And the winner is (I hope) Designer Kookies from a Designing Woman

As a lark, I entered my famous - at least at Virginia Wayside - Kookies in the RTD Holiday Cookie Contest and guess what?  It's a finalist.  So, go on-line to register your vote at: http://richmond.upickem.net/engine/YourSubmission.aspx?contestid=112968

Okay, it's a bear submitting the form, but hang in there and help me win!

Here's a repeat of my original blog (November 19, 2012)

The principles of good design can be applied to any aspect of life - even cooking.  The perfect combination of ingredients - whether furniture & fabrics or flour & flavorings - can create a little magic in your life.

Last December, I discovered the Barefoot Contessa's Blue Cheese and Walnut Crackers and filled my kitchen & goody boxes with wondrous smells & flavors.  I also discovered a recipe for Lavender Cookies which was a disaster until I tweeked it.

Just as I like to mix styles of furniture, I found that by mixing these two recipes, I could create an "eclectic" Kookie recipe that even the Contessa would like.

The basic recipe is very simple:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

1 cup Unsalted Butter (I prefer Land of Lakes.) melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 egg

Now, here's where you can creative!  For my Bleu Cheese & Walnut Kookies:

add 4 tablespoons  Bleu Cheese to the batter (more or less - to taste - I use less)

Spoon 1 soup spoon full of batter into a buttered muffin tin (I discovered that a piece of parchment in the bottom of the tin makes it easier to remove the Kookies.  Thanks Jacque and Julie for that tip.) Smooth the batter out in the muffin tin.

Chop walnuts (I prefer a rough cut) & top the batter with the walnuts

Cook for 15-18 minutes until the edges of the Kookies are golden brown.
Let the Kookies cool for about 10 minutes and then take them out of the muffin tin and place them on a cooling rack or, better yet, right into your mouth - don't forget to remove the parchment or you will have a little extra 'fiber' in your diet.  The Kookies will have a crunchy outer edge and a chewy inside and the buttery taste will melt in your mouth.  Enjoy!

The same basic recipe works well with other flavors.  I made Lavender Kookies, Lemon Kookies, Sesame Kookies and can hardly wait to design a new flavor.  And just like designing a home, you can also create the Kookie that's perfect for you!

In the mood . .

This year I am in the "holiday" mood early.  Although I will not decorate until after Thanksgiving, I pulled out my Christmas decorations and sorted through them.  I weeded out the ones that mean a lot to me - my pig ornaments (I was born in the year of the pig by the Chinese calendar), my Chinese ornaments, the ones collected through the years, the ones I will pass on to my daughter and the ones to give away to someone else.

What a change from my mood last year.  The good news is that I found my Christmas spirit last year after all.  It happened when I walked into a store and the music spoke to me in a magical way.  I stopped, I listened and, suddenly, something happened.  Then, the magic began.  I stepped out of the store and the twenty-five foot Christmas tree put on a performance that again stopped me in my tracks.  I found a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.  My six-year old grandson and I recorded the Charlie Brown Christmas Story and the holidays ended better than they started.

I am looking forward to what this holiday brings and I wish the best to all.  Here's my gift to you:

Bleu Cheese & Walnut Kookie recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare muffin tins.  I use a circle of parchment paper cut to the diameter of the bottom to make it easier to remove the Kookies.

1 cup unsalted butter, melted (coat the muffin tins before you add the next ingredients)

1 cup sugar

1 cup self-rising flour

1 large egg

4 tablespoons Bleu Cheese  (more or less - to taste)

Spoon 1 teaspoon full of batter into the muffin tin.

Chop walnuts and top the batter with the walnuts.

Cook for 15-18 minutes until the edges of the Kookies are golden brown. 

Let the Kookies cool and, then, take them out of the muffin tin and place them on a cooling rack.

The process of cooking in the muffin tin gives the Kookie a crunchy outer edge and a chewy inside.

Enjoy!