Bejay I think pistachios are grown in California, as well as almonds and walnuts. The problem with the pecan is that if we do not get cold enough weather they fall with their husks, instead of opening their husks and then you can harvest the nut. The first year I was here I went around collecting all the little pecans and made a pecan pie. Last year they were lousy. We'll see this year....I wish I could replace that pecan tree with almonds and pistachios....but it is a very large very old tree, and for now the squirrels are very well fed! There is something else I do with almonds that I like a lot, but I could use some suggestions if anyone here does it as well. I have health issues with dairy milk, and soy milk tastes like chalk in my coffee, so I like almond milk. I have been buying it from Trader Joes, but I figured I could try making it at home as well. The problem is that I cannot get it to completely become 'milk' when I filter it I do get a whole lot of solids to filter out. I do use the almond solids in other things (nut loafs, veggie burgers, soups) but I would like more of the almond to go to the milk if you know what I mean. I have tried a food processor (not very good) and an immersion blender works better, but still not perfect. Any suggestions on a better gadget? or method? What I do is let slivered almonds soak in water overnight, and then blend. Let it sit and use a fine colander or sieve to filter solids out. This works, but I get low yield, it seems like I should be able to get more milk out of a cup of almonds. Oh, the ratio I use is about 1:5 almond:water.

Properly stored, butter-based cookies will stay fresh for WEEKS at room temp. I used to work in a very expensive bakery. We baked all our Christmas cookies the Monday after Thanksgiving. The cookies were stored in cardboard box bottoms--one flavor to a box--and the boxes were slid into large plastic bags and twist-tied. The cookies were still perfectly fresh weeks later (I know, I ate a LOT of them--LOL). No need to freeze them if you're using them Sunday and you have them stored in an air-tight container.

Here are some that I freeze often. Touch of Lemon Sugar Cookies Source: Pillsbury "Cookies, Cookies & More Cookies" 1980 2 c sugar 1 c butter, softened 1T grated lemon peel c lemon juice 1 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 3-1/4 c AP flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp soda 1 tsp cream of tartar Sugar Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, lemon peel, lemon juice, vanilla and eggs. Cream until smooth. Lightly spoon floour into measuring cup and level off. Stir in flour, salt, soda and cream of tartar until well blended. Shape dough into 1" balls, roll in sugar and place two inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. (Cookies will be soft in center). Makes 4-5 dozen cookies Basic Shortbreads 1 1/4 c AP flour 3 T sugar 1/2 c butter Mix sugar and flour, cut in butter until fine crumbs and it starts to stick to itself. For Elfin Bites, stir in 2 T of Candy Ball Sprinkles. Pat dough out on a non greased cookie sheet into a 8x5" rectangle. Cut into 1/2 cubes and seperate. Bake at 325F for about 8\-10 minutes or until bottoms just start to brown. Cool on wire rack that has a sheet of wax paper over it.(Just in case they thought about falling through the "cracks".) For Cherry Shortbread, (pictured above) stir in a 1/2 c of drained well finely chopped Maraschino cherries. Once additives are in, knead until a dough is formed. Roll dough out on floured surface to 1/2" thick, cut out with 1 1/2\-2" heart cutter. Bake at 325F for 20\-25 minutes or until bottoms just turn light brown. Cool. Melt together 1 c semi sweet chocolate chips and 2 t sortening. Dip half of the cookie or drizzle. let set on wax paper to firm. Posted 12/06 by Terri\_pacnw Chocolate Walnut Crumb Bars 1 c butter, softened 2 c all purpose flour ½ c granulated sugar ¼ tsp salt 2 c Nestle semi sweet chocolate chips, divided 1-1/4 c (14 oz can) Sweetened Condensed milk 1 tsp vanilla 1 c walnuts, chopped Beat butter in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in flour, sugar and salt until crumbly. With floured fingers, press 2 cups of crumb mixture into greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Reserve remaining crumb mixture. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350F or until edges are browned. Warm 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips and milk in small, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in vanilla, spread over hot crust. Stir walnuts and remaining chips into reserved crumb mixture, sprinkle over chocolate filling. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350F or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen bars Holiday Biscotti Source: Giada DeLaurentis 2 cups all\-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped 2/3 cup dried cranberries 12 ounces good\-quality white chocolate, chopped Red and green sugar crystals, for garnish Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries. Form the dough into a 13\-inch long, 3\-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Place the log on the cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4\-inch\-thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely. Stir the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the chocolate melts. Dip half of the biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti on the baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes. The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks. Linda

I have just had 3 funerals to bake for. I can't believe it's time to start cookies for Xmas. I'd much rather make biscotti than cut out cookies, even though I have a huge collection, over 200 I estimate, of cookie cutters. Only about 75 of those are strictly Xmas/Hannakah cutters. Someday I will count them. Of course some day I will really organize my recipes too! The 1st cookies I always make and freeze are the cream wafers. I need at least 15 dozen of them for all the family and friends that demand them. (My mother can;t really do them any more, so I have had to add her and my 2 brother to the list.) That's 360 cookies since they are sandwich cookies. I freeze them without the filling because they take up less space and I can usually force someone else to fill and assemble when it's time to distribute! Once they are done I can think about the other favorites. I rarely freeze the rolled sugar cookies and Swedish gingerbread. I do those with my nieces, again closer to the holiday, when they are in the mood. Then I make a few Stained Glass as well. They are also a pain, but I made them for my oldest grandson years ago, and of course they are his favorite. I freeze Spritz, Applesauce Cookies, a couple types of biscotti,and my favorite, Swedish Almond Cookies if I think I have time And the chocolate shortbread stars for stareos, if I make them. But Dorrie Greenspan's World Peace cookies are lots easier so I've made them the last 2 years. I just freeze the logs and bake as needed. I never freeze the bar cookies; peppermint brownies, oatmeal carmelitas, and peanut butter brownies. Or the fudge, toffee or meringues. I have a new recipe for caramel this year from Alice Medrich's new book. I have yet to find the perfect caramel recipe except the very expensive ones you buy. And last year I made spoon cookies for the 1st time because my friend who made them moved away. They don't really freeze... I would love to make Sarah Bernhardt's Netla. But I can't add another tedious cookie to the list. I made Sherry's Santa's helpers for the 1st funeral reception but they drove me crazy trying to get them small enough for the platters. They are incredible but I have renamed them Walnut Wonderfuls and will make them NOT at Xmas when I can serve large cookies all by them selves! Have you seen Gourmet's favorite cookies. There are a couple I'm very tempted by! Here is a link that might be useful: Favorite cookies 1941 - 2008