Recipes

Name: Mixed Berry Jam and Butter Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 25 cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup {2 sticks} unsalted butter, softened; ½ cup powdered sugar, plus ¼ cup more for dusting; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; ⅛ tsp table salt; 2 cups all purpose flour; ½ cup of Ball® Fresh Preserving Mixed Berry Jam

Spa Inspired Holiday Survival Kit with Buffalo Check Jars

26 · Dec 5, 2017 · 1 Comment

With the craziness of the Holidays, who couldn’t use a spa inspired holiday survival kit? It’s full of homemade sugar scrub, shower bombs in stylish Buffalo Check Ball Jars, one of my favorite Yankee Candles®, even a cute little Ball® jar filled with matches. It turned out so cute, come learn how to make some kits of your own to give give to friends and family this Christmas. You could even use it as a Secret Santa gift!

+ This post brought to you by the folks at Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products +

I know when I’m working preparing all of the Holiday magic that comes this time of year, I can easily get a little run down. Nothing major, nothing a nice aromatic bath with some candles couldn’t cure. With that thought in mind, I thought it would be fun to put together this Holiday season to give to my friends, neighbors, teachers… Basically, anyone who could use a little pick-me-up as well.

Sharing Jars

I love the mission of the Ball® Sharing Jar. When you purchase the Sharing Jars your purchase will benefit Feeding America® – the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. For every package of Sharing Jars purchased, Newell Brands will donate 4 meals*! I LOVE it when I can help support a worthy cause when buying stuff I would normally buy any way.

*Newell Brands® will donate $0.36 per package of Sharing Jars sold, up to $150,000 provided to Feeding America®. $1 helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local member food banks.

Sugar Scrub Recipe

Before you can start assembling your Holiday Survival Kit, you’ll need to mix-up some simple sugar scrub. This couldn’t be any easier. You can mix this by hand or with a mixer. Either way is totally fine. Here’s what you’ll need.

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
10 drops of peppermint essential oil

Add sugar to your mixing bowl and slowly add your coconut oil until you get the desired consistency. I don’t like to add any food coloring because I don’t like to add extra chemicals and keep things natural. Plus, you don’t want to accidentally spill on something and have the color transfer.

Finish up by adding the essential oils and package in your Ball® Sharing Jar.

Shower Bomb Recipe

The shower bombs take a little more patience. These little guys are very similar to the Snowball Bath Bombs I made the other day. They are made with baking soda and you want to make sure you don’t activate it while you are in the process of mixing up your shower bombs.

1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/2 cup corn starch
2-3 tablespoons water
3o drops peppermint essential oil

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add baking soda, citric acid and corn starch. Put water and essential oil into a small spray bottle and slowly spray dry mixture while mixing on low. Continue adding water/oil mixture until you achieve a nice wet sand consistency. DO NOT rush this process.

Add mixture to a silicon mold like the one below and press firmly.

Let mixture sit in mold for 4-5 minutes and then carefully unfold. Let the shower bombs sit on a flat surface overnight to dry.

Fill the other sharing jar with the shower bombs and attach printable tag to jar.

Buffalo Check Jars

These buffalo check jars are a true gem! I have a feeling I’ll be using these year-round. Here is a quick post to show you how to make them.

Printable Gift Tag

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE to design all kinds of printable. These may be some of my favorite thus far.

You can download the tags HERE

Match Jar

Alright, I am so in love with this little, itty-bitty Mini Ball® Storage Jars. They are only 4 oz. and they are just too darn cute!

They are the perfect size for a little match jar for your Holiday Survival Kit. I filled the jar with matches, thenI cut a strip of the matchbox striker and glue it to the side of the jar.

I also cut some vinyl on my Cricut that looks super fun on the jar…

You can download the cut file HERE

Holiday Survival Kit Assembly

Now, all you need to do is assemble your spa inspired Holiday Survival Kit…

I grabbed a Yankee Candle® Small Tumbler Candle to go with my match jar and a little box and I assembled my Survival Kit with he printable tag glued on the front of the box. I also tied the gift tags on the jars with some leather that I bought at my local craft store. Now, it’s giving time!

