Advent Tour, Christmas Parade and Eggnog cookies

(read to the bottom for the eggnog cookies recipe)

Today I am a stop on the 2010 Virtual Advent Tour hosted  by Kelly from "The Written World" and  Marg from "Adventures of an Intrepid Reader".

I've enjoyed hopping around seeing what other bloggers have done and are doing during the advent season.

I've been missing from my blog for the past couple of weeks.  (I can't believe so much time has passed since I last posted)  One of the fun things I've done in that time...job related, but fun...is to put on the Christmas parade.    Not "just" me, but I work for the Chamber of Commerce and "we" put on the annual Parade of Lights on the 2nd Saturday of December.  I've always likened myself to Natalie Wood in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street", altho we have never had a drunken Santa to contend with.  The pics look like we had a drunken photographer---that would be me!--  but really, I waited until after the parade was over to partake.

The staging area--I call it that lightly because we  are a small town, with a small town parade and a small town budget--is so pretty!,  Seriously it's like  "It's a Wonderful Life" in the staging area!     All the floats, all the lights, all the people being merry!  I really do love it.  There is music and Santa and bells and people hustling and bustling about.  One can just imagine George Baily running thru the floats yelling "Merry Christmas Beford Falls!"

Like I said, we're a small town, but the community comes out in droves!  By the hundreds and hundreds!

The only negative thing was....the picture taker looks like she might have had too much hot buttered rum!!  The pictures really do not do it justice.

After the parade we came home to cookies and hot chocolate,  my husband, my grandson and I.  I thought I'd share with you these great Eggnog Cookies.  Technically,  I'm not sure if this 'cookbook' qualifies, but I'm going to link these to  "Cookbook Sundays".

One year, my friend Ashley,  made me a bunch of cookies for the holidays and gave me this cookbook.   There are about 25 different recipes of cookies she and her mom and sister made on a weekend get together, and they put  all of them together in this cookbook.  

The Eggnog Cookie, is one of my favorite from this little cookbook.  It's a bit labor intensive, but they're really good.  (a bit better when Ashley made them for me tho).

Eggnog Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2/3 cup butter

1 slightly beaten egg

1/4 cup eggnog

1 cup finely crushed butterscotch  flavored candies

Eggnog Glaze

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 tsp rum extract

2-3 tablespoons eggnog

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Cut in butter until pieces are the size of small peas.  Make a well in the center. Combine egg and eggnog; add all at once to the dry mixture.  Stir till moistened. Cover and chill dough abut 2 hours or till firm enough to handle.

Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Set aside.  On a well-floured surface, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes.  Cut smaller shaped holes in the center of the shapes.  Place cookie shapes with holes in center about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle crushed candies in the the holes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or till edges are firm and light brown.  Cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes.  Carefully transfer cookies on foil to a wire rack to cool completely.

When cookies are cool, carefully peel the foil from the bottom of the cookies.  Spread the cookies tops with eggnog glaze.

Makes about 24 cookies.

Eggnog Glaze

In a small bowl stir together powdered sugar, extract and eggnog to make a glaze of spreading consistency.