The House is Decorated!!! And a Recipe

I hate to disappoint you, but that picture above, that's all the decorating we did this year, so yeah, we're done.  It's right there on the kitchen table and I look at it several times a day.  My mom gave that Nativity to me about 20 years ago; she bought it in Mexico.  Aside from the big evergreen wreaths on the front and kitchen doors and three kissing balls hanging from the front porch, that's the extent of it.  And it's wonderful!!!  We were out of town all last week and we are leaving town all of next week - none of our kids is coming home for Christmas this year, that's a first, so we're skedaddling.  And it's okay - we have Christmas music on at home, we went to a performance of Handel's Messiah last Saturday night, we listened to a Christmas Devotional on lds.org the week before that, we're baking lots of yummy things (well, I am), we're planning our route for this week's visits to friends' homes with plates loaded with cookies and cheer, we have other good deeds planned, our church will hold a Christmas service this coming Sunday and I'll be singing in the choir, and I personally have little moments where I feel the joy and holiness of it all.  And we're not throwing any parties this year so no one is missing all the other trapping of the holiday season around our house.  I am baking everyday now, several different batches a day - here is one of today's - a family tradition cookie that I altered from the original my mom made and gave me many years ago; it's my version of the Russian Tea or Mexican Wedding cake (cookie).  My version is called Christmas Snowball Cookie.  I grind the walnuts and add white chocolate and colored jimmies to the original dough.  Here's the recipe.  These are melt in your mouth delicious!!!

3 sticks unsalted room temp butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
3 cups flour
1/2 finely ground walnuts
1 - 4 oz bar of good white chocolate (I used Lindt)
3 T red and green jimmies (sprinkles)
Powdered sugar for rolling

350 oven - parchment line cookie sheets - makes about 50

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until creamy.  Scrape bowl, add walnuts and flour and beat well.  Add in white chocolate and jimmies and mix well.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place about 1 inch apart - they don't spread much.  Bake 10-11 minutes until very lightly browned around edges.  Roll in the powdered sugar while they are still warm .  These really do melt in your mouth - one melted in my fingers as I was trying to take a picture of it so Dan and I had to eat it as it broke it half.  Because the walnuts are ground, kids love these as well - the nuts do not stand out but the flavor they lend is glorious.

It's starting to break as I take the picture!  

Delicious!  Merry Christmas it says.