Crafts from the Kitchen

    Last year I got the greatest idea from a girlfriend of mine (If you're reading this you know who you are). She made a batch of Gingerbread Cookies and turned them into Christmas Tree decorations. I thought it was the cutest thing.
    So this year I decided to do the same and share the idea with all of you...

Gingerbread Christmas Tree Ornaments:

Materials:
1 batch of Gingerbread Cookies
1 batch of Confectioners Frosting
Approximately 6 feet of twine
medium sized Ziploc Bags
Assorted icing tips and couplers
Assorted food colors
1 - straw
scissors

Directions:
1) Bake a batch of Gingerbread Cookies. While making the Gingerbread Cookies, be sure to add a hole for the twine using a straw.

2) Slice a corner off the bottom of a ziploc bag. Fit with icing tip and coupler.

You will need as many Ziploc Bags,
as you want colors of icing.

3) Fill the ziploc bag with colored icing.

4) Begin decorating.
5) Let the frosting dry for a few hours and then add the twine.

* I made these cute Gingerbread men for the pine Garland in my Kitchen...

...and these Christmas Tree's, for my Christmas Tree.

*Alternately you could use these for Gift Tags. Just pipe names on the cookies, and add them to the gift.

Gifts from your Kitchen

    Another wonderful gift from the kitchen is Gingerbread Cookies in a Jar. These delicious cookies are a holiday tradition. No Christmas is complete in my house without cooking up a batch.
    I gifted something similar to this a few years ago, and received nothing but positive reviews. They are simple and affordable to make, and are sure to put a smile on any one's face.


Gingerbread Cookies in a Jar:

Materials:

1 - 1 liter Mason Jar
1 - standard size ring
1 - standard size lid
Wide mouth funnel
16 inches of hemp twine (or any string you have on hand)
1 - 9"x 9" piece of holiday fabric
Scissors
Ruler
Pencil
2 pieces of card stock, 2 colors matching your chosen fabric (to make the label)
adhesive of your choice
computer printer
8.5 x 11 card stock (extra thick printer paper)
Gingerbread man cookie cutter (optional)
___________________________________________________________________________________

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsps. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

1 cup packed brown sugar

Instructions:

1) In a large mixing bowl, sift together 2 cups of the flour, the baking soda and baking powder.
2) In a second mixing bowl, sift together the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour with the ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice.
3) Begin layering the ingredients into the Mason Jar starting with the flour and baking powder mixture, then the brown sugar, and finally the flour and spice mixture. Pack firmly between layers.  

All 3 layers...

Just enough room...

4) Fit the jar with the ring and the lid.
5) Place the fabric over the ring and secure with the twine.
6) Create Label. The label should read:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Gingerbread Cookies in a Jar:


Additional Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup molasses
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 Tbsp. vinegar

Directions:
1) Empty the contents of the jar into a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
2) In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together all additional
 ingredients. Add to flour mixture.
3) Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (170 degrees C).
5) Roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thick, on a lightly floured surface.
6) Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter.
7) Place cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
8) Bake for 7-8 minutes for soft cookies, and 10-11 for crunchier cookies.
Decorate as desired.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

7) From here cut the above instructions and paste them into your personal word processing software. Change the font size, type and color to suit your liking. (I chose size 9 font, Comic Sans, and went with a red and green color scheme.) Print as many as you need.
8) Using a ruler and pencil, carefully trace around the directions. Neatly cut along the pencil line you have created.

9) Glue the directions onto your second piece of card stock. Using your ruler and pencil, carefully trace around the first piece of card stock with the directions on it, leaving a 1/2 inch on all sides.
10) Carefully cut along the pencil line you have created.
11) Punch with a hole and attach to the prepared Mason Jar.

12) Attach gingerbread man cookie cutter.

All finished

*I also came across this web site with a bunch of free printable labels, to add a little something extra.

You may also like:
Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread Pancakes in a Jar

Sunday Morning Pancakes

    Hello everyone. I'm back. I have been so busy lately, I haven't had time for anything. I had all of these great blog posts planned, and never got around to posting them. Oh well, I guess there's always next year.
    So to start off the holiday season I figured I would share with you a festive pancake recipe. This time it's Gingerbread Pancakes.

Gingerbread Pancakes:

Gingerbread Pancakes with bacon
and warm maple syrup.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps. baking powder
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
2 tsps. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 cups milk or buttermilk (To create your own buttermilk combine 2 cup's of milk with 2 Tbsp. of
white vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes. The buttermilk will look curdled,
but that is the result you want.)
2 eggs
2 Tbsps. butter (melted)
2 Tbsps. brown sugar
2 Tbsps. molasses

Directions:

1) Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and cloves in a large mixing bowl.

Dry ingredients.

2) Whisk together the milk, eggs, butter, sugar and molasses in another mixing bowl.

Wet ingredients.

3) Combine the wet and dry ingredients, making sure to not over mix.

4) Heat a large non-stick pan, and spray with cooking spray.
5) Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan and heat until the surface starts to bubble and the bottom is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.

When bubbles start to appear, it is
time to flip.

6) Flip the pancake and cook the other side until the bottom is golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

7) Serve with warm maple syrup.

*Recipe makes 18 average size pancakes.
*Don't forget to cook up any leftover batter, and freeze the pancakes for later in the week :)

You may also like:
Classic Buttermilk Pancakes
Gingerbread Pancakes in a Jar
Gingerbread Cookies in a Jar

    This time of year can become financially stressful on us all. There are always so many people on your Christmas list and only so much money to go around. Gifts from the kitchen are always affordable to create and welcomed by all. While I was making these pancakes I thought it might be a nice idea to put the dry ingredients into a Mason Jar. This way I have a nice hostess gift for any parties I might be attending, or a quick gift I already have prepared for those wonderful friends who remembered to think of me, and that I may have accidentally overlooked :/