Cranberry Orange Pumpkin Cookies

This week at the end of a whole day of holiday baking with my mama in her kitchen, I decided to play around and combine a few gourmet flavors I thought just might work well together and I created what I think is a real gem of a holiday cookie. I've already been told to "please freeze or hide these cookies before I eat all of them." These warm, soft pumpkin-spiced oatmeal cookies are laced with dried cranberries and orange zest and are the perfect fireside (or maybe even breakfast) treat. Enjoy!


Dry Ingredients 

2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Wet Ingredients

1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1 cup canned pumpkin, or cooked pureed pumpkin
1 tablespoon vanilla

Fold-Ins 

1/2-3/4 cup dried cranberries (depending on how much you like them)
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

3 Tablespoons orange zest (or the zest of 2 med-large oranges)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350. You will need 2-4 greased baking sheets. 

• Zest your oranges, chop your walnuts

• Mix together Dry Ingredients: flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices.

• In a second bowl, mix together Wet Ingredients: sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin and vanilla until very well combined. 

• Mix Dry Ingredients into Wet.

• Fold in the dried cranberries, walnuts and orange zest.

• Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. They may spread a bit, so leave a little space.  

• Bake for 14-16 minutes at 350. 

• Remove from oven and cool on a rack. 

Our Beautiful Thanksgiving Feast (and my fall mantle too!)

Hi Friends,

I hope you had a lovely thanksgiving. I did.

It has taken me a while to begin getting into the Christmas spirit, because it has been so warm out and hasn't snowed at all, (I've really enjoyed it, though its a little strange) but this Sunday I went to the early service (my favorite) at Unity and Ahriana really inspired me with what she had to share about Advent and all of the anticipation and gentle preparing for the coming of the new that can be so lovingly celebrated this time of year. I got very excited and went right away to buy some candles (one big brilliant gold one for the center, and 4 sage green tapers) and a grapevine wreath to make my own Advent wreath for Pres and I to light each night during this season so that we could be a part of the sacredness of this time. That afternoon I went on a sunny hike with Audrey and along the way I found some fallen evergreen branches to decorate our Advent wreath with. Its so beautiful, that immediately after setting it up, I could feel the Christmas Spirit begin to stir within me!!

I always love this time of year so much. I love that it is an end to the year that has passed. I love all of the warmth we create with our traditions. I love the sparkle of lights, and the drawing near of loved ones. I love the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, where we can begin to celebrate the return of the light. It is such a powerful time for transformation, and I love the opportunity it presents each year to look back over the last 12 months, and to take note of what dreams and goals we've brought to life. We can celebrate our victories, and cherish the memories we've created. And then comes the new year!! What a joy to spend some sacred time visioning what we dream of for the next year and starting all over again fresh! I love that we get this chance every year. Ever since I started paying attention to the deeper meaning of all this, and really using this as powerful time for creating, I've experienced more joy and accomplished more dreams than ever before. Thanks mom, for gifting me with The Sacred Journey Journal, 5 or 6 years ago. (This is a powerful tool, a journal/day timer that is really helpful with annual dreaming and goal setting) I've used one each year ever since, and even though I'll only use part of it this year (I'll be walking the other part) I still can't imagine a new year's with out it.

That said, I am getting in the Christmas spirit, and I thought I should share some pics of our lovely Thanksgiving feast with you before the season has passed. And of course, you have to see a few pictures of my fall mantle before I take it down! :)


Thanksgiving Feast

This is our warm Thanksgiving table at my mom and Scott's house...





Spicy Silk Nog...




Stuffing, one of Preston's favorites...




My favorite Thanksgiving dish, sweet potatoes, my great grammy's style cooked in butter (earth balance) and maple syrup....




This year my mom tried something new instead of green bean casserole, and it was yummmm! Asparagus with Annie's Yum Sauce and of course crispy onions on top...




Squashes with stuffing...




My other Thanksgiving favorite (thanks, mom!) Squash Rolls





For our entree this year, little pot pies....




For dessert I made 2 things:




Grammy's apple pie (with a whole wheat crust)

And....Vegan Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake, which was simply amazing.









My Fall Mantle

Here is my fall mantle for this year. It was simple and came together little by little, but it warmed me up to light all of the candles almost every day and watch it glow in honor of autumn...



















Audrey found me four large acorns which were the beginning of this little display. Preston brought the little pumpkin gourds home for me one night so I added them. Then when we were visiting Kansas City for Mom and John's Hallow-tini party I found so many beautiful acorns and some other large tree seeds at the Overland Park Arboretum and brought them home and it was complete...



















Preston bought me these precious little fall critters candles early this season...















This is the wreath I made for our front door...










I hope you had a wonderful fall as I did. Are you getting into the Christmas spirit? What are you doing to prepare--body, mind, and spirit for the season? Leave a comment!

Love,
Abbey

A Wonderful Christmas

Christmas was wonderful. I would like to share some pictures with you that stand out as I think back on Christmas 2010...

Our special wrapping paper project on Christmas eve...



