MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, I also hope this New Year sees the end of Covid and anything else that is thrown at us, we are a quite a resilient bunch us New York Upstaters. I also love the winters here so clean and beautiful, a lot of my friends go South but not me, guess I just will always be an Adirondack girl.

I make these after Christmas they are so yum and let's face it, we all have left over potatoes from the holidays, Hope you enjoy.

To make add just over a little of 1/4 cup of flour, I egg, mix together form patties fry in canola oil and butter .

you can add onions if you like I sauté them first. Enjoy.

 Saratoga and the August place to be, ?

"ummmm yeah! "It is hot and humid and I will be going to Maine in about 5 days, to sit next to the ocean and just allow my mind to be in that magical place of vacation, our last vacation for this year, but at least the majority of my family will be with me and the hubs .

I have some really good recipes and other items on my Pinterest site so if you would like to follow me please do so, this is the link.: (324) Pinterest

No matter how you feel about politics, today was a very sad day for New Yorkers, some people will disagree and that is absolutely ok, but I think what they did to Cuomo was beyond disgusting, no one deserves to be tried and hung without a word a trial. It has never been done before  and should not become a practice no  matter who you are. ok I have had my say and will pray for him and his family and all New Yorkers. Stay safe everyone, get that shot ,wash those hands ,use the sanitizers but most of all, tell the people in your life how much you love them ,everyday. May God bless each of you.

 It is my birthday month, the last day of July is my birthday and I have to tell you ,I do not know how I got this old, I don't feel almost 68 but here I am killing it....

I think so far it has rained almost everyday of July and I for one have had enough of rain and humidity, I am hoping for some old fashion sunshine and warm weather.

I am going to invite all of you to my Pinterest site to follow me there are some great recipes and ideas on mine so go ahead follow me. (246) Pinterest 

This is going to be a short post for today I am very behind on somethings I have needed to get done ,I am excited to share with you one of them as soon as I get it done.

Enjoy your weekend and remember to smile even if you don't feel like it.😊

 Hi everyone, 

it is summer and I am so not ready for hot and humid weather, I am a devoted fall upstate NY lover. I will however fair the weather, some how, lol.. On one of my sites on Facebook we have many wonderful photographers, I am a novice at best, but they do fill my day with so much beauty. I recently notice how much upstate has to offer in the way of trails, and waterfalls ,lots of beautiful mountain ranges and food, yup! Yummy food that was discovered right here in upstate, You do know that the Potato chip was discovered here in Saratoga NY, and if anyone else tells you different they are just WRONG! I decided to give you a few recipes on this blog from this area, I hope you all enjoy them.

Upstate New York is known for quite a few unique dishes. Utica greens, Chicken French, Salt Potatoes and Grape Pie are just a few of the well known (to locals) regional specialties we can’t get enough of.

But the most iconic of all sweet treats to hail from Upstate New York is without a doubt the Half Moon Cookie.

Half Moon Cookies are a quintessential Upstate New York treat from the foodie destination, Utica. They are a soft and fluffy cookie, either chocolate or vanilla, that are iced with half white, half chocolate frosting.

Upstate New York’s Half Moon Cookie History

A former architect, Harry Hemstrought, opened up a little bakery in Utica in 1925. His signature cookie, half chocolate icing, half white, caught on immediately with his customers. The cookie’s popularity has spread throughout Central New York, and you can now find Half-Moon cookies just about everywhere, including Wegmans.

Upstate New York’s Iconic Half-Moon Cookie Recipe  

Hemstrought’s Half-Moon Cookie Recipe

These iconic cookies are an Upstate New York favorite! Now you can try making your own at home.

PREP TIME25 minutes

COOK TIME10 minutes

TOTAL TIME35 minutes

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 16 tbsp butter softened
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder sifted
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Frosting:

• 6 tbsp. butter softened
• 2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Fudge Frosting:

• Half of the vanilla frosting
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp. milk
• Instructions:

• Cookies

  1. Adjust the oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
  3. Beat the butter at medium speed for 30 seconds to loosen it up. Keeping the mixer running, gradually add the sugar, and cocoa powder and then gradually increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy about 3 minutes.
  4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, vanilla. Beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
  5. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour in four additions and the milk in three additions (beginning and ending with flour), and mix until just combined.
  6. Give the mixture a few final stirs with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the flour has been incorporated.
  7. Use a #20 Scoop to portion out mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets about two inches apart. Using an off-set spatula, gently press each mound of dough into a 3-inch circle. Bake until the edges of the cookies are set and light golden brown, about 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Vanilla Frosting

  1. Cream the butter in a small bowl. Blend in the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, alternately with the 1/3 cup milk. Beat until the consistency is creamy, with no lumps!

  •  Remove just over half the frosting into a separate bowl, leaving the remainder to be turned into the fudge frosting
•  
• To make the fudge frosting:
• To the mixing bowl, add 1/3 cup cocoa powder, plus 1-2 Tbsp of additional milk.
• Beat until the cocoa is all mixed in and the frosting is nice and smooth.
• Frost the top of the cookies, half of the cookie should be frosted with the white frosting. Half the cookie should be frosted with the chocolate.
• ENJOY AND LOOK FOR MORE UPSTATE RECIPES ON MY BLOG SOON.

