Now my sister, Mary Grace, can sew circles around me! Seriously, I don't know of anyone who can sew as precisely and swiftly as she; bear with me, she's my little sister you know, I just had to brag on her a little.

Another wintertime highlight around here is time spent together in the kitchen. The week before Christmas Daniel and Owen helped make a large batch of cream sticks, enough for us to eat our fill and plenty to share with the neighbors. There are few things my children enjoy more than helping me with cooking and baking Daddy's favorites.

The kitchen rang with whoops of glee and delight as the children mixed up the butter, ice cream, and flour with their hands. For once they were the ones that could dig into the dough with clean hands! That wasn't all, next it was time to shape them into balls then slightly flatten them and press a thumbprint in the center and fill the "pond" with jam!

Whether you'll have children to help you or not, you'll be sure to enjoy making these most unique cookies and sharing some!

Ice-cream Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream

Mix softened butter and flour, and then add ice cream. (If you have little ones helping you, you'll be sure to get giggles from this part!) Chill until dough is slightly firm. Form into balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly and press a thumbprint on top. Fill center with you choice of preserves. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Yields 20 cookies.

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups peanut butter
• Powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 pound milk chocolate coating

Cream together butter and peanut butter. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Roll into balls, your choice of size; I prefer small ones with the children. Place onto a cookie sheet or flat-bottomed container of any kind, freeze for one hour or until they're set. Next dip in chocolate, one at a time. Place in wax paper-lined container. Chill and enjoy! Yields about 10 dozen.

Healthy Chocolate

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat and stir together over medium heat until melted. Use as a dipping chocolate or pour into a 9 by 13 pan and refrigerate or freeze, then break into pieces and enjoy. This chocolate is very runny when hot, so choose the temperature that works best for your project at hand.

Coconut Oatmeal Pie

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup pancake syrup
• 1/2 cup corn syrup (I use maple syrup instead)
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring (optional)

Preheat oven to 320. Mix everything in a bowl until well blended. Pour into an unbaked piecrust of your choice and bake for one hour.

Potpourri

How about Christmas scents? If you’re like me you’re drawn to a cozy atmosphere of flickering candles giving off the tantalizing scent of cinnamon and spices. I’ve discovered an easy way of enjoying the scent of these homey candles even if I don’t have one. Simmering a saucepan with water and a concoction of spices gives off this cozy scent.

I especially enjoy dumping this mixture together a few hours before we are supposed to have guests in our home filling our house with a clean, sweet smell. Be sure to keep an eye on the saucepan, else it will eventually all evaporate. If this happens your guests will be greeted with a disgusting burnt odor, portraying a cook who is trying to do too much at once!

Ingredients

• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon whole allspice
• 2 tablespoons whole nutmeg
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 lemon, sliced (Lemon juice or even lemon oil can be used as a substitute for the lemon slices.)

Last but not least, how about an Amish New Year’s Eve specialty of sauerkraut and sausage?

Sauerkraut & Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk sausage (browned)
• 1 large can or bag sauerkraut
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 diced onion
• 1 cup ketchup

Mix all ingredients. Bake at 275 for 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally. You may want to add a little water to desired consistency.