DIY Holiday Gift Series- Stained Glass Cookies in a Snow Globe

After posting "Dear Santa, I know what you eat in the North Pole" where I showed pictures of our stained glass cookies in a snow globe, I started receiving e-mails asking for directions. I've held out long enough so here are the directions, in a very simplified manner. I'm working as little as possible these days. Hawaii makes me lazy, in a good way.

Stained Glass Cookies in a Snow Globe

1. Make sugar cookies. Do you have a favorite sugar cookie recipe? It seems like everyone does and not only that it seems like everyone thinks their recipe is the best. If you have a favorite recipe use that otherwise I'll let you borrow mine.
2. After you roll out the dough cut out Holiday shapes using cookie cutters. Make sure they're small enough to fit inside the glass glass jar you're going to use.
3. Cut out some basic shapes like Christian is doing above.
4. Put same colored hard candy inside plastic baggies and with a hammer crush them into small pieces. Make sure your candy is NOT sugar free. The first batch was made with sugar free candy and it failed.
5. Place the pieces of candy inside the hole. Make sure you really fill it up because once it melts it will go down a lot.
6. Bake your cookies until golden brown. You'll notice that some holes need more candy so this is the perfect time to add more candy, while the cookie is still hot the added candy will melt.
7. Let your cookies cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet. 
8. After your cookie is completly cooled down melt some sugar in a small pot. Put a big spoonful of melted sugar on the lid of a glass jar and stick your cookie on top. The melted sugar will quickly cool down and will ensure that your cookie sticks to the lid.
9. Add 1/4 cup shreadded coconut to the glass jar then screw the lid with the cookie on top and flip the jar over.
10. Your jar will become a snow globe with a stained glass cookie inside. How fun is that?

I'm a huge fan of, what I call, glorified cookies. 

This is why I like to make sugar cookie lollipops and snow globes.

Speaking of cookies...

Have you seen the submissions for the December cook off? They're looking pretty fantastic. You have until Sunday to submit a recipe. If you're interested in participating you can find all the details here.

 

Also, I wanted to confess that I often don't follow my own advice...

On Monday when I was packing our bags I realized that I hadn't given Enzo's teachers anything for Christmas. I had been meaning to give them the hot chocolate pops but somehow they all disappeared inside someone's stomach. No one is owning up to it. Luckily I had received some cookies from Isabella's Cookie Company to sample. Oh heavenly goodness! If you want to give someone homemade cookies but you don't have the time to make it yourself I really recommend Isabella's Cookie Company. All the cookies are made with fresh ingredients, and zero preservatives. Plus, her flavors are wild. Enzo's teachers each got a pack of Isabella's cookies. They were stoked. I as stoked. It all worked out.

Happy last minute shopping and creating!

Bacon Jam without Coffee

Martha Stewart in all her Martha glory came up with (Christian believes she actually doesn't come up with anything, what do you think?) a bacon jam recipe for the December issue of Everyday Food. Her version called for coffee but since drinking coffee would mean eternal damnation (kidding! Mormons don't really believe that we believe this) I decided to make my bacon jam with herbal tea, Sweet & Spicy from Good Earth, a local tea factory, to be exact.

One truth about Mormons is that we tend to have a lot of kids. Christian's mom had 6 and her mom had 10. It makes life so resourceful, let me tell you. Last week my issue of Everyday Food disappeared. I am blaming it on Baby Maria and her urge to stick things, like my debit card, in the heating vent slots. I am in no way attributing it to my poor organizational skills and the fact that it could very well be under the pile of clothes I have yet to put away. Does it matter? No because Christian has 578 people in his family and one of them is bound to come to my rescue.

As soon as I wrote a frantic facebook update...

Christian's cousin's wife typed up the entire recipe in the comments section. Christian's cousin's wife has 5 kids, and she goes to school, and her husband is a lawyer.  AND she still took the time to type up the entire bacon jam recipe for me even though most people would just make some cruel comment about how bacon jam is weird. If that's not family I don't know what is.

