Christmas Bear Cupcakes

I made these a few years ago now for a Relief Society christmas activity.  These almost didn't make it as we didn't have an air-conditioner and it was sooo hot, heat and ganache don't go together.  I had to make the ganache twice!  I was told that some took the cupcakes home just for the bears and didn't eat the cupcakes.  I know one lady kept the bear on top of her tv, haha.

In  love.  This guy bear is holding mistletoe and is wearing his heart on his sleeve.  He just loves the little girlie bear with the cherries in her hair.

Christmas Pudding

Those pink things are supposed to be earmuffs

Wrapped in lights

Ribbon around the cake board

Stained Glass Candle Cookies

I think you'll impress everyone if you had a few of these around the house.


All ablaze. I used a small candle in it's own glass holder. The candle didn't make the lollies melt which was something I was wondering about. Just be careful when using candles especially around children, you know the 'don't leave candles going when you leave the room' etc. I had this on when my children were in bed.

It's Eat Christmas Cookies Season 3 over at Food Blogga. I participated last year and there were some really yummy Christmas cookies. I've checked-out the cookies for this year and the Chocolate Toffee Crunch looks oh soooo good and easy to make, can't wait to make them.

Find out about the Round-Up so you can join in too.

Check out this years Round-up cookies.

Stained Glass Candle Cookies

Dark Gingerbread (recipe below)

250g clear boiled fruit lollies (green and red starburst lolly pops were all I could find)

Royal Icing (coloured if you like)

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line two baking trays with paper. Thinly roll out the dark gingerbread mixture on a floured surface and cut out twelve 12cm x 8cm rectangles. Transfer the rectangles to the lined baking sheets, spacing them slightly apart.

2. Using a square cutter (or sharp knife) cut out six squares from each piece, leaving a fine windowpane-effect frame. Bake the pieces for 5 minutes, then remove them from the oven and leave aside.

3.Ligtly crush boiled lollies while still in their wrappers, by tapping lightly with a rolling pin. Unseal the wrappers and place a few crushed lollies in each square of the frames.

4. Return the baking sheets to oven for a further 5 minutes until the lollies have melted. If there are any squares that are not completely flooded with melted lolly, use a toothpick to ease mixture to the sides. You will need to do this quickly as the lollies harden quickly. Leave the pieces on the tray to cool completely

5. Spoon royal icing into piping bag with a medium writing nozzle. Pipe lines over the gingerbread. Leave to set for about 30 minutes.

6. Sandwich two long sides of biscuits together with icing holding together tightly until they are stuck together and leave to dry.

Dark Gingerbread

makes 24

prep time: 10 minutes, plus chilling

baking time: 12-15 minutes

410g cups self-raising flour

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 stp gound cloves

125g firm unsalted butter

125g dark muscavado sugar

125g black treacle/molasses

1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 200 C and line two baking trays

2. Put the flour and spices in a food processor. Cut butter into small pieces, add to processor and blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, treacle and egg, and mix to a dough. Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

3. Roll out the mixture on a floured surgace. Cut out rounds or squares and place on baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the spaces have risen slightly and appear a little paler in colour. Leave for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I know this recipe idea came from a cookie book but I cannot remember which one. If you know please let me know so i can give credit.

Oh, bring us a Figgy Pudding...

...and a cup of good cheer. Just 15 more sleeps until Christmas!

Ok, not quite a Figgy Pudding these are Plum Puddings, although I don't know if they look very different.

Plum Puddings

1. Roll a ball of brown sugarpaste (fondant) and flatten. Press a piping nozzle into the sugarpaste to make currants.

2. Roll a sausage of white sugarpaste and put this over the top of the pudding. Try your best to make it look like the sauce is dripping down the sides. I was thinking you could use yellow sugarpaste for a more custard look.

3. Roll some green sugarpaste and cut to make holly leaves. For big holly leaves you can use a straw. I used a really small 6 pointed star cutter and shaped to look like holly. Add leaves to the pudding.

4. Roll tiny red sugarpaste balls and put on top of holly leaves.

5. Use a small brush to paint black food colouring onto the currants.

6. Transfer to cake when dry.

Source: The Cake Decorator's Motif Bible by Sheila Lampkin

Peppermint Cookies

A friend made these for our Christmas Enrichment Night and I've been wanting to make them ever since because they were deliciously pepperminty (no fake peppermint essence here, Candy Canes all the way!) This recipe will be great if you have left over candy canes after Christmas.


The recipe is from Crisco. They used red, white and green candy canes which looked really festive, so if you can, use those.

Peppermint Cookies
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yields: 3 dozen

3/4 stick Crisco® Butter Shortening Sticks OR 3/4 cup Crisco® Butter Shortening (I just used 3/4 cup of canola spread margarine)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy canes or peppermint candies (see below for my method of crushing)
Additional 1/4 cup crushed candy for top of cookies (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350ºF/175ºC.
2. Beat shortening, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl of electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in egg.
3. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix into shortening mixture at low speed just until blended. Stir in crushed candy. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Do not overbake. Immediately sprinkle with about ¼ teaspoon crushed candy. Cool 2 minutes. Remove to rack to cool completely.
Tip: A 6-oz package of 12 candy canes will make enough crushed candy for the cookies and the garnish.


