It Smells Good Here!!

I've been baking. I'm having fun! Have I mentioned how much I love baking? I find it soothing, comfortable. And it makes the apartment, if not the entire floor, smell good.

We now have two kinds of cookies to choose from, both from Dutch recipes. The first cookies, in the tin, are called Bitterkoekjes (bitter cookies). They're, basically, a macaroon-type cookie made with ground almonds. When I explained them to John, he was a little skeptical, but after he tasted them, they got a seal of approval.

The second cookies are from a Dutch cookbook my mother passed on to me. Translated, they're called Cinnamon Crunchies. They're not really all that crunchy (I probably rolled the dough too thick... oh well), but they do taste good. They're not overly sweet and there's a lot of good stuff in them, including ground almonds and finely chopped dried fruit. The recipe called for finely chopped candied peel, but I can't stand that stuff, so I used the dried fruit mix instead.

Again, they got John's seal of approval. And mine. :)

There were a couple of ingredients for the cookies that I didn't have on hand, but I was pretty sure that the German delicatessen down the street would have what I needed, so I walked over there this morning. On the way home, I stopped in at the thrift store, just to look around. I don't usually find much there, but occasionally I come out with something. This time, it was a vintage knitting book that caught my interest.

I'm not sure how old this book is, but judging by the models, I'd say it's from the 1950's. There's a wide variety of items in this book (more of a magazine, really), ranging from bed jackets, cardigans for everyone in the family to egg cozies and hot water bottle covers and everything in between. Here's a sampling of some of the patterns in the book...

These "parka, scarf & glove sets" are hilarious! I found it interesting that the hats (hoods?) are called parkas; I thought a parka was a winter coat with a hood.

This was the main reason I HAD to have this book. Check out the "Ladies Panties"! Panties!!

I don't think I'll be making myself any of those; just thinking about that makes me twitchy!