{"id":15415,"date":"2017-12-01T01:10:54","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T06:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=16417"},"modified":"2017-11-28T11:55:48","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T16:55:48","slug":"the-kitchen-witch-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2017\/12\/01\/the-kitchen-witch-28\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kitchen Witch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mexican Wedding Cakes<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to holiday cookies, Mexican Wedding Cakes are among my very favorites. I do have to admit \u2013 I only eat the ones that I make myself. The reason is this \u2013 I use my mother\u2019s recipe and her recipe is the only one that has honey in it. Every other recipe for this little snowball of a cookie omits this important ingredient and the result is a dry, crumbly cookie. I know people who hate Mexican Wedding Cakes and refuse to eat them because they\u2019re like eating \u201crolled up dust and nuts,\u201d as one of my boyfriends once complained. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But these cookies will melt in your mouth and your guests will beg you for the recipe. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You only need seven ingredients:<\/strong> soft butter, honey, confectioner\u2019s sugar, vanilla, flour, and chopped nuts. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Place the butter in a large bowl and cream it well. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then you add the honey and you mix it well. I use an organic honey made from wild flowers that I bought at a farmer\u2019s market and it smelled HEAVENLY. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After that, add the confectioner\u2019s sugar. It\u2019s a good idea \u2013 if you have the equipment \u2013 to sift the sugar before adding it to the creamed butter and honey mixture. It\u2019ll make mixing it in and making a uniform creamed unit that much easier. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to add the vanilla! I forget it all the time and have to add it at the end. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sift and add the flour. I add a little at a time to make it easier to mix in. It seems dry but if you mix it well, it should have the consistency of Scottish Short Bread. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You have to chop the nuts very fine. I used to have a food processor but I gave it to my son so I did it the old-fashioned way, with a cutting board and knife, which seems more witchy anyway. I prefer pecans but I used walnuts this time because I was on a short budget. Either one works fine. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After mixing in the nuts, put the dough into a container and chill it at least six hours. I usually put it in the fridge and go back to it the next day. There\u2019s always something else I need to do. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Raw dough alert: this dough tastes AWESOME. If you are the kind of person who eats raw dough, it\u2019s really easy to end up with half or less the amount of cookies you\u2019re supposed to have. And there\u2019s no eggs to worry about. So be warned. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375. Roll the cookies into little balls about the size of small walnuts. Depending on the size of your pan, you can bake twelve to fifteen cookies on each pan. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bake them for ten to twelve minutes, depending on your oven. You want the bottoms to be lightly browned and the rest of the cookie to be golden. When you take the cookie tray out of the oven, let it set for a minute before taking the cookies off the pan or else they will crumble into yummy pieces of cookiness and you\u2019ll be forced to eat them. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While they are still warm, roll them in a bowl of confectioner\u2019s sugar. Again, be very careful \u2013 these are fragile cookies! I usually set a paper underneath the cooling rack to collect any sugar that falls off to make clean-up easier.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When they cool, roll them in confectioner\u2019s once again. Sometimes I add a few sprinkles of red crystals so that some of the cookies have a more festive look. These cookies keep really well if you put them in an air-tight container. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So try this recipe! I guarantee \u2013 you will never go back to whatever Mexican Wedding Cake recipe you were using before! And please \u2013 have a wonderful Yule season! Brightest Blessings!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Mother\u2019s Recipe for Mexican Wedding Cakes<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Cream together:<\/b><\/span> 1 cup soft butter<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2 tablespoons honey<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00bd cup sifted confectioner\u2019s sugar<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1 teaspoon vanilla<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Add:<\/b><\/span> 2 \u00bc cups flour<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00bc teaspoon salt<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mix in:<\/b><\/span> \u00be finely chopped walnuts or pecans<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chill dough at least 6 hours. