ADS Auction Wrap Up

I got to hang out at Conestoga Mall yesterday handing out Auction prizes to the lucky bidders. It was a lot of work but we raised $3800 and that makes one family that much closer to getting a lifetime companion and assistant to help make their lives a little easier.

Max was the sweetest, softest Golden Retriever I ever met. I just wanted to smuggle him home. He is just about to be recalled to start his Advanced Training and his lovely handler will have to send him on his way.

What a great service the puppy raisers do for the community and so difficult to let these babies go.

Harley is a big ole yellow Lab that looked up everytime the Mall Custodian wheeled his garbage cart past.
He is currently in Advance training...

It was a busy day at the Mall and lots of people stopped by our Booth to chat and ask questions and make a donation. It was encouraging and made the Auction work that much more worthwhile. Now its on to the Christmas baking.

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm a little late but I was busy yesterday and I wanted to show off the final segment of the Senior's event. Apparently, they are quite fond of sugar cookies so I got my "team" together a couple days before the Event and we had so much fun decorating these cookies. Hopefully, there weren't any insulin problems after we left. These are basic sugar cookies with buttercream frosting and lots of sprinkles.

Date Filled Oat Cookies

I think that I have one or two more Valentine cards to post but who are we kidding? The star of the Senior's event that I ran yesterday were these Date Filled Oat Cookies. I have made them for years from my Mom's collection of recipes. They are from this ancient mini recipe book that was published, I believe in 1966.

Many of the seniors recalled baking these up when they had kitchens of their own or remembering their own mothers making them or making them for their spouses during many years of marriage. It was really rewarding to offer the Seniors a new activity to try. I had 16 attendees including 2 gents and a pair of newlyweds. The cards may not have turned out exactly as I planned but it was a really enjoyable afternoon and everyone enjoyed the activity AND the cookies. Here's the recipe if you would like to try making this classic yourself....

Date Filled Oat Cookies
1 cup shortening (part butter)
1 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup milk
2 cups Robin Hood oats (I think I used Quick oats, a little finer cut)
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Cream shortening, add sugar then milk, then oats.
Add dry ingredients to mixture. Stir thoroughly. Dough will be very soft.
Chill several hours or overnight.
Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured board. Cut with cookie cutters and bake at 350F 12 -15 minutes. Chill. (I put mine in the freezer until I was ready to use)

Date Filling
1/2 pound dates, pitted and chopped into small pieces (the original recipe called for 1/2 pound but I used 2 2/3 cups which is one pound and it turned out fine)
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
Add water and sugar to dates, Cook until thick, stirring well. Add lemon juice. Cool before using.

Valentine Cards

I volunteered to do a little social at a local Senior's home and thought that making some Valentine cards and eating sugar cookes and date oatmeal sandwich cookies would be the perfect event.

 I did a few prototypes and then I realized that maybe I would be dealing with amateurs so I scaled back a bit.
This card looks simple but there were quite a few steps... 3 pieces of embossing and I was cutting all the hearts with my Big Shot, so this card was abandoned. Too many pieces and too much prep.

Then at the suggestion of a friend, I decided to turn to the Silhouette for a simple card, that could be cut quickly and would be easy for my clientele to assemble.
How cute it this?

The XO is a chipboard sticker so there will be a variety to choose from. In all I came up with 4 card designs and with the help of my willing assembler, we put together 40 card packs, all prepped and ready to go. Check back for other samples. There is still time to whip up a few of these cards in time for the big day.