~Coated Nuts~ This recipe makes an excellent hostess gift!

I thought I would share with you a few pictures from my hometown of 

Bethlehem, PA

It is known as the Christmas City, USA.   Founded by the Moravians in 1741 it has become a very quaint and artsy community.   Rich in its Moravian History, they have embraced it as you will see with some of the photos here of the Central Moravian Church.   Moravian College is one of the oldest colleges in the USA founded in 1742.

The largest employer Bethlehem Steel shuttered its doors years ago and in its closing left huge empty industrial buildings.   Eye sores to some.   Due to the art and education influence

ArtsQuest

was founded and has created a wonderful art and education center on the grounds on the former Bethlehem Steel.   It is best known for its free 10 day music festival Musikfest

held each year in August.

Central Moravian Church on Main Street

Central Moravian Church and part of Moravian College on the right.

To the left of the Church is the Moravian Book Shop, the oldest continually running book shop in the world !

Horse and Buggy Rides during the holiday on Main Street

Main Street during the holiday season  

I guess you can tell, that I am proud of my hometown.  I am very fortunate, that even though I live in New Jersey,  I am only 30 minutes away from Bethlehem.

Okay now that I bored you to death with the brief history of Bethlehem, here is my recipe for today!

Coated Nuts

Beat one egg white with 1 tablespoon water until foamy. 

 Mix in 1 pound of pecans or walnuts in the egg white  mixture, completely coating the nuts (or 2 pounds of peanuts, or a combo)

  In another bowl combine 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  

 Combine nuts and sugar mixture.

  Spread on rimmed baking sheet and bake at 250 for 1 hour. 

 Stir every 15 minutes.  

 Cool in pan

Who would like some "Butter Horns"

Here is a easy to make version of the Hungarian Kipfels using a ground walnut filling.    I have never tried to use Lekvar or Apricot filling in these, but I may try this year.

BUTTER HORNS

2 cups flour

1/2 pound margarine or butter

Cut the margarine into the flour.  Add to it, 1 egg yolk and 3/4 cup sour cream.   Blend until smooth.   Wrap the dough in a floured sheet of waxed paper.  Chill at least 4  hours.   Once chilled, divide the dough into 3 equal balls.  Keep the dough chilled so it is easier to work with.    Take one ball out and roll into a large circle.  Sprinkle with nut filling.   Cut into "pie wedges"   Roll up starting with the wide end.   Place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Nut filling

3/4 cup chopped nuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar.

Enjoy!!

**Hungarian Pastry **

As a child I remember my Hungarian Grandmother and Aunt making this for the holidays.  This is done in layers.  There is a bit of work involved, but so worth it.   Use any flavor fruit preserve that you and your family likes.

HUNGARIAN PASTRY

1 cup soft butter

1 cake of yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup lukewarm milk

6 eggs - separate all

3 cups flour

2 cups fruit preserves

1 pound finely chopped walnuts

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Dilute the yeast in the sugar and warm milk and stir until dissolved.

Stir in egg yolks and butter.   Add flour to form a soft sticky dough.  Divide the dough into 3 balls.

Roll out 1 ball and place in a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.   Sprinkle 1 cup of the walnuts over the layer of dough.  Roll out the second layer and place on top of the walnuts.   Top with the 2 cups of preserves and then another cup of the walnuts.   Roll out third layer and place on top of walnuts again.   Press the edges together and set aside in a warm place to rise 1 hour.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  

While baking, beat your egg whites until soft peaks form.  Spread on top, finish with more walnuts.

Bake additional 15 minutes.

ENJOY !!

Christmas Cookies **French Fancies**

These cookies are delicate.   A surprise greets you when you bite into it.

FRENCH FANCIES

Jar of well drained Marachino Cherries

1/2 cup margarine

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon milk

Cream together margarine and sugar.   Blend in vanilla.   Add the dry ingredients alternating with milk.

Take approximately 1 tablespoon of the dough and shape it around one marachino cherry.  Place on un greased cookie sheet.  

Bake  350  for 12-15 minutes and until lightly browned.

When cool, dip into glaze

1 1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar

2 Tablespoon milk

Christmas Cookies ~ Hazelnut Balls ~

Today's recipe is one that practically melts in your mouth.  These are easy to make and you can substitute Walnuts for the Hazelnuts.  They are flaky, light and crunchy.

