Moving ALong on the Xmas Cookie Exchange

[Mistress Muffy]

Ok lets get try to address a few things and we can start gettin things in order for the cookie exchange.....1st off we will probably have more folks by the time we do this but lets try & set the guidelines up.

Its not cheap my friends to ship a bunch of boxes at xmas to everyone especially cause we are all short of cash at that time of year cause there is so much other stuff to get for the holidays so how about we start discussing what ideas you all have as far as handling how many cookie boxes we want to ship to each person....for instance would it work to be in groups of 3 & you would only have 3 boxes to mail? We could pull the names out of a hat to group them.

I would like to see us send a dozen to whoever we mail too......I think 6 is not enough......please say what you guys think!

Lets throw some ideas around

Muf

[Mistress Muffy]

Oh Yummy Yummy Yummy

Muf

[Mistress Muffy]

These are my cookies here...my favorite Bacardi Rum Thumbprints. They are a rolled ball of dough and then dipped in egg whites and then in nuts and then flattened on the cookie sheet prior to baking. The top is like a frosting so to ship them I would need to make the topping a bit more dry. But I have several other cookies I make too!

Muf

[Nancj]

Ooooh Muffy, Bacardi and nuts! That sounds more like a carribean cookie. Forget the milk, I'll have mine with a Pina Colada!!

[Sickie Ickie]

Can't even think about it right now. heh I have a Secret Reaper thang to finish by June, a Secret Santa thang by July, my bro comes in to say hi around then, too- so my mind is already reeling! LOL

[Elvira]

Times a tickin Sickie! LOL Do you feel the pressure yet?

OH those cookies look soooooo good. I suck at baking, so everything is always store bought. :(

[Sickie Ickie]

I do mudpies! :p

[rachael24]

My grandma does mini cheesecake cookies with a cherry in the middle...She refuses to give me the recipe though, has anyone seen these?

[Elvira]

My grandma does mini cheesecake cookies with a cherry in the middle...She refuses to give me the recipe though, has anyone seen these?

Funny you mention those, I just had some at my moms on the weekend, store bought of course, with strawberry in the middle, very delicious! Can't help you with a recipe tho :( sorry, I'm a reg peg bundy when it comes to baking.

[Mistress Muffy]

Good One Nancj....the Pina Colada...I guarantee ya if you eat 3-4 of those rum cookies you feel it!!lol

Oh come on Sickie we all know you love cookies and want to eat all kinds of them. Even tho you have a lot of projects going on and your brother coming can't ya devote a little bit of time to thinking about COOKIES!!!yummy!!!

Rachel...those sound really good. I think its funny that your Grandma won't give you the recipe...thats cute!!

Elvira you should try & bake, its fun...make sure you have people in your house when you bake cookies otherwise you will be eating them all yourself and you could get in trouble that way!!lol

Muf

[Sickie Ickie]

Funny you mention those, I just had some at my moms on the weekend, store bought of course, with strawberry in the middle, very delicious! Can't help you with a recipe tho :( sorry, I'm a reg peg bundy when it comes to baking.

Bet you look great in her leopard print. LOL

[Sickie Ickie]

Hey, I'll think about them and eat them...but I just can't bake-um right now.

[Mistress Muffy]

Naw naw ....this is for after Halloween , after Thanksgiving!!! Closer to Xmas!!

Its fun to do it around xmas!! Very Festive!!

Muf

[Elvira]

Elvira you should try & bake, its fun...make sure you have people in your house when you bake cookies otherwise you will be eating them all yourself and you could get in trouble that way!!lol

Muf

Are you kidding me!?!?! LOL True story, once I made cookies and even the dogs wouldn't eat them. :confused:

[Elvira]

Bet you look great in her leopard print. LOL

OH yeah! Peg loves leopard print and bon-bons

[Mummy deer-est]

Muf -- I think dividing it up would be a good idea to keep shipping prices down. I'd be happy to do it when ever ya'll want...but the closer we get to xmas, the crazier it becomes!

[bethene]

What ever works for every one, keeping prices down would be great, but I'm game which ever way we play it.

[Mistress Muffy]

Well I just think it would be easier that way. I mean I would love to get cookies from everybody but I know what it cost to ship boxes of candy. When Joe & I finally met each other & I moved out here he was so excited when I made candy, so for the 1st xmas I was here he told all our friends in the chat room where we met that we would ship them a box of candy.

