Nutcracker Sweet Christmas Tea at Southard House

Hello Friends!

Business is picking up during the week here at Southard House and I have been working on making beautiful Christmas decorations for each room of the inn since October 31st!  We have some very exciting events planned for the coming weeks, including the Enid Lights Up the Plains event on November 29th, our Kenwood Christmas Home Tour and Open House on December 7th, the Nutcracker Sweet Christmas Tea on December 10th, a baby shower on December 14th, and a children's birthday party on December 15th.

This post is dedicated, however, to providing you with some information about the Nutcracker Sweet Christmas Tea that will be held on Tuesday, December 10th from 6:30-8:30 PM.  The house will be brimming from wall to wall with beautiful, magical Christmas decorations.  This tea is dedicated to all things Nutcracker, so think of pink tutus, glorious nutcrackers painted in pastel hues, lots of candy and treats, and all things girly and sweet.  This would be a great tea party to bring your school-age daughters and granddaughters to!  It will be a fun time for girls of all ages but it is limited to the first 20 guests so you better buy your tickets early before they run out!  Tickets for the tea are $12 for adults and $8 for children and must be purchased in advance.  Ticket prices include lots of treats and sweets, a selection of Christmas teas or coffee, a few fun Christmas games with beautiful prizes, a reading of the Nutcracker book (if time allows and we have some children in attendance), a beautiful hand-made nutcracker favor for each guest (worth the ticket price alone), a chance to win a fabulous door prize basket that includes a free night's stay at Southard House, and a tour of our beautiful inn all decorated for Christmas!  This tea is also a cookie swap so for each ticket you purchase you are asked to bring two dozen of your favorite Christmas cookies to this tea to share with others. I will have a container for you to take your cookies home in.  Can you imagine a beautifully decorated formal dining room with an enormous dining table that seats 12 completely covered with all different types of Christmas cookies that are yours for the taking!  Isn't that what dreams are made of?  Come share in the dream at the Nutcracker Sweet Cookie Swap Christmas Tea on Tuesday, December 10th from 6:30-8:30 PM at 518 W. Pine in Enid, OK.  You can call (580) 231-3960 for more information or to purchase tickets.  I hope to see you there!

Blessings to you!

Tammy Neal 

Pumpkin Pie Crescents

Hello Friends!

I made these delicious pumpkin pie crescents for dessert last week and I just have to share this recipe.  It is so easy and really delicious.  If you are on a diet I do not recommend you make these because you CANNOT have just one and you will be tempted to have at least 4 in one sitting.  They taste just like a pumpkin hand pie with a light, flaky crust.  Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Pie Crescents

1 (8 count) package refrigerated crrescent rolls
1/2 can pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.  Unroll the crescent rolls and spread about 2 tablespoons of filling on one side of each triangle.  Roll the bottom of the triangle up until you reach the point.  Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

After the crescents cooled I made a maple glaze with powdered sugar, milk, and maple extract and I drizzled this over the top.  Then I sprinkled them with chopped up candied pecans.  These are good for dessert but also for breakfast or a snack.

Something you should be aware of is to make sure you give them plenty of time to bake through.  The first batch I made was doughy because I did not leave them in the oven long enough.  I was afraid of them burning on the outside and I pulled them out too soon.  The next batch I made was perfect.  I used the jumbo crescent rolls and they had to bake almost 30 minutes!  So be patient and they will turn out perfectly.  Enjoy!