December 10, 2008 1 Comment

brrr… brilliant treats

Snowman cupcakesThese cool treats are great for the holidays and for winter birthdays. (Check out our brrr… brilliant birthday invitation.) Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1 can vanilla frosting
  • 1 tube black decorating frosting
  • 1 tube orange decorating frosting
  • 1 14-oz. bag shredded coconut, optional
  • 16 pieces DOVE® Brand Milk Chocolate
  • 16 pieces chocolate malted milk balls
  • 1/2 cup M&M’S
  • Standard cupcake pan
  • Mini cupcake pan
  • 16 standard paper cupcake liners
  • 16 mini paper cupcake liners
  • Resealable plastic bag

Follow these easy steps from brightideas.com:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 16 standard cupcake cups and 16 mini cupcake cups with the paper cupcake liners.
  2. repare the cake mix according to the package instructions. Transfer the batter into each cupcake pan and bake minis for 12-15 minutes and the standard cupcakes for 18-21 minutes.
  3. Remove cupcakes from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
  4. Put 1/4 cup of vanilla frosting in a resealable plastic bag; set aside.
  5. Frost all the cupcakes’ tops with the remaining vanilla frosting, and then sprinkle with the shredded coconut, if desired.
  6. Place a frosted mini cupcake on its side on top of each frosted standard cupcake, using the vanilla frosting to attach it.
  7. Make the hats by using the vanilla frosting to secure a DOVE® Chocolate on top of each mini cupcake. Pipe a dot of frosting on top of each chocolate and attach a malted milk ball.
  8. Add details by using vanilla frosting to attach M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies as buttons. Pipe the eyes with the black decorating frosting and the noses with the orange decorating frosting.

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December 9, 2008 No Comments

sweet homeade ornaments

Gingerbread ornamentLooking for a unique and fun way to dress up your tree? Well, if you can keep the kids away, these gingerbread cookie ornaments are adorable and make the room smell great too.

Read my post about making sure your cookies come out of the oven the same shape they went in. And be creative with the icing and ribbon. Remember, little ones might not make the tidiest cookies, but their smiles do make the best memories.

Enjoy!

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December 3, 2008 No Comments

the perfect man… the gingerman

Gingerbread ManThere are so many decorating possibilities when it comes to gingerbread men. I’ve demonstrated a very easy technique here (just resealable bags of white icing and black icing with the corners snipped), but really just be creative. Decorating cookies, especially with the little ones, is really more about having fun than anything else.

That said, it used to frustrate me when we would place beautifully shaped cookies into the oven and get blobs back out. Here are a few tips so that you can have perfect shapes to decorate:

Dough thickness – it doesn’t matter if you mix it yourself or use the stick from the dairy case, the key is to roll out your dough so that you have a consistent thickness across your cookies so that they cook evenly.

Cookie size – make sure all of your cookies are approximately the same size or your little ones might burn and your big ones will be gummy.

Dough temperature – it is critical that you slide your baking sheet into the frig for 10 minutes before baking the cookies. The dough needs to be cold to hold its shape; the process of rolling and our hands warms it up.

Don’t overcook – it is so easy to peek at a sugar cookie and think it isn’t done. Don’t guess, time your cookies, and once the oven and pan are warm, you might want to cook later batches even less. My rule, take them out before they brown at the edges, usually 7 minutes.

Cooling racks – many people don’t use cooling racks… I highly advise that you do. Cookies will continue to cook on the pan and you don’t want hard and flaky cookies!

Happy baking!

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December 2, 2008 No Comments

cookie party prep

Christmas party prepWe’ve held an annual cookie party for our children and their friends for several years now. My best advice… enjoy the time and worry about getting the sprinkles up later.

Our snowman invite, platters, child aprons and cookie jars are perfect for the occasion. Take a peek at our décor and plan your Christmas cookie decorating party. Here are a few tips to get you organized:

  1. Bake gingerbread boys and girls or sugar cookie shapes (at least four cookies per child, plus a few extras in case any break),
  2. Mix up three or four different colored icings,
  3. Create a workstation for each child with a place mat, paper plate and individual cups filled with decorations. This party’s all about creativity, so make sure you’ve got lots of things to choose from, like gumdrops, mini marshmallows, and chocolate candies,
  4. Put paintbrushes, plastic knifes and open containers of icing down the middle of the table so everyone can share. Older kids can try resealable bags filled with icing (snip off a tiny corner), and
  5. Organize each child’s cookies together on cooling racks so the icing can dry (and they go home with their creations) while they enjoy a sweet reward. Serve mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and crushed candy canes, along with the broken or left over cookies.

Before your guests leave, pack up their cookies in little boxes with pieces of wax paper in between to protect the icing. Remember, no matter how you handle your preparations, enjoy the time. These are the things memories are made of!

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November 20, 2008 No Comments

who sits where on Thanksgiving

One of our “Party Chat with the Experts” readers on OpMom.com asked a great question today. What do you do when you’re having the entire family over for Thanksgiving and the “main” table isn’t big enough for everyone to sit at? She also asks whether or not the kid’s table should be in the same room. Here’s what we think.

The “main table” situation is always tricky. You know your family best and who might take offense to being at the “second” table. If someone is going to raise a fuss, put them at the “main,” unless you really don’t want to! {smirk} Or, if you want a more diplomatic way to arrange, you could let everyone draw a number and sit in the seat they drew. (See how to make cute turkey placecards.)

As for the kid’s table, location is definitely tied to the age of the children. If above 4, I would say in another room is just fine. They’re going to giggle, play at the table and probably get up after 10 minutes anyway. {wink}

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