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| Cardboard Santa! |
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| Bear and Stocking! |
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| Cardboard Elf! |
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| Lane and the Snow Bunny |
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| Cardboard Frosty |
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| My kiddos helping out! Man, they were so small! |
Saturday, November 19, 2011
A Cardboard Christmas! Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Yummy Pumpkin Cookies!
Back by popular demand! By that I mean, my husband has been hassling me to make these cloud like cookies that literally taste like a pumpkin pie since I started decorating for Fall. They are truly delicious and are a huge hit every year. You have to try them! Get baking!
Ingredients:
2 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Ground Allspice
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 Can Pumpkin
1 Lg Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 Cup Dried Cranberries (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. ** I also add a dash or two of pumpkin pie spice to give it some extra flavor.**
In a separate large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times to mix thoroughly. Add the pumpkin and vanilla, beating for at least one minute.
Gradually add flour mixture while beating at a low speed until it is combined. ** I always beat a little longer on a high speed to make it a bit more fluffy, obtaining the cloud like structure in the final product. **
Add chopped pecans and cranberries and mix well.
Drop by Lg TBSP onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. No need to grease.
**You can use the back of a wooden spoon to flatten a bit or leave them. I leave them, we like the clouds! Another optional treat is to add a half a pecan to the top before popping them into the oven. I normally don't do this, because I add plenty of pecans to the mixture and they are simply yummy. You could also add slivers of almonds as well. my husband loves this.**
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let them stand for one minute before removing to a wire rack to cool.
Serve them and enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 Cup Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Ground Allspice
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 Can Pumpkin
1 Lg Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 Cup Dried Cranberries (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. ** I also add a dash or two of pumpkin pie spice to give it some extra flavor.**
In a separate large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times to mix thoroughly. Add the pumpkin and vanilla, beating for at least one minute.
Gradually add flour mixture while beating at a low speed until it is combined. ** I always beat a little longer on a high speed to make it a bit more fluffy, obtaining the cloud like structure in the final product. **
Add chopped pecans and cranberries and mix well.
Drop by Lg TBSP onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. No need to grease.
**You can use the back of a wooden spoon to flatten a bit or leave them. I leave them, we like the clouds! Another optional treat is to add a half a pecan to the top before popping them into the oven. I normally don't do this, because I add plenty of pecans to the mixture and they are simply yummy. You could also add slivers of almonds as well. my husband loves this.**
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let them stand for one minute before removing to a wire rack to cool.
Serve them and enjoy!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Holiday Crafts - Fight the Boredom
My kids are both looking forward to Thanksgiving Break. When school started I thought I would be dreading it, but the truth is, I am so excited to have the kids home with me all day. Obviously, most people do some traveling around Thanksgiving, but since we don't have far to go, we have a few extra days before hand to do some crazy crafting!
The idea of not having to wake up early and get ready to head off to school seems like all fun and games until they realize they have nothing to do... or at least kids seem to think that! Mine always do! This year, I have formulated a plan to keep them busy the day before Thanksgiving so I can get some prepping done for the family feast without the numerous "Mommy I'm bored!" complaints. Depending on your school you may have one or two days that the kids will be home, we only get one. I will be setting up a craft area with multiple crafts for my kids to choose from. A good idea would be to either have a photo of the craft bundled with the materials they'll need for each one, or have one already made for them to go by. Most kids will need a bit of instruction at first. I usually go over how I made each craft and then they go from there. Does it always turn out like mine?? No way. But, kids have great imaginations and it's wise to let them take the reins and come up with some of their own ideas. You would be surprised what they are capable of!
The idea of not having to wake up early and get ready to head off to school seems like all fun and games until they realize they have nothing to do... or at least kids seem to think that! Mine always do! This year, I have formulated a plan to keep them busy the day before Thanksgiving so I can get some prepping done for the family feast without the numerous "Mommy I'm bored!" complaints. Depending on your school you may have one or two days that the kids will be home, we only get one. I will be setting up a craft area with multiple crafts for my kids to choose from. A good idea would be to either have a photo of the craft bundled with the materials they'll need for each one, or have one already made for them to go by. Most kids will need a bit of instruction at first. I usually go over how I made each craft and then they go from there. Does it always turn out like mine?? No way. But, kids have great imaginations and it's wise to let them take the reins and come up with some of their own ideas. You would be surprised what they are capable of!
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