Christmas Open House, Day 2

Welcome back, y'all! Thanks for all the sweet comments about our ornaments and our tradition. It really is one of our favorite parts of Christmas, and our ornament tree is one of our treasures. I'm so happy to be able to share it with y'all. 

Let's get going, shall we? Because I know everyone is just waiting for the cookies. Here's 2002, my ornament:

Mr. Wonderful's choice for that year was a very detailed Santa. I don't remember why I didn't get it stitched, but it's on the to-do list. One of these days...

Here's 2003 (it used rayon floss... never again!), his:

And mine. The choice was inspired by our first kitty, a 10-year-old adopted sweetheart named Shadow. We adopted him in September of 2003.  The kitty on this ornament is way too skinny, though. Mr. Shadow weighed 14 pounds, had long hair, and had the most luxurious fluffy tail ever. 

Speaking of being ample and luxurious, how about another cookie recipe? I see y'all nodding your heads vigorously. Good. 

Now, we're from Texas. And being from Texas, Christmas means traditional Mexican foods. Hold on, let me be honest. Actually, every day of the year means traditional Mexican foods, but even more so at Christmas. This recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies (polvorones) has been taste-tested on one of Mr. Wonderful's professors, a native of Mexico City. When Mr. Wonderful asked him if they were good, he said, "No..." {gasp} 

"...they're excellent." {Whew!} You may wonder why in the world I had the temerity to bake Mexican Wedding Cookies for a Mexican, but as we say in Texas, "It aint braggin' if you can do it." 

Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. water
2 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar

Cream the butter and sugar. Stir in the vanilla and the water, then add the flour and the pecans. Cover and chill the dough for about 3 hours. When ready to bake, shape dough into little balls, a little smaller than a golf ball, maybe about two-bites big. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet (or parchment paper) at 325 for 15-20 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. When completely cool, roll in the confectioner's sugar. Yield: about 3 dozen.

***

Now dust the powdered sugar off your face and hands and let's stitch. Here's a very sweet little freebie for a Christmas-y pinkeep. 

***

BONUS adorableness! Remember our little black visitor from a couple of weeks ago? Well, it snowed a few days ago and I managed to get a picture of him sharing a snowy table with one of his little grey cousins. I'm calling him Smudgy.

Merry Christmas, y'all!