Kumquats and Peanuts

My feet are freezing, but the caramel corn is baking. I don't know if it is above zero here yet today, and as I stood in my kitchen making treats for this week I noticed a toe-biting draft from underneath the oven. BRRR. Luckily Micah has the fire going - unfortunately it is a game to him to see how warm he can get it, so he turns the heat down to 60 and waits. I'm still waiting... (1 hour later I am revising this because now its 70 degrees. Toasty!)
I can hardly believe that Christmas is this week. I also can hardly believe that Mason is almost 11 months old. We had our five year anniversary yesterday and I saw wrinkles under my eyes. Seriously, I'm only 27. Wrinkles? I will just say its because I'm so wise.
I learned this week that if the only creative thing I'm doing is making dinner every night then I

will drive myself crazy. I absolutely have to have a creative outlet (outside of the kitchen) in order to survive this winter. This week I finally finished some burp cloths (so easy!) and started some small paintings. NO, I have NOT finished my postcards yet (no remorse, I will finish them eventually - my interest level is at a 1 in that category at the moment) but I did get a good handful sent out a few weeks ago. I'm thinking about making them into fabric recipe cards...
Thought I would grace you with a wonderful cookie recipe I had last weekend at the Pennington House Bed and Breakfast in Sumner. Micah's dad's cousin owns it and is a wonderful host. She puts on a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend for us every year.

Sandwich Cremes ~

1 c. butter, softened (no substitutes)

1/3 c. heavy cream

2 c. flour

sugar

filling

1/2 c. butter, softened (no substitutes)

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 t. vanilla

food coloring

In mixing bowl, combine butter, cream, flour. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until dough is easy to handle. Divide into thirds; let one portion stand at room temperature for 15 min. (keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to roll out) On floured surface, roll our dough to 1/8" thickness. Cut with a 1 1/2" round cookie cutter. Place cut-outs in a shallow dish filled with sugar; turn to coat. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Prick with fork several times. Bake at 375 for 7-9 min. or until set. Cool on wire racks. For filling, in a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Tint with food coloring. Spread about 1 t. of filling over half of cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

B&B Pics ~

Mason wants to be big like Peter. Peter wants Mason to be big like him so they can wrestle.