Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
December 27
Saint of the day:
Saint Fabiola
Patron Saint of divorced people, difficult marriages, victims of abuse;
adultery; unfaithfulness, widows; Hospice Movement
3rd Day of the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
On the 3rd Day of Christmas....
(The three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love)
St. Fabiola's Story
Fabiola was a wealthy Roman Patrician of the famous Fabia family. She was for a time a member of St. Jerome's circle but fell away, divorced her husband for his dissolute life, and remarried. On the death of her second husband, she returned to the Church, devoted herself to charitable works and aiding churches, and built the first Christian public hospital in the West, where she personally tended the sick. She visited Jerome at Bethlehem in 395, supported him in his controversy with Patriarch John of Jerusalem, decided not to join Paula's community, and on her return to Rome, continued her charitable work, opening a hospice for poor pilgrims at Porto with St. Pammachius. Jerome wrote two treatises for her and is the source of most of our information about her. Her feast day is December 27th.
Prayer:
Visit:
Castel Sant'Angelo
Rome, Italy
Legend holds that the Archangel Michael appeared atop the mausoleum, sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague of 590, thus lending the castle its present name. Below is a picture of Castel Sant'Angelo from the bridge. The top statue is of Michael the Archangel, the angel from whom the building derives its name.
Recipe
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Thick, puffy and soft with a deep, rich chocolaty flavor. Chocolate-cookie-perfection
Servings: 24 Cookies
Ingredients
-
4 ounces unsweetened good quality chocolate, rough chopped
-
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
-
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
-
1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
-
1 teaspoon baking powder
-
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
-
3/4 teaspoon salt
-
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
-
1/2 cup granulated sugar
-
3 large eggs, room temperature
-
3 teaspoons instant espresso powder
-
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-
1/2 cup granulated sugar (for rolling)
-
3/4 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
Directions:
-
Preheat oven to 325F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
-
In a small microwave safe mixing bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat with 15 second intervals at 50% power until almost all the chocolate is melted with a few small chunks remaining. Set aside and stir occasionally until all chocolate is melted.
-
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
-
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, eggs, espresso powder and vanilla until smooth. Add the melted chocolate mixture and continue to whisk until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour and cocoa mixture just until no dry ingredients remain visible. Set the cookie dough aside to rest for 10 minutes.
-
While the dough is resting, place the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a shallow bowl and the powdered sugar in a separate shallow bowl.
-
Using a small ice cream scoop, drop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough directly into the bowl with the granulated sugar. Gently roll the dough into a ball while coating with the sugar but don't use too much pressure or over-handle the dough. Transfer the dough ball to the powdered sugar and roll to coat. Place the cookies on the parchment lined baking sheets at least 2-inches apart. Work quickly to roll all the dough into balls. When the first sheet is filled, put it in the oven to bake. You should have approximately 24 cookies, 12 on each parchment.
-
Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies are puffy and cracks have formed. The cookies will still be soft and look a little raw in-between the cracks. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
-
Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
If you're not a fan of coffee and/or espresso, I recommend reducing the espresso powder to 1 or 2 teaspoons instead of the 3 listed above. You really can't taste the espresso, so don't leave it out all together. It really enhances the chocolate flavor.
Add 1 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips if desired