Hazelnut Balls

1 cup flour

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/8 Teaspoon salt

1 Teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients and mix well.   Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.  Form into 1 inch balls or crescents.   Bake on un greased cookie sheet.

Preheated 350 oven for 15-20 minutes.

When ready to serve, take a baggie of Confectioners sugar and drop the cookies in for a light coating.

ENJOY !!

Christmas Cookies ~ Coconut Cherry Drops

My second recipe of family favorites.  The marachino cherries added give these cookies a very festive color.

COCONUT CHERRY DROPS

Sift together:  1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon backing powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Set aside

Cream together:  1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup shortening, 1/2 cup sugar.   Cream well

Then add to creamed mixture:  1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. 

Slow blend in the dry ingredients.

Add:  1/2 cup chopped marachino cherries, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup coconut.

Drop on greased baking sheet and bake at 375 for approximately 10 - 12 minutes.

ENJOY !!

Christmas Cookie recipes !! **Refrigerator Cookies**

As many of you know, we belong to a wonderful professional Etsy team called 

Folkart and Primitives.

The basis of this team is friendship, learning, support and helping each other grow our business.

We just completed a very long and demanding promotion.  The ladies that participated had outdone themselves with treasuries on Etsy and it brought in the sales for all!

Afterward a discussion between us ensued and the topic of increasing our blog followers began.  One member mentioned that she started to post recipes on her blog.  Her followers then increased, so I am going to give it a try.

Here is a recipe that has to be at least 40+ years old.  I can remember my Mother making these at Christmas.  They have become one of my families most requested.   I hope you enjoy it and that it may become a favorite with you as well.

REFRIGERATOR COOKIES

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2/3 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.   Beat the butter till light.  Gradually add sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla at low speed.   Beat in half of the flour mixture.  Mix rest of the flour mixture in with your hands until it forms a stiff dough.  Add walnuts.

On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into 7 inch long logs, about 2" in diameter.

Lightly dust waxed paper with flour.  Place one log onto one piece, of waxed paper.   Roll up and place in refrigerator over night. 

Remove one log at a time and cut into 3/8 - 1/4" thick slices.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.   Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!!

PS:  Thank you Karen Barbera  from Buttons in the Attic

:)

Eggless Sweet Potato Casserole

Another Thanksgiving tradition, Eggless Sweet Potato Casserole.   Believe me when I say, this tastes as good as pumpkin pie!!

You will need

6 sweet potato - cooked, peeled and mashed

1/4 cup evaporated  milk

1/4 cup orange juice

1 teasp. vanilla

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teasp salt

3 tablespoons melted butter

1/2  teasp ground nutmeg

1/2 teasp ground cinnamon

Topping (YUM)

1/3 cup cold butter

1/2 cup packed brown. sugar

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat over to 350.   Grease one 2 quart casserole dish and set aside

Blend together the sweet potatoes, evaporated milk, orange juice, vanilla, sugar, salt, 3 tablespoons butter.  Place in casserole.

 Mix together the topping ingredients until it resembles garbanzo beans size balls.  Sprinkle over casserole and bake for 45 minutes or until  hot.

DELICIOUS !! 

Pass the whipped cream please   LOL

ON ANOTHER NOTE...................

The Folkart and Primitives Etsy team will be hosting a CYBER SALE beginning 12/1 - 12/6.  Each participating shop will be offering their own special discount.  If you make a purchase from one of the shops, you will receive a Gift Certificate good toward a discount on a future purchase.   This is a WIN WIN for everyone.  Currently the shop owners are flooding Etsy with treasuries.  Keep your eyes peeled for one of them.

To find the Etsy shops that are participating, please type in the Etsy search

CYBERFAAP2105

and NEW to my shop...........drum roll please.................

ELVES !!!!!!!

A first!

This is a first for me in quite a few ways.  He is the first primitive Santa I ever made.

I am so pleased with the outcome.

This is first NOSE I ever needle sculpted, the first eyes I ever painted like this and.............

my first attempt at needle sculpting his hair, eye brows, moustache and beard.

  

I really enjoyed making him and would like to thank Hidden in the Attic for creating this wonderful pattern.

He even comes with a battery operated candle!

He is available in my Etsy shop

Cozy Expressions

Angels, Angels and more Angels

As I sat here at my desk this morning,  trying to decide what to write about, I looked over and saw one of my new creations which sparked an idea.  :)

 I don't know why, but I have always been attracted to Angels.  No matter how hard I try to work on something new, when I see an angel pattern I am just drawn to it.  I can go into a store and always wind up where the angels are on display.