Now these people were all veterans or wives of vets and we had all been friends for over a year....so I got all the candy made..... that was pretty costly in itself. But then when we started shipping them out......holy cow.....the price just kept going up. Thats what I thought of when I thought about us doing this. Its costly to do it during the holidays cause we have so many other things to buy.

SO if we do it I still think we should bake a dozen cookies for each person we mail to. SO what did you all think of about mailing to 3. Would that work for everyone? And lets start throwing around a date....I'm putting this stuff out here just for discussion so nothing is concrete. You guys just say what ya think.

Maybe if we can, we could make a thread that we put the things we decide on in there and add the names of those that want to join in, also someone to send new people that join so they can see what we are planning and join in if interested. As I said its way to early to do to much as we are getting new members all the time. I hope Larry puts our link back on the board over there. I know some people are like me....I'm gonna look at anything Xmas or Halloween.

Let me know what you all think. I know last Xmas I really dropped the ball when I did not have time to plan this with you guys......but hey I was shocked when Sickie said ...Lets do an online exchange. I never thought anyone would be interested in that. As for me I wanted to do a cookie exchange here at my house cause I'm sick & tired of NO ONE ever coming over to see my decorations...lol!!

As you guys know this last xmas was a huge flop for me with my open house .....it was a bad move to change the date.....but I was so sick and that was right after Joe's operation. I was lucky that Jerry helped me as he did. He put up most of the Halloween decorations & a lot of the xmas decorations.

SO anyways...throw all your ideas out there & lets chat about it my Dearies!!!

the Muffster

[Carrie]

Can anyone participate? I would like to too if its okay? I'm Greek and I make several different kinds of traditional Greek cookies (but born and raised here, so I make gingerbread too! LOL) If I can join in, I'd like to?

[Mummy deer-est]

The more, the merrier Carrie!

3 sounds good to me Muff. Maybe if we shipped in early Dec? But, I'm open.

[Sickie Ickie]

Hmmmm...can I make foam prop cookies? They'll be cheaper to send, and I can actually do okay with props! LOL

[Mistress Muffy]

Early December sounds good to me too! What does everyone else think? And also how does everyone feel about only mailing to 3? Step up to the mic here & speak your mind!lol

Absolutely Carrie you can join us......You're Greek??? OH Boy & you make greek cookies?
Chicago is my hometown & my family....we always went to greek town to eat and also always went to the greek bakery there. I absolutely love greek food! When I come home on visits we always go out for greek food!

Muf

[bethene]

3 works for me, what ever every one says, is fine by me!
Of course Carrie, the more the merrier! We'd love it if all the new folks to the forum would join in!
No Sickie, I don't want any foam cookies!! LOL !

[Carrie]

Muffy and Bethene, thanks for the kind words. Yep, Muffy, I do agree..Greek food is great. I make the traditional Greek cookies for my family, Baklava, Kourabethis, etc. I hope you all like Biscotti, because one of our cookies is sort of like that texture wise, great for dunking in coffee or hot chocolate, not too sweet either..a very adult taste! LOL

[Mistress Muffy]

Carrie in my house we always eat some greek food, a couple of weeks ago I made a lamb roast with roasted potatoes, it was so good. I have a really good recipe for Baklava but I am not making it anymore....I made it in a restaurant size tray & honest to God we ate all of it in 3 days......it was so good but we are all border line diabetics so I gotta be careful.

I also like the greek chicken and the greeks bread is my favorite. When I go home I always have to go have a few glasses of Maradaphie wine, not sure if I spelled that right. I guess I should also add that I love greek music!!lol That is one place left I really want to visit....Greece!

Recently I copied some greek cookie recipies off the net....I remember how delicious they were from the bakery. We also use to get big containers of rice pudding to take home that the bakery made. Yesterday I watched a greek grandma on youtube make ....oh I can't find where I wrote that recipe down...but I'll tell you when I find it...it may very well be what you have typed up there....Kourabethis!! Oh man it was such fun to watch her make them....are they the twisted ones

YA know there is such a large population of greeks in Chicago and I have always been a fan of their food & music, I even bought a book to learn greek dancing. I just wonder ...what else do you cook?

