We found this recipe for a gift mix online and adapted it to use as a special Advent cookie. They would make lovely Pre-Christmas gifts, made into mix kits, with the following instructions printed out and tied on with a ribbon. You might also want to just commemorate the journey of St. Joseph and Mary with your own family by making these the last week of Advent.
Starlight Cookies
To be made on or for Christmas Eve
in Honor of our Blessed Mother's and St. Joseph's
Journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem
Contained in this jar:
Chopped Nuts to represent the rocky road the little family traveled on
White chocolate chips for the stars in the sky
Dried cranberries whose tartness symbolize the doors shut to Mary and Joseph
Sugar to represent the snow
Brown sugar for the brown hills of Bethlehem
Rolled oats to symbolize the animals in the stable where they found shelter
Flour for the simple goodness of the shepherds in the fields they passed
To make the cookies:
Think of the preparation St. Joseph and Our Blessed Mother must have made for this journey to Bethlehem: Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.
For the light of Heaven: In a medium bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg, and 1 tsp of vanilla until fluffy.
Add the hardships of the journey to the light of Heaven: Add the entire jar of ingredients, and mix until well blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets
Remember the hardships of Jesus' life on earth and His passion: Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until edges brown.
Anticipate His coming: Cool on baking sheets or remove to cool on wire racks.
Appreciate the joy and promise of His birth: Enjoy eating them!
Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!
(Makes app. 18 cookies.)
To prepare the jar ingredients, layer the following:
1 C plus 2 T all-purpose flour
*mixed thoroughly with*
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
*followed by*
1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 C rolled oats
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C sugar
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C white chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped pecans or walnutsHere's how they looked when we were all done.
This post was written by Lisa at Are we There Yet, who granted us permission to publish it here at Catholic Cuisine. I just love this idea, and I am looking forward to making the cookies with my own children. Thank you Lisa!
What a great idea!! I was thinking of doing jar mixes as gifts this year and then didn't find a recipe, so I decided to do something else - but I am filing this away for next year!!
ReplyDeleteOne question: are you supposed to use walnuts or pecans? Both are listed in separate places.
Good question Erin! I will fix that! I am sure you could use either, though I think, with cranberry's and white chocolate chips, that I would prefer the pecans.. Yum!!!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea Jessica! Jar mixes are great gifts for anyone, so thank you so much for a really neat one.
ReplyDeleteLovely!! Thanks for the recipe :)
ReplyDeleteI got this recipe from Lisa's site and used this idea for teacher's gifts...and they were hugely successful.
ReplyDeleteWhat size jar is best for this recipe? I'm writing it all down for next year! :-)
ReplyDeleteGinger ~ I used a wide mouth quart jar, and it worked perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad this was re-posted on your Shower of Roses blog, Jessica. This is such a fun idea. I have some experimentation to do to make it GF/egg/dairy-free but worth it (and doable) I think!
ReplyDeleteFor those who read comments, I did convert it (yum!) and here is the link: http://justlikemary.blogspot.com/2013/12/gluten-free-starlight-cookies.html.
DeleteIsn't it great?!? My kids have really enjoyed making it in the past, and I think it will be a fun addition to Little Flowers this year!
ReplyDeleteWe are making these as gifts this year. I am thinking adding all the yummy stuff first and the flour last for a prettier show.
ReplyDelete