Holidays

English Toffee Cinnamon Bun Sweet Cake + Easy Neighbor Gift

18 · Dec 17, 2014 · 3 Comments

+ English Toffee Cinnamon Bun Sweet Cake post brought to you by Pillsbury Baking +

We’re hitting crunch time friends! Christmas is about a week away. Have you figured out what you are giving your neighbors and friends this Christmas season? I have a super easy and super sweet gift idea for you… English Toffee Cinnamon Bun Sweet Cakes!

Uh yes… YUM!!

This is just a simple and scrumptious box cake mix and prepared frosting from my favorite folks at Pillsbury Baking. They have done all the hard work of making it perfect… All you have to do is bake it and make it look amazing!

Here is what you need…

Yep, that’s it. Well… You will need eggs and oil for the cake, but other than that, this is it.

I also found these great baking cups at Target that come with a clear lid. Super Cute and easy to use. You can find it in the baking section at Target.

Mix up your cake according to the package directions and fill you baking cups 1/2 way.

Place in a 350˚ oven for 19-20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool. If you would like a flat top to decorate, carefully cut-off the dome with a serrated knife.

Using a Jumbo Closed Star Decorating Tip, and a pastry bag… Pipe some simple stars on the top of your little sweet cakes.

Next, in a Ziplock bag, add some English Toffee. Using something heavy item like a rolling pin or meat tenderizer, take out some aggression and crush your toffee. Sprinkle on top of the sweet cakes and you’re finished!

All you need to do now is package your sweet treats.

I place the lid on the sweet cakes and then wrap with a ribbon. Then I add a fun gift tag that I created for this Holiday Season.

You can download the gift tag HERE

I’ve printed the tag on kraft paper, but you can use whatever you like. All I did was tie it onto a stack of sweet cakes and we were ready for delivery!

It can’t get any easier than that. The cool thing is you can customize it for each family.

One box of cake mix will make 10 little sweet cakes. You will need two cans of frosting for that application. Stack them in 2’s and 3’s and it’s a fun new way to share some Christmas Cheer!

For a Savory gift tag option… Check-out this post.

How fun will it be to combine the two?!

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Pillsbury Baking. All thoughts, ideas and opinions are my very own. However, I want you all to know that I will never promote a product or company that I do not love and use in my normal day to day life.

Savory Christmas Gifts + Free Printable Gift Tag + Trader Joe’s Christmas +

10 · Dec 10, 2014 · 4 Comments

+ These Savory Christmas Gifts & free printable tags brought to you by WHIPPERBERRY +

Not everyone has the time or the desire to spend hours and hours baking cookies and watching your handmade caramels on the stove this time of year. Many of us have too many thing on our plate for handmade gifts this year. Not to worry, Trader Joe’s has some fantastic Christmas goodies that you can dress up with my free printable tags and your friends and family will love your simple gift! I was at Trader Joe’s the other day and noticed how fun their Holiday packaging was. I grabbed a stash of goodies and set to work…

My thought was… I can add a little more pizzaz with some free printable gift tags and they will make perfect gifts!

On Monday, I shared a fun way to dress-up those fun Milk Chocolate Oranges that you can find this time of year.

Today I’m sharing my SAVORY gift pack. Not everyone has a sweet tooth you know. I LOVE getting some scrumptious savory Christmas gifts this time of year. I gather some of my favorite savory items and put together a trio…

First, I selected a premium Balsamic Vinegar. I LOVE Balsamic Vinegar and I’m always on the look out for a tasty new vinegar. This one is divine!

Any foodie knows that this is salt is the Queen of Salts. Fleur De Sel is a special salt harvested from the top of salt ponds in the Brittany region of France. It’s a special finishing salt that provides a lovely burst of saltiness in your mouth. Many people add this type of salt to the top of salted caramels, I love it on top of a good steak. This is a great savory gift!

I adore a good Antipasta and this one from Trader Joe’s looks tasty! It’s a combination of artichoke hearts, olives, sundried tomatoes, grilled mushrooms & preserved lemons. It looks tasty!! This jar came with a burlap lid covering that I didn’t love, so I switched that out with some of my favorite ticking cloth and add a fun printable tag to the top.

Click HERE to download the free Savory Christmas Gift Tag

Now all you have to do, is print the tags on cardstock. I printed mine on a kraft paper cardstock. Then cut the tags out with your paper cutter or scissors.

Add some gold baker’s twine from TomKat Studios…

Tie it onto your jar and you’re good to go!

Add this trio to a gift basket or bag and you’re all set. This is a gift any foodie on your list will LOVE!!

Disclaimer // This is not a sponsored post.

Orange you Sweet Printable Christmas Gift Tags + Trader Joe’s Christmas +

4 · Dec 8, 2014 · 2 Comments

+ This Orange you Sweet Printable Christmas Gift Tags brought to you by WHIPPERBERRY +

With the hustle and bustle of the season, sometimes those fun little neighbor, teacher, boss gifts kinda make it to the bottom of the list. We all want to create a fun homemade gift, but at times… Homemade just isn’t in the cards.

NO PROBLEM! I have always been a fan of good packaging. When you have a goodie that has already been packaged well, It’s easy to all a little more pizzaz and voilà, you have a fun gift that everyone is going to love!! NO ONE is going to judge that you didn’t make 100 batches of your grandmother’s fudge. All they care about, is the simple thought.