Muf

[Sickie Ickie]

I like my burgers Greece-y. I like other things "Greek" too! LOL :p

[Mistress Muffy]

Sickie.......hahahahhaha.....jeez I hope you don't mean what I think you mean!!!!lol But then of course....you are not known as Sickie for nothin!!lol

Sickie....I would take those foam cookies you are trying to pawn off on us.....I'll use them as a "year after year" xmas decoration for my gingerbread house scene!

Carrie....boo boo.....those cookies I was watching the greek grandma make were Koulourakia.

[Sickie Ickie]

well, at least I got one taker for prop cookies. heh

[Carrie]

Carrie in my house we always eat some greek food, a couple of weeks ago I made a lamb roast with roasted potatoes, it was so good. I have a really good recipe for Baklava but I am not making it anymore....I made it in a restaurant size tray & honest to God we ate all of it in 3 days......it was so good but we are all border line diabetics so I gotta be careful.

Muffy, I hear you on the Baklava..all that sugar and honey..can't be too good for diabetes..you could always try using Splenda in the mix, and then go easier on the honey?

I also like the greek chicken and the greeks bread is my favorite. When I go home I always have to go have a few glasses of Maradaphie wine, not sure if I spelled that right. I guess I should also add that I love greek music!!lol That is one place left I really want to visit....Greece!

Muffy, you are probably a Greek and just don't know about it! So, with that said, I will adopt you into our "soy" (its like a clan..!) You are now officially a GREEK! OPA!

Recently I copied some greek cookie recipies off the net....I remember how delicious they were from the bakery. We also use to get big containers of rice pudding to take home that the bakery made. Yesterday I watched a greek grandma on youtube make ....oh I can't find where I wrote that recipe down...but I'll tell you when I find it...it may very well be what you have typed up there....Kourabethis!! Oh man it was such fun to watch her make them....are they the twisted ones

Koulourakia are the twisted ones..did she do them in straight lines or circles? I usually make them in circles at Christmas time so they look more like wreaths.

YA know there is such a large population of greeks in Chicago and I have always been a fan of their food & music, I even bought a book to learn greek dancing. I just wonder ...what else do you cook?

Muf

Yeah, there are a bunch of us here..half of them are my relatives! LOL

As far as cooking goes, besides Greek, I took Chinese cooking classes some years ago, do Italian, French, Mexican, and good old fashioned American including smoked BBQ My real love though is doing cakes and cookies (I shouldn't say it here, but some of the cookies are X rated! LOL) I like designing new types of fun cakes..I really do enjoy that. I've done golf courses, suitcases, coffins with dracula inside with a liftable lid..all from scratch and not using preformed pans. I'm looking forward to the cookie exchange here because I doubt I could get too many takers on the other forums I'm on. You guys rock!

Muffy, what do you enjoy cooking and what are some of your specialties? I'd really love to know more about you and everyone?

[Mistress Muffy]

Well...... 1st I want to say Thank You for Adopting me!! I'm a greek now!!!!yipee!!

On creative your cakes sound. I bet you are quite the cake baker!

When the greek grandma made those cookies....she was visiting her daughter from Greece & she said her son-in-law just loved those cookies. It was xmastime as they had all the decorations up. He was filming her while she made these cookies & it was lovely....as she was baking she was singing greek songs......very comforting video I might add. Anyways she made both the straight ones & the round ones.

Chinese cooking classes, that sounds like fun!! I cook a little bit of everything, or did....I'm having big issues with food allergies now since I got sick so my cooking is changing & I'm having to cook pork & beef free & gluten free. For a person that could spend all day in the kitchen cooking & baking and coming from a family like that....this has been & is still becoming a horrible transition. I like well spiced and spicy foods. I cook italian, mexican, asian, polish, (finally found good recipies for pierogies!) greek and now with all these new problems will probably lean toward the asian & indian food. We cook all the american square meals as that is what our menu was made up of in the Diner. In the 11 years we were there I changed menus 5 times & we always had specials.

I use to bake wedding cakes & made cakes one year for the Miss Nebraska Pageant, that was great fun. In the diner my specialities were cheesecakes & pies. I bake cream pies like they do in the jewish deli's there at home. I use a 10" plate & I top it with one whole quart of fresh whipped cream. Lastly is my chocolates. I do come from a famliy of good cooks, my Grandmother had a restaurant for awhile before I was born but she baked & cooked for everyone all her life. My Dad was an executive chef all his life & worked in hotels & restaurants downtown & country clubs all over the place in both Chicago & the suburbs.

