The World According to Bella

The Countdown
My stocking has been hung in hopes that Santa will have me on his list and make a stop. 

Well my stocking had barely been hung two days when I got an unexpected gift from one of Mrs. S's friends. She heard I was taking a winter road trip to AZ and thought these sunglasses and a hat would come in handy. What do you think of my new look?   

Mrs S and I have been real busy. She bakes and then I help clean up the floor and we've been working on my letter to Santa. 

http://simplykierste.com/2013/11/letters-to-santa.html#_a5y_p=2912442
Mr.S found a place where you can send a letter to Santa and he even writes back. I hope my list is not too long! What I really want is a chuckit just like the one Mulligan has.  

These are some of the treats Mrs. S has been working for the kindergartners.
Love, Bella

Pistachio Cherry Meltaway Cookies

Cook's notes:

Meltaway cookies don’t have any eggs in them but are made from butter, powdered sugar, and cornstarch to create that melt in your mouth taste. Since pudding mixes already have cornstarch in them it is the perfect component in this version of a meltaway cookie.  http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1- 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1- 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• (optional) green food coloring
• 1/2-3/4 cup maraschino cherries, chopped finely

Directions:

• Beat the butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, pudding mix, and flour. Mix until combined. The mixture may seem dry at first but will come together after beating.
• Add the almond extract and green food coloring if you want the cookies with a brighter green color.
• Finely chop the maraschino cherries. Using a paper towel pat the cherries removing all of the juice and excess liquid. You want to make sure you dry all of the red juice or you may turn your cookies a not so pretty color. Gently mix in the chopped cherries.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Take a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place cookie on the cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
• Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet. Once completely cooled sprinkle cookies with additional powdered sugar.