Cookie-a-day: Chocolate Biscotti

Heather says:

I make this every year for Christmas parties and brunches.  Biscotti are twice baked cookies and the name comes from the Italian words bis and cotto.  This recipe freezes well and can be made up to a month ahead of time.

Pictures will be added soon.

Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I am in love with Hershey’s Special Dark)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 TBSP butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 3/4 cup semi -sweet chocolate chips
• 1 TBSP confectioners sugar

Directions after the jump.

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The Great Pre-Christmas Toy Clean-out

Ivy says:

If you haven’t done this already, this weekend would be a great time to go through all the kids’ toys and  get rid of anything broken, anything they don’t play with, anything they just have too much of (my daughter had approximately 1,493 stuffed animals before we cleaned out her room), and anything else the kids choose to get rid of. You’ll find that this is the easiest time of the year to get the kids to get behind getting rid of their toys, since they know new ones are just around the corner.

While you’re cleaning out the kids’ rooms, go ahead and take a quick cruise through their clothing as well. Even if you’ve fairly recently done this when switching from summer to winter clothing, you’d be surprised at what you might find that needs to go.

Cheap and Easy Quick Tip: Aerate Coffee

Heather says:

The first time I heard this, I assumed the person was off their rocker, but I tried it years ago.

Have you ever noticed that coffee tastes better when your server pours from a height?  Try it, but please practice with cold water until you are quite sure you have the method down.  Hold the cup and decanter away from your body over the sink.

If you take sugar, have it already in your mug.  Unless you enjoy very sweet coffee the pouring action will mix it for you.

If you don’t notice a difference, at least it was free.

Cookie-a-day: Snickerdoodles

Heather says:

I took today off, but Malia was kind enough to send in her recipe and instructions for snickerdoodles; just the name  makes me grin.  Malia is currently on break from her blog Live.Laugh.Love, but she can be found at Music City Bloggers where she is a contributing author.

Snickerdoodles

While the origins of the cookie and its name have a varied history this cookie, no matter what you call it, is a quintessential crowd pleaser.  The dough can be refrigerated for a day or two as a make ahead recipe and  these cookies freeze well. Make some now and save them for holiday parties/consumption.

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ½ cup stick butter, softened
• ½ cup shortening
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar*
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions after the jump.

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Vacuuming Practices

Dear Home-Ec 101,

I’m curious to know what’s the best vacuum for someone with long hair and a cat that has short hair. I’ve got a nice Kenmore canister vac, but my hair bogs up the roller constantly. And I ain’t cuttin’ my hair.

Signed,

Lovely With Long Hair

Ivy says:

Back when I had really long hair, I had the same problem.  I have several suggestions, perhaps one of them will work best for you. What I did when I had this problem was to sweep the floor with a broom first before vacuuming to get most of the hair up. Sure, it’s a pain, but it really works to keep the long hair out of the vacuum cleaner.

If that’s too much of a pain and you have fairly deep pockets, you can buy a vacuum cleaner that has a stainless steel brush roller instead of the standard wood or plastic that comes with most models today. You will need to look into commercial vacuums to find this, generally. They’re expensive, but you may find it is worth it.

I’d also consider using something like a Swiffer Carpet Flick to run over the carpet before vacuuming. I don’t have one, so I can’t say whether or not it would work well, but I’d probably give it a try before shelling out the bucks for an expensive vacuum.

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