I love reading to my boys before bed. I got 12 books and wrapped them to look like Santa coats. Each night I let the boys take turns choosing a book to open for us to read together!
First book was “Tiger Can’t Sleep“. My son’s night time stuffed animal has been a tiger since he was born.
The boys and I made Christmas Cookies to deliver to the neighbors. They love baking with me.
Mini Santa Hat Cupcakes
I decorated mini cupcakes with red buttercream icing. I added a mini marshmallow to the top and white icing around the base of the icing.
Andes Mint Cookies
Ingredients Cookies:
1 Box Devil’s Food Cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 C. butter melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
Ingredients Mint Frosting:
3/4 C. butter softened
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
2-3 C. powdered sugar
milk if needed
green food dye if desired
Ingredients Chocolate Glaze:
1 1/2 C. chocolate chips
4 Tbsp. butter
Instructions:
1. Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, butter, vanilla and sugar. That batter will be stiff.
3. Make dough balls a little large than a Tablespoon and place on cookie sheets to bake. Pat each dough ball down a little bit.
4. Bake for 7-9 minutes and let cool.
5. Mint Frosting: Beat butter for 2 minutes. Add peppermint extract and slowly add it powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add 1-2 Tablespoons milk if it gets too thick. Add green dye for color if desired.
6. Chocolate Glaze: Melt chocolate chips and butter together in a microwave proof bowl. Zap for about 30 seconds, then stir, then microwave in 10 second increments and stir until smooth.
7. Assemble Cookies: Pipe on frosting, smooth over with a knife, spoon on your glaze in the middle, and top with roughly chopped chopped Andes Mints.
Christmas Lights Mini Cupcakes
I decorated mini cupcakes with white buttercream icing. I added a line of black icing around the buttercream, then I added Wilton Light Bulb Sprinkles.
Peppermint Fudge
Ingredients:
24 oz white chocolate chips
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup crushed peppermint candy
Instructions:
Line an 8 or 9-inch square pan with non-stick foil.
Combine white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and salt in a medium bowl.
Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Stir in the peppermint extract.
Pour the fudge into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Top with crushed peppermint candy canes.
Refrigerate for 2 hours until set.
Cut into 1 inch squares.
Andes Mint Fudge
Ingredients:
3 cups Nestle Dark Chocolate Chips
1 cup chopped up Andes Mints
14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk
Instructions:
Line 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish with foil, then spray foil with Pam.
In large microwave safe bowl, combine dark chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk.
Microwave for 1 minute, then stir.
Microwave for an additional 45 seconds, and stir until melted.
Once melted, quickly transfer to foil lined baking dish and spread out evenly.
Sprinkle chopped Andes Mints on top of the fudge.
Chill for approx. 2 hours, or until set.
Cut into 1 inch squares.
Candy Cane Hearts
Ingredients:
Mini Candy Canes
semi sweet Chocolate Chips
Directions:
Place wax paper on baking sheet.
Place 2 mini candy canes next to each other in the shape of a heart.
Melt chocolate chips in a microwave proof bowl. Zap for about 30 seconds, then stir, then microwave in 10 second increments and stir until smooth.
Spoon chocolate into the hearts.
Place a few candy canes in a ziplock bag and crush them with a spoon.
Add crushed peppermint to the chocolate in the hearts.
Let the hearts cool.
Sugar Cookie Drops
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Red, Green food coloring
Red, Green Sprinkles
Variety of Hersey’s Kisses
Directions:
In a bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms.
Divide dough into 3 parts and color each part red, green, and white with food coloring. Place some sprinkles into the white dough. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll spoonful balls of dough in the sprinkles.
Grease a pan and place the balls of dough on the pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
Place a Hersey Kiss into the center of each cookie.
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
I dipped pretzels into melted chocolate and then sprinkled crushed peppermint over them.
Christmas Candy Cookies
We placed various types of store bought cookie dough squares into our mini cupcake pan. We sliced the cookie dough and then cut them into fourths. Then we baked them for a few minutes and added the chocolate candies (Hershey’s Kisses and Mini Reece’s Cups). Let cool and removed from pan.
Rolo Pretzels
I placed wax paper on a cookie sheet and spread out square pretzels. Then I added a Rolo to each pretzel and melted in the oven for a couple minutes. Add another pretzel to the top of each Rolo and let them cool. Sweet and salty… my favoite!
