Homemade Holidays

I wanted to share some pictures of some other things that we made this holiday season. In the top picture you can see some hand-painted plaster ornaments that our family made. We like to make new ornaments every year.

Next is some blocks that say Merry Xmas on one side and then on the other side say Happy fall. I had never gotten around to sharing that craft project I will probably share it another time later on.

And there is some glycerin soaps that my daughter made to give as gifts that have different plants and essential oils in them.

 These are a couple of the yummy treats that we made early on. Sugar cookie cutouts and Rolo Bites.

I asked the kids what treats they for sure wanted me to make this year and my daughter said homemade peanut brittle (I had bought some from a store and she said it wasn't as good as mine.) And my son said peanut butter blossoms. The only time I make gingerbread men is the holidays and after my son brought home the book from school ( then looked on our shelves to find our copy of The Gingerbread Girl), I knew I needed to make some.

Grain Free Paleo Peanut Butter Cookies

Grain Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 egg
1 C peanut butter
1/3 C honey

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix together all ingredients
• Scoop out dough to make 1" balls
• Using a fork, press in the above pattern
• Bake for 8 minutes
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes
• Enjoy!
• 
  

Wordless Wednesday: LOTS of Christmas Fun

Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

I enlisted the help of my preschooler when I made this most recent batch of Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies.

After you try these you will wonder why you ever made them any other way. Anyone would love a tray of these for Christmas. You could even toss in Green or Red Candy Sprinkles to make them festive.


Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies


1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 small package vanilla instant pudding mix
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp almond extract
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips


Directions: 
Cream together eggs, butter and sugars. Next add in dry vanilla pudding mix (or try another pudding mix, I like to use White Chocolate) until combined. Next add flour, baking soda, salt and extract. Add chocolate chips. Roll into balls and place on a lightly sprayed baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.Remove for pan and let cool on racks.

Sweet Treats from Pinterest

Time again to share some more things I found on pinterest and made! This one is all about sweet treats!

Unicorn Poop Cookies on Instructables

Pancake Muffins with Maple Frosting and Bacon from Brown Goat

Cake Decorating Idea which I let my son do all the sprinkling on his cake and pick out which ones he wanted to use.

Pumpkin Pizza Topping from MamaMusing with a Pumpkin Pizza Crust from Food Fanatic

Candy Cookies in a Jar

To make your Cookies in a Jar Mix, you will need to layer the following ingredients starting with the first layer on the bottom:

Layer 1
 1 1/3 cup of flour
 1 tsp baking powder
 1 tsp bicarb soda
 1/4 tsp salt

Layer 2
 1 cup rolled oats

Layer 3
 3/4 cup of UNREAL Candies

Layer 4
 3/4 cup chocolate chips (or white chocolate chips)

Layer 5
 1/2 cup brown sugar

The create a gift tag that reads:

To make you need:
 1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 C butter, softened
 1 tsp of vanilla

 To bake: Mix the cookie mix together with the egg, butter and vanilla. Take out tablespoon full worth of cookie dough and shape into a ball, flatten a little on your baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Enjoy!

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Also try these Candied Cookie Bars that use UNREAL candies. Or try out my other Gifts in a Jar Idea of Curly Soup.

Make It Monday: Candied Cookie Bars

Time to change up another family favorite and switch it out with some less processed ingredients and some candies that do not contain no artificial ingredients, no corn syrup, no hydrogenated oils, no preservatives and no GMOs. Yes, this is still dessert and still cookies and there is still calories and fat in these. Just my attempt at providing my family with a favorite treat with some better ingredients.

Candied Cookie Bars
3/4 C butter, softened
1 1/2 C raw sugar
1 tsp molasses
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
2 C white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
10.7 bag of Unreal Candy Coated Chocolates


Directions:
* Preheat oven to 325 degrees
* Cream together butter, sugar and molasses
* Blend eggs and almond extract in to mixture
* In a separate bowl, blend together flour, salt and baking soda
* Slowly blend dry ingredients in to wet ingredients
* Stir in 1 10.7 oz bag of Unreal Candy Coated Chocolates
* Smooth batter evenly in a 13x9 pan
* Bake for about 25 minutes, until top is a light golden brown
* Cool on a wire rack until cool to the touch, then cut in to squares
* Enjoy!