snow grinches and peppermint pennies

 In an effort to keep us all from going stir crazy this first few days of vacation, I've been trying to think of activities to do with the kids. Monday's was making snowmen from construction paper. Here's Luke's:

It kind of reminds me of a snowman version of the grinch. :) (BTW in a completely unrelated side note, a few weeks ago at church, his Sunday school teachers took a picture of him and the other children. These were later to be used to make Christmas ornaments for the parents, but they also gave us a copy of the original photo. Luke had this totally GQ-like pose and facial expression. When I asked him why he wasn't smiling, he said he wanted it to be his "invisible mouth" picture. What a guy!)
 
And now onto the other project of the day...
It's been a looooong time since I made these babies, but there's something about peppermint that just smacks of Christmas.


Here's the recipe if you want to try them out:

Peppermint Pennies

1 c. butter or soy butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 2/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
smidgen of salt
1/2 c. cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and beat well. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture. Mix well then chill at least one hour. Grease cookie sheets (essential!). Roll dough into balls and flatten into patty shapes. Place in 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly on pan then transfer to racks.

Icing (if you want a lot of icing between the cookies, double this recipe)
2 tbsp. butter or soy butter
1 2/3 c. icing sugar
2-3 tbsp. milk or soy milk
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

 Mix all ingredients together, adding more milk if needed to make a smooth and creamy mixture. Spread desired amount on flat side of one cookie and top with a second cookie (flat sides together). Enjoy!

Variation: you also could crush some candy canes or peppermint candies to mix into the icing before spreading.