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| Almond Cookies |
Today, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my daughter decided to bake some cookies! We are calling them almond cookies because they have ground almonds in the dough. She found the recipe online, but, then, proceeded to modify it, substituting all purpose flour for cake flour, half and half for skim milk, vanilla essence for vanilla beans, salted butter for unsalted butter (and omitting the salt called for in the recipe) because that's what we had! Plus she shortened the chilling time for the dough and decreased the oven temperature! LOL. She left a few cookies plain, but, topped the rest with melted chocolate chips, melted chocolate and almonds, cranberry sauce, cranberry frosting (powdered sugar mixed with cranberry sauce), and Nutella! She packed up a dozen or so of the cookies in a container to give to a friend of hers who had texted her, earlier in the morning, to ask if she'd like some Vietnamese spring rolls.
At first, her friend had said that there were spring rolls leftover from their Thanksgiving dinner, which they had yesterday, and would we like to have some? Daughter replied, yes, please. Her friend was going to drop off the spring rolls in the early afternoon. Then, her friend texted her to say that his aunt had been upset that he had offered leftovers to us and was now insisting on making a fresh batch of spring rolls to give us, so, he will bring them over a bit later! A couple of hours later, he dropped off this feast:
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| Vietnamese Meat Pies, Rice Paper Spring Rolls, Peanut Sauce, and Fruits |
Freshly made spring rolls (rice noodles, slices of cooked pork, lettuce, fresh mint leaves, and shrimp, wrapped in rice paper) with peanut sauce for dipping, meat pies still warm from the oven (the friend's mother and aunt had remembered that I really liked them and made some!), plus guavas and lemons from their garden! I called the friend's mother and thanked her for the feast they had sent us! They have been such wonderful friends to us over the years (we've known each other since my daughter was in 4th grade).
While my daughter was busy making cookies, I busied myself making more holiday gifts:
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| Snowman Coasters |
A set of four snowman coasters. I had just enough black embroidery thread in my stash to finish this set! I made a similar set back in 2019, too.
Later in the evening, my daughter and I gave ourselves facials as a mother-daughter activity!
Today, I am grateful for:
- Good friends of many years
- The delicious meal from my daughter's friend and his family
- The yummy cookies my daughter baked
- Being able to make gifts from The Stash!
- Being able to order groceries online
Today's joyful activities included enjoying some really delicious food and facials.
Plans for tomorrow include video chatting with a friend, picking up the groceries, and making more gifts to give.
How was your Saturday? What are your plans for Sunday?
You have such lovely friends and how nice they make such a delicious feast for you. Your daughter's cookies look yummy, it made me smile at just how much she had altered the recipe. Your coasters are great. I'm so glad I follow your blog this post and photos have made me smile today.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen; yes, I am blessed with some lovely friends! My daughter adapts recipes left, right, and center! Often, she'll combine two recipes into one because she doesn't have the all the ingredients for either one! But, they all turn out well for the most part. :) I'm glad the post and the photos made you smile, today. :)
DeleteWow, what a generous meal from daughter's friend's family. It looks delicious and so do daughter's biscuits. I love your snowmen coasters as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm having a quiet time today. I'm feeling the effects from yesterday, partly from the booster jab and partly from getting really chilled from having to queue outside in the middle of a storm. That was bad enough and just when I thought I couldn't feel any more miserable it started to snow!
It was a feast, wasn't it? They are too generous! The biscuits were very yummy! I like the coasters, too; the blanket stitching all around is a bit tedious, but, I like hand-sewing. :)
DeleteI'm sorry you had to stand outside in a storm! I hope you feel better soon, and didn't catch a chill!
Those cookies look almost too good to eat. I imagine they tasted delicious.
ReplyDeleteThose coasters are so cute! What a great idea. X
They do taste good, Jules, but, I'm trying hard not to eat too many of them! :D The coasters are easy to make - two circles of white felt (I used fleece fabric, because that's what I had) and scraps of orange felt for the noses (I painted a piece of white fleece, instead). Then, embroider the eyes (French knots) and mouth (cross-stitches), place the 2nd piece of felt underneath to hide the back of the stitches, and blanket stitch all around to join. Lily could probably just draw the features with fabric paint or a permanent marker and that would be fine, too. :)
DeleteHow lucky to receive the food! It looks delicious. Your daughter's cookies look fantastic! She is so talented with the decorating. They look really professional.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are really blessed to receive all that delicious food! Her cookies turned out well, didn't they? I told her she needs to make another batch or two to give as holiday gifts, this year. :)
DeleteThose snowman coasters are so cute, and the cookies look and sound divine. How nice that you are still friends after all of these years.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. The coasters were fun to make, except the blanket stitching was a bit tedious! My daughter and I have have a few friends of long standing. In fact, I just exchanged emails with a school friend of mine; we were classmates since 2nd grade, although we didn't become best friends until 4th or 5th grade! :)
DeleteYour daughter is obviously an experienced baker since she is able to make substitutions, and the results look delicious and professional. What a lovely gift of food from your daughter's friend's mother and aunt! I remember the cute snowman coasters in 2019.
ReplyDeleteWe put up our outside Christmas lights yesterday using the favourite technique of just draping them over the bush in front of the porch and hoping for the best. It always works!
Thank you, Bushlady; she does enjoy baking. :) The gift of food from my daughter's friend's family was just amazing! Last Christmas, my daughter and I prepared a dinner of rice and curries and took to them (contactless delivery/left it on the door step); I think we will do a repeat of that, this year, too. :) I'm sure your garden looks lovely with the lights draped over the bushes! :)
DeleteAaah I love those little snowman coasters. They came out really cute. Your daughter's cookies look like cookies you would see in a really nice bakery. Were they as good as they looked? You both have really good friends who supply you both with yummy food and desserts all the time. You're blessed. Denise
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise. The cookies were/are delicious! They taste a little like shortbread cookies, but, with almonds in them. We are truly blessed with good friends, aren't we? Each gift is like a hug from them and I hope that I can reciprocate in my turn. :)
DeleteYou certainly eat well at your house. You have a wonderful exchange going on with your friends.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell that your daughter is an artist. Those cookies were so pretty. Now if they could only develop a way that we could taste them remotely. :)
We might be eating just a bit too well as both my daughter and I are putting on weight! LOL! But, yes, we have some wonderful friends who make sure we have treats on a regular basis! :)
DeleteThank you; my daughter enjoyed decorating the cookies. Maybe there will be a way to 3-D print cookies, one of these days! :D
Oh My Goodness!
ReplyDeleteI want friends like your friends! lol
I love spring rolls and I am sure I would love those meat pies. And the fruit! And the peanut sauce!
I know it's wrong to covet your neighbor but I am coveting away over here on the east coast.
The cookies your daughter made are beauties. I love almond cookies of any kind.
Yup
Still coveting.
LOL, Debra! Move down to my neighborhood and I'll introduce you to all my friends! :D The cookies my daughter made have been a big hit! I have asked her to make more of those and her checkerboard cookies to make up plates to give at Christmas/New Year! :)
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