The Top Five Holiday Treats

I've been a bit under the weather lately, so getting my holiday baking done may be a but of a trick this year. So, I asked my family to rank the most important things to get made between now and Christmas, and here are our Top 5:

#1: Candy Coal

This has become an absolute favorite of family, friends and co-workers. The little bit of black it turns your lips is overlooked because it's just SO good.

#2: Gingerbread Caramels

I was too scared for years to even try caramels, but these have (so far) been foolproof, and we LOVE them.

#3: Mint-Chocolate (Grasshopper) Brownies

Can't live without these. I grew up with them, too.

#4: Gingersnaps

Basic, but so, so good, especially when you eat them right out of the oven.

#5: Okay, this is a tie... Cranberry-Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars for my husband, Sugar Cookies for my boys, and Snowball Cookies for me.

May you find the time in your hectic life to do some baking, too, for the holidays, or just for a Tuesday!

Homemade Gingerbread Caramels {Recipe}

These caramel candies are a favorite in our house at the holidays. The recipe came from another parent at my kids' school. She sells vanilla caramels every year at the bake sale, and last year, I asked if she'd show me how to make them. Thankfully, she obliged.

What You Need:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 lb dark brown sugar (2 3/4 cups) OR 1 lb light brown sugar + 1/4 cup molasses
1 cup white corn syrup
1 (14-15 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Yield: 50-60 caramels 
*Note: I often double the recipe (as you will see in the photos) because I gift them.

Holiday Food Gift Ideas

I love giving food as gifts. There just is no better way to say, "I Love You" in my book!

Candy Coal (Love this one!)

Holiday Cookie Decorating Kits

Snowball Fight Cookies

Candied Nuts (Really, really easy!)

Hot Cocoa Mix (another simple one!)

S'Mores Toffee

... and so many other sweet treats! 

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Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix {Recipe}

My boys and I made these homemade hot cocoa gifts for their teachers this year. Just because I thought they needed it, I also threw in a mini bottle of schnapps to flavor their cocoa. They work with second graders all day. They deserve it!

What You Need:
1 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder
1 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

* Note: You could use all of the original Hershey's unsweetened cocoa, and you may cut back about 1/2 cup of the sugar.

Easy Candied Nuts and Spiced Pecans {Recipe}

Looking for an easy, and really good food gift for Christmas? Well, look what I have for you!
These Chai Spiced Candied Pecans are so good, and so easy! They're my gift for all of the teachers and neighbors in our lives this holiday season.

What You Need:
2-3 cups pecan halves (or walnuts)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon*
1 tsp. salt
1 egg white
1 Tbsp. water
*Note: Use any spice combination you like. Below are some of my ideas.

Variations:
Chai Spiced Nuts
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cardamom
add 1 tsp. vanilla to the water and eggs.

Spicy Sweet Nuts
add a pinch - 1/8 tsp. each:
- cayenne pepper
- chili powder
- ground cumin
- smoked paprika

Cranberry-Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars {Recipe}

"Tastes like Christmas!" That's what my husband said when he took a bite of these yummy bars.

What You Need:
For the Crusts:
1 cup DARK brown sugar (or 3/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup molasses)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon 
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes (chilled)

For the Filling:
2- 8 oz. block cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 cups sugar (divided)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1- 12 oz. bag of  fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp. corn starch

Cookie Decorating Kits - Perfect Holiday Gift!

Here's a fun holiday gift idea for you...

A cookie decorating kit for your friends and family.
Combine the icing, the sprinkles and the cookies all in one place... it's perfect! And perfectly fun.

What You Need: (for 3-5 kits)
(I will describe each in detail below with recipe links)
Cut-out cookies
Buttercream Icing
3-4 bottles of sprinkles
Disposable icing bags*
Mini treat bags *
*Available at craft stores

Gingerbread Houses for Kids

There are plenty of amazing websites out there devoted to those perfect, architectural-wonder gingerbread houses. This is not one of them.


My boys and I went to visit Fox 9 to show the weatherman, Cody, how gingerbread houses are done. Click the video above to see the segment, or you can click here to go to the Fox 9 website.

