Monday, December 27, 2010

What IS that cat looking at???

Bip, our Cornish Rex cat, looks scary, but couldn't be sweeter. He seems to have spotted something...

What IS that cat looking at???

Mice--lots of them!! Oh no...

Unfortunately, I think I ate more of them than Bip did...

...and here's the baker!
Rick makes fab Night Before Christmas mouse cookies...and looks great in my Christmas apron too!



Night Before Christmas Mice Cookies

3 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond extract)
1 large egg
Sliced almonds (for ears)
10 feet of red or black licorice laces cut into 3-inch strips (for tails)
Small tube of black and pink icing for nose and eyes (or 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk flour and salt together in a bowl.
  3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy (about 2 minutes on medium-high speed). Add in sugar, beating until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add flour mixture gradually, mixing on low speed until blended.
  4. Scrape dough onto large piece of plastic wrap and cover completely with wrap. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll into balls (about 2 hours, or overnight).
  5. Form the mice: Roll small pieces of dough into 1 ¼-inch ovals. Bring one side to a point to form nose. Gently pinch bridge of nose to form eye sockets. Place 2 sliced almonds behind eyes to make ears.
  6. Place mice 2 inches apart on the parchment-covered cookie sheets, and bake until golden brown on bottom and edges (about 15 minutes).
  7. Form the tails: Immediately insert skewer into the rounded side of the mouse about ½ inch deep. Remove skewer and insert a strip of licorice tail as far as it will go. The tail will melt a little and stick to the warm cookie. Pipe small eyes (black icing) and a small nose (pink icing) onto each mice (or use melted chocolate placed in a parchment cone; if you use melted chocolate to form eyes and nose, refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened).

30 comments:

  1. Oh what a Cutie ---the man that is!!!! I want some of those mouse cookies... Sounds like a wonderful tradition...

    And I'm sure that kitty was really 'eyeing' those mouse cookies... ha ha ha .... What a gorgeous cat...

    Happy New Year, Kelly.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Great post Kelly, had me laughing here.

    Bip has amazing eyes, and Rick looks very smart in that apron. :)

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  3. Love the mouse cookies -- what a great idea! What a sweetheart to bake them up for the family. You are a Lu my gal.

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  4. Fun post, Kelly! I can see why Bip was fascinated. Those mouse cookies are great and how wonderful that Rick makes them. My hubby handles the quality control, but otherwise stays out of the kitchen.

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  5. Hey Kelly, that is one ugly cat.{:)
    In the second shot it looks like he, or you, has had rather too much Christmas spirit.?

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  6. beautiful cookies...

    really liked the look in the cat's eyes...

    HAPPY NEW YEAR...

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  7. Hmmm....how did you manage to get Rick into the kitchen AND in an apron?!!!! I need to know that trick!!

    Love the post of Bip and the mousies!

    Happy New Year!!

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  8. Ohmygosh those little mice are too dang cute and Bip is one beautiful cat. And your Hubby wears that apron very well! Any man that bakes mouse cookies is a very GOOD man!

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  9. Now THAT is one secure man! Love that HE makes the cookies. :c)

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  10. I don't like cats, but, this one is lovely, his/hers eyes are fantastic. And Rick, he seems to enjoy his life, especially in the kitchen.

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  11. And here I was expecting the cat to be eyeing a bird... Love the mousies and the husband in the holiday apron! Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas.

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  12. There's something very fetching about a man in an apron! And the mice are cute too.;>)

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  13. Those cookies are awesome! And nothing's more cool than a man comfortable enough with himself to put on a Christmas apron and bake :)

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  14. Awesome! I'd say he's a keeper. (and the cat, too) :)

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  15. I hope the cat doesn't chase those mice. Neat cookies, that apron could fit for a number of duties, watch our Rick.I could see a cookie monster apron for him.

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  16. Well done rick, from one Baker to another, though I cant cook! :-)

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  17. Aww Bip is lovely! I like Cornish Rex cats...what am I saying? I like ANY kind of cat, but those particularly :). Does Bip 'wag' his tail when happy? I'm told it's a trait of the breed.

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  18. Hi Kelly
    I think your cat has been at the sherry. Cute critter though.
    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

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  19. My what BIG eyes you have, and EARS, too, for such a little kitty...So Cute.....And the mice look good too!

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  20. What gorgeous cats Kelly. They remind me a little of some of the Siamese that I have had over the years.

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  21. My, what a handsome baker! You're very lucky. My husband does NO cooking, but he does help clean up the dishes and the kitchen. LOL. Wouldn't trade him!

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  22. You have the coolest cat EVER !!! I want to touch him!! (which says a lot because I am not a cat person)

    Rick... cookies! Those cookies need to come to the office!

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  23. Wonderful husband you had, Kelly, he is so nice. Great photos of the Bip , funny cookies. Yummy!
    Hugs and a wonderful 2011 full of peace, health and love.

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  24. Wonderful husband you have, Kelly, he is so nice. Great photos of the Bip , funny cookies. Yummy!
    Hugs and a wonderful 2011 full of peace, health and love.

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  25. Looks like you guys had a bunch of fun.
    The cat really looks like "mouse! yummy!"
    :-D

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  26. Oh I am so glad I stumbled onto your blog! I love your photography and your fun and interesting posts. Your kitty is most unusual looking!!! It is so fun to see what inspires fellow photographers. And I've never seen mouse cookies. They are darling!!! I've thoroughly enjoyed my visit and will 'follow' and visit you again soon, and I invite you to visit me too!

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  27. The images brought a smile - thank you. I enjoy your art work, photography, and variety of posts. Thanks also for taking time to leave comments on my blog. Often it seems I just can't keep up with my reading, much less comments, but be assured I appreciate your work here. Happy New Year!!

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  28. Thanks, everyone! Bip is a hoot. We call him "Bat Cat" because of his super large ears and tiny face...."Rat Cat" because of his skinny, long tail...."Dog Cat" because he does wag his tail when he's happy (Gaina), and he also fetches and comes when called. He's the greatest cat. If you have allergies, he's awesome. That's why we got him. He doesn't shed because he's practically bald, so there's not a lot of hair floating around to spread those allergens.

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  29. What a fun post! Your quirky kitty has amazing eyes!

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