Missing Home for the Holidays

Okay, so one of the toughest things to handle is not being with family for the holiday season.  So how do you cope with this situation.  I tend to bake (when I can).  This can be a challenge in China where most homes do not have an oven.  On my "want to purchase" list is a portable oven that I found in Hong Kong.  In the meantime, I use one at another missionaries home to do my baking.  They seem to like it when I get homesick.  It usually means something with sugar and chocolate. ;-) .  Ingredients can also be very hard to find for American desserts.  Chinese just do not bake, and they usually do not like sweets much.


Here is how I coped today with being homesick.  First, I went to Squidoo.com and created a lens (a webpage) for making one of my favorite cookies that mom use to make.  Chinajoy's Brownie Mound Recipe - Cookies .  Then, I plan a trip into Hong Kong (usually takes two days to get there, get supplies, and get back).  And, then visit my family of American friends and commence to baking.  (That will be Monday.  The trip was already planned for Friday through Sunday early AM to pick up needed supplies for other things too).

When I need a little bit of home....

Here is one of my favorite recipes my mom use to make. Now that I live in Mainland China, I will travel all the way to Hong Kong, just to get the ingredients to make these.

Brownie Mound Recipe 

• Serves: ??
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: ??

2 eggs
6 ounces melted unsweetened chocolate squares
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Ingredients

• 3 1/3 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking poweder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 c. margarine (I prefer butter) softened
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. Light Karo syrup
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 6 oz.unsweetend baking cholcolate squares (melted)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. hershey's chocolate syrup
• pecan halves for garnishing (optional)
• 1 1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Instructions

(preheat oven to 350 degrees)
1. combine dry ingredients (except pecans)
2. In a bowl with a mixer, cream margarine (or butter) and sugar. Slowly add eggs, vanilla, hershey's syrup, and chopped pecans.
3. Add mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add, melted chocolate squares and mix well.
4. ON a greased cookie sheet, drop heaping spoonfuls of the mixture about 2 inches apart.
(Optional: add a pecan half to the top of each spoonful dropped on the sheet)
5. Bake at 50 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Let cool a few minutes then trasfer to wax paper or cooling rack to cool completely.

Merry Christmas,  ---joy