Secret Santa

I am super excited this year to participate in the Ball® Home Canning Products Secret Santa Program! Their lovely crew assigned me to an amazing talented blogger, Almost Makes Perfect. I adore her style and was thrilled to send my Spa Inspired Survival Kit to her. I can’t wait to see what she thinks of it.

I was lucky enough to receive a Ball Secret Santa gift from Jamie of C.R.A.F.T. She sent me this cute little candy jar set…

How fun is that? Adding some twigs as antlers and a belt to the jar to look like Santa. Honestly guys, creating with Ball® Canning Jars is so much fun! What can you guys think-up for this Holiday Season?

Disclosure + I am a paid partner for Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

How to Paint Buffalo Check Jars

3 · Dec 5, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Love the Buffalo Check trend? Yep, me too! I thought it would be fun to use some of the Ball® Sharing Jars to create some Buffalo Check Jars to use as gifts this Holiday Season. Here’s how you can make some of your own.

+ This post brought to you by the folks at Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products +

Ball® Sharing Jars

This project looks a bit challenging, but truly it’s not! All you need are some of those fabulous Ball® Sharing Jars and some paint and you can create this trendy look for yourself.

I love the shape of the Sharing Jars and I love the mission. When you purchase the Sharing Jars your purchase will benefit Feeding America® – the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. For every package of Sharing Jars purchased, Newell Brands will donate 4 meals*! I LOVE it when I can help support a worthy cause when buying stuff I would normally buy any way.

* Newell Brands® will donate $0.36 per package of Sharing Jars sold, up to $150,000 provided to Feeding America®. $1 helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local member food banks.

Buffalo Check Jars

I’m a huge fan of the Buffalo Check trend and can’t get enough of it right now. Pretty much everyone I know feels the same way so, I thought a stylish Buffalo Check Jar would be the perfect gift for friends and family for Christmas this year. I’ve filled them with all kinds of stuff; candy, bath scrubs, shower bombs, soup starters, cookie kits, all kinds of stuff. Of course after the jars are painted, you can no longer preserve in them but, they’re great for everything else. Here’s how to make them.

Materials

Ball® Sharing Jars
Americana Decor Chalky Paint in Everlasting, Yesteryear & Carbon
sponge paint brush
1/4″ flat head paint brush
240 grit sandpaper
Americana Decor Clear Crème Wax
lint free cloth

Instructions

To begin, make sure you have washed and dried your jars. Then paint a couple of layers of the white (Everlasting) chalky paint onto the jar with the sponge brush. You can use your favorite kind of chalk paint here.

Don’t worry about brush strokes, they will get smoothed out in the finishing process at the end. Let dry, ideally for a few hours or overnight.

Next, you’ll use the 1/4″ flat paint brush to paint the gray (Yesteryear) stripes onto the jar.

You will loosely use the lines on the jars as guides. I really didn’t want a precise looking check wanting it to look more free form or hand painted. I didn’t want this project to become to crazy with measuring every little detail and taping the jar to get perfect lines. This to me makes the project so much more enjoyable and I love the look.

Start at the top points of the lines in the Sharing Jar and use your 1/4 inch brush line to create the stripes. Three stripes around the jar and then a vertical stripe in the center of the flat sections of the sharing jar. Let dry completely.

Now, you’ll use the black (Carbon) paint to paint on the black section of the check in the intersections of the gray stripes. Again, let paint dry completely. It would be best at this stage to let the paint cure overnight. It will help the paint adhere to the glass much better.

Once the paint is dry, you will use the sand paper to smooth and distress the paint. Be careful not to attach the jar with a little too much vigor. You don’t want to sand the paint right off the jar. Using a soft hand, smooth the dry paint, (this will remove the brush strokes) and then carefully distress the high points of the jar.

Once this step is complete, you’ll want to wipe down the jars with a damp cloth to remove any of the remaining dust. Then you’ll use your lint free cloth to wipe on some of the wax to seal the paint onto the jar. Use the lint free cloth to then wipe off any excess wax and buff the wax.

Now, you’re finished! You have the cutest Buffalo Check Jars ready to fill with whatever you like.

I created a fun Holiday Survival Kit and filled the jars with a homemade sugar scrub, some shower bombs and included a Yankee Candle® along with the cutest little match jar ever… You’ll have to check it out. It even comes with free printable gift tags.

