Merry Christmas!

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and welcome to Christmas at Diane's Place!!

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The Angels Cried

They came from near,
they came from far
Following a distant star to where He lay
Not being sure of what it meant, but
Knowing it was heaven sent
They made their way
And the creatures gathered 'round
And didn't make a sound
And the angels cried
The angels knew what was to come
The reason God had sent His son
From up above
It filled their hearts with joy to see and
Knowing of His destiny
Came tears of love
I've often thought about that night
And wondered if they realized
That star so bright
Was sent to tell all the land
The Son of God would soon become
The Son of Man
And the angels cried....

-Author Unknown

I think it's very important to remember why we celebrate Christmas. All too often we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, and forget about the true meaning of why we're celebrating. Please click on baby Jesus below to read about the very first Christmas...

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Cooking and baking are some of my favorite things to do around Christmas. Here are some great recipes to try:

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mini7.gif (1297 bytes) Cranberry Bread
Sift: 2 cups flour (sifted), 1 cup sugar, 1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt (I never use it), and 1/2 tsp. baking soda. Cut in 1/4 cup butter (I use Promise Extra Light margarine sticks-it makes the bread really moist) until mixture is crumbly (I use a mixer to crumble-ize it) Add 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp. grated orange peel (I use a grater/peeler and grate an entire orange for every two loaves.), and 3/4 cup orange juice. Mix until mixture is evenly moist. Fold in as many light raisins as you think looks good (the recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 cups, I never measure) and about a half bag of chopped cranberries per loaf. spoon into a greased 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan bake at 350' for 1 hour and 10 mins or until toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool out of pan on a wire rack. keep stored in aluminum foil.

mini10.gif (1398 bytes) GingerBread Men

3 and 1/4 cups flour      1.2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt     1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground cloves     1 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed     1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfered molasses     2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 - 2 tsp. milk

1. Preheat oven to 325' 2. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, and cloves 3. Cream butter and sugar. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and molasses and beat on medium speed until smooth. 4. Scrape down bowl and add flour mixture, blend on low speed until just combined -- do not over mix!
5. Separate dough into 2 balls and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. 6. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll dough out to 1/4" thickness. With floured cookie cutters cut into shapes. Gather scraps and re-roll dough until all is used. Place on ungreased baking sheets about 1/2" apart. 7. Bake 9-11 minutes -- do not brown. Transfer to cool, flat surface and cool.

Preparing Icing:

1. Whisk sugar and milk until smooth but still liquid. 2. Add extra milk if seems dry. 3. Spoon icing into a pastry bag with small piping tip, or other icing dispenser. 4. Decorate as desired.

CARAMELS

Put equal amounts of (approx. 1&1/3 C each):
eagle brand sweetened condensed milk      brown sugar
white sugar      lite corn syrup
butter or margarine

Cook to between soft ball and firm ball stage (approx. 275 f). Pour into a greased 9"x 13" pan an set aside to cool. When cool cut into squares of desired size and wrap each piece in handi wrap. Variation: Put a layer of chopped walnuts on bottom of greased pan before pouring caramels in pan.

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