2021 Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Blog Hop!

Welcome to the 2021 Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop!

Come on in and have a cookie and some Irish coffee or hot cocoa..

 

It's time for Christmas carols and Ho-Ho-Ho and good cheer and jingle bells. And with that in mind, it's also time for the Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange! A big thank you to Carol of Just Let Me Quilt, who has hosted this fun event for several years. When I saw it mentioned by Pat at Life In The Scrapatch, I wanted to join in and Carol graciously agreed. Be sure to click on the links below to see other blogs participating for Christmas inspiration and cookie recipes. I'm sharing my recipe for Gingerdoodles below!

For those of you who are reading my blog for the first time, I want to invite you to come back for our weekly event - To Do Tuesday! We love to read about your tablescapes, cross stitch, embroidery, crochet, knitting, quilting, photography or anything that you would like to share. Click on the To Do Tuesday logo  or in my sidebar for more information!

 

Runner photo from the internet

For my project, I had planned to finish up a Christmas quilt I have in my UFO pile, but I decided instead on a runner for our entry table. I found a picture of a runner I liked on the internet and away I went!

I absolutely love log cabins, but I always have trouble sewing them together in the correct order. After a few stops and starts I made four blocks and joined them like the photo I had found, then added a border and a pointed edge. I wanted a runner that would drape softly, so I left out batting and fashioned a backing to fit. Some in the ditch quilting and a binding and it was a finish!

 

Here is a peek at the back

Quilting was mostly stitch in the ditch, some cross hatch, and a couple of decorative stitches

from my Janome, all done with variegated red and green thread

 

A perfect fit for our entry table - all ready for Irish coffee and hot cocoa

Runner Details

Pattern: My own design based on an internet photo

Finished size: 18" x 54"

Fabrics

Esprit de Noel by French General for Moda

My Christmas stash

Jo-Ann Fabrics

Mary Engelbreit Cranston Village

Superior Threads

Piecing - 50wt So Fine #402 Pearl

Quilting - King Tut #1002 Holly and Ivy (variegated)

And here is the best part of my post - cookies! Everyone has a favorite recipe for molasses or ginger cookies, and this one is mine. I updated a recipe I've used for years called Mrs. Ekoff's Molasses Cookies, and it is from our old church cookbook. I added ginger and rolled them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture, and now they are Gingerdoodles! They are buttery and chewy with slightly crisp edges and are fragrant with molasses and ginger. If you would like to make her original molasses cookies, you can read my original post about them on my old blog right here.

 

Gingerdoodles

Makes about 26 cookies*

 

6 tablespoons Crisco Butter Flavor Shortening

6 tablespoons salted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons soda

Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

 

Topping - mix together:

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream shortening and butter until smooth, add sugar and mix until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and molasses and mix until light in color. Whisk together flour, soda, salt, and spices; add gradually to batter and mix well. Scoop and form into 1" or 1-1/2" balls*. Roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture and place 4-5 inches apart on baking pan prepared with parchment paper. Bake in 350 oven 8-10 minutes. Cool in pan until firm, then remove to wire rack or to mouth. ;)

* I weigh the scooped dough at 1 oz, and then roll into a 1-1/2 inch diameter ball. For that size I leave in the oven the full 10 minutes.

 

I am belatedly linking this post to Alycia's Finished or Not Friday!

 

 Be sure to visit these other blogs participating in the cookie exchange for December 9!

Just Let Me Quilt

Home Sewn By Us

Food For Thought

Just Sew Quilter

Ms P Designs USA

Quiltscapes

Creative Latitude

That Fabric Feeling