Disclosure + I am a paid partner for Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Diet Coke® Cranberry Walnut Chutney with Brie in Puff Pastry Recipe

10 · Dec 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment

This post is being sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

With the Holidays soon upon us, it’s time to start thinking about what to make for all of our family gatherings and what to stock-up on to keep our pantry full for the season. For me, I’ll be heading to Sam’s Club and stocking up on several items. Good cheeses, pickles, olives, bread, puff pastry, seasonal fruit, nuts, spices and of course plenty of Diet CokeⓇ! Come see what we will be making at our house…

A table full of seasonal goodies is what really makes the Holidays for my family and I. The kitchen, especially the table is the center of the season with all kinds of scrumptious goodies. We have several food traditions in our home… Of course the typical cookie and candy making, the traditional meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas and some not so traditional like a dinner that is made up of a whole spread of yummy appetizers for New Years.

Friends and family are always dropping by and I’ve learned that it’s super important to keep the pantry stocked at all times so that we are prepared for unexpected guests. Here are some of my pantry staples from Sam’s Club.

Holiday Pantry Staples

It’s always good to have those quick appetizers or snacks on hand like the pickles, olives, cheese and crackers. The Sam’s Club French Bread freezes beautifully and is easy to pull out to go with soup or to slice up to use with a dip. Their seasonal fruit is exceptional and is great to give as a quick gift. You could even make a gift out of holiday spices… Wouldn’t that be fun! It’s good to keep nuts on hand for baking along with snacking and we CAN’T FORGET the Diet CokeⓇ! It’s perfect for serving to guests, for helping you get through the craziness of the season AND for baking or cooking.

Wait a minute… Baking and cooking? Yep, Diet CokeⓇ is a great pantry staple that is good for cooking with as well. You may have heard of Diet CokeⓇ cake or even several types of meat slow cook nicely in Coca-ColaⓇ. Here is one of my favorite recipes for Cranberry Chutney with Brie in Puff Pastry to take to Holiday gatherings that is made with, surprisingly enough, Diet CokeⓇ! Here is a QUICK little video to show you how I put it together.

Diet CokeⓇ Cranberry and Walnut Chutney with Brie in Puff Pastry – WhipperBerry from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

I LOVE how the Diet CokeⓇ Cranberry Walnut Chutney pairs with the Brie cheese, what’s fun is that it’s all wrapped up like a nice gift in some puff pastry. You have the savory cheese paired with the tangy and sweet chutney that is simply scrumptious. Plus, it looks great on a Holiday table. Our family can’t get enough of it! Here’s how to make it.

Diet CokeⓇ Cranberry Walnut Chutney with Brie in Puff Pastry

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Mixed Berry Jam and Butter Cookies

15 · Nov 12, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Is there anything better than the smell of cookies baking in the oven? One of my favorites is my Mixed Berry Jam and Butter cookies. The butter cookie literally melts in your mouth and then the jam follows with a burst of berry flavor… Oh my, it’s soooo good!! What makes these cookies extra special is the homemade mixed berry jam. It’s a must for sure, no cutting corners here. Come and learn how to make this beautiful jam along with my scrumptious mixed berry jam and butter cookies.

+ This post is brought to you by Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products +

A few months ago, some of you may remember, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the Ball® Canning headquarters at Newell Brands in Indiana. I learned all kinds of fun stuff about how to preserve all of those scrumptious summer treats that we love like peaches & berries so that we can enjoy them all year long.

I had a hands-on lesson that we filmed on how to make my favorite mixed berry jam that I am using for the cookies. I’ve come home and made more jam and my family LOVES it! They love it so much on toast, peanut butter & jam sandwiches, even on top of vanilla yogurt. I thought I would make some of our favorite butter cookies and add some of the jam to make a Mixed Berry Jam and Butter Cookie. I would call it a thumbprint cookie but, I actually didn’t use my thumb… But more on that in a bit.

Mixed Berry Jam Recipe

First off, you need to make your jam. For that you can head over to the Ball® Fresh Preserving site so that you can follow there step-by-step directions. You know, it’s really important to follow a tested and proven recipe when it comes to preserving food. It would be horrible to make your family sick by using untested recipes that create opportunities for bacteria to grow in your preserved food.