Thanks cous'!

For all you skeptics bacon jam is not weird, it's exquisitely full of flavor and crunch. It's delicious and  I served it on top of brie cheese for our recipe exchange party last Saturday and it was a hit. If you want Martha's recipe with coffee you can get the Everyday Food mag for this month or wait till next month when she posts the recipe on her site. If you want my variation made with herbal tea here it is.

Bacon Jam without Coffee

(printable version)

• 1 lbs bacon, cut crosswise into 1" pieces 
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced small  
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar 
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup 
• 3/4 cup Sweet & Spicy tea from Good Earth

1. Cook bacon over med-high heat until fat is rendered and slightly browned.
2. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and add onions, cook until onions are translucent. Add vinegar, brown sugar, syrup, and tea and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet.
4. Add bacon and stir to combine.
5. Transfer mixture to 6qt slow cooker and cook on high, uncovered until liquid is syrupy--about 4 hours.
6. Transfer to food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped.
7. Let cool, then refrigerate in airtight containers up to 4 weeks.

Just in case you want more extended family stories paired with bacon you can read my article that I wrote for the Santa Cruz Sentinel where I retold the story of Christian's oldest bro and his encounter with bacon for the first time. It's my favorite family story.

Speaking of family we're surrounded by family in Hawaii.

We arrived well.

We're jet laged.

Will post pics of the kids in paradise soon-ish

xoxo

ps. I also did read all the comments from yesterdays posts. I wish I could of packed you in my suitcase. You would of been worth the extra charge for checking in luggage. We were counting on not checking in anything and just doing carry ons. They made us check in two bags. Jerks.

-----------------------------

post-edit:

This post was entered in the Foodbuzz BACONALIA challenge and is an entry for a chance to win

DIY Holiday Gift Series- Travel Food Bag and Snack Ideas for the Plane

The moment Christian asked me what I wanted for Christmas I said what I wanted so fast he couldn't even understand me. Or maybe, he just pretended not to understand.

Is asking to travel by myself totally unreasonable?

I want my family there I just don't want to travel with them. I want an airplane ride solo sans-children  because after coming back from Brazil in September, I officially hate traveling with my children. Enzo asked if Hawaii was 4 plane rides away. We told him it was just one. "That's why I like Hawaii more than Brazil." He said. Ouch! But can you blame him?! That's why I like Hawaii more than Brazil and I love Brazil

Anyway, we are on a plane this very second. We are on our way to Hawaii. This post was scheduled. I wrote it yesterday. If I don't respond to your comments it's because the plane crashed, the chances of that happening though are slim so really I need to focus on making the trip not so terrible.

Food!

What happened to peanuts and soda on the plane?

Did it really cost the airplane companies so much money that they can't feed us a little snacky snack?

Seriously.

Whatever, we're taking our own food and our won hip travel food bag to boot. It's insolated so that I can pack tuna fish sandwiches and not worry about it going bad. Wanna give someone a good Holiday gift Give them a travel food bag for the plane filled with yummy food. The'll love you for thinking of them and will appreciate the food they can barter off for good headphones, or who knows maybe even a little game of solitaire on someone's ipad.

1- Find a blank canvas insulated bag

2- Iron ons! I love iron ons. Urban Outfitters is my favorite place to find iron ons and Mike Perry's Iron On Kits are a recent obsession.  A more recent obsession would be printing my own iron ons but since my printer... forget it let's not even go there... (CHRISTIAN!!!)

3- Make a cool design. Play with it, get input, mix things up. 

4. Iron it on. This is the tricky part even though it should be the easy part. I always put the iron on low and leave it on for half of the time that it actually asks for. I like the faded look and I've burnt things in the past which was sad.

