Wreath cookies: of course!

Many food bloggers do a great job making recipe upon recipe based on the calendar of food blog events. I on the other hand, only serendipitously contribute to these parties, events and recipe roundups floating around on the web. I was happy to find this one—or rather, have it find me: Food Blogga is hosting Christmas Cookies 2007. Now there is a table where I will can easily rest my elbows and feast my eyes.

I have been looking for new cookie ideas. I have old favorites, but it is always good to find new favorites. Huh. I think that is the perfect summary of my kitchen mantra: embracing old favorites and looking for new. Whether it is my list of standby entree recipes (which I fondly call default dinners) or my deliberate search for a new favorite curry or vegetable (this year’s winner: fennel), I am all equally about where I came from and where I am going (that sounds adequately cliche for wrapping up 2007 and entering 2008).

Lest I begin reminiscing, let us press on and make wreath cookies. I think it has been 7-8 years since I made these (therefore, they fall into the old, reminiscent favorite category). They are Christmas meets Rice Krispy treats but with corn flakes and green food coloring, and red hots to stand in as holly berries. More than anything, it will add color to the cookie plate and pay tribute to this decoration-filled, tinsel brimming, eggnog making holiday. (Pssst: I snuck some of my eggnog early. In fact… just now. And it is SO good. You need to try it!).

Wreath Cookies*
1/3 cup butter
1 package marshmallows (10 oz; 40 marshmallows)
1 tsp green food coloring
6 cups corn flakes
red hot candies

In saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir to melt. Remove from heat, stir in food coloring. Stir in corn flakes to coat. Butter fingers, scoop 1/4 cup worth of the green flakes and shape into wreath. Dot with red hots/cinnamon candies. Approximately 16 small wreaths. Or, I suppose, one enormous wreath.

True confessions: the wreath above looks either like genuine holly color or spinach, depending on your mood. The marshmallows I happened to have on hand were green and red stars (ever the sucker for celebrating holidays, I bought these to top hot chocolate), which added a dull gray to my holly green food coloring. Thus, the olive colored wreaths. When YOU make them, they will be a gorgeous, bright Christmas green. Almost makes your kids want to eat spinach, but not quite… Oh, and I affixed the red hots with melted chocolate; frosting works too, maybe even honey for that matter.

*Betty Crocker recipe

I cannot help but sing many different songs to the tune of “Oh Christmas Tree.”

I make up words to this tune, silly words, while driving the kids around town. And I could just as easily make up a holiday-cookie-baking version of the song… if I really wanted to.

Singing or not singing, it is the time of year to bring out the flour, sugar and butter and mix them into round, square and otherwise cut-out cookies. My son loves to make this particular recipe. The recipe originated from my beat-up, soft cover Betty Crocker Cookbook (from when I was a kid); you know, the fancy twisted candy cane cookies? But over the years and birthdays and broken candy canes, it has become a multi-colored log that we slice and bake as ’rounds.’

It still tastes as good.

And we alter the colors according to the event. When we cheer for our team, it is purple and gold swirled together; for my son’s birthday it was blue and yellow. And for Christmas, well you would think—and could go with—red and green. But in our case, my son chose ice blue. And we rolled the log in red and green sugar before slicing. (Recipe below).

Oh, and speaking of variations on the Oh Christmas Tree song? My sons picked up this hilarious version; be careful, you will start singing it at the most inopportune times:

“Oh Todd the Toad”

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?
Did you not see the big red truck?
For now you are a hockey puck.

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?
Did you not see that rolling car?
For now you are a piece of tar.

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?
You used to be so big and fat,
And now you are so very flat.

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?
You used to eat a fly or two,
But now the flies are eating you.

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?

Keep singing and make:

Hockey Puck Cookies
1 cup shortening (or half shortening, half butter)
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp food coloring (split the dough in 2 and use 2 different colors, if desired; roll together into log)
optional: crushed candy cane, colored sugar for rolling

Oven to 375 degrees. Mix well first five ingredients; blend, then add salt and flour. Color dough. Roll into 1 1/2 inch log; roll in colored sugar/crushed candy canes. Cut in 1/2 - 3/4 inch slices. Bake for 9 minutes. If after singing and baking, you have developed a great affection for Todd the Toad, consider coloring the hockey pucks green.