Ball® Jars in the Pantry

I have found that it’s really quite handy to use Ball® jars for canning and preserving food and also use them to store dry goods in my pantry. Check it out…

I always keep some Ball® Jars on hand, so when I do have a fresh batch of berries, peaches, beets, you name it, I can easily preserve a batch and have it ready in no time. I especially like to keep some of the BALL® REGULAR MOUTH HALF-PINT 8 OZ. GLASS MASON JARS in the pantry so I’m ready when I have fruit or veggies ready to can. If you have to stop and run to the store to grab your Ball® Jars, thats makes the process even longer. I also use the BALL® SUPER WIDE MOUTH GALLON 128 OZ. COMMEMORATIVE GLASS JAR to store my flour, sugar and other dry goods that I use often and the BALL® WIDE MOUTH HALF-GALLON 64 OZ. GLASS MASON JARS for other dry goods that I use while cooking. LOVE THEM!!

Mixed Berry Jam and Butter Cookies Recipe

Now that you’ve made your mixed berry jam, we can get started on this SIMPLE recipe! I love that it is easy to whip-up and doesn’t have too many ingredients. Here’s a quick video to show you how to make them.

Butter and Jam Cookies from WhipperBerry from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

Isn’t that fun? I made these quickly with my daughter and the whole family almost died with delight. The cookies totally melt in your mouth and then the sweet tanginess of the jam really makes them extra special. You’ll notice a few things that may be a little different that your normal thumbprint cookie. We didn’t use our thumbs, nor did we refrigerate the dough before we baked them. I tend to like a more uniform cookie, so we use a cookie scoop and then a 1/2 a teaspoon measuring spoon to make the “thumbprints” in the cookie. Again, more for uniformity than anything. Here’s the recipe…

Mixed Berry Jam and Butter Cookies

Prep 15 mins

Cook 20 mins

Total 35 mins

Author WhipperBerry

Yield 25 cookies

These melt in your mouth delights are perfect for after school or for sharing with neighbors. The homemade Mixed Berry Jam from Ball® Fresh Preserving is really the star of the show!

Ingredients

1 cup {2 sticks} unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar, plus ¼ cup more for dusting
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
⅛ tsp table salt
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup of Ball® Fresh Preserving Mixed Berry Jam

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F with rack on middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on high speed, beat butter and sugar until creamy and light, 2-3 minutes. This is where the magic happens, make sure to take the time to beat the butter and sugar until it's nice and fluffy.
Add vanilla and salt, scraping down bowl as needed. Switch to low and slowly mix in flour, just until combined. Dough should be somewhat sticky.
Using a large cookie scoop, scoop dough on to a parchment-lined baking sheets. Take a 1/2 teaspoon dip it in a bowl of flour and press down the center of each ball, making a deep well in the middle.
Fill cookie centers generously with Mixed Berry Jam. I use the the same 1/2 teaspoon that use to make the wells in the cookie to add the jam
Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Let cool 5 min. on baking sheet, then gently transfer to finish cooling on wire rack.
When cookies are completely cooled, dust with confectioners' sugar. Cookies can be kept in airtight container at room temp for a few days.

Pro Tips

This cookie dough is less sweet than others, making space for the very sweet mixed berry jam and the generous dusting of powdered sugar at the end.
These cookies are not intended too brown much, as they're more of a shortbread color so keep and eye on them.

Disclosure + I am a paid partner for Newell Brands, makers of Ball® Fresh Preserving Products. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Recipes

Sharing Jars

Sugar Scrub Recipe

Shower Bomb Recipe

Buffalo Check Jars

Printable Gift Tag

You can download the tags HERE

Match Jar

Holiday Survival Kit Assembly

Secret Santa

Ball® Sharing Jars

Buffalo Check Jars

Materials

Instructions

Diet CokeⓇ Cranberry Walnut Chutney with Brie in Puff Pastry

Mixed Berry Jam Recipe

Ball® Jars in the Pantry

Mixed Berry Jam and Butter Cookies Recipe

Mixed Berry Jam and Butter Cookies

Ingredients

Instructions

Pro Tips

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