Category: Charcuterie Board

Christmas Cardboard Fireplace & Gingerbread Christmas Tree

We don’t have a fireplace in our house, so I wanted to see if I could make a cardboard fireplace for Christmas this year. We placed our Charlie Brown Christmas tree on the fireplace and were able to take pictures of the baby girls in front of it too.

Cardboard Fireplace

I wrapped 5 diaper boxes with brown packing paper and glued them together. Then I wrapped 3 giant pizza boxes and glued them to the top of the boxes for the ledge.

Next I put red and black paint on a paper plate and used a damp sponge to make painted “bricks” all over the boxes.

I got a flat piece of cardboard and painted the back of it black and then I painted red, orange, and yellow flames. Then I placed it in the opening of the fireplace and taped it in place.

I put some pine garland on the top of the fireplace with some Christmas decorations. I also placed our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree on the top of the fireplace too.

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

I went out to the yard and found a pine branch that looked how I wanted. I nailed two by fours together and straightened out a wire coat hanger to attach trough the two by four stand. I attached the tree branch to this coat hanger wire to help it stand up. Then I placed a single red, round ornament bulb on the top of the branch and wrapped a thin blue swaddling cloth around the bottom of the tree as Linus’s blanket.

Gingerbread Christmas Tree

Gingerbread Ingredients:

  • 4 cups flour
  • ¾ Cup melted butter
  • ¾ Cup sugar
  • ½ Cup Molasses
  • ½ Cup water
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 TBS Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 egg

Gingerbread Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients.
  2. Once dough begins to form, dust generously with flour.
  3. Cover dough with plastic and chill for 4 hours.
  4. Dust surface with flour and roll out dough to ¼ inch thick.
  5. Use the star Christmas Tree cookie cutter set and place pieces on sprayed cookie sheet.
  6. Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Assembly:

Place the largest start on the bottom and then add the next largest on top. Hold it in place with a bit of butter cream. Continue stacking the tree with smaller and smaller stars until you get to the last one. Place the last star upright. Dye the butter cream green and place a bit on each arm of each star. Lastly add the Christmas Light Candies.

Butter Cream Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup Crisco
  • 4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon milk (if thick)

Butter Cream Directions:

  1. Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
  2. Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
  3. Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.

Christmas Day Snacks

Fruit Dip Wreath

I used fruits to make it look like a green wreath with berries and a bow.

Fruit dip is made with one package of cream cheese with one jar of marshmallow cream!

Vegi Tray Wreath

I used vegetables to make it look like a green wreath with berries and a bow.

Vegi ranch is made with one tub of sour cream with one Ranch packet for the vegetables.

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Easter Bunny Booty Cake

Cinnamon Rolls

I made homemade cinnamon rolls for Easter morning breakfast…

Ingredients:

Dough

  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons softened butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Icing

  • 4 ounces cream softened cheese
  • 1/4 cup softened butter
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk and yeast… let set for 5-10 minutes.
  2. Add sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. Add in flour. Using a dough hook, turn the mixer on to a low speed.
  3. Once the flour starts to mix into the dough, increase the speed to a medium range. Add more flour as necessary so that the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should be soft, but not stick to your hands.
  4. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
  5. Lightly grease a baking pan. Punch down the dough and roll into a 12inch by 18inch rectangle.
  6. In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread on top of the dough. Roll up tightly lengthwise so you have one long roll. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 one-inch slices.
  7. Place the slices onto a lightly 9×13 pan. Cover and let rise 30 to 45 minutes.
  8. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until the tops have a touch of brown.
  9. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the cream cheese icing by using a hand mixer to whip together cream cheese and butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Whip in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add enough milk to get a super soft consistency.
  10. Frost the rolls while still warm and spring sprinkles. Serve immediately or cool and store. Stays good for 4 to 5 days.

Easter Bunny Booty Cake

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Pre heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Mix cake mix as directed on cake box.
  3. Spray the pan.
  4. Pour 3 1/2 cups of batter into the bottom of the cupcake and bake for 15 minutes.
  5. Then pour 2 1/2 cups of batter into the top of the cake and bake for 45 minutes. (I used the extra batter to make a few cupcakes).
  6. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a cooling grid until is completely cools.
  7. Level both cakes with a sharp knife and add butter cream between the layers.

Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup Crisco
  • 4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon milk (if thick)

Directions:

  1. Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
  2. Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
  3. Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.

Marshmallow Fondant Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz. Mini Marshmallows
  • 3 TBSP water
  • 2 lbs Powdered Sugar (4 cups)
  • Crisco

Directions:

  1. Grease a large glass bowl with Crisco.
  2. Pour in the marshmallows and water; then microwave at 30- second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted.
  3. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar. Place the red of the powdered sugar in a large bowl of a standing mixer.
  4. Grease the paddle attachment with Crisco and pour in the melted marshmallows on top of the powdered sugar.
  5. Beat until a dough form; there will be a lot of loose bits and sugar in the bottom of the bowl.
  6. Grease a clean work surface with Crisco and dump out the fondant and all the loose bits. Grease your hands liberally with Crisco and knead the mixture together, just like kneading bread, for about 5 minutes until smooth.
  7. Grease hands again as needed. As the fondant becomes smoother, use the reserved powdered sugar to coat the surface to keep it from sticking.
  8. Once smooth, you can divide and color the fondant. While working with one piece, cover the remaining fondant with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.
  9. When you have your colors finished coat the fondant in a light layer or Crisco; wrap in plastic wrap and place in a large baggie for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
  10. Store at room temperature for several months. To us it, dust the surface and rolling pin with powdered sugar and roll out to 1/8 of an inch.

Coconut Bunny Cupcakes

I used the extra cake batter from the Bunny Booty Cake to make a few cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Put the icing on the top of the cupcakes and dip them into the coconut.
  2. Then cut the mini marshmallows diagonally and dip the sticky part into the pink sugar sprinkles.
  3. Place the marshmallows on the cupcake for the ears.
  4. Place 2 candy eyes on the cupcake too.
  5. Cut a tiny marshmallow ball and roll it into the pink sugar for the nose.

Easter Candy Charcuterie Board

This year I decided not to give the older kids individual Easter baskets. Instead I made yummy snack mix on a tray with their favorite Easter foods. I chose to use an oval shaped serving tray to look like an egg, but you can use any shape serving tray.

Easter Day Family Fun

Dying Eggs

Hunting Eggs

Easter Baskets

Kids Thanksgiving Treats

One of our family Thanksgiving traditions is making Gingerbread Houses. This year we continued our tradition with mini Gingerbread Houses and Waffle Cone Christmas Trees. I also tried something new this year, I made a Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board with foods that my family enjoys.

Mini Gingerbread Houses

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. We each chose our houses and gently broke apart the pieces… one of the houses broke in the mail. But we were happy with the rest of our houses.
  2. We helped each other hold the pieces together as we used the icing to “glue” them into place.
  3. Then we decorated our houses with the candies using the icing as the “glue”.

Waffle Cone Christmas Trees

Ingredients:

  • Waffle Cones
  • Royal Icing
  • Green Food Coloring
  • Tiny Christmas Candies

Directions:

  1. We dyed some of the icing green and covered our waffle cones with it.
  2. Then we used the candies to decorate our Christmas trees.

Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board

Ingredients:

  • Wooden Board
  • Small bowls or containers
  • Small spoons, knives, tongs, etc…
  • various Meats and Cheeses
  • various Crackers and Breads
  • fresh and dried Fruit and Berries
  • Candy Pumpkins or Candy Corn
  • Sage or Thyme

Directions:

  1. Place your bowls on your board. We put olives, craisins, frosted cranberries, and roasted pumpkin seeds in our bowls.
  2. Place your cheese. We used a sphere of Gouda cheese and a bacon ranch cheese ball.
  3. Place your meats around the cheese. We like pepperoni and hard salami.
  4. Place your crackers and breads. We used 3 different types of crackers, blue corn chips, and a sliced baguette.
  5. Place some herbs around the edges of the board.
  6. Place your fruit and berries. We used grapes, blackberries, strawberries, and clementines.
  7. Last we placed our candy pumpkins and added the utensils.