5. Fill it up with yummy treats that will not induce gas. Whinny kids who fart are the worst.

Snacks for the plane:

• Lollipops. We always take lollipops for Enzo because it helps to have him suck on something when the plane is landing otherwise his ears hurt, hurt, hurt.
• Beef  jerky or sandwich meat. Protein keeps the hunger away and it's easy to munch on.
• String Cheese. I make my kids actually string the cheese. It gives them something to do on a long ride.
• Fruit. Since we always travel to places where we can't bring fresh fruit we make sure to eat it all on the plane. Grapes are a favorite because they also help quench the thirst.
• Water. We bring empty water bottles and fill it up after  passing through security.
• Veggies. We always bring baby carrots, they're crunchy and delicious.
• Nuts. Peanuts make my kids gassy. No peanuts. We bring almonds instead
• Candy. Enough so you can bribe them to stop kicking the seat in front of them.

If you are taking a longer flight that serves meals I would recommend checking out AirlineMeals.net to see what kind of food you're getting. Often times it's not a bad idea to pack your own food.

What's your favorite snack to eat on the plane? 

DIY Holiday Gift Series- How to send cookies in the mail

I was planning on sending cookies to my family in Brazil. Ha! I bet I would have an easier time sending illegal drugs than sending freshly baked goods overseas. So instead I'm sending them toys and clothes and paying twice as much for customs and shipping than I actually spent at the store, even though I know they would enjoy cookies most of all. Life. My life.

If you have family that lives in the same country as you I would recommend sending cookies. I know cookies are easy to come by, specially this time of year, but getting cookies in the mail is a real treat and if you're not shipping internationally it's easy to do.

Making Cookies:

Go for the harder cookies like a thick chocolate chip with oatmeal or biscotti so that they won't break. Thin cookies are the worst, I know they're beautiful but thee are fragile and they won't arrive in one piece. Decide on a cookie recipe and then bake in the morning and ship in the afternoon, same day! Make sure your cookies are completely cooled down before packaging them otherwise they will get moldy. Also, add some bread crumbs in between the cookies to maintain their freshness. If you're making cookies that have chocolate or other ingredients that can melt, wrap them in paper towel and then wrap tin foil around the paper towel, and hope for the best.

Packaging:

I love cookie pails like the one above. You can find them at your local craft store for very cheap. They are sturdy and cute (bonus). A tupeware would also work, or even a lined thick gift box, or a tin can. Make sure you fill up the cookie pail all the way to the top and that there is no room for the cookies to move around otherwise they will break. Place your cookie pail  (just pretend you're using a cookie pail) in a box and fill up the box with bubble wrap or news paper. When you think the box is ready, shake it side to side. If the cookie pail moves the box is not full and you really want to make sure it's full so that your cookies arrive intact.

Mailing:

I would pay the extra money to make sure the cookies arrive faster. Also write "Fragile" on the box to remind the post office to treat your package with tender love and care.

Recipe Ideas:

peppermint chocolate wafers

triple chocolate cookies

sugar cookie lollipops

coconut chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

gingerbread cookies

basic gluten free cookie recipe

gluten free and vegan chocolate biscotti

homemade oreos

salty sweet chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

ps; I can't send cookies to my family in Brazil but I did take the time (a whole 10 seconds) to press the button on the Kenmore facebook page for their cookies for troops campaign. This Holiday season Kenmore is trying to send a quater million cookies to the troops. All you have to do is click  "send a dozen cookies for me!"  Did you see the interactive NY Times  article about what troops eat? Barf! They totally deserve some yummy cookies.   

pps; Start thinking of cookies to make for the December cook off. Don't you forget. 

ppps; And don't forget that today is the last day to enter the glob giveaway.

ps to the power of infinity; I love you more than all the cookies in the world!