Gingerbread houses in our house generally involve a whole lot of sugar, layers upon layers of candy, marshmallows and sugar cereal, and who knows what else. And with kids, I think that's really what it's all about. Below are some of my ideas for making the kid-friendly gingerbread house a more fun experience.

It's all about the icing

Whether you're making your gingerbread house with a kit or graham crackers or Homemade Gingerbread, whether or not it stands up to the test of a child decorating it is all about the icing.
Most of the kits come with some pre-packaged icing, which is fine for adding your decorations and making snow around the outside of the house, but I've found that real Royal Icing makes a huge difference for getting the house to stay together.

Homemade Gingerbread House {Recipe}

We love decorating gingerbread houses at our house. But admittedly, I'd never made them from scratch before this season. I was sure my awesomely soft Gingerbread Recipe wouldn't hold up the decorations, and I don't usually eat the houses, anyway.

Graham crackers and store-bought kits worked well enough for us. Now I know. Totally worth it, making our own. Though I did have to add a lot more flour to get the dough stiff enough to hold up.

What You Need:
For the house pieces:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
5 - 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For the Icing:
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 3 1/2 - 4 cups) 
1-2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/3 cup water

(See my Egg White Royal Icing Recipe if you don't have meringue powder.)

For the Decorations:
Cereal: Fruit Loops, Trix, Golden Grahams, Frosted Mini Wheats
Candy: Gum Drops, Mini Candy Canes, Mints, Gumballs, Cotton Candy
Teddy Grahams or Gingerbread Men Cookies

Spring in Minnesota Cookies

It's the first day of spring. And here in Minnesota, the high is not even 20-degrees. Instead of tulips and daffodils, we look like a giant snow globe... still.
I'm not too happy about this.

Let me explain, (with cookies) what it's like to experience winter in Minne-snow-ta.

November/December

This is how we feel in November and December. Winter's here. Snow is pretty. The kids love sledding, snowmen. It's all good. We can do this!

January

January comes, usually the coldest time of year, it's dark all of the time. We're growing a bit weary of the cabin fever and the three hours it takes to get dressed to go outside. But it's not too bad. Surely it will be over soon.

February/March/April

And then you have now. March 20. The first day of spring. More than a foot of snow still on the ground. Folks, I'm done! And honestly, when it stretches in to April, the words I use then shouldn't be on a family-friendly website.

To be fair, I grew up in Texas and Missouri. This winter nonsense kills me by about the second flake of snow. I've been here now for six winters. We'll see if I make it to number seven!

Click the Links Below to See:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe
Real Spring Decorating Ideas

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Your Favorite Posts from 2012

The top posts of 2012 have a little bit for everyone... Cake Pops, Recipes, Cakes and Cupcakes.
Don't see your favorite here? Leave me a comment and tell me what it was!!

#11- Banana Split Cake Pops

I know, 11?! But they're just so good, I couldn't cut it off at #10.

#10- Leftover Royal Icing as Buttercream

 It's easier than you think.

Gingersnap 'Whoopie Pies'

Whatever you do, if you have some gingersnaps, and a bit of leftover Swiss Meringue Buttercream icing in say, vanilla or ooooh... caramel...
Whatever you do... DO NOT, under any circumstances, spread a little of that buttery yumminess between two gingersnaps... do NOT refrigerate them for 10-15 minutes.

Then, whatever you do, do not eat them!

.... Okay, do it! Just don't blame me when you gain five pounds... in one sitting.

Merry Christmas!

Click the Links Below to See:
Gingersnap Cookie Recipe
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe
Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe

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Easy Christmas Cupcake Ideas

When you have to make teacher gifts, gingerbread houses for two Kindergarten classes, and you've signed up to bring treats for the teacher luncheon... that's when your kid gets sick with a fever for three days. So, simple is the name of the game for me this holiday season.
These cupcake ideas are as simple as it gets.

What You Need:
Cupcakes (I used 10 standard and 9 minis in the tree, and  22 minis for the wreath)
Icing (I used Creamy Vanilla Buttercream, but any icing would be great, even canned frosting!)
Green Sugar Sprinkles
Yellow Sugar Sprinkles
Brown Sugar Sprinkles (or use cocoa mix)
Optional:
Red fondant (or red Tootsie Rolls or Starburst) for the bow
Sprinkles or other decorations  (not seen here)

Candy Coal for Stockings {Recipe}

Is anyone in your house on Santa's Naughty List?
Someone here is. And this candy coal will be inside of his stocking this year.