My fixation started with Hummelwerk, I have quite a few pieces, but they began to get hard to find.

I then moved on to Lladro.......YES LLADRO!  and of course I just had to have their  Children's Nativity.....each year I would order in sets and wait almost a year to get them.   I wanted them in the matte finish, which was only made once a year if that.  I remember spending $80.00 on each set.  

  

  They are very carefully packed away right now, but here is what they look like

And then when my daughter came along, she started to buy the Dreamsicles for me.

 Until she got older.......then she bought Willow Tree....

I look at all of them and with each Angel I own, there is definitely sentimental value.

I posted this angel ornament in my Facebook and Etsy stores the other day.  I was shocked to see how many people had viewed it on Facebook.  Lately my hits have not been that large, but this special little girl, certainly caught the eye of the public! 

Maybe, just maybe, Angels will be popular this year....

She is made from stained warm n natural batting, river birch branches, Sweet Annie and sheet music.

Do you collect something specific?  Something that when you look at it, you can remember where it came from?  or does it have sentimental value or a story that goes with it?

Please share it with me  :)

Folkart and Primitives

Good Morning All!

I would love to invite all of you to an auction that will be starting tomorrow

October 13th at 9AM on Facebook.   Lucky 13 for some of you I hope.  :)  It is scheduled as a 3 day auction and will end on October 15th at 10PM EST.

If you do not belong to this selling page, please click here to join.

Here are some of the wonderful items that will be up for auction!

Remember to join the selling page.....you can browse what is to offered already and get your game plan started.   Yes, :)  I know, its sneaky, but its an AUCTION!!!!! and you want to WIN!!!!

Folkart and Primitives Etsy Team Auction

I am  the proud member of an Etsy team

Folkart and Primitives

After a brief hiatus we are once again hosting an auction on our

Facebook selling page.

 A special photo album will be set up which will hold only the items up for auction, to make it easier on the buyers.

I call it our Lucky 13 Auction, because it will start on 

October 13 and run until October 15,

Please take a few minutes and look at all the talent this team has to offer.

Folkart and Primitives Selling and Auction Page

Here is a sample of what Cozy Expressions may be offering  

:)

Have a wonderful week everyone!   I hope to see you at the auction!!

Giveaway winner !

Congratulations to 

Joyce Anderson!

Joyce is the winner of our Witch hat bowl filler giveaway on Facebook.

Your bowl fillers were put into the mail today for you.

I want to Thank everyone that participated in this giveaway.   I sincerely appreciate it.

I will be holding a monthly giveaway here and on our Facebook page Cozy Xpressions

So make sure you are following my blog and Facebook page to find out when they will be held.

I also thought I would share a few of my creations from my Etsy store  Cozy Expressions

This is Sammy

He is made from an old pair of jeans.

These are my Gingerfaces.....

arent they just adorable???

I wish you all a wonderful week!!

GIVEAWAY TIME

I am having another GIVEAWAY on my Facebook Page !!

https://www.facebook.com/CozyXpressionsNJ

  This one will run from

September 15 up to and including September 29.

All you have to do is Comment and Like on my business page and then Share on your Facebook page about my giveaway.

What will you have the opportunity to WIN??

Just in time for Halloween!!

A set of 3 Witch Hat Bowl Fillers.

So hop on over and Comment, Like and Share!! 

https://www.facebook.com/CozyXpressionsNJ

I wish you and yours a wonderful day and week.  

:)

My First Giveaway Winner is..................e

MICHELLE BLOCH !!!!!!

Congratulations Michelle you are the lucky winner of my little pumpkin !!

Thank you to everyone that had signed up to win, I truly appreciate it.   

There will be more giveaways coming up!!

The weather had finally taken a turn for the better Saturday evening after a huge line of severe thunderstorms came rolling through.

It has been in the 50'a here during the night and I am loving it!  

The leaves on the trees are starting to turn colors especially on my Dogwood tree. 

The leaves on the Walnut trees have been dropping for a few weeks and now the fruit is starting to drop.  Ohhh my do they ever make a mess on the driveway and stain the concrete!

I will be finding cracked walnuts all over soon courtesy of the squirrels!

With the cooler weather, I will get the itch to start to do more baking and will share some of my favorite recipes soon!!

Till next time.......take care of yourselves and be safe.  

:)

FINAL WEEK !

Good Morning everyone, I hope your are enjoying your 3 day Labor Day weekend!!