 Hi everyone,

 I hope you all are enjoying getting outside, I sure am, I came back from my vacation in North Carolina to a sick daughter with Covid and then a few days later a sick granddaughter with it, thank you God that even though they felt pretty yuck they are both doing fine. I for one will be glad when this is pretty much over and we can enjoy the company of family and friends, hang onto your faith what ever that is because I see a light at the end of this tunnel for all of us if we just get the shots and listen to the CDC and Doctors.

Today I would like to talk to everyone about flowers and what works in your gardens. I have a lot of shade in my back yard and I ahve to trust my local gardens to show me what is best for those areas ,

These shade flowers grow happily even without a lot of direct sunlight. “Shade gardening is overlooked by many homeowners, sometimes even by avid gardeners. Let’s face it, there are many more opportunities for colorful flowers in a sun-loving garden. But here’s the rub: shade gardens can be quite attractive themselves. And they almost always take less maintenance, watering and fertilizing than sunny gardens. Most people would say that’s a good thing.

Lily of the Valley: these tiny little white bell shaped flowers are lovely but they can take over a yard very easily, My suggestion is to contain them in a large pot then sink them into the ground, they will still multiply but not as fast and you can better control them.

Next will be my favorite primrose, these beauties love to hide themselves under bushes and trees they are so colorful and bright and really make for an added pop of color.

Alpine Forget-Me-Not

Add clouds of color to your garden with a patch of tiny azure-blue flowers. They thrive in dry shade, conditions that can be particularly difficult.

Well that is just a few of my favorites, there is also Citronella which is great for keeping bugs away, also Lemon grass, but you need to replant these each year.

I could go on and on but these are a few of my favorites.

Happy Planting.

 Hi everyone, yes Spring is here and I for one am very happy ,I think with all the covid and being inside so much that just getting outside is a thrill. I see a lot of people getting their covid shots ,we got ours also, Lets hope everyone does, we need to get back to normal, what ever that means.

Easter is way early this year ,April 4th and I for one am ready this year, baskets filled ,eggs for the hunt done and even thought I didn't do any candy bar wrapping ,the baskets looks good. I want to share this with all of you incase you want to make these yummy cookies.

• 36

  HERSHEY'S KISSES Milk Chocolates

• 6 Tbsps

  butter or margarine, softened

• ¹/₃ cup

  packed light brown sugar

• ¹/₄ cup

  granulated sugar

• 1

  egg

• 1 Tbsp

  milk

• 1 tsp

  vanilla extract

• 2 cups

  all-purpose flour

• ¹/₄ tsp

  baking soda

• ¹/₄ tsp

  salt

• food color in desired color or colors

• decorating sugars to match cookie color

• ¹/₃ cup

  ready-to-spread vanilla frosting or your favorite homemade vanilla frosting

READY TO MAKE THE RECIPE?

Heat oven to 350°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly.

Divide dough into separate bowl for each color desired. Add desired food coloring to each bowl, mixing until color of dough is uniform. Form 36 equal balls (about 1 inch). Roll each ball in the matching sugar color. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Gently press thumb into ball forming indentation.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; remove from pan to wire rack. Press thumb again into each indentation if needed. Cool completely.

Divide and tint frosting to match cookie colors. Place about 1/2 teaspoon frosting in each indentation. Press chocolate piece onto each cookie.

Enjoy!

 Hello everyone, 

I hope these trying days are finding each and everyone of you safe, warm and at home with all the people you love. I actually didn't even realize I still had this blog. I came up with the name shandalin using my 3 daughters names or part of each of their names, I had a candy bar design site at the time and made the mistake of buying my domain name from Go-Daddy. Little did I realize that even though this was my business name that once you give it up, it them becomes the property of GoDaddy and they turned around and sold the name to a Chinese company, who then took this blog over, even though they really didn't have aright to, so I changed the location of this blog to my Etsy account so I could keep MY NAME and start working on this blog again. With these covid days and not going out much it seemed like a perfect time to start doing somethings that I love to do, like painting, baking and my photography site on Facebook is doing well, I have to admit ,I have the best photographers in the world on my site ,I only wish I was half as good as them, but I have always loved photography even if I am just a novice.

I will be posting some hints on painting ,now keep in mind I am a novice at this also but I love to do it and you know you do not have to be an expert at painting, some of the cutest ideas came from stick figures (hello, Life is Good) who knew right? I admire artist like Kate Mandigo, Georgia O'Keefe, and Loren Blackburn, not just because they are from this area, but because they are crazy talented, and I wish I was half as good as them, but lets stay positive here, we all have a level of artist in us.

I will take you step by step on each item I post, I love it when this happens for me, so I will do my best for you.

My candy bar wrappers, will be for purchase and I will include a link to show you how to wrap a candy bar, just incase you need to know how it is done, I will include where I got my clipart from and the artist.

As I finish projects I will post them on here for you to see. Stay warm if your from the North country Like I am, we love our winters and the Adirondacks here in Upstate New York. Talk to you all again soon.

                                                                                            Be Well:

                                                                                             Karen