Kids Project: Easy & Fun Christmas Tree Cookie...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers! I hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving! In Canada, we celebrated Thanksgiving in October, so we still have to wait until Christmas for another turkey dinner!

Welcome to Day 4 of Christmas Cookie Week! It's been such a great week where I have shared some other cookie creations that you can see here, here, and here. Today I am sharing a fun & easy baking project that is perfect for children!

When my kids were younger, I loved making special projects with them at Christmas!  And I wasn't always a stay-at-home mom...I used to work full-time outside the home and my kids went to daycare and  later school when they were old enough. Back then,  I was always on the lookout for simple, easy projects that didn't take a lot of time & preparation.

I know we have all seen those pretty Christmas trees made with full-size cinnamon buns...but I began to think what if there a tiny version...and made with a purchased can of cinnamon buns? How cute would that be? And if a can of pre-made cinnamon buns were used, how easy would that be?  And that is how this project began.

This project is designed for each child to make & decorate his or her own creation. The ingredient list is so easy that everything can be picked up at the grocery store on the way home from work!

Easy Cinnamon Bun Christmas Tree Cookies

Ingredients:

• Can of Refrigerated Cinnamon Buns (Each can is enough for 1.5 cookies. Allow 1 cookie per child.}
• Tube of Green Icing for decorating the tree, {plus the decorating tip that is in the display with the Green Icing tube}, or a purchased can of frosting, tinted green with food colouring.
• Christmas coloured sprinkles of your choice.

Directions:

1. Cut each cinnamon bun in 4 pieces. Give each child 11 pieces for his/her tree. Ask them to roll 10 of the pieces into balls to make the tree.

2. Form the tree using 4 balls for the bottom row, 3 balls for the second row and 1 ball for the top row. Use the last ball to shape into a tree trunk.

3. Bake according to the directions on the can of buns. Let cool.

4. Decorate the tree with the tube of green icing or can of green frosting. {I used a tube of green frosting},

5. Sprinkle with Christmas coloured sprinkles.

6. Eat!

Now you have a super fun baking project that you can make with your child, grandchild, nieces or nephews, that can easily fit into a busy schedule.

Be sure to pop over to my friend Grace's blog, Sense & Simplicity, to see what fun she has been up to in the kitchen today!


This post is linked to these wonderful parties:
Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters Stuff, It's Overflowing, I Heart Naptime, Positively Splendid, Under The Table & Dreaming, Craft-O-Maniac, Home Stories A to Z, Cozy Little House, Gingersnap Crafts, Clean & Scentsible, Lil Luna, Uncommon, The DIY Dreamer, Dixie N Dottie, 52 Mantels, Stone Gable, 36th Avenue, Frugal Girls, Craftberry Bush, Poofy Cheeks, Today's Creative Blog, Chef in Training, Inside Bru Crew Life, 33 Shades of Green, I Heart Naptime, Skip To My Lou,  Not Just A Housewife, Project Inspire, Aalderberry Hill, Today's Creative Blog, Somewhat Simple,

White Chocolate & Cranberry Sugar Cookies...

It's Day 3 of Christmas Cookie week and to make things super easy, this cookie has the same sugar cookie base as yesterday's cookie! Yay!

It's an easy drop cookie that you can whip up quite quickly, and then drizzle white chocolate and sprinkle with finely chopped craisins or dried cranberries.

You also have the option of adding some orange flavouring to the sugar cookie base for a fun flavour twist.

Yum!

Sugar Cookies

{makes approx. 4 dozen}

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

4 tbsp. milk or cream

2 tsp. vanilla or orange flavouring

3 1/2 cups of flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated orange peel, optional

To Decorate:

1 1/2 cups white chocolate melting wafers, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped craisins

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350. In large bowl, cream together butter & white sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and mix well.

2. In medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until dough is formed.

4. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto cookies sheets. Press each cookie gently with fork.

5. Bake 6-10 minutes, or until cookies are puffed up and edges are slightly golden.

6. Cool completely on wire racks.

7. With a teaspoon, drizzle melted white chocolate on cookies and sprinkle chopped craisins.
 

If you would like to see the Christmas Cookie from Day 1 of Christmas Cookie Week, please go here.

For the cookie from Day 2, please go here.

