Out of the Ordinary & Choco Caramel Delights . . .

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

Welcome to December! It seems like we have been immersed in the Christmas season for more than just a week. I love the decorations and music and special food; ordinary trips to the store feel more festive, people seem more welcoming, there is an air of expectation all around.

It wasn’t that way for the Israelites just before that first Christmas. They should have had expectations. They were looking for a Messiah, a Savior to rescue them. They knew the prophecies, recited the scriptures, knew the signs to look for. Still, the birth of Jesus caught them off guard, unaware, too busy living ordinary lives to recognize the Messiah had arrived at last.

The unresponsiveness of the Israelites leads me to introspection. Am I too busy living my ordinary life to recognize God at work in and around me? How many prayers does He answer routinely that I don’t notice? How many opportunities does He give me that I miss because they are not what I expect? Have I become Pharisaical in my lifestyle, only seeing God as I want Him to be, not allowing God to be who He really is?

We use multiple nativities in our Christmas decorating from year to year. The characters are so familiar, they feel like family members showing up for the holidays: Mary, obedient and expectant literally, willing to let God change her life; Joseph, hesitant, a dutiful rule follower, open to the extraordinary but needing a supernatural nudge; the shepherds, hard working, low on the totem pole ordinary people, never expecting to be part of something world changing, just tending sheep night and day; the wisemen, certain of the truth of the prophecy, so certain they traveled to the seat of power to find this new king of the Jews. People from all walks of life, living out ordinary days, thrust into something extraordinary.

As we hurtle toward Christmas, take some time for introspection. In the midst of your ordinary, see if you can discern how God is at work in and around you. Within the daily chores and work and school and dr.’s appts God may be doing something extraordinary. Likely it is not what you expect, but just as likely God’s purpose is far better than what you would plan. Are you more like Mary, willing and obedient, or more like the shepherds, just doing your job not expecting much. Time to make sure that your faith is active and alive, alert to the Spirit of God, expecting extraordinary days because God is anything but ordinary.

Cookie baking is an ordinary part of life in my household, but for holiday cookies we put a little bit of extra love and attention in each recipe. While my husband will bemoan the loss of the basic chocolate chip cookie over the next month, he will delight in special confections that appear only around Christmas.

Choco Caramel Delights take extra time but are worth the effort. The dough is a basic chocolate shortbread, soft if underbaked, crisp if baked a bit longer. The caramel filling keeps the cookies chewy for up to two weeks.

Choco Caramel Delights

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg, separated
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup Gold Medal flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Caramel Filling

• 14 -16 caramels, unwrapped
• 3-4 Tbsp whipping cream

Chocolate Swirl Topping

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp Crisco shortening, use exactly this!

In stand mixer, blend butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa and salt, blend until smooth. Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.

Heat oven to 350*, lightly grease baking sheets.

Froth the egg white in a small dish. Place pecans in a small dish. Shape dough into one inch balls. Dip each ball into the egg white, then roll in pecans and place on baking sheet. Press your thumb gently into each ball, creating a depression in each center. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes, until set.

While cookies are baking, unwrap 14-16 caramels and place in small saucepan. Add three – four Tbsp heavy whipping cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth.

Remove cookies from oven and place on cooling rack, have parchment paper under the cooling rack. Press the center of each cookie to reindent the depression. Fill each center with a teaspoon of caramel.

In a microwave safe dish, melt chocolate chips and crisco together. Stir until smooth and runny. Drizzle chocolate over each cookie.

Lazy me just puts the cookies on paper towels instead of the cooling rack. Clean up is easy!

This recipe doubles easily. It takes longet to finish each cookie, but we usually need double the amount for the holidays.