How I crushed Candy Canes
My friend had a problem crushing her candy canes and asked me to let her know if I came up with a better way then using a rolling pin and a ziplock bag full of canes. To start with I put the canes in a deep bowl and tried to crush them with the end of a rolling pin. Shards of cane went everywhere and after other fruitless attempts I had a break through:

1. Heat a few canes at a time in the microwave on high for 25 seconds. *Careful, when they come out they will be hot.* Try and work quickly with the warm canes it's a lot easier than cooled hard canes.

2. Put them in a teatowel and beat with the end of a rolling pin. Below is a picture of half beaten canes. At this point I just crushed them with my fingers. Easy!

3. You could also use scissors to cut half beaten canes (while still warm) into little tiny pieces.

4. Crushed canes. The last batch of candy canes I warmed up just crushed straight away, no scissors or fingers needed. Too easy!!

I'm sending these cookies into the Eat Christmas Cookies, Season 2 Event. Check out the Round-up page to see all the Christmas cookies people have sent in.

Frosty the Adorable Snowman

Super cute!

Aww, look at those big brown eyes.

Instead of eating them, use them as table decorations or use on the outside of a gingerbread house.

Coconut Truffle Snowmen

(amended from the book 'Christmas' by The Australian Women's Weekly)
Makes 6

360g white eating chocolate, chopped coarsley
1/3 cup (80ml) cream
1/2 tsp coconut essence (or there abouts. Whatever suits your tastebuds)
1 cup (80g) desiccated coconut
saltanas (or dried cranberries)
orange sugarpaste (or pistachios)
mini m&m's

1. Stir chocolate, cream and essence in small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Transfer mixture to small bowl; refrigerate about 2 hour.

2. Roll two level teaspoons of mixture into balls to make six small balls, roll three level teaspoons of mixture into balls to make six medium balls, roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls to make six large balls (you will have 18 truffles); place on tray. Refrigerate until truffles are firm.

3. Roll truffles in coconut; assemble six snowmen using three of the different-sized truffles for each, using toothpicks to secure them through the centre if needed. Decorate snowmen with cut up saltanas for eyes, sugarpaste/pistachio for nose and mini m&m's for buttons. Use scraps of fabric, tinsel, pipecleaner or ribbon to make scarf.

Just Remembered: I stuck on the eyes, nose and buttons using glucose syrup.

Funny!

Children love this song: Once There Was a Snowman (make sure you click on the dot that is for words and music. Top left corner). Use actions as suggested by the words.

Priceless Christmas Gifts

* Give the gift of yourself to your family and loved ones. Spend the day doing kind things for them. You could make breakfast, help wrap and deliver presents or clean up after dinner

* Give parents a break. Spend time looking after the children during the Christmas holidays.

*Visit someone who is sick or elderly. Ask them to tell you about a past Christmas.

*Express your love and gratitude to the Saviour in your prayers.

* Write a letter to your parents or someone to whom you are grateful for the things they have done for you.

*Read the Christmas story to a young child and teach them about the Saviour (See Luke 2)

Christmas Tips and a Wreath Cupcake

Since Christmas is only 33 sleeps away, I thought i'd share some of the Christmas tips from the enrichment evening I went to.

1. Prepare: Plan your schedule and calendar now. Claim ownership to your time and learn to say no. Set your budget and don't exceed it. Plan your menu, time and activities wisely. I've drawn up a calendar and on it i've put all the activities i'll be going to, what i'll be cooking and when to start cooking, when to make certain crafts etc to help me prepare. It's helping a lot!

2. Service and Love: "How can I make someone else feel the true Spirit of Christmas this year?" Forget yourself and go to work.

3. Gifts That Really Count
*A voucher for a service you can give; ie babysitting, ironing, making the bed for a week, cooking dinner, mending etc
*Take a hamper filled with Christmas fare to a family that can't afford it for themselves. I remember doing this as a youth, we sang carols and gave hampers. It was a good experience.
* Invite family, friends, neighbours into your home to watch the DVD "Joy to the World"

*More tips next week*

Simple Wreath Cupcakes
What you'll need:
*Cupcakes
*Red and Green M&M's (you can usually buy a packet of just red and green closer to christmas)
*Betty Crocker Creamy Deluxe Vanilla Frosting (or just make your own)

Ice cupcakes and put six green and two red m&m's ('m' side down) in a circle in the middle of the cupcakes putting the red m&m's slightly on an angle. Too easy huh! I put my cupcakes in red patty cases for a more festive look.

Enrichment Christmas Night

Last night I went to our wards Christmas Enrichment Meeting. It was a lot of fun. I was a 'star' model. I was nominated by Helen T to be the model because according to her I have model looks, hahaha. Thanks Helen! I was told that I could choose someone to help me so guess who I chose? Revenge is sweet...but I digress. As well as being fun it was spiritual and informative. There were tips on how to prepare early for christmas and take the worry out of it and to also make christmas more centred around the reason for christmas which is the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

As always, at the close of the evening there were lovely tables set out full of yummy food that the sisters brought along. Here's a look at what I made for the evening:

These were supposed to be cakepops but the cake was too moist and just slid down the lollipop stick so I had to improvise

Mini sugarpaste candy canes

Vanilla Sable Christmas Trees with flaked almonds, royal icing, little flowers and a silver dragee at the top

Yay, I finally found some blossom ejector cutter things and couldn't wait to try them out. I justifed using them on the tree by making them in christmas colours

With coloured cachous. My husband liked these the best