Crafty Gift Idea: Cupcake Ornament

Christmas is long-gone, but here's an idea for next year! (I couldn't post this earlier, because I didn't want the people who were getting this gift to see!)  It's a simple gift for a baker, or a crafter... or just someone who likes a little sparkle on their tree - a cupcake ornament!

There are a few different tutorials for this on the web, but this is how I did it.  It's really simple and quick - the most time consuming part is waiting for the glue to dry!

Materials:
- 1 cupcake liner (mine is from Ikea, because they tend to have really cute ones there)
- 1 styrofoam ball
- 1 small plastic red ornament
- glitter
- white glue
- hot glue gun (optional)

Directions:
1.  Carve an indentation, the size of the small ornament into the top of the styrofoam ball.  Use either white glue or a hot glue gun to add glue to the indentation, and press the red ornament into it, on a slight angle.  (I just used white glue - if you use the hot glue, make sure you work quickly, as it will dry fast)

2. Spread white glue over the bottom half of your styrofoam ball, and slide it into the cupcake liner.  Try not to press too hard on the liner, because you don't want all the natural creases to go away.  Let the glue dry overnight.

3. The next morning after it's all dry, add your first layer of sparkles.  Do this by spreading glue all over the top of the ornament, and sprinkling glitter all over.  Make sure you add some right around the seam of where the red ornament is.  Repeat 3 times, waiting for the glue to dry in between.  On the third time, you can be a little more creative, adding droops or swirls, like cupcake frosting would have.  You can even use a different colour of glitter.  The only thing limiting you is your own imagination!


Then, you're pretty much done!  Find a nice box to present it in... and give to the cupcake lover in your life!

Rocky Road Heart Bars

First, let me warn you - these bars are NOT for the faint of heart, or those that are on a diet.  But they ARE freaking delicious.  And adorable.  Wouldn't you love to be my coworker, devouring one of these tomorrow? Here's what you do.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (heaping) tbsp Nutella
• 2 (heaping) tbsp Peanut Butter
• 2 squares Bakers Chocolate (bittersweet)
• 1/2 cup of "mix ins"

Method:

1. First, prep your workspace by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper (you can spray it with cooking spray if you prefer).
Using a double boiler (or a pot with simmering water, and a stainless steel bowl sitting on top), begin melting your butter, Nutella, peanut butter and bakers chocolate until it's smooth (see picture at right for consistency).

2. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat, and add in your "mix-ins" - I used marshmallows, nuts and red m&m's.  Spread your mixture over the baking sheet, and spread some extra nuts/chocolates/sprinkles/whatever over the top of the chocolate.  Allow it to cool.  (I placed it in the fridge for about an hour, or maybe 2?)

3. Once cooled, use heart-shaped cookie cutters to press out heart shaped bars out of your chocolate mix.
One thing of note - this mix could probably use some sort of chocolate stabilizer, but I don't have any.  I would recommend either adding some in, if you have it, or keeping these in the fridge until right before you serve them.  They are pretty "melty" ... but delicious!


This recipe made 12 hearts, plus a little extra (I took my scraps and put them in an oven/microwave safe Pyrex dish, melted them down in the microwave to smooth them out a bit, and put them back in the fridge).  This doesn't have to be a Valentine's thing - at any other time of year, you can use any sort of cookie cutter, or even just cut them into squares.

Peppermint Pinwheels!

This was a I have too much on my mind so I need to bake cookie. They are super yummy with a nice crisp. They make super cute gifts too. I ended up being up way too late to get them done so keep in mind that the dough sits for about 4 hours. The longer you let dough set the nicer the cookies will turn out.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon red food coloring& 1 teaspoon pink food coloring

Now you can just about do any color combo you like depending what holiday you are looking to make the cookies for. I am going to try to do a black and white version next.

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together in another large bowl. Add egg and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and peppermint extract. Gradually add the dry mixture, beating until combined. Remove half of the mixture from the bowl. Add food coloring, beating until fully combined. In waxed paper, roll out dough to form a large rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat this step with the other half with the other color. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Tear out 1 sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Sprinkle the surface of the paper with powdered sugar to prevent sticking. Very carefully, slide the red dough on top of the pink dough. Trim edges if uneven and patch if necessary. Roll dough into a log, creating a swirl effect. Place the dough back in the refrigerator and let chill for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the dough into 1/2-inch slices and place on a parchment lined sheet tray about 1-inch apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

*********

If you want to have a bit of extra fun with them add lollipop sticks.

Place lollipop stick about 1-inch through the flat side of the dough before baking. :D