baking day (recipes included)

Start your day with raw fish for breakfast. The otter on my deck did:
The grandparents are on cookie duty.

The only rolled-cookie recipe you’ll ever need: GLAM ROLLED COOKIES
1-1/2 c. butter
1-1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 egg
1 T. vanilla
3 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
Cream butter and sugar; add egg and vanilla; add flour and salt. Roll out (not too thin; they’re delicate) and cut into shapes. Bake at 325 10-12 min. Frost with a mixture of powdered sugar, egg white (or meringue powder) and water, and sprinkle. Add food coloring to the frosting if you can’t restrain yourself.
Shoo away the grandson-in-law:

and the dog:

Don’t forget to look out at the view. Sometimes a submarine will happen by:

Bake two cakes, because company’s coming. The recipe for Orange Poppyseed Bundt Cake is from the wonderful book-evangelist, Suzanne Beecher and can be found here: http://www.dearreader.com/ambassador/classics-recipe-flyer.pdf

And here is my version of the fabulous winning fruitcake in the Port Gamble Fruitcake Classic. This is unbelievably delicious:

French Apricot Pecan Bread – The French teacher at a school where I used to teach brought this to the faculty party every year. It’s glorious:
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 c. dried apricots
4 eggs
1 c. sugar
2 T. rum
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp. (don’t even THINK about using a substitute)
1/2 c. pecans + pecan halves for garnish, and apricot preserves for glaze
Process apricots with flour in food processor about 45 seconds, then set aside. Process eggs, sugar, rum, and vanilla for a minute. Drop the butter through the feed tube and process until incorporated. Add the nuts and the flour/apricot mixture and turn on and of 2 or 3 times, just until flour disappears. Pour the batter into a greased and floured pan (pick one with an interesting shape) and lay pecan halves on top. Bake at 325 for one hour. Allow to cool in pan 5 min.; then remove. Warm the apricot preserves in the microwave, then brush on the glaze.
Make some tea and look out the window again. The Christmas boats are passing by: