randomly chaotic and frequently mundane

With everyone going green lately and working to reduce their impact on the earth, it’s a good idea to also consider ways to reduce our impact during the holiday season. There are a lot of things we can do to reduce our impact, even at the holidays. Changing your lights from the standard strands you’ve been using for years to LED Christmas lights is one good way. You can even look into recycling the old ones instead of just throwing them away. You can also buy a Christmas tree that can be re-planted when you’re done with it — which not only reduces the negative impact on the earth, it improves the earth a little bit. If it can’t be re-planted, you can have it turned into compost which can help fertilize the earth. Using decorations that are more natural is always a good idea as well. There’s nothing quite as charming as a tree trimmed with strands of popcorn and cranberries. We did that a lot when I was a kid. Then after Christmas, when we took the tree down, we would put the strands on the trees outside for the birds and squirrels. We always used cotton string to thread the garlands and secured the strands when we put them outside, so the animals couldn’t take them with them and choke or get tangled up in them. Using wrapping paper that’s recyclable is always a nice thing to do as well. That way it can be recycled instead of thrown away. Many wrapping papers out there are non-recyclable, so it does make a difference. Or forgo the wrapping paper and use something else, like newspaper or pretty fabric that can be reused. Greeting cards made from recycled paper are a good idea as well. Personally, I find that the cards made from recycled paper have a touch of character that you don’t get in a lot of other holiday cards anyway. Since misery loves company, carpooling with friends when you hit the mall for your holiday shopping is a good idea. If everyone did their Christmas shopping with a friend or two, think of how many parking spaces that would free up. No more cruising the lot for an hour to snag a spot a mile from the entrance. When you host your annual holiday party, don’t do paper plates and plastic utensils, use the real thing. Is loading a dishwasher really that much work? If it is, make sure the dishwasher is empty and ask your guests to put their used dishes in when they’re done.

The holiday season is upon us and the time has come to start all of the baking of the season. I love to bake, personally. It’s one of my favorite holiday activities. I’ve learned over the years that you can do much more and get more joy out of your baking with an Eclectrics® Mixer. Personally, I’m a fan of stand mixers. More specifically, the Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer, which has plenty of power for some of the types of cookies I make at the holidays — especially since several cookies we make have cream cheese based doughs, which makes them tougher to mix than one that starts with butter or margarine. I can’t tell you how many basic hand-held electric mixers my family has gone through mixing these doughs. With the Hamilton Beach® Mixer, it’s not a problem anymore. We don’t experience that burning smell of doom that means that yet another mixer has bit the dust. Another beauty about using an Eclectrics® Mixer is the ease. I’m one of those people who likes to measure everything out before I get started. It makes things easier, because you don’t have to pause in the mixing to measure and add the next ingredient, you can just add when the mix has reached the desired appearance/texture. With a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer, you can get it going, watch and add. If you have to sneeze or stop your dog from chewing on the cabinet door while it’s mixing, you don’t have to interrupt the creaming of the butter. I love it. One recipe that has been made easier is these great cinnamon nut cookies that simply melt in your mouth. I think that almost every cookie my mom made when I was a kid at the holidays had cinnamon in it. Perhaps because it’s so inviting and so reminiscent of the holiday season. These cookies come from a recipe that I developed a few years ago based on an old family recipe. People love the family recipe, but it’s a secret family recipe, so I can’t share it with anyone but my kids. This was something I came up with that is similar in flavor to the family recipe, but very different in preparation that I give to my friends when they want the recipe for my mom’s cookies. They accept that it’s the closest I can give them, and it’s become a bit of a traditioin itself.

8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. ground nuts
1 c. confectioners sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheet. In a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and 1/2 c. confectioners sugar until smooth. Mix in vanilla and nuts. Combine flour, salt and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix into the creamed mixture to form a stiff dough. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Mix together 1 c. confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned.