Today we welcome my beloved Romvets sister and gifted author Caro Carson. She will tell you about her military connection, but suffice it to say that each December she and I are rooting for opposite football teams. Nonetheless she remains a constant source of strength and unconditional support for me and many more.
What do you make, bake, create or purchase for the holidays, Caro?
I love Christmas, but I was running myself ragged trying to cook every delicious holiday food from my family’s and my husband’s, as well as trying new recipes that friends recommended or magazines assured me my family would treasure. Then, I read a “simplify your life” type of article that suggested each family member should choose the one item that they just had to have, or it wouldn’t feel like Christmas. After all, if no one named the sweet potato casserole, then skipping it wouldn’t ruin the holiday, right?
I went around the table at dinner one night and asked everyone to choose carefully. I expected my family to complain that they couldn’t choose just one of the dishes I slaved over every year. I expected them to beg for the most complicated, most time-consuming dishes I’d ever served on the 25th. Perhaps they wouldn’t be able to choose between the cake, the three kinds of pie, and the three kinds of cookies we traditionally served.
Instead, the first kid had no problem deciding on the most important holiday food: green Christmas tree cookies. My husband? The green Christmas tree cookies. Kid Number Two? Green Christmas tree cookies. That was it. Piece of cake…or rather, cookie.
For the past two years, I’ve made batches of green Christmas tree cookies and let a lot of other fancy desserts go. If I don’t get to the rest, everyone is happy with the cookies! And my life is simpler, because these cookies don’t require any special ingredients, unless you count one of those little brown bottles of almond extract that lasts you for five years. These cookies mean Christmas to me, too, because the recipe is my mother’s, and I can’t remember a December without them. I’m happy to share the recipe. Enjoy!
Caro Carson’s Green Christmas Tree Cookies
(a.k.a. Butter Press Cookies)
Beat together:
1 cup of butter
½ cup of white sugar
On low speed, mix in:
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. almond extract
Green food coloring
Spoon into a cookie press, and extrude the batter into tree shapes.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
Do you have a special military connection, Caro?
I’m a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, and I served in the Military Police Corps as an officer in the army after graduation. This may explain the somewhat unusual photo of the cookies. My husband took that photo and labeled it “West Pointer’s cookies in straight rows.” Very funny, honey.
My favorite military holiday memory is Thanksgiving. I loved being part of the tradition that officers serve the holiday meal to their troops. We wore “dress blues,” the most formal uniform with all the ribbons, medals, and jazzy military stuff, to scoop the mashed potatoes and cut the pumpkin pie. It was great fun to meet the soldiers’ children, too. In the military working environment, you don’t get to see little kids very often. What is a holiday without excited children? They made it special.
I have a Christmas book! Print books go into bookstores on November 18th. It’s a Harlequin Special Edition, A Texas Rescue Christmas.Check out the details here.
Thanks for joining us today, Caro!
Find Caro at the usual places:
Website: http://www.CaroCarson.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcarocarson
Remember, you can do your part in supporting the military for the holidays. Harlequin will send one book for every 20 new subscribers to the Geri Krotow Newsletter. Sign up here.