And don't forget to pop over to my friend Grace's blog, Sense & Simplicity, to see what treat she has in store for you today!

 

This post is linked to these wonderful parties: Chef in Training, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters Stuff, It's Overflowing, I Heart Naptime, Positively Splendid, Under the Table & Dreaming, Home Stories A to Z, Cozy Little House, Savy Southern Style, Gingersnap Crafts, Clean & Scentsible,
Lil Luna, Uncommon, The DIY Dreamer, 52 Mantels, Stone Gable, 36th Avenue, Frugal Girls,
Tidy Mom, Craftberry Bush, Poofy Cheeks, Today's Creative Blog, Inside Bru Crew Life, 33 Shades of Green, I Heart Naptime, Not Just A Housewife, Project Inspire, Aalderberry Hill, Between Naps on the Porch,

Poinsettia Cookies...

Welcome to Day 2 of Christmas Cookie Week!

Today I am sharing a delightful little poinsettia cookie that is created on top of an easy drop sugar cookie.

The sugar cookie recipe is one of my tried & true recipes...just dressed up for a special occasion.

This cookies takes a little patience to decorate, but the pretty sure does make up for the extra effort!

And be sure to head over to my friend Grace's blog, Sense & Simplicity, to see what she has in store for you today!

 

 

Sugar Cookies

{makes approx. 4 dozen}

 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

4 tbsp. milk or cream

2 tsp. vanilla

3 1/2 cups of flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

 

To Decorate:

2 cups of your favourite white frosting, or purchase white frosting

candied red cherries, cut into slivers

candied green cherries, chopped small

 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350. In large bowl, cream together butter & white sugar. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and mix well.

 

2. In medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

 

3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until dough is formed.

 

4. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto cookies sheets. Press each cookie gently with fork.

 

5. Bake 6-10 minutes, or until cookies are puffed up and edges are slightly golden.

 

6.  Cool completely on wire racks.

 

7. Frost cookies with white frosting. Add 5 slivers of red candied cherry to each cookie to make poinsettia. Add chopped green cherry to center.

 

These pretty poinsettia cookies would be so pretty for a Christmas tea or luncheon, and would also make a lovely star attraction on any cookie platter!

 

If you would like to see the Christmas Cookie from Day 1 of Christmas Cookie Week, please go here.

 

 

This post is linked these great parties: Beauty and Bedlam, The DIY Dreamer, Lil Luna, Uncommon,
Savy Southern Style, Gingersnap Crafts, Clean & Scentsible, Sweet Boutique, Someday Crafts,
Chef in Training, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters Stuff, It's Overflowing, I Heart Naptime, Positively Splendid, Under the Table & Dreaming, Craft-O-Maniac, Home Stories A to Z, Cozy Little House, Dixie N Dottie, Someday Crafts, 52 Mantels, Stone Gable, 36th Avenue, Frugal Girls, Tidy Mom, Craftberry Bush, Poofy Cheeks, Today's Creative Blog, Inside Bru Crew Life, 33 Shades of Green, Skip To My Lou,  Not Just A Housewife, Project Inspire, Setting For Four, Aalderberry Hill,
Between Naps on the Porch, Somewhat Simple,

Christmas Cookie Week: Gumdrop Cookies...

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Week here at Echoes of Laughter! This year, my friend Grace from Sense & Simplicity and I are hosting another super fun Christmas Cookie week. Each day this week we will be sharing a yummy cookie or bar recipe with you in hopes of inspiring and motivating you to get some Christmas baking done early!

Today I am sharing a cookie recipe that is loaded with one of our family's favourite candies...the gumdrop. My mother makes gumdrop cakes every year at Christmas and mails one to us and we love that yummy pound cake loaded with these jelly candies. And although I have left the gumdrop cake making to the expert, I do like this easy drop cookie recipe which comes from my Aunt Zelma. This recipe makes a delicious, chewy cookie with the added fun of gumdrops. The colours make it a wonderful addition to any cookie platter.

 Gumdrop Cookies

{makes approx. 3 dozen cookies}

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup coconut
1-1/2 cups gumdrops, chopped {don't use black or white ones...they don't look pretty in a cookie}
1 cup rolled oats
coarse sugar for sprinkling on tops, if desired

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 375. Spray two cookie sheets lightly with cooking spray

2. In medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, brown sugar and egg.

3. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.

4. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until combined.

5. Stir in gumdrops, coconut and rolled oats.

6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Press down with a fork. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

7. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown around edges.

These cookies freeze well. They also make an awesome cookie to leave for Santa too!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 2 of Christmas Cookie Week! And please be sure to visit my friend Grace over Sense & Simplicity to see what fabulous cookie recipe she is sharing!

This post is linked to these parties: Cozy Little House, Beauty and Bedlam, The DIY Dreamer, Lil Luna, Uncommon, Savy Southern Style, Gingersnap Crafts, Clean & Scentsible, Sweet Boutique, Someday Crafts, Chef in Training, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters Stuff, It's Overflowing,
I Heart Naptime, Positively Splendid, Under the Table & Dreaming, Craft-O-Maniac, Home Stories A to Z, 52 Mantels, Stone Gable, 36th Avenue, Frugal Girls, Tidy Mom, Craftberry Bush,
Poofy Cheeks, Today's Creative Blog, Inside Bru Crew Life,  33 Shades of Green, I Heart Naptime,
Skip To My Lou,  Not Just A Housewife, Project Inspire, Aalderberry Hill, Between Naps on the Porch, Somewhat Simple,

Goose Creek Candle Giveaway...

The lovely folks at Goose Greek Candle contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me if I would like to try out their candles and host a giveaway for my readers, and I was so excited to say yes and pass this giveaway on to you!

With winter here, we are inside all the time and it is so nice to have a lovely scent to warm things up a bit. Goose Greek Candle kindly sent me 2 beautiful American Heirloom candles...a 16 oz. in Orange Berry Slush and a 39 oz. candle in Maple Toddy. I love the multi-sided shape of the jars and they have a beautifully polished silver embossed lid which provides a quality look in any home decor. These scented candles smell so good and are top quality...the 16 oz jar candle will give approx. 90 hours of burning time, while the 39 oz. jar candle will burn for approx. 215 hours!

 

My 16 year old daughter is so thrilled with these candles that she confiscated the Maple Toddy jar candle from our living room to hide up in her bedroom and she lights it every day. She thinks they are just absolutely divine...and I do too!

 Here are the details of the giveaway:

1. Please visit the Goose Greek Candle website to view the candles. Choose the scent of the 16 oz. American Heirloom jar candle you would like to win.

2. Leave a comment on this post, telling me which scent you would like to win. Comments will be open for one week.{One entry/comment per person only.}

3. One winner will be chosen randomly from the comments to have their choice of a scented 16 oz. American Heirloom candle shipped directly from the Goose Creek Candle Factory directly to their home. {This contest is open to continental US residents only. Sorry to my Canadian readers!}

4. Goose Greek Candle is also offering 25% off entire orders to my readers until November 30, 2012. The coupon code to enter for this discount is: 1050.


That's it! That is all you have to do to win yourself a fabulous scented candle right before Christmas! How cool is that?

{Goose Greek Candle provided with me with 2 American Jar Candles to review for this post. However, all opinions are my own. This giveaway is open to US continental readers only. My Canadian friends..please come back later this week as I have 3 more giveaways coming up for Canadians only!}

Delicious Homemade Grape Jelly in Just 10 Minutes...

Yes. It's totally true! You can have a batch of homemade grape jelly in just 10 minutes! Gone are the days when making grape jelly meant crushing grapes, straining through a cheesecloth and all that jazz. How is it so easy you ask? Welsh's Grape Juice on the shelf at your local grocery store....that's how! And this jelly is SO delicious and economical to make,,,with just 4 ingredients! This project is PERFECT if you are not a baker! All you need to be able to do here is read directions and stir!

Delicious Grape Jelly in Just 10 Minutes

{makes 4 cups}

Ingredients:
3.5 cups of sugar
2 cups unsweetened concorde grape juice, room temperature {I used Welsh's 100% Grape Juice off the shelf at my local Superstore.}
1/2 cup lemon juice
85 ml package of liquid pectin, preferably Certo
4- 1 cup sterilized mason jars with lids

Directions:
Bring sugar, grape juice and lemon juice to a boil in a medium size heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Boil for 7 minutes. Add liquid pectin and stir for 1 minute.Remove from heat. Skim off foam {if any}with a spoon. Pour jelly into mason jars. Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours or until jelly is set. Refrigerate for up to 1 month.

