Antique Louisa May Alcott Books & Planning My Winter Reading

Thanks so much for stopping by Vintage Show & Tell! I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays! We had a lovely Thanksgiving and have been enjoying a four day weekend with Daddy home. I love it when my husband gets time off work and we can have fun family time!

Today I'm featuring two of my special treasures: my Louisa May Alcott books that my husband bought for me a few Christmas's ago. The holiday season inspires me to read great Christmas classics and while only a portion of Little Women takes place during Christmas, it's still one of my favorites that I read every other year.

My mother first introduced me to Little Women when I was a little girl and she's been a favorite author since. Imagine my surprise and complete delight when my husband surprised me with these two antique editions of Under the Lilacs and Jo's Boys.

This version of Under the Lilacs was published in 1898 and the edition of Jo's Boys was put out a year later in 1899. I love the pretty flowery designs along the cover and spine. Inside each book, opposite the title page, is an illustration.

Jo's Boys features a sculpted profile of Alcott with her signature and Under the Lilacs has a picture of characters Ben and Sancho from the story.

I love to collect old books and imagine where they may have come from. Inside the cover of Under the Lilacs is a stamp which reads: "Chester Thorn, Agt., The Saturday Evening Post, 24 East Taylor Street, Kokomo Ind." Inside Jo's Boys the following is written in beautiful calligraphic handwriting: "Thula May Faulkners Book, 1901".

Rereading old favorites is a comforting way to spend a winter---I'm really looking forward to revisiting Little Women, Wuthering Heights, A Christmas Carol, Nathaniel Hawthorne's stories, and more. What do you have on your winter reading list? Linking with: These great parties...

Grammy's Snowball Nut Cookies #BakeMagicMoments #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeMagicMoments #CollectiveBias

Our family had such a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend---I hope you did, as well! I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, doing lots of cooking and baking and trying out some really old recipes from my great-grandma's recipe box. I've mentioned before that I was gifted with a large amount of her recipes and cookbooks when she passed away and I've really enjoyed going through them and experimenting with some of her favorites. Grammy's Snowball Nut Cookies are a favorite I make every Christmas season. This year, I used Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets and both the baking and the cleanup were a breeze!

Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets can be found in the grocery paper products section of Walmart. They come in a box of 22 pre-cut parchment paper sheets and are great for simple baking with easy clean up. They're non-stick so cookies are easily removed from the pan without crumbling or breaking. Oven safe up to 420º, they're perfect for all your favorite cookie recipes.

My favorite memories of my Grammy Annabelle involve food. She was the grandma that would fill you to overflowing with junk food---right before your parents put you in the car for the several hours long drive home on winding roads. She loved her sweets and her big meals and I'll always remember her home as being elegant and full of beautiful "don't touch thats". I keep these two photos of her on the mirror of my antique dresser. I sure miss her!

These Snowball Nut Cookies are great melt-in-your-mouth treats that you'll be excited to share with friends. Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets are great for getting those perfect-looking cookies that you want to gift. Cookies bake evenly so they look pretty and they're tasty, too! The thing I really love about this recipe is it contains ingredients that I always have in my cupboards. In fact, many of the recipes I was given are like that. With so many little ones at home, I can't always be running out to the store for specific ingredients so I love having simple ideas for making special treats with the things I already have in my kitchen.

After mixing up the basic ingredients, I roll the dough into balls and bake on a low setting for about 20 minutes. You don't want these to turn brown---just to bake through.

After they're baked and mostly cooled, roll the cookies in powdered sugar. They'll immediately become the lightest, creamiest cookies ever! I line a festive container with a parchment sheet and place them right in. Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets are perfect for lining containers and you can even use your scissors to create a pretty scalloped edge as you're cutting down the paper to fit your container.

Make sure to let me know if you give this recipe a try! I know you'll love it---and your friends will too!

Grammy's Snowball Nut Cookies

1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 c. powdered sugar

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour and salt and blend well. Mix in nuts. Shape into balls and bake 20 minutes at 325º. When cookies are cool, roll in powdered sugar.

How will you use Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets to make your holiday baking a breeze? Let me know in the comments below!

Spiced Fruit Compote

This delectable compote not only tastes divine---it's gorgeous too! Serve with a simple sweet bread at breakfast or as an after dinner dessert with tea.

About ten years ago, we lived in a very tiny town in Eastern Oregon called Weston. There were a couple of plum trees, as well as an apple tree in our yard, and all the blackberries you could pick just down the street. At the end of the summer, someone gave me a huge bag of walnuts so I began looking for ways I could use them and came across a recipe for fruit compote. I made a TON of jars and gave them as Christmas gifts, as well as stored many in the cold storage room off the side of the house. In all that time, I've never made it again---until this morning.

I'm not sure what possessed me to revive this delectable mixture of sweet fruits and nuts, but I'm sure glad I did! I made some this morning to go on Lynzie's family-famous sweet bread recipe and it was just wonderful! 

 Since I had a lot to do today, I did a quickie method and baked it in the oven instead of cooking it on the stovetop like I used to. Since there wasn't time for the fruit to cook down, I added some apricot jam to give it a better spreading consistency. Wonderful idea---it was great!

Give it a try and let me know what you think! It's great for the holidays---and all year round!

Oven Baked Fruit Compote (serves about 8)

6 apples, cored and diced

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup raisins

1½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water 

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 tsp. each cloves, nutmeg, ginger

1 c. apricot or peach jam

Preheat oven to 450º. Mix all ingredients, except jam, and spread into a greased 13x9 dish. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. Mix in jam and serve over bread, or alone!

Thanks for stopping by The {Not Just} Homemaking Party! Happy Thanksgiving to all my USA friends!

Linking with:
Homemaking Party @ Hope In Every Season

Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 

Wake Up Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers

Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 

Wow Us Wednesdays

Mom's Library (more than books)