Monday, December 6, 2010

Green, Brown, and Red....



The color green- reminds me of the Christmas tree that we put up every year....


And of warm sugar cookies

Sugar Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Sugar Cookie Recipe number one
Cookies:
3 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup soft butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla (can substitute almond extract)
Icing
1/3 cup Crisco (transfat-free) or a 1/3 cup of softened butter
1 pound of confectioners sugar
About 1/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla

METHOD

1 Sift dry ingredients (use a real sifter), cut in butter and add other ingredients. Blend thoroughly; chill for several hours.
2 Break off a piece of dough the size of an orange and pat it flat in your hand. Using a rolling pin, roll on dough on floured board (best to use a 2/1 ration of flour/sugar - 4 Tbsp flour mixed with 2 Tbsp sugar) or between wax paper. (It helps if you flour both sides of the dought.) Roll out to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out and put on silpat-lined or ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes at 400 F. Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as you see them turning color at the base of the cookie. Let cool completely.
3 Mix icing ingredients together until smooth. Separate into different bowls, add food coloring to achieve various colors. Spread on cookies with a butter knife, use cake decorating piping equipment to add decorative accents. If you want the sprinkle type decorating candies to stick, brush the cookie with clear Karo syrup and then sprinkle.
Makes 5 dozen cookies.

The color brown- reminds me of the manger where our Savior slept that long night ago.......

And of hot chocolate that warms me up as I sit by the fire ....

Hot Chocolate Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 6 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 6 tbs sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 1/2 cups light cream
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Cinnamon, whipped cream and orange zest

Preparation:

Add sugar and cocoa to milk and heat in a saucepan until dissolved. Add the cream, cinnamon and vanilla. Heat until almost boiling. Mix well and serve, topped with whipped cream and a bit of orange zest.
Hot Chocolate Recipe link
The color red- reminds me of candy canes.....

And of bright red Christmas ornaments to decorate the tree...

INSTRUCTIONS (on how to paint a Christmas ball ornament)

  1. Remove hanger and cap from the ornament. Rinse inside of ornament with alcohol. Let dry thoroughly. Start with one color of Ceramcoat® paint. Squeeze just a small amount of the first color into the ornament so it runs down the side (see photo A). Rotate the ornament and squeeze a little more paint down the side in another area until you've added about three or four lines of paint with only a dime-size amount of paint pooling at the bottom of the ornament.
  2. Add the next color, squeezing out a small amount of paint in between the places where you added the first color (see photo B). Continue to add one or two more colors in the same fashion.
  3. Rest the ornament on its side for approximately five minutes. (Place it to rest in the ornament box it came in, an egg carton or a paper cup for easy handling.) Rotate and tilt the ornament a quarter turn every five to ten minutes until the paint covers the entire inside of the ornament. Pour out excess paint. Then continue to rotate it every few hours over the next day. This helps the paint to coat the ornament evenly. The color will continue to move and change with each turn. When the desired effect has been achieved, drain out any remaining excess paint. It may take up to four days to dry completely (a hair dryer will speed drying time). Replace hanger and cap when dry. If desired, decorate with ribbon and hang on tree.
How to Paint Clear Glass Ornament Balls





(pictures from google)

1 comment:

  1. Nice pictures! Thanks for sharing the recipes and ornament instructions! The hot chocolate and cookies look delicious! Great Christmasy post! :)

    ReplyDelete

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