This is the first Thanksgiving dinner that I have ever made. My family came for a visit from the west coast, so I had a lot of help 🙂 I also tried to make some fun Thanksgiving Treats to snack on during the beginning part of the day!
Carmel Apple Turkey
My boys LOVE carmel and apples so I made this little guy to snack on.
Thanksgiving Cornucopia
I used Pillsbury Crescent Dough to shape and bake the Cornucopia, then added the fruit that my family likes.
Fruit Dip
I also made my fruit dip that the boys LOVE! Mix one package of cream cheese with one jar of marshmallow cream!
Vegi Dip
Mix one tub of sour cream with one Ranch packet for the vegetables.
I made a Monster birthday cake for my friends 1 year old. I also made some cupcakes to match. I bake two box cakes and then decorated with my homemade buttercream icing recipe. I decorated the monsters with M&M’s, Candy Eyes, Candy Corn, and other small candies.
Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup Crisco
4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon milk (if thick)
Directions:
Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.
The boys and I made homemade gifts this year. We make several snowflake canvases to give to friends and family. To make these canvases, we cut and placed masking tape on the canvas in the shape of a snowflake.
Then we used different shades of blue paint to cover the entire canvas.
After the paint dried, we gently pulled off the tape to reveal our snowflakes.
I made a turkey cake for a friend’s birthday on Thanksgiving day this year. I used Nutter Butter cookies, Candy Corn, and Fruit Roll-up to decorate the turkey cake.
Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup Crisco
4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon milk (if thick)
Directions:
Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.
My Thanksgiving tradition is to make Gingerbread houses; so I decided to build them with my nieces and nephews this year. It was so much fun, now there are 11 cousins and J is the oldest!
We used Graham Crackers and Waffle Cones for our Gingerbread Houses and Christmas Trees this year.
I used a pear for the Turkey’s body and then cut up fruit to place around the pear for the Turkey’s feathers. These cousins just LOVE fruit.
I read “The Night Before Thanksgiving” to the cousins before bed… It is a great book with cousins and other extended family members. These cousins just love reading too.
The boys and I made a yummy dessert and fun Father’s Day cards for their Daddy!
“I Love You This Much” Card
First the boys traced and cut out 2 hand prints. Next we wrote, “I love you…” on the hands.
Next we cut a strip of paper and wrote “This Much” on it. Then we folded it back and forth over and over.
Finally we glue the strip in between the two hand prints.
Superman Father’s Day Card
First fold two sides of a piece of paper in to meet in the middle.
Fold down the corners of the top to look like triangles.
Next we cut out a tie shape and glued it to one side of the folded front. Then we glued 3 buttons to the other side of the folded front.
On the inside at the top we wrote, “DAD” and put a Superman emblem in the middle.
Oreo Brownie Cookie Bars
First press down some cookie dough into a baking pan.
Then add Oreo’s to cover the cookie dough.
Last we add the brownie batter to the top of the Oreo’s.
Bake and enjoy with ice cream!
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Oreo Brownie Bars
Ingredients:
Package of Brownie Mix (+the eggs, oil and water needed for that!)
Package of Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix (I opted to make the Original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from scratch! If you go this route – use a little less flour than you normally would to keep the cookies moist.)
Package of Oreos (regular or Double Stuffed – you choose!)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×9 baking pan with wax paper or foil and spray with cooking spray. (You can opt for a 13×9 pan if you want thinner bars.)
2. Make your cookie dough whichever way you like and spread in the bottom of the pan. If you are making a full batch of homemade Toll House cookie dough, you will only need half the batch!
3. Cover your cookie dough with Oreo cookies.
4. Whip up your brownie mix and pour evenly over the Oreo cookies.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
6. Cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy! Add some ice cream to completely put this indulgence over the top!
I took pictures of the kids on their toes and jumping with their hands in the air; then printed them, cut them out, and laminated them. Added a ribbon where their hands met in the air. We gave these to our Grandmas for bookmarks.
Handprint Footprint Flower
I put the boys hands in pink paint and their foot in green paint and made prints on the paper. they cut them out and glued them to a green stem, so they looked like a flower.
Mother’s Day Card
I painted the boys hands and placed them in the paper in the shape of a heart. Then I put their foot in green paint and placed it at the bottom of the paper. “From the bottom of my HEART… to the tip of my toes… I LOVE YOU!”
A Surprise From My Son
My 3rd grader is the sweetest. He made me a card full of puzzles including a secret code.
