To be worn in about 16 weeks or so…
Gift courtesy of Erin.
Archive for December 2009 – Page 3
Baby’s first gift
December
12th,
2009
Handmade (by me) for the Holidays {truffles}
December
11th,
2009
It’s a messy, messy job but somebody has got to do it and these are so delicious and freakishly easy that you may as well be the hero. Okay?
If you don’t want to decorate your truffles, you just want them plain and simple, all you need is the following:
2 1/2 packages (20 squares) semi-sweet baker’s chocolate, divided
1 package of cream cheese, softened
wax paper
But if you’d like to decorate your truffles, say, if you’re gifting these or bringing them to a holiday event, well, then you’ll also need:
sprinkles
unsweetened cocoa powder
powdered sugar
Melt 8 squares of chocolate, thoroughly, in the microwave. Stirring every 40 seconds or so. (should not take more than 2 minutes to melt.)
Beat the cream cheese until creamy and do your best not to DIVE directly into the bowl. Which I would totally do, if no one was looking.
Once the cream cheese is creamy, add the melted chocolate. It will look like this which I’m pretty sure could be considered heaven. Thoughts?
Honestly, I could photograph cream cheese all day. It’s so beautiful.
Anyway. Stir thoroughly and place in fridge until firm. Firm should be anywhere between 45 minutes to 90 minutes.
Once firm, form chocolate mixture into balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Will look like this but hopefully prettier. My balls are not pretty. Well, in this photo, I hadn’t yet rolled them out yet, just scooped them out but still, I realized while making these that I’m not a good baller.
Once your balls are all round and perfect (or close to it). melt the remaining 20 squares of chocolate. You can do this in the microwave or in the double-boiler. I used the microwave this time around, but next time, I will definitely be using the double-boiler. It’s your choice.
Once the chocolate is melted, dip your refrigerated balls into the chocolate, one by one, (I used a skewer tool to dip and a spoon), place the dipped ball back onto the cookie sheet. (this was the messy part for me, by the way.)
At this point, I would add the sprinkles, that way they stay on.
Place in the refrigerator for one hour. Once cold, you can roll a few in the cocoa and the powdered sugar. I also sampled a few and nearly died.
Place in mini muffin papers…
Oh and share with a child who adores chocolate. It’s part of the recipe. I swear.
Refrigerate the leftovers…you know, should you have any.
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Don’t forget to enter the $50 Visa gift card giveaway, sponsored by Viva!
Holiday Baking {a giveaway!}
December
10th,
2009
I’m so glad November is over.
The entire month someone in our house was sick, mostly my daughter who caught the flu on November 2nd and was treated for flu and sinus infection on December 1st. We all had the sickies at some point or another which made things difficult for me because not only was I sick or caring for someone who was sick but I also wanted to bake.
ALL OF THE TIME.
My dilemma wasn’t so much that I didn’t have energy to bake even though I wanted to, it was baking without spreading these nasty germs to other family members and friends that I was preparing these sweet treats for them to enjoy.
So, what did I do? For one, I washed my hands endlessly, and two, I used paper towels to dry my hands every single time I washed them. Which was a lot.
I could not stand the thought of using the same towel over and over again, I just imagined the germs manifesting inside of it and knew that using paper towels would be safer for all of us.
And to combat stubborn chocolate or maple glaze stuck to my countertops? I used paper laid out on my work area. It worked out perfectly.
I call this my “mess catcher.”
So now the holidays are in full swing, I seem to be baking something nearly everyday and we are finally, once again, all healthy. Which makes me want to celebrate…with some Christmas cookies.
(and with all of the germs gone from the kitchen, I feel much better about licking every last bit of chocolate off of my fingers!)
mmmmm…..
Get the recipe for these chocolate beauties by clicking here!
Win! Our friends at Viva are giving one of you a $50 Visa Gift card to spend however you wish! To win, leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite holiday tradition, your favorite holiday dish or what you do to ensure your holiday travels go smoothly!
Receive a second, third or fourth entry by tweeting, facebooking or blogging about this giveaway! (please leave the links to each entry separately in the comments!) Who’s going to be the lucky winner?
Winner will be chosen at random on Sunday, December 13th at 9:00 pm. CST.
This post was sponsored by Viva Towels. For fun, fork-free recipes – including videos – and snappy entertaining ideas, get over to the VIVA® Diva Café.
You Capture – Lines
December
10th,
2009
This week’s topic was interesting, wasn’t it? At first I was frustrated with it, I was like “who thinks of these stupid things?!”
