My major professor prescribed today that my days of ‘dorkdum’ be nearly through (as I close in on the end of my research time here). The office mate, Jenna, immediately suggested we call up Weird Al Yankovic for a spoof on Florence’s big hit. Can we say the dork days are over??
Perhaps it’s the 2 feet of snow outside my kitchen window that’s making me feel so nostalgic about this past Christmas season. It’s already February and a bit too late for posting Christmas cookies, but these are a favorite Becker family tradition and I definitely encourage you to jot down the recipe to save for next Christmas. They’d also make a nice Valentine’s treat if you have a heart shaped cookie cutter!
This past year, I pulled pulled the “wrong” recipe out of Mom’s box and realized it halfway through. Thankfully enough she caught me before I had finished adding the necessary ingredients, and I was able to switch over to the “right” recipe before completely ruining everything.
Sugar cookies (Cathy Kelly)
1.5 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond flavoring
2.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and flavorings. Blend together dry ingredients and add to sugar and egg mixture. Refrigerate 2-3 hours at least. Cut as desired. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 7-8 min. Decorate as desired.
Buttercream Frosting
1 lb Domino Confectioners 10-X Sugar (4.5 cups sifted)
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk
Food Coloring
In large bowl, beat together sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk until smooth. If necessary, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring. Stir to blend. Makes enough to fill and frost 2 layer cake or 13×9 in sheet cake or 2 dozen cupcakes.
She’s stunning, I know. She’s my baby sister….and I’m so blessed – I’ve got another one too!
Enjoy these few beginner shots I took this winter in Carlyle, IL.
To start, the writer of this post is NOT Jessa Becker, it is instead her boyfriend. He… err, I thought long and hard as to what would be a good birthday present, and although this is not the only gift, I hope it is a good surprise.
I’m pretty sure if you are reading this, you either know Jessa, or you just so happened to Google “Most Awesome Woman on Earth”… which is totally understandable. In that case I should probably tell you a little bit about her…
- She is a natural with her Nikon D5000, which is one specific reason I thought a photo-based blog would be great for her
- Red Velvet cupcakes are her vice. If you really want to persuade her – get them with Chocolate Chips inside
- She has a smile, which when paired with her blue eyes, has been known to cause small traffic incidents or guys named Eric to hang around for months on end
- She loves Jesus (which is pretty good just in itself)
Lastly, but not least, I have to thank her so much for keeping me around – I know she could probably do better, but I think she realizes how hard I try and thus concedes and gives me the brownie points anyways.
So, if you’re still reading – go ahead and add this blog to your list. I’m pretty sure you’ll get to see some cool pics posted, and maybe a story or two about the ever so interesting life of Miss Jessa Becker (hey, its interesting to me at least).
Oh, and give her a high five and tell her “Happy Birthday”
-Eric