How easy is that? Now you have a tasty homemade gift to give for Christmas! The jars can be easily decorated with ribbon or baker's twine and a tag for a pretty looking present. You could even pair it with a can of refrigerated biscuits from the grocery store if you like. This is definitely my EASIEST homemade gift from the kitchen ever!

{This recipe comes from the August 2012 issue of Chatelaine Magazine...a  Canadian women's magazine that I love.}

{Thank you so much to Greenmunch for providing me with the red baker's twine used in this project! You really must go see their super PRETTY Christmas paper straws, baker's twine and treat bags. You will love them for all your Christmas projects.}

This post is linked to these great parties:
Tatertots & Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff, Positively Splendid, I Heart Naptime, Craft-O-Maniac, Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons, Cozy Little House, The DIY Dreamer, Lil Luna, Uncommon, Gingersnap Crafts, Clean & Scentsible,Chef in Training, Under the Table & Dreaming, Dixie N Dottie, Stone Gable, 36th Avenue. Frugal Girls, Tidy Mom, Craftberry Bush, Today's Creative Blog, Inside Bru Crew Life,  I Heart Naptime,  Not Just A Housewife, Project Inspire, Aalderberry Hill, Between Naps on the Porch, Somewhat Simple,

Gingerbread Scones with White Chocolate & Cranberries

I know. I know. I am sharing another scone recipe, but this one is my absolute personal favourite!
I just love these SO much and everyone I have given them to has absolutely loved them too. It's the kind of recipe that every time I take a bite, I just close my eyes and think, "Darn! This is so good".
This is, by far, better than anything you could buy and for less than 30 minutes, you have 16 little scones that are just the bees knees. I am making 4 batches of these to package in 8 parcels for gifts for friends and neighbours.

Gingerbread Scones with White Chocolate & Cranberries

{Make 16 small scones}

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
1/3 cup molasses {I used Crosby's molasses}
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen {I like using berries that are frozen because they don't get mashed up when they are mixed in.
3/4 white chocolate chunks or white chocolate chips {I used Bernard Callebaut white chocolate chunks bought in bulk at Superstore.}

For tops of scones:
3/4 cup white chocolate melting wafers, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped craisins


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400. In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Cut in butter with 2 knives or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chunks.

2. In small bowl, whisk together molasses, milk and egg yolk until smooth.

3. Stir molasses mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. If mixture seems too dry, add a little more milk and mix gently.

4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. {Flour your hands too to avoid dough sticking}. Knead gently 6-8 times.

5. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into an approx. 7 inch circle. Using large, sharp knife, cut each circle into 8 wedges {like a pie}. Transfer wedges {a knife can be used as a spatula} to a large cookie sheet.

6. Bake for approx. 12 minutes or until scones are puffed up and edges are golden and toothpick comes out clean.

7. Let cool completely.  Drizzle with melted white chocolate using a teaspoon and sprinkle with finely chopped craisins to finish.

Now treat yourself and make a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy a delicious gingerbread scone! This scone recipe is my *VERY* favourite and I hope you love it and love sharing it too!

Please be sure to visit Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 of "Gifts From The Kitchen" week! Tomorrow involves a gift which requies no baking and only takes 15 minutes to make!

If you would like to see some of my other scone recipes, check out here and here and here.




This post is linked up to these great parties:
The Frugal Girls, Craftberry Bush, Not Just A Housewife, Tidy Mom, Tatertots & Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff, Positively Splendid, I Heart Naptime, Craft-O-Maniac, Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons,
Cozy Little House, Beauty and Bedlam, The DIY Dreamer, Lil Luna, Uncommon, Savy Southern Style, Gingersnap Crafts, Clean & Scentsible, Sweet Boutique, Someday Crafts, Chef in Training, Under the Table & Dreaming, Dixie N Dottie, 52 Mantels, Stone Gable, 36th Avenue,
Frugal Girls, Today's Creative Blog, Inside Bru Crew Life, 33 Shades of Green, Skip To My Lou,  Not Just A Housewife, Project Inspire, Setting For Four, Aalderberry Hill, Between Naps on the Porch, Somewhat Simple,