It has been hot and humid here, with thunderstorms.  I guess Summer is not ready to go away quietly.

I have been busy working on wholesale and retail orders.  It is wonderful that I can do what I I love for a living!

This is a reminder that this is the final week to sign up for our giveaway to win this adorable little handmade pumpkin.  The giveaway ends September 7th, winner will be announced September 8th.

SO, if you have not already, signed up to win.......here is what you should do.

Comment below AND start to follow my blog.

For a second chance......go to my Facebook Business Page

https://www.facebook.com/CozyXpressionsNJ

comment AND share the pinned post.  Remember, you must share the post and make sure it is set to public so I can see that you shared it.

That's it!!  Enjoy the rest of your week!!!

What Does One Get Done With A Week Without Internet?

What did I accomplish with a week without the internet?

ALOT !!!

I canned tomatoes for the first time in years!   11 quarts and 7 pints.

I made Peach Butter, 1 qt. 6 pts; Peach Preserves, 6 cups; halved peaches, 4 qts;  and canned it all!

Along with that, I completed quite a few wholesale and retail orders.

I have enjoyed being at home so much and I am counting the weeks till I retire.  Originally it was the end of December......now its looking like the end of November .... or sooner  :)

Verizon did a major blunder on their part with our internet service and I am slowly writing up a letter to post on their forum. 

  

GIVEAWAY UPDATE

Since we were without the internet for a week, I am moving the closing date of our Giveaway to September 7th.   So, if you have NOT already done so,

COMMENT BELOW

 then for a second chance

GO TO OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

https://www facebook.com/CozyXpressionsNJ

LIKE, COMMENT AND SHARE on your personal timeline,  make sure the post is public so I can see it,

to be eligible for a second chance to win this adorable pumpkin.

On Going Sale !

Good Morning!

I just wanted to let you all know that 

Cozy Expressions 

is running a dual sale.  One is going on in our Etsy Shop

and the other is on Facebook in the Folkart and Primitives selling page with a Giveaway!!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/166443896890292/

PLUS there is a Blog Hop going on 8/1 - 8/31 on The Rusty Thimbles blog

http://therustythimble.blogspot.com/

These items were donated by members of the FAAP team for the Blog Hop Giveaway.   Go to The Rusty Thimble blog to read the rules.

Last but not least....sigh......Cozy Expressions is holding its own blog giveaway for this little pumpkin

The rules are simple....comment and follow my blog!  If you would like a second chance to win, go to my Facebook page  

https://www.facebook.com/CozyXpressionsNJ

LIKE my shop and COMMENT  and I will enter you a second time!!

Thanks, wishing you a wonderful day!!

BLOG HOP ~ GIVEAWAY TIME !!!!

I am involved with a very wonderful team on Etsy named Folkart and Primitives.

This is an amazing group of wonderfully talented artists,  which create every type of art imaginable.

Brenda Griffith from The Rusty Thimble is holding a Blog Hop (8/1 - 8/31) and there are 13 of us participating.   Each of us has donated a handmade item and on September 1st, there will be 13 LUCKY winners.   

You will need to start following all 13 blogs from those that donated, 

Brenda has the rest of her rules posted on the blog so there will be no confusion.  

http://therustythimble.blogspot.com/2014/08/blog-hop-giveaway.html

There is your link......so HOP over and start having some fun!

Our FIRST GIVEAWAY !!!!!

Our First Giveaway!!

I cannot believe the last post I made was in the winter.  I have been busy building my business and loving ever minute of it.  This has been my dream to do and finally it is happening.

Fall is fast approaching and not soon enough for me.  I love the fresh crisp autumn air, the colorful falling leaves and 

PUMPKINS!!!

The Giveaway will run from August 1st - 31st.

Comment below to be entered to win this handmade little pumpkin!!

If you would like a second chance to win, go over to our Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/CozyXpressionsNJ

Like and comment on our Facebook page and I will enter your name for a second chance!

Easy enough!

GOOD LUCK !!

Hello Winter !

YES Winter is here in western New Jersey and it is cold.

Valentines Day is fast approaching and I thought I would show you a few of our offerings available at

http://www.CozyExpressions.etsy.com

https://www.facebook.com/CozyExpressionsNJ

Wood Heart that has been glazed with gold

Cupid

Felt heart and mouse on a vintage bobbin

Valentine Raggedy

Please be sure to stop in and look at all our other creations!

Till next time.............:)

Take Care