Butterhorns!

I got this recipe from my friend Laura, who is an expert baker.

We've been making cookies together every year for Christmas since we were in high school.

That's a lot of years!

At our house, Butterhorns are, hands down, the most favorite cookie.

So much so, that when Karen and Mitchell got married last year, Butterhorns were what Mitchell wanted as their table favors.

He said he wanted them so much, he would even be willing to make them.

And that's what he did.

We all helped, of course, but Mitchell made all the dough and rolled out all the cookies himself!

I was impressed.

We packaged them in a cellophane bag with a sticky label that was stamped with the 'Spearrin' stamp Karen bought, a library-type stamp with the wedding date, and tied with strings of burlap.

Karen also wrote each person's name on the tag, they were also the table place cards.

Butterhorns.

Enough said.

Let's start baking!

Ingredients:

Dough

2 cups flour

1/2 lb. butter

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup sour cream

Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped pecans

For years, I made this dough by hand by cutting the butter into the flour and mixing the egg yolk and sour cream into the butter/flour.

But you can make it so fast with a food processor.

Pulse the butter and flour for 15 to 30 seconds, until the butter is evenly cut into the flour.

Separate one egg yolk.

Put the egg yolk and 3/4 cup sour cream into the food processor bowl.

Pulse for another 15 to 30 seconds until the dough comes together in large chunks.

It doesn't need to be in one ball, just large chunks.

Separate into 5 balls and wrap in waxed paper.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Chop the pecans to a small, uniform size.

Mix the pecans with 3/4 cup sugar and a generous teaspoon of cinnamon.

It really helps if you have a marble rolling pin, the weight of it makes the rolling much easier.

A pizza cutter works well for cutting.

But if you don't have them, don't worry. I've seen a friend roll out the dough with a drinking glass, and a sharp knife works well for cutting.

If you're making several hundred cookies for wedding table favors, invest in these tools, it's worth it.

You want the dough really firm, so chill thoroughly.

Roll the dough out on the waxed paper.

It makes it easier to handle.

Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the top and bottom of the dough ball.

Roll the dough out between two pieces of waxed paper, to about the size of the paper--about an 11 inch circle.

Remove the papers.

If you have helpers, keep the bottom paper--it makes it easy to slide the dough onto another board so someone else can put the sugar & nuts on and cut and roll the cookies.

I use a dinner soup spoon and put two heaping spoonfuls on the rolled out  dough.

Spread almost to the edge.

Cut the dough into 12 pieces.

Starting at the large end, roll the pieces up to the point.

When you put them on the cookie sheet, curve them into a little crescent.

They don't need to be too far apart because they don't expand much.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.

You want them to be a little bit browned.

Putting newspaper under the cooling racks makes the clean up faster.

This is a flaky cookie!

Yum!

***

We had three baking days to make all the cookies for the wedding.

While Karen worked on the invitations, the guys baked.

Karen did some baking too.

Mitchell used my old rolling pin, I didn't get my marble one until after the wedding.

Mitchell rolled out the dough.

Gary put the sugar & nuts on, did the cutting and rolled the dough up.

Gary and Mitchell did some male bonding while making cookies.

We put the cookies in the freezer to keep them fresh until the wedding.

Maid of Honor Beeto came a few days before the wedding to help get everything ready.

So did Mitchell's sister Colleen.

That's my bag!

Karen personalized each bag.

We took apart some burlap to make string to tie the bags.

Two pieces of string tied each bag.

A lot of hands makes for fast work.

Mitchell's mom came a few days before the wedding to help, too.

Candy and Colleen flew in from Florida, and even with jet lag, they stayed up late to help finish all the table favors.

I think the guys' cookies look better than mine!

No printable recipe for Butterhorns yet.

Gail's Stew

The Fujimotos welcome a new little one into the family!

Eugene and Maria are the proud parents of a baby boy!

This week I will be posting some dishes I'm going to be making to take over so they won't have to think about making dinner.

My friend Gail makes this simple, hearty stew. She calls it Poor Man's Stew, but it's known around here as Gail's Stew.

Gail's Stew

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey or other ground meat

6 russet potatoes

2 14 oz. cans of stewed tomatoes

1 bag frozen green beans

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

I've learned that when making a dinner to give to another family, the dinner doesn't need to be super fancy.

The recipient is always so appreciative and happy to be thought of, so don't worry the dish isn't--gourmet enough.

When my children were in nursery school, I was on the receiving end of a week's worth of food when I was sick.

How grateful I was for the thoughtfulness of my friends!

Start by browning the meat.

Drain any fat.

While the meat's browning, chop 1 small onion and mince 2 cloves garlic.

Add the chopped small onion and minced garlic to the meat.

Slice the potatoes and add them to the pot.

Then add 2 cans of stewed tomatoes.

Give the tomatoes a rough chop with a spoon, right there in the pot.

Add salt and pepper to taste, cover and simmer over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I like to add a cup or two of water--I like it on the soupy side.

You can also add some herbs.

After 15 minutes, stir in the frozen green beans and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the beans are hot and the potatoes are tender.

It's fast, simple, and delicious!

Itadakimasu!




***




This afternoon I visited the new baby!

He doesn't have a name yet, but his parents have it narrowed down to two choices for first names and two choices for middle names.

And combinations of thereof.

He's got his hand open!

Mostly it's fisted.

We had to check to see if he had lint in there.

Mine always did.

O-Baachan is celebrating her 88th birthday this week.

I loved their hands together.

We're so happy he's here!

No printable recipe for Gail's Stew yet.