Do you go to any greek restaurants that have belly dancing? I'm a huge belly dancing fan....huge!!!

Now x-rated candies.....I absolutely must see those!!lol I use to sell x-rated candies on my candy routes out west....boy dealing with those types of shops...now thats a whole nother bunch of stories.

Us kids all grew up in the waiter & waitress union in Chicago so we worked parties all over the city. Everyone that belongs to that has a regular job & then books for parties for extra money. Its where I really saw a lot in the way of fantastic parties. One at the Conrad Hilton we worked the old Mayor Daley's birthday party, 7000 people on all different floors of the hotel and the Rockettes performed! Back in those days my aunt worked for Playboy for about 10 years & I worked there for about 4, on & off.

Tell your hubby quite a few years ago my Aunt was the administrative asst. of Maria Pappas. She worked at that job till she had a heart attack & had to retire.

OMG....have I babbled this much......so sorry my friends!!

Muffy

heres a link of my pies & cheesecakes.....Sickie don't look...remember last time .....you guys wanted to lick the screen!!

http://www.geocities.com/collinwood841/sweetstodieformore.html

P.S. I think this post belonged in that thread where we were suppose to tell something about ourselves......I keep meaning to get over there & fill that out but just did not get around to it yet!

[Nancj]

Carrie I would love to see some pics of your cakes if you have any, they sound intresting.
Muffy Did I read your post correctly, you worked for Playboy! woo hoo! check you out. is that where you came about the name Mistress Muffy. :D

[Sickie Ickie]

My mind went dirty just thinking about the job at playboy! LOL

Saw the pics of the pies you posted Muff. Now I'm getting hungry!

[Mistress Muffy]

Oh God Nanc that was ages ago!!lol.

Mistress Muffy came from the story line that is on my Halloween web site! Thats where that gal was born!!

Yes Sickie it was a dirty job but you know what they say>>>>Someone has to do it!!!lol

the Muffster

[Mistress Muffy]

Its getting close to this cookie exchange 3 more months & we all know how time flies!

Sickie we could all take a picture of the cookies we bake & stick that in the recipe section.

Muf

[Carrie]

Are we going to list out what we are making first so that we don't have 10 different chocolate chip recipes flying across the country? Just wondering because I'm pretty much open to anything you guys want to do.

[Mistress Muffy]

Yup for sure we should do that...Carrie is making Greek Cookies>>>>RIGHT CARRIE!!!!hahahhahahah...I'm gonna make those eggnog thumbprints! What does everyone else want to make?

And we decided already we will only ship to 3 people, make it a small box.


Muf

[Carrie]

Yes, Muffster..I'll make some GREEK cookies for sure. But be warned, one of those cookies is covered in powdered sugar..do not inhale when eating them! LOL

[Sickie Ickie]

is snorting allowed? LOL

[Carrie]

is snorting allowed? LOL

Well, heck yeah! If you need to clear out your sinuses, these cookies will help you do it!

[SantaPaws]

Do I have to be able to cook to be in this?

[peyote2004]

I have to think of a cookie that travels well... I'll look at my options this weekend, and let you know what I'm making.

[peyote2004]

...SO if we do it I still think we should bake a dozen cookies for each person we mail to. SO what did you all think of about mailing to 3. Would that work for everyone? And lets start throwing around a date....I'm putting this stuff out here just for discussion so nothing is concrete. You guys just say what ya think.

Maybe if we can, we could make a thread that we put the things we decide on in there and add the names of those that want to join in, also someone to send new people that join so they can see what we are planning and join in if interested. As I said its way to early to do to much as we are getting new members all the time. I hope Larry puts our link back on the board over there. I know some people are like me....I'm gonna look at anything Xmas or Halloween....


Sending to 3 sounds line a good idea to keep expenses down. I will be doing my baking the weekend of December 6th... and mailng things out on the 8th. My origional plan was to mail everything out by the 3rd, but I am at a training session here in Ottawa from the 18 to 28th of November, then on another course in Newfoundland from the 29th to the 5th.

[Attaimb09]

If your looking at coming to the Xmas do, are you likely to stay in the hotel ?

Please vote on the poll.

[EnlightenedGrinch]

If your looking at coming to the Xmas do, are you likely to stay in the hotel ?

Please vote on the poll.

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