♥Warm up Santa and your friends with Layers of Peppermint & Hot Chocolate Cones♥

Chocolate, conversation, and good friends is a perfect recipe for success. Give the gift of all three this season by making easy Layered Peppermint Cocoa Cones. Truly there is nothing more delightful than sitting with a friend sipping hot cocoa and laughing by the fire while waiting for St. Nick. These are a perfect gift for friends, neighbors, teachers, pastors, mailman, paper-boy - you name it and it will fit the bill!

1/2 cup cocoa mix
2 (6- by 12-inch) cone-shaped cellophane bags
1/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows or white chocolate chips
Crushed candy cane chunks

1. Pour cocoa mix into one of the bags. Close the bag with a clear rubber band, then trim the end of the bag one inch above the band.
2. Place the cocoa-filled bag into the second bag and flatten its top so the end doesn’t stick up. This will prevent the cocoa from mixing with the other layers.
3. Layer the chocolate chips and/or marshmallows, then top with crushed peppermint candy canes. Secure the bag with a holiday ribbon and tag. Quick, fun, easy. Do this with the kids for an evening filled with laughter - making good memories for those times when the world is a little chilly to the soul.

Other fun ingredient layers:
Butterscotch Chips
Mint Chips
Holiday Non-pareils
Cinnamon Sticks
Holiday shaped marshmallows
Reeses bits
Caramel bits

The cone papers? Any pastry shop will have them. I got mine at Walmart in the cake decorating department! Also, call your local JoAnns - they are a good bet, too!

♥Snow-Capped Gingerbread Chimneys♥

These cakes are spicy and dense (in a good way) with just a tad of lemon cream cheese frosting to complement them. They have the consistency of a cake-y brownie but the flavor of gingerbread cookies. The petite cakes are about the size of cupcakes, but with a touch more style. I baked these as 8×8 sheet cakes and then used a biscuit cutter to punch out small rounds after the cake had baked and cooled.

Makes 9 small Gingerbread Chimneys

2 Cups Flour
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Molasses (unsulphured, like Grandma’s brand)
2/3 Cup Hot Water
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg, optional

*Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz Cream Cheese
1/4 Cup Butter
1 lb Confectioner’s Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Zest from 1 Lemon
*I've been known to cheat and use Cool Whip at the last minute. They turn out yummy for the tummy!

Preheat oven to 350º F.

• Mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl until well combined.

• Prepare two 8×8 baking pans as follows: grease the pans with butter. Lay a square of parchment paper down in the inside of the pans, cut to fit the bottoms. Butter the paper as well. Use some of the gingerbread dry ingredients you just mixed to flour the pans, shaking/tapping out any extra.

• Whisk molasses and hot water together.

• Cream the butter and sugar. Whip the mixture with the egg until light and fluffy.

• Add part of the molasses mixture and part of the butter and sugar mixture to the dry ingredients. Begin to combine. As the ingredients come together, add more of the butter mixture and more of the molasses mixture until everything has been incorporated. Whisk to remove lumps, but to not over-mix.

• Pour the batter evenly into the two prepared pans. Bake at 350º F for 30-40 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, or the top of the cake, when touched, springs back.

Let cakes cool completely, then remove from the pan. You may need to use a knife to loosen the edges, but the parchment paper should keep the bottoms from sticking.

Once the cakes have cooled and have been removed from the pans, use a small biscuit cutter to cut 9 rounds from each cake. I have also used small cookie cutters in the shape of a star which is absolutely adorable!

Prepare frosting by beating all of the frosting ingredients until well combined and fluffy. Place a small amount of frosting on 9 rounds. Stack the rounds. Place the rest of the frosting in a piping bag and frost the top of each cake.

I garnished the ones you see here with green and red nonpareils, but maraschino cherries would be awesome or chocolate jimmies or a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg! Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. HINT: the gingerbread freezes really well so it isn't a problem for you to make several batches, freeze them, and then decorate when guests arrive!

Now, I know what you're thinking, "What in the world am I going to do with the gingerbread cake that if left after cutting my rounds." Here's what you do: Let the cake sit out for the rest of the day and then crumble with your hands and store in an air-tight container. The next time you sit down with a bowl of vanilla ice cream sprinkle some of your gingerbread crumbs on top or your ice cream mountian and then plop a great, big splot of whipping cream right on the summit. YUM!

♥My PINK SATURDAY bedroom sampler♥

Before I begin to share little tidbits about the items I have for you this week, I'll address Beverly's request for this week. She asked that we share a favorite childhood holiday memory. Given the fact that this is the Christmas Season I'll share a memory that goes back to my early childhood - something that I can conjure up and relive easily - with little to no effort at all.

 Click to take you to my favorite recipes

I  can close my eyes and smell my mother's kitchen filled with the aroma of baking cookies - butter, nuts, spices, dates, raisins, cherries.  Varieties so numerous that when the cookies were arranged on a huge, round plate that she used exclusively for the holidays, it reminded me of a patchwork quilt. It was gorgeous. So pretty and colorful that you almost - and I say almost - didn't want to touch that beautiful array of delicacies. But, heck, dig in we did, and with gusto. During the holidays my mother's kitchen was always warm and always busy and always producing some of the most remarkable meals and pastries in all of Saginaw, Michigan.