And then I remembered it was me and I was like “oh, well, it’s a pretty good idea, it’s not THAT stupid,” trying to be easier on myself.
But in the end? I actually like this theme and am very excited to see what all of you have come up with it! So, let’s take a peek, shall we?
I found lines on my candy canes that sit in my kitchen, waiting for me to crush them for a delicious recipe I’ll be making today. mmmm…I can’t wait.
This here shot is my favorite. FAVORITE.
This photo was taken this morning, the sun had finally made an appearance and the wind chill was negative 15 and for some reason there were these little rainbows everywhere, which you can not see in this photo, but what you can see is what we see everyday…power lines. (and also a beautiful, frigid, wintry scene.)
Now it’s your turn to share!
Remember, anyone can link up, you just need to read the rules first! Click here for the rules!
The next few weeks the challenges will be based on the Holidays because well, it’s that time of year, of course. So, next week, photograph your favorite Holiday decor, try different angles and different editing techniques. Get creative! I can’t wait to see!
Happy Capturing!
Handmade for the Holidays {handmade by me.}
December
9th,
2009
I know quite a few people who do not like to bake, who say they don’t know how or who are just too busy to do so. So, I’ve decided to share one of my favorite recipes that is so easy, I guarantee ANYONE can do it. The best part? It’s a great gift…I promise it is.
Also? You need not turn on your oven.
First…take two cookie sheets and put them in the REFRIGERATOR. Don’t forget this step, it’s of upmost importance.
Do you have a double boiler? ( if you do not have one, that’s okay, I went without for YEARS and just used a regular saucepan with boiling water in it and a heat-safe bowl on top. It gets super hot, so be careful.
This is what a double boiler looks like:
You’ll also need the following:
Specifically, you’ll need-
16 oz (2 boxes) of Semi-sweet bakers chocolate
Peppermint extract (NOT mint, okay?)
2 sleeves of ritz crackers
some holiday sprinkles, of course!
Friends, what we are basically making is a nice little replica of thin mints…it’s not exact but they are very good. (some people say they are better, but I disagree and I am an expert.)
A cookie. Made with Ritz crackers. Can you believe it?
Begin boiling your water.
Cut up your chocolate, I cut each half in half
Once your water is boiling and your ingredients are ready (I believe in totally prepping before beginning the baking/cooking process, you should, too.) add your bowl or top saucepan to the boiling pan of water. I turn the heat down to medium.
Add the chocolate, stirring often. Once the chocolate is completely melted, add 1/2 tsp of peppermint (NOT MINT) extract. Stir thoroughly.
Retrieve one of the two cookies sheets out of the refrigerator and line with a single layer of wax paper. Dip a cracker into the melted chocolate covering just enough of the cracker that your fingers do not get burned, then use a utensil to dip the undipped side. I use the Pampered Chef skinny scraper, but you can use anything, really.
I also try to keep the flat side of the crackers as the top of the cookie but that’s just me, I prefer the way it looks.
Tap off excess chocolate (do not touch the chocolate with your fingers, you’ll burn your skin off) and place on cookie sheet. If you do not put your cookie sheets in the refrigerator, your chocolate will pool up and your cookies won’t look as pretty, so keep em’ cold. If you do not use wax paper, your chocolate will adhere to the cookie sheet and you will not be able to get them off of the sheet without breaking them. I know this because I’ve done this. This is also known as FAILURE.
You should stir your mixture up nicely after every sixth cookie or so. K?
If you have a broken Ritz, do not use it, just cover it with Cheese Whiz and pop it in your mouth. The last thing you want are crumbs in your chocolate mixture.
I do not decorate all of the cookies because some people prefer non-decorated cookies but if you do decorate them, this is the time to do it, while the chocolate is still nice and melty. (yes, that’s an official term)
Have your sprinkles ready. That’s important.
Once you have filled up the cookie sheet, place back in refrigerator. Take out other sheet and fill up that bad boy with more of the ritzy, chocolate, peppermint (NOT MINT) goodness.
Once the chocolate is all used up…you’re done. That’s it. Place the cookies in the refrigerator for approximately 30-45 minutes.
Remove and place in muffin papers and place in cookie tins. I was able to fill up six muffins liners, five cookies high and then filled up the other side of the cookie tin with Dove chocolate.
Who wouldn’t love this gift?
*if you use mint extract and not peppermint extract, your cookies will taste like toothpaste and that is disgusting.*
*trust me.*
I Should Be Folding Laundry
Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved