Posted by MAKMU ta
On Friday, November 25, 2011
Well folks Christmas Cookie Week is finished and I have a smile on my face and a freezer full of cookies. I hope you all were inspired. If you haven't already done so, you really should check out the cookies that Angie made over at Echoes of Laughter. Funnily enough, we both made cookies that you flatten with a fork on Monday and chocolate cookies on Wednesday and that was completely unplanned. I really need to try printing tags on Avery labels like Angie does - it looked amazing on her packages.
Just in case you were too busy snarfing turkey and licking the pumpkin pie off your plate over the past few days, here's a complete cookie compendium from this past week:
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Several of you have asked if I could offer the option of following Sense and Simplicity via email, so never one to turn someone away, I've added that feature. If you read the blog in a reader, then you will need to go to the actual home page (which is here) and put your email address in the form on the right sidebar.
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And finally in other news....important chocolate information. This will only be of interest to people living in the Toronto area, but did you know that there is a Lindt chocolate outlet store in Mississauga. Given that this is the time of year when we are spending copious amounts of money buying copious amounts of chocolate - oh wait, is that only me? Well if you also are planning on buying industrial quantities of chocolate this Christmas then you just might want to save yourself some money while you do it.
I promise that the angels will sing when you visit this chocolate heaven. Some of the items are as low as 50% off and many are 25-50% off and some are retail prices. The chocolate is all fresh, in its original packages, and not damaged.
You can find the Lindt outlet at 7090 Kennedy Road, Mississauga just north of Derry Road off the 410. I thought I saw on the sign that it is open from 9am - 9pm Monday to Friday. The phone number is 905-696-8143 if you want to check opening times.
Have a great weekend. What's everyone up to this weekend? Anyone doing any Christmas baking? That won't be me - just saying. 
Linked to Handmade Gifts at Funky Junk Interiors,VIP Party at Designer Garden
Posted by MAKMU ta
On Friday, November 25, 2011
Can you believe it - this is the final post in the Christmas Cookie Week series - phew - that was a lot of baking and wrapping, but I'm happy it is done and ready for Christmas. I hope you have been inspired as well.
Today I made a cookie mix to give as a gift. I chose this recipe from Organized Home because it uses white chocolate. This is going to sound strange, but I don't like white chocolate, except in cookies with macadamia nuts. We have a bit of a chocolate addiction around our house and often end up with white chocolate in packages with regular chocolate. I've been saving those chocolate pieces and I've used them in this cookie mix.
Here's the White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookie Mix recipe:
Ingredients:1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1/2 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp baking powder1/2 cup packed brown sugar1/3 cup granulated sugar3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts1 cup chopped white chocolate
Method:1. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder together.2. Layer ingredients in a quart-size (4 cup) canning jar - flour mixture, brown sugar, white sugar, nuts, white chocolate3. Print and attache a gift tag - White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Mix gift tags
I didn't have a proper mason canning jar, so I used the next best thing - a pasta jar. Since our pasta jar was full of pasta sauce, can you guess what we had for dinner? Yep and when the jar was all clean and dry I used the blow dryer to make sure the inside was as dry as the Sahara Desert.
Now it took some pushing and wheedling to get all the ingredients into the jar. You can see that I just made it with not much room to spare.
I could have stopped here and just added a ribbon or a circle of fabric on the top, but I decided to do something a little different.
I tied a knot in the end of a sock and then pulled it down over the jar. I secured an elastic around the sock where the lid fastened onto the jar and then rolled the sock up over the elastic to make the cuff. Then I cut out shapes from sticky-back felt (but black vinyl or paint would also work) to make the eyes and mouth. And I used a piece of orange foam to make the nose. To add a bit of decoration I made a loose pompom out of green yarn and tied it to the end of his hat.
He actually looks more like the Bonhomme from the Quebec Winter Carnival. Here's a picture of him and you can see that he has the same kind of floppy toque that my snowman jar has - he's in good company!
Don't forget to hop on over to Angie's blog at Echoes of Laughter to see the cookie mix she has made today. Thanks for joining us this week - it's been a blast.
Linked to Inspiration Friday as The Picket Fence,Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest,Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating,Handmade Holiday at Just a Girl,Recipe Link Party at Remodelaholic,Cookiepalooza Party at Centsational Girl
Posted by MAKMU ta
On Thursday, November 24, 2011
This morning I posted some yummy - and somewhat healthy cookie bars - and this afternoon I'm going to show you one way you could package them so you could give them to someone else.
I decided to use a wrapped box to deliver these cookies. The first step was to go downstairs to our pantry and see what size box would work best. The pasta box was the one that seemed just right, so pasta it was. Here's how to go from pasta to pretty!
I cut down the sides of the top of the box so it could now open completely. I then wrapped the box in some wrapping paper.
I punched holes in the end of the box and the matching spots on the flap so I could thread ribbon through the holes to close the box.
I also lined the box with waxed paper which I folded over the squares before closing the lid.
I tied a bow in the ribbon that was holding the end closed and I wrapped a ribbon around the box itself to dress it up a bit and keep the lid down tight. All you need now is a tag and you are ready to spread the cheer.
Tomorrow is the last day of Christmas Cookie Week - come on back for one last cookie recipe. And don't forget to visit Angie at Echoes of Laughter, to see what she baked and how she packaged it.
Linked to Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home,Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest
Posted by MAKMU ta
On Thursday, November 24, 2011
Welcome back for Day 4 of Christmas Cookie Week. Yesterday the cookie recipe I shared with you was crazily loaded with chocolate and really tipped the scale on the unhealthy side, so today I'm bringing a little balance. You can feel a little virtuous eating these cookies, since they contain oats, dried cranberries, and walnuts - all thing that are ever so good for you. And we won't mention the chocolate and sugar that are in these - shhh - our little secret.
I got this recipe from the Kraft magazine (and tweaked it a lot - as per usual). Next time I make it I'm going to try adding raisins, grated orange rind, and sunflower seeds. It seems like the kind of recipe that can have endless variations.
Ingredients:1 cup dried cranberries1/4 cup orange juice1 1/2 cups flour1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats1 tsp baking powderpinch salt3/4 cup margarine1 cup firmly packed brown sugar2 eggs1 cup chocolate chips1/2 cup chopped walnut pieces
Method:1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.2. Combine cranberries and orange juice. Micorwave on high for 30 seconds. Let stand 10 minutes.3. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt and stir.4. Beat the margarine and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs.5. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in cranberry mixture, and add chocolate and walnuts.6. Spread the dough into the baking pan.7. Bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until the centre is set. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting to serve. Makes 32 servings.
Come on back this afternoon to see how you could package these bars and give some of as gifts to others. Also be sure and see what Angie has been baking over at Echoes of Laughter.
Linked to Recipe Link Party at Remodelaholic,Cookiepalooza Party at Centsational Girl
Posted by MAKMU ta
On Wednesday, November 23, 2011
If you are in the mood for decadent, then this is the cookie for you. This recipe uses a lot of chocolate - two full boxes of semi-sweet chocolate squares to be precise - and makes only 28 cookies! William and I shared one cookie to test the recipe and then I froze the other 27 cookies so they are safely stored away until Christmas. I'll have to do some fancy math work at Christmas time so we all get some of these divine little numbers.
I found the recipe in the Kraft magazine and it is on-line here. I modified the recipe slightly so I'll put down the ingredients I used.
Ingredients:2 pkgs (8 squares each) semi-sweet chocolate, divided1/4 cup butter or margarine (I used margarine)3/4 cup packed brown sugar2 eggs1/2 cup flour1/4 tsp baking powder1 cup chopped walnuts
Method:1. Heat oven to 350F2. Coarsely chop one package of chocolate and set aside3. Place the other package of chocolate in a microveable bowl and microwave the chocolate for 3 to 4 minutes on medium power. Stir until completely melted.4. Add butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and baking powder. Stir until blended.5. Stir in the chopped chocolate and the chopped walnuts.6. Drop by tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto an ungreased baking sheet.7. Bake 12 -13 minutes or until the cookies are soft to the touch, but tops are still slightly shiny. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute and then transfer to a wire rack.Note: to make without nuts, increase the flour to 3/4 cup to prevent the dough from spreading too much during baking.
Enjoy the chocolatey goodness!
Don't forget to stop by this afternoon to see how you could wrap these cookies to give them as gifts (hint it involved my eating chips). Also pop on over to Angie's blog at Echoes of Laughter to see what cookies she has been baking.
Posted by MAKMU ta
On Tuesday, November 22, 2011
This morning I shared with you our family shortbread recipe that we make every year. We love this recipe so much that it just doesn't feel like Christmas without these cookies.
I thought it would be fun to have a way to give special cookies as gifts to family and friends so I came up with these origami cups that can be hung on the tree ready to be handed out.
They aren't hard to make at all and I've included a step-by-step set of instructions to make them below.
Directions:Cut out two squares - one from waxed paper and one from brown wrapping paper. I used 12 inch squares, but you can vary this depending on the size you want the final cup to be. I used a dab of glue at the corners to keep the two squares together while I was working with them.
Step #1: fold the square in half (as shown below):
Step #2: Fold the right corner up to meet the upper left edge about half way along (the top of our folded piece should be parallel with the bottom of the triangle, as shown below):
Step #3: Repeat and fold the left corner up to meet the upper right edge (as shown below):
Step #4: Fold the flaps to the front and back (as shown below):
Step #5: Punch holes near the ends to put some string or wool or ribbon through so you can hang it (see below):
I found these stickers at Michael's that say "Baked Especially for you..." so I put one on the flap to hold it down and make the front look pretty. I have seen a lots of free on-line labels and tags that you can print yourself so you could use those as well.
There you go - all set to be given away to someone. (And if you think we have our tree set-up so I could take these pictures then you'd be wrong. I was the crazy lady out in our front yard taking photos of a cookie hanging on our tree).
Don't forget to pop on over to Angie's blog at Echoes of Laughter and see what she has been cooking up. And please stop by tomorrow for another batch of cookies here on Day 3 of Christmas Cookie Week.
Linked to Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of SuburbiaWow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern StyleHomemade Projects at Tip JunkieNifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal CharmTutorials and Tips at Home Stories at A 2 Z,Handmade Holiday at Just a Girl
Posted by MAKMU ta
On Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Today is Day 2 of Christmas Cookie Week and I baked our favourite family shortbread recipe. This is a recipe that my Grandmother used as far back as my Father can remember so it may have even been passed down to my Grandmother from her Mother. I like to think so as I love things that have a connection to history like that.
The recipe is simple - only 4 ingredients - and seems like something the pioneers would have made. It takes far longer to knead all the ingredients into a ball than it does to add everything into the bowl.
Ingredients:
1 lb butter (2 cups) at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
5 cups flour
pinch salt
Method:1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl2. Knead until they form a ball3. Roll out on a lightly-floured surface to a thickness of between 1/4 and 1/2 inch4. Cut or stamp cookies with cookie cutters and place on an ungreased cookie sheet5. Bake at 350F for about 8-10 minutes or until they are lightly brown (do not overbake)
Traditionally we use our cookie cutters and then we decorate the cookies with sprinkles. Kate loves to do this (you can see the fun she and a friend had last year in this post) and will hopefully make us another batch when she gets back from university in December.
I tried something different this year. After I rolled out the dough I used a side plate as my template and I cut around the circle. Then I used a fork to crimp the edges and I then cut the circle into eight pieces. I put a few sprinkles on each section before baking them. It was a fun simple variation on our usual way of decorating the shortbread cookies, but between you and me I'll always prefer Kate's masterpieces.
Thanks for stopping by for Day 2 of Christmas Cookie Week. For more baking inspiration pop on over to Angie's blog and see what she has cooking. Also come on back this afternoon to check out how I packaged the shortbread cookies to give them away as Christmas treats.
Linked to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style,Tasty Tuesday at Nap Time Creations,Handmade Holiday at Just a Girl,Recipe Link Party at Remodelaholic,Cookiepalooza Party at Centsational Girl
