Category Archives: Christmas

The last of the Christmas Cookies

14 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in baking, Christmas

≈ Leave a comment

The tree is coming down this weekend. I will be sorry to see it go because it was a wonderful light source in a normally dark corner of the living room. We’re even more sorry that this is the last of the Christmas cookies! After taking a photo of this tray, I made a firm commitment to make new Valentine cookies this year. I didn’t get a chance to take cookie trays to our neighbors for Christmas so they will all get Valentine cookies this year.

The last cookies of Christmas 2011. On the tray: Top tier - Peppermint Sticks and Almond Spritz Trees. Bottom tier clockwise from Gingerbread Boys: Gingerbread Boys, Sugarplum Pies, Springerli, Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peppermint Pattie Brownies.

…Try, try again… (Vintage Glitter Cloche)

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Christmas, crafts, Gilded Girls

≈ Leave a comment

I finally finished the Vintage Glitter Cloche! The bottle brush trees were a success the second time around and I was careful to not leave them in the bleach solution too long. Also, better quality bottle brush trees fared much better than cheap ones.
The pale, winter scene designed by Debbie and Shea of A Gilded Life reminded me of a Russian winter. So I carved a turret from a wood ball to place on top. This scene in a jar fits nicely amongst the candy jars on the shelf in the dining room.

Vintage Glitter Cloche

If at first you don’t succeed… (Vintage Glitter Cloche)

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Christmas, Craft Fail, crafts, projects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Working on the Vintage Glitter Cloche was a good learning experience in crafting. Here is my first attempt at making those awesome cream-colored bottle brush trees.

Bottle Brush tree fail.


What a hoot! I had no idea that the trees would disintegrate if left in the bleach solution too long. The green trees were placed in the big jar of 40% bleach/water solution and left to bleach. I stirred them occasionally and watched the green leach out for about an hour. Then I went Christmas shopping. When I returned hours later, the trees looked wonderful. But when I pulled them out of the solution, they were rusty and disintegrated. Such sorry little trees! I’m going to make another cloche that will fully showcase the awesome character of these trees. Perhaps a Dr. Seuss-inspired cloche. That will do nicely! Never waste a crafting failure, just re-purpose it!

Christmas Cookie Trays

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in baking, Christmas, community, food

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

We delivered the first two cookie trays of the season to business associates yesterday. That was fun!
On the tray: Scottish Shortbread, Polish Nutrolls, Springerli, Dutch Speculaas, German Gingerbread Boys, Spritz Trees, Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cookies, Sugar Plum Pies, Russian Tea Cakes, Peppermint Sticks, and a Snow Globe Cookie.

I have been baking these same Christmas recipes for at least 20 years, except for the Snow Globe cookie which is new this year. We’re not done baking yet so other trays will have a different assortment. Cookies yet to be made: Viennese Sacher Bites, Chocolate Hazelnut Crescents, Dutch Fruit Bar, Rum Raisin Diamonds, Peppermint Patty Bars, Cherry Stars, Orange Frosted Brazil Nut Bars and Italian Fig Cookies. We probably won’t be done with the baking till the New Year.

Sugary Gingerbread Houses

17 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in baking, Christmas, food, sparkling

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

There is nothing as sweet as decorating tiny gingerbread houses with my little granddaughter!

Chloe decorates a gingerbread house


My 18 year old son also decorated one, as did my daughter-in-law. Such fun!

We used Wilton’s Gingerbread Mini Village Kit, purchased from JoAnn Fabrics for less than $10. The kit includes detailed instructions, prebaked gingerbread to construct all five houses, cardboard for the bases, icing mix, candies, decorating bag and tips for piping icing. We did not use the enclosed decorating bags and tips because I already had those.

To make the kit with a child, I recommend at least two hours just for construction of the houses. It took a while to mix the icing, cut all the gingerbread pieces apart and “glue” the houses together. You can also construct the houses ahead of time so the child can start adding candy immediately.
We will definitely do this again next year!

Gingerbread Village

Snowglobe Cookies

28 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by in baking, Christmas, food

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

I finished making Julia Usher’s Snow Globe cookies, as featured in her book. They were a lot of work but so worth it! The cookies are amazing! They’re delicious too; the whole house is scented with their buttery goodness.

Snow Globe cookie