Countdown to Christmas Recipe Ideas

With only 15 days left until Christmas it’s crunch time for holiday baking and entertaining. If your like me there is still shopping to do, house to clean, presents to wrap, and of course lots and lots of baking and meal preparation. So, in honor of these last few days of activity packed chaos I would like to share some of my all time favorite holiday recipes.

What would Christmas be without sugar cookies? I would like to share my family's favorite sugar cookie recipe. With only two weeks left there is still time to add these to your list of baked goodies.

My husband’s grandmother introduced me to this sugar cookie recipe years ago. It has become the only sugar cookie recipe that I use throughout the year.Christmas would not be the same without these delicious and festive cookies as the almond extract adds a unique and delightful flavor. For the past ten years around mid November my family starts to inquire about when I will be making these to ensure that I haven’t forgotten. It would be hard to forget something that is as fun to make as they are to eat.

I make several batches of these a couple of weeks before Christmas. After the cookies are completely cooled I make the frosting (listed below), decorate, and then freeze until needed. This frosting dries quickly and is perfect for decorating. I place the cookies in an large airtight container placing parchment paper between the layers of cookies. I also like to place these in gift baskets. You can use any kind of small plastic bag to put these in for gift giving. I use the small clear plastic bags that have holiday designs on them which can be found at most grocery stores this time of year. I place one cookie in each bag and then tie the tops with colorful ribbon.

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg beaten

2 1/2 cups flour

1teaspoon salt

1teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions: Cream butter and sugar together then slowly add the beaten egg. Add flour, salt and extract; mix well. Allow dough to chill in the refrigerator for 1hour. After dough has been allowed to chill, roll out on slightly floured surface approx. 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes. Bake on lightly greased cookie sheet for 7-9minutes at 375 degrees. Allow to cool before decorating.

Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons milk

6 tablespoons butter (melted)

Directions: Put the 3 cups of powdered sugar in a large bowl and add the vanilla. Add the milk and then add the melted butter. Mix until frosting becomes creamy. Separate the frosting into individual bowls and add your favorite food coloring. Stir frosting occasionally. Decorate and enjoy!

Our December Featured Chef

Springfield, Mo is home to a long list of many great chefs. Over the next few months we will be introducing you to some of the top chefs in and around the Springfield area. We hope that you will join us on this culinary excursion.

Our featured Chef series begins by introducing you to Chef Brad Lyons. Chef Lyons has spent the last 20 plus years as a chef at The Tower Club which is located on 21st and 22nd floor of the Hammonds Tower. This private dining club has a reputation for creating one of the finest of dining experiences in Springfield. We want to thank Chef Lyons for giving us the opportunity to sit down with him and allow us a glimpse into his many years of success in the culinary world.

Chef Lyons, The Tower Club 901 E. St. Louis St.

As you step off the elevator at the twenty-first floor at the Hammons Tower, you enter the stunning Tower Club with it’s breathe taking panoramic view. The elegant space over looking down town Springfield, Missouri and the Springfield Cardinal’s Home field is home to a great staff, meals, and catering opportunities. The Tower Club is used for formal business meetings, wedding receptions or just a romantic dinner for two. No matter what size of group the plates presented are nothing less than pure elegance. The smell and atmosphere on the twenty-first floor is like no other restaurant in the Springfield area!

Head chef, Brad Lyons, has been creating masterpieces to be served at the Tower’s formal lunches and dinners for over 27 years! He says that he attributes his success to hard work, dedication, and lots of time spent in various kitchens learning as much as possible. At just thirteen years old, Chef Lyons, realized the kitchen was where he enjoyed spending his time.

Starting at the bottom as a dishwasher, and moving his way up through classes and kitchens in the Springfield area, and later completing his Executive Chef American Culinary Federation certification in Atlanta, Georgia, he began his career with the Hammons Corporation. Lyons says that without the Hammons Corporation and their belief in him in the formal dining atmosphere, his career would not be the success it has become. While this chef enjoys a traditional steak and potato kind of meal, his favorite thing to prepare for his customers, friends, family and fans is Jambalaya, he also said that anything with rosemary is going to be a great dish! Although this chef spends plenty of time in the kitchen working with things as simple as a potato peeler to more specialized instruments like the vegetable cleaver, he spends plenty of time out doors camping and getting in a good game of golf.

As Lyons and his coworkers at the Tower Club are preparing to open their doors for more hours this holiday season, he took a moment to reflect on one of the past holidays stating that after 35 years in various kitchens his fondest memory happened in the Tower kitchen. As he and the other chefs were preparing holiday meals later in the month of December, they began to really feel the pressure, and were simply worn out. He could hear the customers outside the kitchen enjoying the carols from a local group and so he stepped outside and asked the group to come in and sing to the chefs. Instantly, the holiday cheer was back in all of them as they began to laugh again and finished the night’s meals successfully.

For more information regarding the Tower Club click on the link provided below.

http://www.towerclubspringfield.com/