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Preheat oven to 375. Roll dough into balls the size of small walnuts. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly brown & cookies are golden overall. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Let sit a minute after taking out of the oven. Roll in confectioner\u2019s sugar and again when they have cooled. Makes 2 dozen cookies. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Polly MacDavid<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She blogs at\u00a0silverapplequeen.wordpress.com<\/a>. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mexican Wedding Cakes When it comes to holiday cookies, Mexican Wedding Cakes are among my very favorites. I do have to admit \u2013 I only eat the ones that I make myself. The reason is this \u2013 I use my mother\u2019s recipe and her recipe is the only one that has honey in it. Every other recipe for this little snowball of a cookie omits this important ingredient and the result is a dry, crumbly cookie. I know people who hate Mexican Wedding Cakes and refuse to eat them because they\u2019re like eating \u201crolled up dust and nuts,\u201d as one of my boyfriends once complained. But these cookies will melt in your mouth and your guests will beg you for the recipe. You only need seven ingredients: soft butter, honey, confectioner\u2019s sugar, vanilla, flour, and chopped nuts.   Place the butter in a large bowl and cream it well.   Then you add the honey and you mix it well. I use an organic honey made from wild flowers that I bought at a farmer\u2019s market and it smelled HEAVENLY. After that, add the confectioner\u2019s sugar. It\u2019s a good idea \u2013 if you have the equipment \u2013 to sift the sugar before adding it to the creamed butter and honey mixture. It\u2019ll make mixing it in and making a uniform creamed unit that much easier.   Don\u2019t forget to add the vanilla! I forget it all the time and have to add it at the end. Sift and add the flour. I add a little at a time to make it easier to mix in. It seems dry but if you mix it well, it should have the consistency of Scottish Short Bread. You have to chop the nuts very fine. I used to have a food processor but I gave it to my son so I did it the old-fashioned way, with a cutting board and knife, which seems more witchy anyway. I prefer pecans but I used walnuts this time because I was on a short budget. Either one works fine. After mixing in the nuts, put the dough into a container and chill it at least six hours. I usually put it in the fridge and go back to it the next day. There\u2019s always something else I need to do. Raw dough alert: this dough tastes AWESOME. If you are the kind of person who eats raw dough, it\u2019s really easy to end up with half or less the amount of cookies you\u2019re supposed to have. And there\u2019s no eggs to worry about. So be warned. When you\u2019re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375. Roll the cookies into little balls about the size of small walnuts. Depending on the size of your pan, you can bake twelve to fifteen cookies on each pan. Bake them for ten to twelve minutes, depending on your oven. You want the bottoms to be lightly browned and the rest of the cookie to be golden. When you take the cookie tray out of the oven, let it set for a minute before taking the cookies off the pan or else they will crumble into yummy pieces of cookiness and you\u2019ll be forced to eat them. While they are still warm, roll them in a bowl of confectioner\u2019s sugar. Again, be very careful \u2013 these are fragile cookies! I usually set a paper underneath the cooling rack to collect any sugar that falls off to make clean-up easier. When they cool, roll them in confectioner\u2019s once again. Sometimes I add a few sprinkles of red crystals so that some of the cookies have a more festive look. These cookies keep really well if you put them in an air-tight container. So try this recipe! I guarantee \u2013 you will never go back to whatever Mexican Wedding Cake recipe you were using before! And please \u2013 have a wonderful Yule season! Brightest Blessings!   My Mother\u2019s Recipe for Mexican Wedding Cakes Cream together: 1 cup soft butter 2 tablespoons honey \u00bd cup sifted confectioner\u2019s sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Add: 2 \u00bc cups flour \u00bc teaspoon salt Mix in: \u00be finely chopped walnuts or pecans Chill dough at least 6 hours. Preheat oven to 375. Roll dough into balls the size of small walnuts. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly brown & cookies are golden overall. Let sit a minute after taking out of the oven. Roll in confectioner\u2019s sugar and again when they have cooled. Makes 2 dozen cookies. *** About the Author: Polly MacDavid\u00a0lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic. Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary. She blogs at\u00a0silverapplequeen.wordpress.com. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}