We now accept MasterCard and Visa.
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Thank you for a great craft fair season! 
The craft fair season has ended - at least for us. Thank you all for your patronage and support. One of the most enjoyable parts of our little fledgling business is getting to meet our customers and fellow crafters. Even if you don't purchase from us (although we hope you will), we enjoy a good chat. Your encouraging words and suggestions keep us going.
During this brief break in events, we'll be busy working on our website and planning next years products. We'll also be selecting the events we'll be attending, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to pass them on. You can still call, mail or email an order, and you can always find our products at the Beachwood Boutique, 451 Atlantic City Blvd., Beachwood, NJ.
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Yule, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwannza - What Ever you Celebrate - It's time to Rejoice!
Thanksgiving starts the season. It's a time to be thankful for all that we have. But as we move to this joyous Yule, with it's hectic pace of shopping and cooking and planning, it's time to remember what the holiday is about - it's the time to be thoughtful.
Gift giving has always been a great joy for me. I really like giving more than getting. There is a magic in finding that perfect gift, the one that gets the eyes of the receiver sparkling. When I hear that "Oooohh," I know I've chosen wisely.
 And it's not always about the biggest or most expensive gift. Usually, it's the gift where you've spent some time thinking about the person you are buying for. What are their likes and dislikes, what do they enjoy doing or seeing. It's difficult sometimes, we all cave to that last minute just-get-them-something rushed purchase. The sweater for mom because you just can't get inspired, or the tie for dad because your brain just get make another decision. It happens.
But there is nothing like that magic moment of inspired gift giving that gets the smile that you'll always remember. |
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The Tale of the Apocryphal Cookie
From the days before email, there was a wonderful chain letter with the story of the department store cookie. Typically, the store is Neiman Marcus. According to Snopes, it's not a true tale, thus the name of Apocryphal Cookie. Not a true story - but yummy non-the less. 
Urban legend has it that a woman and her friends went to lunch at a posh restaurant in a very elegant department store. There the woman had a wonderful cookie for desert. She asked the waiter if the recipe was available. He said yes, but that it cost two fifty. She said that was fine and to put it on her tab. Off she went with the recipe.
When she received the bill the following month, she was stunned to discover that it wasn't $2.50 - it was $250! Despite her complaint, the store insisted that it was the correct price. To protest, she copied the recipe and distributed it to everyone she knew and asked them to do the same.
And so I came into the recipe. In fact, I still have the yellowed photo copy from so many moons ago. This recipe, with a few minor changes, has become a favorite of ours. If you haven't seen it, you'll find it below.
Apocryphal Cookies
- 1 cups butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 4 cups flour
- 5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and whir in a blender to a fine powder)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 24 oz. Raisonettes or chocolate chips or cinnamon chips
- 8 oz grated milk chocolate
- 3 cups chopped nuts (optional)
Cream the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients of flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Blend completely and fold in chocolate, Raisonettes and nuts. Drop teaspoon size balls into an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and place on racks to cool. Makes 124 cookies - but you can half the recipe.
Whether the story is true or not, this is a yummy cookie that deserves its place in legendary stature. |
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