Nativity Cookies

Hubby and I joined in the fun and decorated Nativity Cookies!

(The credit goes to Hubby for Mary & Joseph,

the three Wise Men, and the Camel. Aren't they great!?!)

Painting Sugar Cookies on Christmas Eve

Christmas Cookies

Yesterday four of my five sisters came over to bake cookies with the girls and I.   It did end up being much more work than I thought it would be, but it is so rare that we are all able to get together, and it will be so nice to have all these goodies to take to my parents home tomorrow for Christmas, as well as for all the company we have arriving on Sunday! (Our little Rose will be baptized this coming Monday!)  I sure wish my sister Jamie could have been here... (Could you all please say a prayer for her father-in-law who was just hospitalized, and then moved home to be with his family, due to complications with his lung cancer.)  We miss you Jamie!

We started out WAY too ambitiously with a huge stack of recipes we were hoping to make, but ended up shortening our list to just Cranberry White Chocolate Bars (using a mix from Costco), Oreo Truffles, more Rice Krispies Treats Wreaths, Pecan Turtle Bars, Cranberry Orange Cookies, and Chocolate Coconut Balls.   I also have the dough in my fridge for Sugar Cookies for my children to cut out and decorate sometime soon.

Twinkle Toes and Chiquita really enjoyed spending time with their aunts, licking spoons, and helping out whenever they could!

The boys on the other hand went ice skating with their daddy and my youngest brother, and Rose spent the day sleeping, nursing, looking cute in her little t-shirt from Aunt Meagan, and being just as sweet as ever!

Despite thinking it would be "easy" to have everyone over to bake (in my tiny kitchen!) I was pretty overwhelmed tired by the end of the day.  Thankfully a dear friend dropped off dinner, hubby washed dishes, and my mom stopped by on her way home from shopping to force me to sit down while she finished cleaning up!

Today will be much more relaxed, though I can't believe it is already Christmas Eve!  Advent sure did fly by, didn't it?!   Christmas is almost here!

Candy for Christmas

This past weekend the girls and I made Chocolate Covered Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Balls to save for Christmas.  They were SO easy to make and turned out delicious.  Here is the recipe we used:

Chocolate Covered Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Balls

• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 Tbs. butter, melted
• 4 cups rice krispies

Mix everything together and roll into balls and place on wax paper. Chill for 15-20 minutes.

While peanut butter mixture is chilling melt in double boiler:

• 1 bag (16 oz) of chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

Dip the balls into the chocolate to coat and place in fridge to set up.  Makes approximately 4 dozen.

St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa

Last night the children and I made our St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa!

We had so much fun!!

After I printed out the tags, I was wishing I would have used an image of St. Nicholas, but I was out of time so I left it as it was... Next time. Oh, and now we know that a single batch of the recipe makes 5 jars of the mix... And it is even yummier than I remembered! :)

UPDATE: I too had a hard time finding more jars and lids locally, but I was able to find them online at Amazon. Here is a link to the lids, and here is the link to some wide mouth jars (mine were a variety of brands -- both Ball and Kerr). I hope that helps!

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas to you all!

A Makeover for Santa Claus

Isn't he just the cutest?!?

You can find the directions here.

My Gingerbread Babies

The little ones had a blast last night when we, finally, put together our gingerbread house! Actually, it was already put together for us, all we had to do was decorate it... Does that still count? Maybe when the kids are a bit older I will actually attempt to make it from scratch. But for now, I LOVE kits!

I had planned to let them have at it weeks ago... but, first it was the flu, then colds, and in the meantime hubby was working late... soooo, I just kept putting it off. Now the kids are all better (even if I am still a bit sick) and hubby will be home for the next two weeks, and with Christmas a couple days away, it was high time to build our gingerbread house!

Captain was set on the design and directed everyone where to put the candy. And after all their munching, there was still plenty of candy to put on the house!

Just look at those smiles!

We also read Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett which they all enjoyed, and then, for a bit of online fun, I let them continue decorating here!

The Legend of the Candy Cane and Recipe

This year, for the feast of St. Nicholas, I am planning on making a Candy Cane Coffee Cake and St. Nicholas Hot Cocoa for Breakfast. I thought I would take a second and share the recipes with you all.

Like the Advent wreath, the candy cane is also packed with symbolism as well:

"According to legend there was a candy maker who wanted to invent a candy that was a witness to Christ.

First of all, he used a hard candy because Christ is the rock of ages. This hard candy was shaped so that it would resemble a “J” for Jesus or, turned upside down, a shepherd’s staff. He made it white to represent the purity of Christ.

Finally a red stripe was added to represent the blood Christ shed for the sins of the world, and three thinner red stripes for the stripes He received on our behalf when the Roman soldiers whipped Him. Sometimes a green stripe is added as a reminder that Jesus is a gift from God.

The flavor of the cane is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is in the mint family and was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. Jesus is the pure Lamb of God, come to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

So, every time you see a candy cane, remember the message of the candy maker: Jesus is the Christ!"

I just requested the book The Legend of the Candy Cane from the library. It sounds great, and I am looking forward to reading it to the kids... Here is a link to a Candy Cane Acrostic page as well. It would be fun to try and create one with the symbolism of the "Candy Cane".

Now, on to the recipes!

Candy Cane Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake

1 16-ounce package of Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
3/4 cup very warm Milk
1/4 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
3/4 cup dried Cranberries or Cherries
1/2 cup Cherry Preserves
1 tablespoon Water

Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 375°F. For coffee cake, combine hot roll mix, yeast packet and granulated sugar in a bowl. Separate 1 egg white from yolk; reserve white. Add milk, butter, whole egg and egg yolk to a bowl. Stir until mixture forms a ball.

Turn dough out onto well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead dough 5 minutes. Sprinkle additional flour over surface as needed to reduce stickiness. Cover; let dough rest 5 minutes.

Chop pecans; combine with the dried fruit in a bowl. Place dough in center of lightly floured rectangle stone; roll into 12 x 15-inch. Spread preserves in 6-inch strip lengthwise down center of dough to within 1/4 inch of each end; sprinkle fruit mixture evenly over preserves.

Cut 1-inch-wide strips on each side of fruit filling to within 1/2 inch of filling. Lift strips of dough across filling to meet in center, twisting each strip one turn; pinch together in center to seal. Tuck ends up to seal. Lift and stretch one end of shaped dough using spatula; curve to form cane. Cover; let rise in warm place 30 minutes.

Lightly beat reserved egg white with 1 tablespoon water; brush over dough using a Pastry Brush. Bake 20-23 minutes or until deep golden brown.

For glaze, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth; drizzle over warm coffee cake. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into 1-inch slices.

Yield: 15 servings (This is a modified Pampered Chef Recipe)

For the Hot Cocoa, we will just add Torani Peppermint Syrup to our favorite Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa. In the past I have made jars of the recipe found in this post as gifts, and it was delicious! The kids will also each get a candy cane to stir their cocoa with for extra fun!

O good holy Nicholas,
you who brought joy to children,
put in my heart the spirit of childhood
about which the Gospel speaks.
Teach me how to sow
happiness around me. Amen.

—Prayer to St. Nicholas