White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I was involved in a secret Santa exchange last Christmas. Along with the small gift, each participant included their favorite Christmas cookie. We tend to do mostly decorative cookies at Christmas time, so these were first made in January. They were a huge hit with most of my family. They are rich, but not as much as I had feared. The dried cranberries provide the needed tartness. They are a nice change from regular oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies, without a lot of fuss.

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degree. In a large bowl, combine the sugar brown sugar and butter; mix well to cream together. Add egg and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour. Mix well. Fold in the oatmeal, cranberries, and white chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden.

Eating Ethnic Foods

Since I began my diet in July, my poor family has been eating meals that the kids can prepare with occasional meals from Mike. Once in a while, I will throw something in the crock pot, but in general the kids are doing the bulk of the cooking. Since Amy returned home from college, she has been cooking well-planned meals, which the other children really appreciate.

Last night, Amy prepared a Lebanese feast which included hummus, falafel, salata hindbi ma Laban (dandelion green salad with yogurt), and almond fingers. The children and Mike really enjoyed the falafel and almond fingers. The dandelion green salad was too bitter for my crew. Amy halved the amount of garlic and onions in the falafel because we are huge garlic eaters around here. The almond fingers tasted a lot like Russian tea cakes, but aren't as sweet and have a nuttier flavor. We will be making these quite often in the future. YUM!

Almond Fingers

16 sheets Fillo Dough
2 cups finely ground almonds
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 cup melted clarified butter
simple syrup or powdered sugar

Bring fillo dough to room temperature. Combine sugar, almonds, and water, set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a flat surface, butter and layer two sheets of fillo dough, placing them lengthwise on top of each other. Fold the layered fillo in half lengthwise. Fillo should be 17 inches long and 6 inches wide. Place about 3 tablespoons of nut filling in a line across the 17 inch length. Roll up fillo, tightly and evenly, into a cylinder, beginning on the 17 inch side.

Brush entire outside of dough cylinder with butter. Cut into 5 fingers, equal in length. Place foil lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and drizzle with syrup or sprinkle with powdered sugar and ground pistachios. Enjoy with tea or cold milk.

Sesame Seed Cookies

I discovered this recipe for Sesame Seed Cookies in The Precious Moments Cookbook. We were looking for a new type of cookie and had a large bag of sesame seeds. They are not too sweet and are best when fully cool. This is very hard at my house where people steal cookies off the cooling tray!

Sesame Cookies

1 Cup butter
3/4 Cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup toasted sesame seeds

Cream butter with sugar. Add remaining ingredients except sesame seeds. Chill 1 hour or more. Roll into 1" balls, then roll in sesame seeds. Place on greased cookie sheet. Flatten with bottom of glass. Bake for 8-10 ,omutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 5 dozen. (We ended up with 26 cookies. I must make mine too big.)

These are crunchy and slightly nutty. They were wonderful with coffee or a glass of milk.