This year was Preston and my first Christmas in our little house. We decorated with lights and it looked just like a little ginerbread house. Lights sparkled on our tree and our special mantle. We collected cards and hung them on the fireplace. We created a new Christmas tradition together: making our own wrapping paper. In the picture above, you can see the wrapping paper we made together on Christmas eve....

Before we climbed into bed on Christmas eve, we shared the magic of this little scene (plus a fire in the fire place that was lit shortly after this picture was taken), all snuggled up in a blanket on the couch. I had a case of the sugarplums for sure...



Me, Preston, Annie, Audrey, Kevin, Mom, Scott, Dad, and Nancy spent Christmas morning around the Christmas tree at my Mom and Scott's house (our first Christmas in their new house) opening gifts (we always open each gift one by one to cherish every gift) and had a lovely Christmas dinner together that night...

Here are some pictures Preston captured of the different parts of our holiday season. There are so many others, and I could make this into a really huge post, but I've decided to give you just a little peek into our holidays...

Preston captured of my new slippers my mom got me from the Etsy shop MEandREEKIE. They're like giant baby booties!!



Little sis Audrey in her cute Christmas pjs...



My loves Annie and Kevin...



Kevin in the tie we gave him from etsy seller, Toybreaker.




We each took turns in mom's lap--Scott had mom's special rocking chair restored. (A very touching gift.) It was the rocker that she rocked us all in as babies...



I gave Annie a special painting to honor her journey...




And that was Christmas day. There were many other pictures, but I hope you got a glimpse into the first part of our special Christmas...

Then, in crazy blizzard weather, we managed to fly out of Colorado Springs to spend time with Preston's side of the family in Kansas City and Nebraska.

We went with Preston's Mom and John to Karen and Craig's on New Years and finally got to meet our new little cousin, Courtney and Tim's little one, Josey!!



Then we spent a day with Preston's Dad and Tammy and Micaela, and the rest of the Stohs clan up in Nebraska.






This year, all the grandkids wrote love letters to Grandma and Grandpa, and it was the most beautiful thing to hear them read each letter aloud. They are very loved...





We spent the rest of our time back in Kansas City with Preston's mom and John, and had a wonderful Christmas celebration together. We also got to see Michael, and we made a special trip down to the plaza to see the lights, which we miss very much... The Plaza lights are a Kansas City tradition. Every year on Thanksgiving Eve, everyone gathers in the streets on the Plaza (a shopping district) and the lights of the plaza are turned on all at once. They wrap around every detail of every building and are an amazing sight to see... They were beautiful as ever...













We of course, as always, enjoyed many games of dominoes with Mom and John, and of course, Teresa and I kicked John and Preston's butts at Wii shuffleboard. We rock. Bring it. ;) And no, we did not just win because we went first. I know you don't like the way this is shaping up, but I'm telling you, the cheese is binding...




Eventually we made it back to the Springs, and on January 10 we celebrated with Dad and Nancy for their birthdays at one of our favorite local restaurants, Poor Richards.




I am so grateful to have shared this holiday season with my dearest family. I love you all!

Winter Magic: My Christmas Mantle

If you've been reading, you know by now that decorating my mantle with the coming of each season is something I absolutely LOVE to do, and I daydreamed and really looked forward to bringing life to the mantle for Christmas.

I think one reason decorating the mantle is so special to me, is that this is Preston and my very first house together. We've lived both in our parents houses and in an apartment, but this year, we share the sweetest little cottage. And decorating our very first house for Christmas??? Even more joy. So putting mantle and Christmas together in the same sentence, you have one very very happy me.

Another reason I love decorating the mantle, is that to me, it is like a special altar in our home (and the only place our cat Spoofer cannot get to) and I love having a special altar to the seasons. It is a warm, wonderful ritual to decorate it. This precious earth is so special to me, and it is one way in which I can honor the cycles of the earth, and honor each season and the way it touches my own human cycles, and honor the changes that take place in and all around me with each new season.

I put a lot of love into this mantle design and really dreamed it up over a couple months time, looking high and low in shops and online for the perfect elements to compliment it. So sharing it with you has been a much anticipated thing. Of course I only wish you could see it in person, and see how it sparkles in the low light of the evening, because its even better than the pictures can express. But here they are, my very special Christmas Mantle...

Ta-dahhhh! Ok...now let me show you some close-ups...

A sweet sparkly winter bird (yes, I definitely have a bird obsession)

A little snowflake candle...

Little trimmed trees on each end...

Silver branch garland that I bought to decorate for my holiday trunk show, but ended up getting some more when I realized it was the missing element in my Christmas mantle...

The beginning of a winter vignette I've started to the side of the fireplace...I've already changed it a little since this photo...

A precious tiny decoration my sister Annie got for me when she was living in France...

Spoofer wishing she could knock everything down... ok...maybe she's just daydreaming, waiting for spring to arrive so she can eat grass in the yard...

The star atop our little tree...

And put it all together.....

Christmas Magic!

I wish for you a holiday season filled with warmth, love, and all the things that make you happy! Thank you for reading my blog and allowing me to share with you the joys of my life.

Love,

Abbey