CHRISTMAS BAKING ....ALMOND FOLD-OVERS; PEANUT BUTTER KISS'S;;AND PEPPERMINT BARK

I got up early this morning with the goal of baking . My hubby
was gone and I wanted to bake early in the day while I had
the most energy.....Here is my pretty "Peppermint Bark"
I made it last year but this year it was so easy and turned
out well...............
I began with white chocolate bark. This kind you can put
in your microwave.....Easy
After placing it on a cookie sheet I then added red food
coloring and swirled it all around...........
Lastly.........I sprinkled crushed "candy canes" all over
the top and placed in my refrigerator for about an hour...
I like the holidays to be as simple as possible. I made these
simple peanut butter kiss cookies out of the dough I had
found earlier in the season for .99 and sale kisses.....

Next, I made another HUGE batch of my "fold over cookies"
I use the recipe out of my little Christmas book by Susan
Branch and add a few tweeks of my own......The recipe
made about 70 cookies!!!! I just made a batch a few
days ago but they are gone.................I have plans on sending
these out to my son and daughter in law..............
I "sifted" some of the flour and salt. I "love" sifting! Itsnt
that crazy....It reminds me of my mother and how she
would "sift" things in her kitchen.......
Next, pat out the dough with my hands...I work in small
batches and keep other parts in the refrigerator to keep
cold...............
As I cut out the circles; I place them on my tray; fill them
with my Solo filling; fold them over; fork tin them and they
are ready to go........I then sometimes cut more circles and
stack them so they are ready to go on next........Dont forget
to "Flour" your board everytime you pat out dough.....
I filled my large "cookie box" I found this summer at
the thrift store for about .50. I love this large box with
all its little birds and a nice lid!!!
They are all ready to go .....some to be sent; others for
my family here; and some for little cookie boxes for
others........I still plan on making a few other kinds if
time permits.....As I was baking away this morning I
stopped and my mind went to THANKFULNESS!!!

Thankful that the Lord allowed me to be healthy enough
this Christmas to prepare these goodies, Thankful that
I had the necessary items to prepare each cookie; Thankful
that I had a beautiful warm home and stove in which to
prepare them in; and thankful for so many many more
things.............

As we go about this holiday season we can tend to get
frustrated about so many things but if we STOP and
think about ALL God has given to our lives; we have
to think about all that we deserve and all that we have....