The other day, I was at Trader Joe’s and I was reminded about how fantastic their Christmas goodies are! I thought…

Wouldn’t this be a great way to tell your neighbors, teachers, bosses, hair stylist, mail man, etc… That you are thinking of them this holiday season. I thought I could come up with some fun free printable gift tags and it will be even easier!

Here is the first little gift… Orange you Sweet Printable Christmas Gift Tags!

Who doesn’t love the Trader Joe’s Organic Milk Chocolate Orange?

This is a classic Holiday gift. I remember for years my Mom sharing stories of long ago about little children who were so happy to receive an orange on Christmas. How it was the most magical gift they could ever imagine. As a child I thought this was absurd. I didn’t have a clue as to how hard it was to actually grow and transport citrus to the fridged regions north of the Mason Dixon Line in the 1800’s. Once I matured, I got it. Oranges can be magical!

When chocolate oranges came on the market, my sister’s and I would get one in our stockings every year. It was for two reasons… First, to remind us of the simplicity that we should enjoy. To take the time to appreciate what we had. Second, they were pretty tasty!!

I thought this would be the perfect way to start my Trader Joe’s Christmas. You can get several different kinds of Chocolate Oranges, but I love the packaging that Trader Joe’s has to offer. All you need to do is find a ribbon that looks good wrapped around the box. I like this ribbon from May Arts.

Then I created a fun printable that you can print on simple white sticker paper.

Click here to download the free printable

Now, I’ve created a couple of files. For those of you who have a Silhouette cutting machine. You can use the Silhouette files. If you don’t have a Silhouette you can print the PDF file and and cut out the stickers yourself. It’s super simple.

You can grab some printable white sticker paper from Silhouette or you can go to your local office supply story and look for full sheets of sticker paper in the mail label section.

Then all you have to do is print and cut your stickers.

Wrap your boxes is a nice ribbon and secure the ribbon with your fun “Orange you Sweet, Merry Christmas” sticker!

Make-up a bunch of these for your co-workers, your church leaders, your kiddos bus driver… really anyone!

Stay tuned… Tomorrow, I will have another fun gift idea for my simple Trader Joe’s Christmas!

Disclaimer // This is NOT a paid post.

Spice Cookies with Holiday Nog Glaze Recipe

6 · Dec 3, 2014 ·

+ This Spice Cookie with Holiday Nog Glaze post is brought to you by the folks at Silk +

There is nothing better to usher in the Holiday season than a good batch of Spice Cookies! My kiddos and I think that they are truly Christmas on a plate for sure…

There is just something special about a soft chewy cookie that is packed full of the spices of the season… Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, molasses & a new addition cardamom, YUM!

This is a cookie that truly stands the test of time. People have been making spice cookies for hundreds of years and it’s a fun tradition at our house. This year I decided to add a little flair with a Holiday Nog Glaze…

Yep, you got it… It adds a whole lotta love to those scrumptious cookies. I chose Silk Holiday Nog over traditional Egg Nog for a few reasons…

First, I LOVE IT!! Seriously, have you tried this stuff? It’s all of the flavors of the season without all the guilt! I don’t think I will ever drink traditional Egg Nog ever again.

Second, It’s a great dairy-free alternative for our dairy-sensitive friends! Plus, here are the other goodies about Silk Holiday Nog…

Absolutely no cholesterol or saturated fat

Free of dairy, lactose, gluten, casein, egg and MSG

Verified by the Non-GMO Project’s product verification program

No artificial colors, flavors or funny business

Yea… it’s a NOG that I can truly get behind.

Third… As a Silk Member, you can enter to win a $500 Spa Gift Card!

Yes, we all know we could use one of those babies after the mad rush of the Holidays! You too can become a member HERE. They have new giveaways every month along with fabulous coupons for their members! SCORE!!

Now on to the cookies… Here’s how to make these scrumptious, Christmas on a plate, Spice Cookies with Holiday Nog Glaze.

Silk Cookies with Holiday Nog Glaze Recipe

Preheat oven to 350˚

3 sticks of butter (1 1/2 cups) softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup molasses

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup of course sugar

1/4 cup Silk Holiday Nog

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream butter & sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, egg yolk and molasses.

In a large bowl, combine your spices and dry ingredients; flour, salt, baking soda and all of the spices…

Aren’t they pretty?!

Gradually add the dry ingredients into the creamed sugar mixture until fully incorporated.

Place dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove the dough and scoop the dough into 2 inch balls with a cookie scoop. Roll the cookie balls in a bowl with the course sugar. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in a 350˚ oven for 13-14 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Mix Holiday Nog glaze while cookies are cooling. Add the powdered sugar to a small bowl, add salt and Silk Holiday Nog and whisk until it turns into a thick glaze.

Once the cookies are cool, dip the top part of the cookie into the glaze. Be careful to not fully submerge.

You only want to lightly kiss the top of the cookie with the glaze. Place on a cooling rack and wait for the glaze to set.

Once the glaze is set, serve your cookies with a nice glass of Silk Holiday Nog!

They taste great dunked into the nog as well… just sayin’

Hannah and I thoroughly enjoyed them…

The also make perfect Holiday neighbor gifts! Bag up a few of these bad boys and share with your family and friends. I would even pair it with a carton of silk, they’ll thank you for it!

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Holidays

You can download the gift tag HERE

Click HERE to download the free Savory Christmas Gift Tag

Click here to download the free printable

Silk Cookies with Holiday Nog Glaze Recipe

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