But I'm also planning to give these little bags of coal to friends, too, because.. well, they're funny. AND they're good. Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, covered in black sprinkles. What's not to like??

What You Need: 
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter (I prefer crunchy, but whatever you like.)
1 package of graham crackers, crushed (1/3 of a standard box of graham crackers.)
1 cup powdered sugar
1- 12 oz. bag chocolate chips or Chocolate Candy Melts
Black Sanding Sugar (sprinkle sugar)*

*Note: Black Sanding Sugar isn't terribly easy to find after Halloween, if you don't have a good cake supply store nearby. Online, it is, of course. But if you're in a pinch and want to make these right now, like I do, check out this blog post on Sugarbelle's Blog. 

Snowball Fight Cookies (Easy!)

It finally snowed here in the Frozen Tundra this winter.
I think I prefer the cookie variety of snowball to the real kind.
(What?! I grew up in Texas and Missouri, what do you want from me?!)

These are super easy! Round cookies... white icing... white sprinkles. They're not too special... until you tell kids they're snowballs or snowball fights.

(I'm working to figure out how to get you the template for the little tag. I love the font that I found for it! If you drop me an email, I'll send it to you for now.)

Here are the recipes:
Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Royal Icing Recipe

And some other Links you may like:
Build-Your-Own Snowman Cookie Kits
Other Cookie Decorating Ideas
Other Christmas/Winter Cake Decorating Ideas

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Easy Christmas Wreath Cake

A fun, easy Christmas cake for you today... a Holly Leaf Wreath Cake.
(Click here if you'd like to sign up to make this cake with me Sunday, Dec. 16 in Crystal.)

What You Need:
Any round cake, iced or covered with fondant
Green Fondant*
Red Fondant*
Holly Leaf Cutter(s)

*Note: I used my Homemade Marshmallow Fondant for this. If you want the leaves to hold their shape for a long period of time, you may want to add either 1 tsp. of Gum Tex or mix in an equal amount of Gum Paste.

Christmas Sweets & Treats

I am gearing up for the holidays. I know, I'm a little behind, but if it makes you feel any better, I do have about half of my Christmas cards mailed out!

Here's a little roundup of the treats I made last year. I have a few good ones I can't wait to make this year that I ran out of time to do last Christmas.
Do you have some treats you just can't survive the holidays without?? Tell me about them in the comments section below!

Christmas Cut-Outs on Fox 9

KMSP-TV
I visited my good friends at Fox 9 again this morning... bringing along some recipes, tricks and tips for your Christmas Cut-Out Cookies.
(If the player above does not work for you, click here to go to the Fox 9 website.)

Click this link to see my recipes, tricks, tips, etc.

Super Bowl Dessert Ideas

I wish I'd prepared a big spread of Super Bowl Desserts for you today. Well, I kind of have... in a roundabout way. .

Football Cake Pops!

These guys are not too hard to make. All you need is cake, icing, chocolate and a little white chocolate.
You'll just have to pretend that the background has your favorite team's jerseys... instead of mine.

Take the cake pops off of their sticks and put them on cupcakes or cakes covered in grass, and you've got yourself a football field. (Click this link to my Grass, Bees & Ladybugs cupcakes to learn how to make the grass-covered cupcakes.)

You could also make some cookies or cake/cupcake decorations out of the team's logos using royal icing, like I did (with other drawings) in this tutorial.

And don't fret if you don't have the right cookie cutter, you can make your own cutters by following this tutorial.

Or there's always simple, like my New Year's Eve cookies. You could do something along these lines. They were REALLY easy to make. And fireworks are appropriate for a Super Bowl party, I think??

Sorry I didn't get a chance to whip up some fresh treats for you. I went on a trip with the family, and re-entry back home has been a bit rough. I have plans for two or three more fun ideas coming up, though, I promise. So, stay tuned!

Do you have a treat you just have to serve at your Super Bowl get together? Tell me about it  - or link to it in the comments section below!

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