Giveaway: Pittsburgh CLO's A Musical Christmas Carol Tickets

This post sponsored by Pittsburgh CLO's A Musical Christmas Carol.

I'm not entirely certain that Alexis realizes just how lucky she is. At the age of 10, not only has she seen a Broadway show on Broadway (Aladdin, to be exact), she also has frequently had the chance to see some really amazing shows without travelling at all. From Mary Poppins to Burn the Floor to everything in between, Pittsburgh hosts great shows all of the time. From travelling Broadway shows to local productions, we have an incredible amount of access to fantastic performing arts.

That's not a thing in other cities, you guys. We're lucky.

She's lucky.

And now is your chance to get lucky.

A Musical Christmas Carol is returning to the Byham Theater, with a cast and crew full of awesome Pittsburghers. It's a holiday tradition that has been around for 25 years, with a tale that has lasted generations.

And you can go.

You can buy tickets by calling 412-456-6666, online at pittsburghCLO.org, or at the Theater Square Box Office. The show runs December 9-23. Fun fact: 1/2 price tickets are available for kids ages 3-14.

Or you could win a family 4-pack of tickets to opening weekend of Pittsburgh CLO’s A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS CAROL. Opening weekend is this weekend, December 9-11th. If you would like to go, leave a comment telling me your favorite Christmas movie of all time. The entire list is fair game, but I will say I disagree with you if you say Elf. Because Elf is awful.

SORRY!

You've got until midnight December 7th to think of a better Christmas movie. I'll draw a winner at random. The winner will be notified by email.

And go!

Thumbprint Cookies

I can't just leave things alone. I have a long list of cookies that I bake every Christmas, but I have to add at least one new one. Always.

This year I am adding good ol' Thumbprints.

They're such a basic thing. Nothing difficult about them, but they do lend a touch of fruity that helps to break up the mint/chocolate and peanut butter/chocolate that is my usual theme. Plus, they're pretty.

A non-internet friend gave me this recipe, which why is that a thing? How do people not internet? So weird.

Anyway, thanks K. We'll pretend I don't care that you don't blog. Ahem.

Thumbprint Cookies

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups fruit preserves (I used apricot, but strawberry and raspberry are good choices, too.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Pull out a cookie sheet or two. You're making about 5 dozen cookies, so plan accordingly.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and run that mixer a little more. Add the vanilla and mix again.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the cream cheese mixture while beating.

6. Chop up those pecans even more than they already are. I use a mini food processor. The cookies look better and are easier to shape when the pecans are super chopped.

7. Add the chopped pecans to the cookie doubh and mix well.

8. Time to make some balls. Roll that cookie dough into little balls that are about 1 inch across.

9. Place the little balls on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Leave at least an inch between each ball.

10. Thumb print time! Press your thumb into the center of each ball to leave a little spot for the fruity stuff later. Clean up any cookie edges that seem like they might let the fruity stuff escape.

11. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

12. Pull them out of the oven, place about a teaspoon of fruit preserves in the little dent of each cookie, and return them to the oven for another 8-10 minutes.

13. The cookies are done when they are lightly browned. If any fruit preserves escape their cookie, no worries. Allow the cookies to cool and then you can pull the fruit puddle off. For the record, the puddles taste like Fruit Roll-Ups, so don't have any kids around unless you plan to share.

14. Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet then move them to a rack to cool completely.

15. Tah-dah!

A Post that Almost Counts as a Christmas Card