DIY Holiday Gift Series- Hot Chocolate Pops

Thank you for your kind words yesterday. I needed to unplug and I did and baby got super sick so I mainly hung out with her. We are so blessed to be a 2 adult household. Christian sensed that Enzo was needy and took him surfing. Enzo came back overjoyed, nothing like a good surf session to make my guys smile and nothing like a good surf session to make them super coldy. When they got home they were ready for some hot chocolate.

I made some hot chocolate pops. The concept behind this is simple; you have chocolate that you dip in your warm milk to make your own hot chocolate. Brilliant concept right? Not mine! I saw the hotchocspoon a while back over at Chocolate Company and knew I wanted to try and make something similar since actually purchasing the hotchospoon would require an inter-continental flight.

This has been the easiest DIY so far.

What you need

melted chocolate

lollipop sticks

ice cube tray

step one: melting chocolate

Put a handfull of chocolate chips in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Then remove from the microwave and stir. If it's not completely melted, microwave for an additional 30 seconds.  Keep doing this until the chocolate is completely melted. I did this with plain milk chocolate then repeated the steps with peppermint chocolate, white chocolate, and a bar of cookies n cream.

step two: molding

Once your chocolate is melted you are going to carefully pour it in your ice cube tray. I decided to use a triangle shaped ice cube tray that is made out of silicone because I knew the silicone would make it easier to remove the pops once they were completely chilled. I also crushed some M&Ms and placed it on top of the melted milk chocolate. Get creative, this is your thing!

After you pour the melted chocolate place a lollipop stick in the middle of each one. Make sure the stick isn't going to tip over. You may need to hold it in place for a couple second while the chocolate is starting to cool down. Then put your ice cube tray in the fridge and refrigerate for an hour, or until the chocolate is  hard again. Carefully remove the pops from the tray.  The silicone tray worked perfectly.

step three: making it a gift

Wrapping is one of my favorite things in the world. I love ribbons and paper almost as much as I love food. I wrapped each individual pop in golden candy foil and then put then in individual golden mesh baggies. If you decide to wrap your pops I highly recommend using candy foil so that they won't melt.

Have fun with this

Basically you're melting chocolate, putting it in an ice cube tray and sticking a lollipop stick.

The rest, toppings, shape, wrapping, is all up to you.

For the month of December I will be sharing DIY foodie Holiday gifts. If you're interested in sharing a DIY foodie gift on Kitchen Corners send me an e-mail and I would be happy to have you do a guest post. To see the whole DIY Holiday Gift Series click on the button on the sidebar.

Happy Holidays!

DIY Holiday Foodie Gift Series- Nutella Play Dough

We play with homemade play dough a lot. In fact we use our cookies cutters more with play dough than with actual cookies. So today I made Nutella play dough because if I was on my death bed and had one one last breath to take in I would hope that someone would put a jar of Nutella up to my nose.  It's that good.

I've made chocolate play dough before but other than looking brown it doesn't smell like chocolate, so really what's the point? Nutella on the other hand did not disappoint. This play dough smells like Nutella but tastes like nasty salty play dough, of course. So please make this for a child that knows the difference between play dough and chocolate cookie dough. All the ingredients are technically edible but I would still recommend giving it to an older child. I'm just thinking in terms of Enzo and baby Maria, basically don't give this to a 1 year old. 

I  think this would make a really cute present. You can put it in a glass jar and decorate it with a ribbon. If you're fortunate to live by an Ikea I would get the toy baking set that comes with a rolling pin, cookie cutters, and some baking pans. It's one of Enzo's favorite toys. He actually uses the rolling pin a lot when he makes pizza  and we've put the toy cookie sheet in the oven many times and it works just fine. This is why every time I drive by Ikea I make sure to blow them kisses.

Anyway, what do you think, Nutella play dough with a toy baking set? Do you know any kids who would enjoy this? If so here's the recipe.