Back when my hands were more nimble and my eyes a little better I would spend hours and hours devoted to counted cross stitch. It was so relaxing for me to get lost in what I was doing when the boys were napping or had been put down for the night. The above piece I completed in 1983. My gosh, has it been that long? Seems like a lifetime ago...

This little sign rests on an antique chest of drawers in my bedroom because I just haven't found the perfect place for it - at least not yet. I adore the sentiment. No matter how old my grandchildren are they are still babies in my heart and I will always and forever have milk, cookies, hugs and kisses ready for each and every one of them when they come through the door of my home.

This plaque was painted for me by a good friend back in 1995. The story behind it is a little unsettling and isn't all that important for today. This sign was painted to remind me of the fact that unless we can promise something to ourselves and produce it by ourselves - everything else someone promises to us is a PROBABLY. We are the only ones that can guarantee anything in any amount of certainty to ourselves. We cannot rely on anyone - ever - to make us happy. That is our responsibility because everything else is a PROBABLY.

Isn't this little basket of blossoms adorable? This is a Goodwill Store find from years ago. Delicate and sweet, it sits on the dresser in my bedroom. It really doesn't have any purpose other than to make me happy and to make me smile and to make me feel good. It does all of those things easily and gets an A+ for effort☺

If you are a lover of pink and someone who enjoys lovely blog photos and great places to visit then you must travel over to Beverly's HOW SWEET THE SOUND today and check out all of the other wonderful people who participate in this special day - PINK SATURDAY. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

♥Sweet 'n Smokey Herbed Cashews♥

These cashews will be a big hit with the men on your holiday list - mailman, service-man, work associate, neighbor, any guy that you just don't know what to get for a gift but want to do something to show your appreciation. This recipe is also delicious with almonds, pecans, walnuts, as well as the ol' peanut! Put these our at a holiday gathering and watch them disappear!

Ingredients

2 cups (9 ounces) unsalted or lightly salted cashews
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon smoked hot paprika
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Toast cashews: Spread nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake at 350ºF, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Shake cashews in a paper bag with the melted butter to coat evenly. Next, toss cashews with remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Cashews can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

These aren't your grandma's paper snowflakes anymore

Homemade paper snowflake garlands are a perfect solution to a tight budget this Christmas season.  Not only do they look enchanting, but they are so much fun to make to make and cost practically nothing.  Hang them using fish line, clear thread or metallic silver or gold crafting threads.   Horizontally, vertically, or one by one – snowflakes are an easy craft to do with your family and a fun way to begin the holiday season.

All my paper snowflakes were made from folding circles of white paper (cut using an assortment of plates, saucers and cups as templates) and snipping away. I've used construction paper, tissue paper, paper plates (the centers) and a few others that I can't recall right away (that's what happens when you get older☺) to make these cutie pies. Gather up the kids and the not-so-much-kids in your life and have some fun! Times are tough and money is short plus we NEVER spend enough time with the people that we l♥ve.

I sewed mine together using a bit of white thread. Prior to sewing a punched teeny holes in the ends with an ice pick. Just tiny ones - enough to get your needle through without hurting your fingers.

Did you forget how to make a great paper snowflake? Find out how here with a tutorial by Curbly Videos.

♥EZ Delicious Candied Citrus Peels♥

This holiday, I wanted to make homemade candy as one of my edible gifts for friends, and I concluded that candied citrus fruit would be the perfect choice. The recipe only calls for fruit, which I always have on hand, and sugar. Candy making doesn't get more basic than that!

I used oranges, but any combination of lemons, oranges, and grapefruit would be wonderful. I can't wait to give this handmade, preservative-free candy to my friends and family. Of course, the standards will all be on hand, too, but I thought I'd start the recipe chain with these☺

Ingredients

Makes 2 1/2 cups

• 2 grapefruits, 3 oranges, or 4 lemons
• 4 cups sugar, plus more for rolling
• 4 cups water

Directions

1. Using a paring knife, make 6 slits along curve from top to bottom of each citrus fruit, cutting through peel but not into fruit. Using your fingers, gently remove peel. Reserve fruit for another use. Slice each piece of peel lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Using a paring knife, remove excess pith from each strip and discard.
2. Place strips in a large saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then drain. Repeat twice.
3. Bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Stop stirring. Wash sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Add strips to boiling syrup, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until strips are translucent, about 1 hour. Remove from heat, and let strips cool in syrup. (Strips in syrup will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 weeks.)
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer strips to a wire rack placed on a rimmed baking sheet. Wipe off excess syrup with paper towels, then roll strips in sugar. Arrange in a single layer on a wire rack, and let dry for at least 30 minutes. Sugared peels will keep, covered at room temperature, for up to 2 weeks.

Dress your holiday windows with pine cones and beads

I ♥ quick and easy. I also ♥ crafts that require no particular skill level because I will often look for projects to do with my grandchildren when they are here for a sleepover. There is a gigantic pine tree on the side of my property that blesses me with thousands of cones each year - big ones, little ones. Not all of them get used but I do my best to make sure they don't go to waste!

To make this delicate garland, drill a small hole into the top and bottom of each pine cone. Thread silver beads onto eye pins and stick them into the holes. A dab of glue will keep the beads in place. I use my glue gun because it is so quick and easy. Use fine wire ribbon to hang cones from a string of beads. These don't have to be elegant - beads can be multi-color with white cones or green cones or red cones. Use your imagination and have fun. After all, if it's not fun - why do it at all☺