Monthly Archives: December 2009

A Taste At Home: Christmas Meringues

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Step #1

Find a willing brother to help (or a sister).

Jesse
Jesse

Step #2

Beat the eggs until frothy...
Beat the eggs until frothy... in Grandma's tiny (!), glass mixer... Ours is just too big for this.

Step #3

Unwrap lots of peppermints...
Unwrap lots of peppermints... (Don't "muzzle the ox"; if the brother/sister wants to snack, go ahead!)

Step #4

Make sure the mixture is nice and stiff, otherwise, you will have meringue flops.
Make sure the mixture is nice and stiff, otherwise, you will have meringue flops. This picture does not show the stiff mixture yet 🙂 -- it's on it's way!

Step #5

Add sugar gradually.
Add sugar gradually.

Step #6

Review the recipe to make sure you have added everything correctly.
Review the recipe to make sure you have added everything.

Step #7

Fold in the peppermint "dust", chocolate chips, and vanilla.

Step #8

Spoon onto cookie sheets lined with brown-paper (like lunch bags) and bake.

Step #9

Yum! Enjoy. They will go fast.
Yum! Enjoy. They'll go fast.

Christmas Meringue Cookies
by Grandma Jan
Yield: approx. 30 cookies

Important Note: Do not double! You’ll need to make one batch at a time, washing the bowl/beaters between each batch.

2 egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 c. white sugar
1 pkg. chocolate chips (6 ounces)
1/2 c. crushed peppermint candy (we used a mini food processor to grind the candy up into almost powder)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until stiff and peaks form. That step is very important! The cookies will flop if the egg whites aren’t beaten properly. Add sugar gradually, beating constantly. Fold in chocolate chips, candy, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonful on cookie sheets lined with heavy brown-paper (such as lunch bags). Bake for 25 minutes or so, until the cookies look baked, but do NOT brown! Remove from paper when cooled. Freezes well (if they last that long).

“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalms 119:103)

Sarah 🙂

Preparing for Caroling & Shelf Building

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Thursday afternoon, Anna and Mary worked on our Christmas caroling cards. We are all anxiously awaiting our caroling evening to almost 40 neighbors in our area. We hope for the evening to be cold and snowy, but we’ll see when it comes to the day! Last year, we had perfect weather–it began to snow while we were out, and it was freezing cold.

We will be baking our fresh, cinnamon bread with a frosting glaze to hand out when we carol. If you are a new blog reader (or an “old” one 🙂 ), you are welcome to read about last year’s caroling here.

Mary and Anna
Mary and Anna
We were ready for a huge set of shelves to be built. Do you know how many things one collects building a house?! A ton! Of course you dont want to throw it out, either.
We were ready for a huge set of shelves to be built. Do you know how many things one collects building a house?! A ton! Last week, Joseph built another set of shelves using materials we already had. This week's required an order of wood.
Joseph had the shelves built in a short amount of time. Seriously, it took him 2 hours or so!
Joseph had the shelves built in a short amount of time. Seriously, it took him a little over an hour!

“I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD…” (Isaiah 63:7).

Sarah

My Brothers

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There are times when people ask how many boys and girls there are in our family, and when I say that I have five brothers, they look surprised. They often make a comment that it must be hard for me with that many brothers, but I have found it quite the opposite. It has been a joy to have brothers to grow up with, to love, to rejoice with, to work with . . . each with their own personality and creativity. I treasure the time I have with them now as, Lord willing, they will marry and have families of their own in the future!

As I’ve watched Joseph and John build our house, and now as they begin their business, their diligence has been amazing to me. If it wasn’t for all the effort they put into building the house, I’m sure we wouldn’t be living in it right now! I am very grateful for the time we spent and continue to spend together working on projects like that because it has greatly grown our relationships. As they’re beginning their business, there have been many issues they have faced, and yet they have persevered, and laid all of their problems at the feet of Jesus!

Now as Joseph and John are gone working for a lot of the days, I really miss them, but it makes me look forward to our trips all the more because we’ll all be together. It makes me very grateful for the years we’ve had together and will continue to have! It is a joy to see each of the boys’ personalities and the path that the Lord is leading them on! It is a blessing to still have Christopher and Jesse around, since Christopher has his office over here, and Jesse is still doing school!

In Christ,
Anna

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalms 133:1).