Nutella Play Dough
(printable version)

• 2 cups flour        
• 1/2 cup of powdered cocoa
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons nutella
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup water

1. Boil the water in a small sauce pan.
2. In a medium sized pan mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt and cream of tartar.
3. Add the boiling water, oil, and nutella to the mix and stir on medium-low heat until it is thick.
4. Cool completly before kneading the dough.
5. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it no longer sticks to your hands.  

                           For the month of December I will be sharing DIY foodie Holiday gifts. If you're interested in sharing a DIY foodie gift on Kitchen Corners send me an e-mail and I would be happy to have you do a guest post. To see the whole DIY Holiday Gift Series click on the button on the sidebar.

Happy Holidays!

DIY Holiday Gift Series- Peppermint Chocolate Wafers

We made these cookies at 4:00pm right before dinner (why before dinner? good question!) and ate them one by one. Then at 8:00pm while baby Maria was drinking her bottle and cuddling with pink polka dot blankie that smells like... (never mind)...and Enzo and Christian were doing a reading lesson and I was watching Glee AND putting away clothes, the doorbell rang. A nice couple from our church came by to drop off a plate of snickerdoodles. We, as in the whole family including tiered baby, went down stairs and ate cookies. Again.

'Tis the Season for cookies.

Don't hate it.

Embrace it.

You'll make cookies and you'll receive cookies. Lots of cookies. By the end you'll probably be sick of them but it won't stop you from eating them.

So, I say make them now.  Don't wait till right before the Christmas break to give some cookies to your kids' teacher. Do it now while Holiday cookies are still a little bit of a novelty. In three weeks they'll be overrated. Oh, and these are super easy to make and they're also super sweet, so really a couple cookies go a  long way.

Peppermint Chocolate Wafers - Yields 20

printable version

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of baking soda
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 3 ounces white chocolate chips
• 4 candy canes

1. Combine the flour, unsweetened cocoa, sugar, and baking soda in a mixer
2. Add the butter and milk and mix thoroughly. Expect a thick consistency.
3. Knead the dough a couple times on a floured surface.
4. Form the dough into a log and refrigerate for an hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 350*
6. Cut the log of dough into 20 slices and place them an inch apart on a lined or greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 7 minutes. Watch closely because they're small and they burn easily.
8. Cool completely on a wire rack.
9. Melt the white chocolate in a small bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds and stir, then 10 more seconds and stir until it is completely smooth and melted.
10. Place the candy canes in a small plastic baggie and crush them using the back of a metal spoon.
11. Place the crushed candy cane in a bowl.
12. Spread the white chocolate over the wafers and sprinkle with crushed candy cane.

Enjoy!

DIY Holiday Gift Series- Girl's Ruffle Apron

For the Month of December I will be sharing DIY gift ideas and I'm super excited to start off this series with a guest post by Jennie from Shape of a Spoon. Jennie's shop 3three by 3three is lovely and elegant. I want her to sew all of baby Maria's clothes, but mostly I just want her to make me this skirt and I guess I wouldn't mind having a ruffle apron in my size as well. Check out Jennie's tutorial on how to make a perfect foodie present for a little girl this Holiday season.

I created this apron for my 3 year old. She always rushes to help anytime we enter the kitchen. I wanted to give her something inspiring to wear while creating culinary masterpieces (or just hanging around).

T h e   P a t t e r n:

The measurements I used will fit a 3 or 4 year old. For other sizes, use the formulas below (refer to diagram above):

1) From collarbone to collarbone, add 1 1/4" for seams
2) neckline to waist, add 1 1/4"
3) 1/2 of waist, add 1 1/4"
4) waist to knee, add 1 1/4"
5) 1.5 times measurement (3), add 1 1/4"
6) approximately 2 times measurement (1)
7) 28" plus measurement (6)

I often prefer to sew reversible clothing. It's more versatile and has a more finished look, not to mention all the hair I don't have to pull out as I try to make my hems look decent. The wonderful thing about sewing for children is how little fabric you need, so adding another layer isn't necessarily cost prohibitive.