Happy New Year To You
May every great new day bring you sweet surprises.
A happiness buffet.
Happy New Year to you
And when the new year’s done,
May the next year be even better,
Full of pleasure, joy and fun.

By Joanna Fuchs

The holidays are coming to an end. I love the new year. A new beginning and a fresh start. Posts will be scarce for a while as the new year always brings hope for healthier eating habits and the goodies are put away for only special occasions. I'll be visiting everyone's blogs though checking on what everyone else has done.

Jamaican Jungle Bread

This recipe surely does not count as a holiday recipe, but it is something I happened to have the ingredients for and have had in my to-try file for a very long time. I've been slacking this week for something to take to work. I just have not been inspired and running a little short on time this week. Hopefully this will do the trick.

JAMAICAN JUNGLE BREAD

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium)
1 8 oz. crushed pineapple, undrained
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 eggs

In a large bowl stir together the first 9 ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix bananas, pineapple, oil and eggs. Add all once to oat mixture. Stir just until liquid is absorbed. Do not overmix. Pour into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes until brown. Check center to make sure it is thoroughly cooked. Cool in pan.

Snow in Texas!

A totally crazy week for weather down here this week. We were 72 degrees on Tuesday. A cold front started blowing in on Wednesday and by 5:00 the northern part of our area was starting to see snow flakes. By 10:00 in the evening the front yard was completely covered with snow. A beautiful site. Unfortunately my camera batteries decided to take a siesta and went out. My friends to my rescue though. Knowing I love hearts my friend took a picture of the top of her hot tub with a heart (thank you!) Another friend sent me this beautiful photo from her front porch. (thank you too!) This is such a phenomenon for us. The last time we had snow was in 2004 -- a white Christmas -- but I was living in California at the time and missed it. Before that it was forever since we had seen it. Of course today it was back to close to 60 -- go figure. We get all goofy down here when it snows because it's such a rare treat. I love snow. It's so beautiful.

Butter Pecan Cookies

This week's cookie to take to work were these Butter Pecan Cookies. I've had this recipe for years but had not made these in a long time. They were very well received and not a crumb left.

BUTTER PECAN COOKIES

1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted)

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in pecans. Drop dough by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. (I use a small cookie scoop.) Bake at 375° for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Cowboy Cookies

Last year I took cookies to work every week during December for the Christmas holidays. These are my treat to take tomorrow to start the month off. I've been looking through cookbooks today to see what I'll make in the upcoming weeks.

COWBOY COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats (not quick)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth. In another bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, coconut. Add these to the wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Scoop tablespoon size balls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 5 dozen.