Molasses Cookies {aka - Best Cookies EVER} and a Winner!!

I have been baking up a storm today!  This is the only time of year when I get excited to bake.  Making cookies is not at the top of my list of favorite things to do, but something gets into me right before Christmas and I start baking up a storm!  I've been making these Molasses Cookies every Christmas for the last few years and they are my absolute favorite and they seem to be a hit with my family.  This year I doubled the recipe so there would be plenty to go around.  

I actually got the recipe from the back of the Molasses bottle.  It sounded easy enough and after I tried a cookie from the first batch, I knew I had found a winner.  

Molasses Cookies

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup softened butter

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, molasses and egg.  Blend well.  Stir in remaining ingredients and blend well.  Chill dough for easier handling.  Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Heat oven to 375º F.   Shape dough into 1-inch balls, and roll in sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set.  Cool 1-2 minutes before removing from sheet.

-------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't resist adding a little Christmas light bokeh to the picture :)

I linked my recipe to these yummy parties: Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesdays at the Table

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND...

The winner to a year's subscription to Taste of Home magazine is...

# 9 - Lori @ My Heart with Pleasure Fills

Congrats Lori!!!

Taste of Home Subscription Giveaway!

Taste of Home is one of my favorite cooking magazines.  I recently renewed my subscription and with it came a great offer to give a year's subscription to a friend for Christmas.  So... I decided I would give it to one of my blog friends!  

All you have to do is leave a comment to enter!

I will select a winner Monday, December 20th.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The winner is

Lori @ My Heart with Pleasure Fills

Congrats Lori!!!

My New Stainless Steel Pot

Back in October I was contacted by CSN Stores to do a review for one of their products.  If you've visited their website you know they sell pretty much anything you could ever want or need.  For an indecisive person like me, selecting an item took much longer than necessary. :)  I changed my mind numerous times but finally decided on something.

My final decision: An Emerilware Stainless Steel Soup Pot

The ordering process was incredibly fast and easy.

I couldn't believe how fast my package arrived!  I ordered it on Wednesday and by Saturday morning it was sitting by my front door.  

So shiny and pretty!

Love this little pour spout.

It has a very solid aluminum and copper bonded base.

Handy measurements right there in the pot!

I am very pleased with the quality of the piece.  It seems sturdy and well constructed.  I can't wait to use it!

You can order your own here

Join the Fun Ornament Link Party!

Stop what you are doing, grab your camera, and snap a few pictures of your favorite memory-filled ornaments and join my sweet blog friend, Bev over at Flamingo Toes for her fun Ornament Link Party!  She was inspired to have this link party after she saw my Favorite Ornament blog post.  So I will definitely be joining in on the fun!

Favorite Ornaments

I've been saying the last couple weeks that I don't feel like decorating for Christmas and that I will probably keep the decor very minimal this year.  Ha!  Yeah right.  Last night hubby and I pulled out the Christmas bins from storage and I forgot how fun it is going through everything.  I also forgot how much stuff I bought after Christmas last year.  Score!

One of my favorite things to unpack are the ornaments.  I like having a few whimsical, memory-filled ornaments mixed in with the pretty ones.  Our new thing is to buy a "vacation" ornament.  Those bring back wonderful memories!

  Here's our newest ornament from our amazing trip to Savannah.

These two ornaments may be my all time favorite.  It doesn't get much cuter than a little tiny knit hat and sweater. :)  

Our cheesy little ornament from Hawaii.

A mini version of us on our wedding day :)

This is one of my favorite "pretty" ornaments.

Everyone needs a blender ornament, right?!

Little Stanley.

 

And no tree is complete without a Christmas pickle.

Linked to Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home 

Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge 

Favorite Things @ Bargain Hunting with Laurie 

Favorite Things @ Funky Junk Interiors

Our Favorite Ornaments Party! @ Flamingo Toes

Savannah Trip {Extreme Makeover Home Edition Excitement}

Eating at Paula Deen's Restaurant was a high priority on my Savannah to-do list.  I'm a Food Network junkie and have always enjoyed watching her show.  So Friday morning we set out to make reservations for lunch and as we rounded the corner, this is what we found.  The street in front of the restaurant was blocked off and police were directing traffic.  We had no idea what was going on and then we spotted the Extreme Makeover bus.  Ty??  Are you in there?!?  There were a few people gathered around but there wasn't a whole lot happening.  

Once we got back from putting our names on the list for lunch, we noticed a little more commotion.  Pretty soon there were fancy cameras and people sporting sound gear all around us.  We found out they were getting ready to tape the ambushing of the next home makeover family who was inside eating at Paula's restaurant.  How fun!!!

And look who came out of the restaurant.  Jamie Deen!  This is the point when I realized I get very giddy when I see famous (ok, semi-famous) people in person.  For the sake of my husband, I tried to keep the excitement down to a non-embarrassing level.  :)

And then suddenly Paula Deen comes out as well!  This is the only picture I got of her.  Apparently she's so famous she has to be escorted into a van, driven a block away to a SUV with tinted windows, and whisked away by her driver.  Really??  Anyway, I was pretty excited I got to see her.

And then out came Ty.  {insert giddiness}

Here's the whole crew getting ready to ambush the family.  

Paul DiMeo was definitely the most outgoing and friendly out of the bunch.  

Carpenter Ed was on his phone the entire time.

Here's the family getting ready to board the bus.  I think the show is going to air sometime in January.  We will definitely be watching!

Savannah Trip {Part 2}

It's been a full time job going through my photos from Savannah!  I go a little crazy with picture taking. :)  My thinking is that you can always delete pictures but you can never go back in time to retake a photo.  Here are a few more from the trip...

The architecture and wrought iron work in Savannah is just gorgeous.  

Mercer Williams House

The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

River Street

Next up... 

Our encounter with the Extreme Home Makeover excitement.

Linked to: Friendly Friday @ Thanks Mail Carrier