply
relocated to a basement workshop.
If you missed my post where I shared a bazillion images
of a simple and thrifty tablescape, find it here.
It looks daringly spare here, but believe me,
in such a small kitchen (for me, it's small),
it gets colorful pretty dang quick with
food and personalities.
Can I ask a favor?
If you don't already follow HELLO LOVELY on instagram,
@hellolovelystudio would you consider joining me there? Swell.
I share glimpses of everyday life at the Chicagoland fixer upper
like when the new front door arrived yesterday morning:
and the forthcoming Arizona cottage makeover
as well as random Hello Lovely adventures.
Now about those delicious cookies...here's the thing.
You need to plan ahead since the dough needs to chill.
It needs 3 hours or overnight so
you get to chill while it's chillin'.
And as chillin' goes, I say
how about playing Christmas music,
cozying up with a warm drink,
and perusing lovely on the interwebs
with an emphasis on ones featuring
peaceful living...hmmmm.
Ignore me. I'm an unapologetic shameless woman
who loves da pinning you do so well.
You're going to have a hard time
not eating this raw dough even though
you know the salmonella yadda yadda
and how you'd like to get back into
those skinny jeans.
Just warning you.
Swedish Christmas Cookies
aka
Luke's Christmas Love Cookies
Prep: 50 minutes
Chill: 2 hours
Bake: 7 minutes/batch
Oven: 375°
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 7-oz. jar marshmallow cream
3/4 cup butter, cut up and softened
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Colored sprinkles
1. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat 1 cup butter for 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and almond extract. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Divide in half. Cover and chill for 2 to 3 hours or until easy to handle.
2. On a lightly floured surface roll half of dough at a time until slightly less than 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough using a 2 1/2-inch star-shape cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake in 375° oven 7 to 8 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Transfer to wire racks; cool.
4. In large mixing bowl beat marshmallow cream, gradually adding 3/4 cup softened butter. Beat in 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Spread or pipe atop cookies. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles. Makes 6 1/2 dozen cookies.
TO STORE : Store in a single layer in refrigerator until frosting sets, about 1 hour. Store in a single layer in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze uniced cookies.
Per cookie: 73 cal., 4 g fat (3 g sat. fat), 14 mg chol., 49 mg sodium, 8 g carbo., 0 g dietary fiber, 1 g protein.
Friends, thank you for letting me be me on this blog.
I'm mostly a mysteriously creative mess just muddling through,
and I find myself so soft and tender this holiday season
in a very very real state of wide awake wonder.
It's not childlike or a sugary sweet nostalgia,
but a very grownup sort of awe and
contemplative cosmic consciousness.
...and so I share a sugary cookie recipe? That's classic.
In spite of the paradox, with all my heart, I send
peace to you right where you are.
