Day 15 Of Rosie's Christmas Baking.

It is Day 15 of my Christmas Baking and I am happy to report that I am officially DONE. I ain't doin' no more stinkin' bakin'. Rosie is soooo over it.

OK, what did I bake today? First, I made Coconut Almond Cookies.

My mise en place: 1 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 egg 2 tablespoons water 1 teaspoon almond extract 2 1/2 cups sifted flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup coconut Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, water, and extract. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in coconut. I used my melon baller to scoop the dough out in walnut-sized balls, placing them 2 inches apart on my cookie sheet.

Flatten with a floured fork.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Next up, Meringue Kisses. I've had egg whites stored in the fridge for a while now, and haven't been able to bake my meringues until today. You need a non-humid day for meringues to work. It poured this morning, but the sun came out this afternoon, so I went ahead and made them. Probably would've been better on a totally dry day, but I was running out of time.

Beat until soft peaks form: 4 egg whites 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 2 teaspoons vanilla Gradually add in and beat until stiff: 1 1/2 cups sugar Fold in: 1 12 ounce package Nestles semisweet chocolate

Stiff peaks.

Drop by rounded teaspoons on cooking sheet

covered in foil. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool before removing.

These are delicious. The texture would have been better had I cooked them on a dryer day. But still quite good.

I love the gooey chocolate inside. If you wanted to, you could've added 1 cup chopped pecans along with the chocolate chips. Finally, my last confection. Pecan Pralines.

My ingredients: 1 pound light brown sugar 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup whipping cream 2 cups pecans 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the cream and the sugar in a bowl.

Microwave on high for 7 minutes. Stir. Return to microwave for 6 more minutes.

Add butter and vanilla and stir until smooth.

Add in pecans. And the directions said to drop on wax paper. I've made these before and one needs 4 or 5 hands to drop the pralines on the wax paper before the consistency gets shot all to hell. So, I unwisely decided to pour the pralines onto the wax paper. Monday morning quarter backing would dictate that I should have left the wax paper off, buttered the pan, then poured. Ahh ... Live and learn.

The wax paper stuck to the praline mass and was a total bitch to get off. I tried chilling. I tried soaking in hot water. I tried cursing. I peeled as best I could, but somebody's gonna get some wax paper on their pralines. Rosie's done baking! HAPPY DANCE!!!!!!