Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Holiday goody boxes

So here are all the recipes for the goodies I packaged up:

Pumpkin Scones:
Post with recipe here



Peppermint Biscotti:
  • 3/4 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup crushed peppermint candy
  • FROSTING:
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons shortening
  • 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy

  • In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir in peppermint candy. Gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until blended (dough will be stiff).

  • Divide dough in half. On an ungreased baking sheet, roll each portion into a 12-in. x 2-1/2-in. rectangle. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove to wire racks; cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; cut diagonally with a sharp knife into 1/2-in. slices. Place cut side down on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.

  • In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip one end of each cookie in chocolate; roll in candy. Place on waxed paper until set. Store in an airtight container.

Peppermint Marshmallows:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray
peppermint candy crushed

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whiskattachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue towhip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and peppermint during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.
Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover.  Sprinkle the crushed peppermint on top. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

How do you feel about 
?
I feel... like i might try it!  

Friday, October 29, 2010

So i am apparently FLYING through books these days.
 
I finished The Pact last night and Handle With Care last week.
Yes, i love Jodi Picoult.
She rocks my world.
I will read Captivating (which i have already read 2x), Blue like Jazz, and Crazy Love(which i have also already read) before i move on to something new



 but with the way i am going...
I need some new books.
Any suggestions?

um, hi i love you

Okay so i stumbled upon this cupcake blog and saw what sounded like the most fantastic idea ever...
pumpkin pie frosting.  
She put hers on some apple cupcake or something but me and my love of chocolate decided to use a chocolate buttermilk cupcake instead.
Turns out... the frosting IS the most fantastic idea ever.
YOU GO GIRL!
She literally makes a pumpkin pie... the goodness is baked right inside!
YUMMY-in-my-TUMMY
because yes, that is where these cupcakes now live.
Right next to Jack.
I however had just read the jist of it and decided i was too lazy this morning at 5 a.m. when i needed to whip up the frosting, so i threw the whole pie in there (no crust), 1 stick of butter and about 4 cups of powdered sugar (all i had left). 
Oh, and now i read she straight piped pumpkin pie.  
DUDE, this woman is awesome.
 It didn't whip up as pretty as hers to be able to pipe fantastically but...
It tasted darn good, so no dissin'.
:)  Dissin'
Who says that?
DO IT
I promise you won't regret it!

DEEP FAT FRYING

I need a reason to buy some more oil... 
I REALLY WANT to make these doughnuts!  YUMMY!
Are doughnuts enough reason to spend $15 on the oil alone... and have the smell in my house?
SWEET POTATO DOUGHNUTS WITH MAPLE ICING
and they are Paula Deen's so you know they are good!
It might be worth it.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Rocky Horror Picture Show - Time Warp (Original)

I seriously don't know why i like this song so much. I never made it through the whole movie, i guess i just didn't get it. This song though is just so silly! I love it.

GLEE - "Time Warp" Full Performance from 10/26!



Oh Glee, i missed you last week. Thank you for singing Time warp, i love it! LOL random, i know!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

You know you are crazy when...

When in the middle of writing a paper you see a paper back book you already finished reading, grab it and start tearing ALL THE PAGES OUT.

Yes, this just happened in the Cooley house.
I then went on to grab tissue paper, paper scraps, paper bags... whatever i could get my hands on in my brown color scheme.

This random collection of papers was then cut into fall leaf shapes.  Now i just did them free hand so some of them are a bit of a doozy!  lol
Homemade, that is what i call them.
I am now organically dropping/throwing them around my round mirror.  I will glue them together to frame the mirror and add a ribbon to finish this fall project that literally just stumbled into my lap.  
Sorry Nutrition paper, you are boring.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Tis' the Season

So for a holiday treat this year, we decided to send little gift packages to our families.
We decided to keep it cheap and simple.
We made Hot Chocolate packets with marshmallows,
Peppermint Biscotti,
Pumpkin Scone Mix,
one of our pregnancy pictures,
And some Hand Turkey's saying what we were thankful for.



The finished product: Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Marshmallows
Packaged up and ready to enjoy!


These are the personalized Peppermint Biscotti's Monogramed with the recipient's last name


Here is the Scone Mix.
The leaves are the instructions, and inside the bag are an orange cellophane bag with the scone mix and a clear cellophane bag with the spiced glaze mix.


Here are our school projects:
Our Thankful Turkey Hands

I wrapped the pictures in these envelopes that i just stamped... easy as pie!
All together...

Now i am just waiting for 14 boxes to send these puppies out.  
:)
Want to do this yourself?
Here was our break down:
Grocery Store: $56
Pictures $32
Craft Store $30
Not bad for 14 gifts right?
$118 / 14 = $8.42 a piece
Not bad, just took some time, effort and love.
We still need to pay shipping, but if you are stateside, you probably wouldn't so you would save money there too!

Pumpkin!

Pumpkin butter
Swedish pancakes with pumpkin butter, chocolate chips and topped with homemade whipped cream.
Pumpkin cream cheese chocolate chip cupcakes

I also made Pumpkin spice syrup, yum!





Marshmallows as a muse?

Inspired by the marshmallow's i decided to google some other homemade marshmallow's
...
How cute are these!
If you remember, i made pink heart shaped coconut marshmallows for Valentine's day last year
BUT i have to admit that these plain square/coconut marshmallows are beautiful!
They are simple and gorgeous.

Then i stumbled upon this beauty...
I WILL be making this

Marshmallow Cranberry Cheesecake

Side note:

I just LOVE handwritten recipes on recipe cards
Especially in cursive
My grandma made all of us a cookbook with our family recipes neatly organized in it, but i still hold on to her handwritten recipes because they just cannot be matched.

... I am making marshmallow's, what are you doing?

Want to make some cocoa and marshmallows?
Here you go:
&
Gelatin and water
whisking full speed until the gelatin, and corn syrup mixture become light, fluffy and luke warm
Add peppermint and Vanilla
I threw some crushed peppermint on top for kicks and giggles
pour the mixture into your pan and let set
When the marshmallows are set cut them with a cookie cutter or a knife

Cocoa mix
drug dealer?
No, just cocoa i swear
I cut my marshmallows into circles with a cookie cutter because i thought they were cuter than just squares, but squares would be much easier F.Y.I.
I added a few too many marshmallows :)
Nick said "This white tar is delicious!"
Compliment?
Not quite sure.



Friday, October 22, 2010

Totally excited about my new Christmas banner
THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...