Homemade Christmas Ornaments

I love to make ornaments.  For years I would make my nieces and nephews a new ornament each year.  This year I have made a couple of different ones that I want to share with you.  They are all easy to make.

Gingerbread House ~ Blogger's Christmas Series #4

Gingerbread House

Gingerbread houses originated in Germany in the 1600's.  They became even more popular after the story of Hansel and Gretel written by the Brothers Grimm.  No one knows for sure if gingerbread houses came first or if the story came first.

Building a gingerbread house is a tradition in many houses.  Although these houses are not always made of gingerbread anymore.  You can make them using graham crackers, shredded wheat and even make a house out of non-edible materials like cardboard and sticks.

There are many recipes for gingerbread that you can use, over the years that I have made my own gingerbread I have used a couple of recipes.  The recipe that I used to make the above gingerbread houses was this one - as I didn't use molasses in this recipe, the houses were lighter.

My plans for the gingerbread houses that I made this year was to make a small houses that can sit on a side of a cup but I made them too big, and I also didn't cut the door big enough so they wouldn't sit on the side of a cup.  So it is back to the drawing board for me... Hopefully next year they will work out the way I wanted them too.

I am not a decorator and I do not profess that I know what I am doing, but I do like to make these houses.  I like to use royal icing when I made my gingerbread house as I find it hardens fast.  I also do my houses in stages.  First "gluing" the pieces together and then doing the decorating.

I made this house above a couple of years ago.  I did a post and showed how I decorated it.  Do you make gingerbread houses?

This post is the last of Blogger's Christmas Series.  Along with myself there are many other awesome bloggers that have written blogs for this series.  I hope that they have given you some inspiration to help you with your Christmas preparations.

An InLinkz
Link-up

Decorating for Christmas - Blogger Christmas Series #3

Have you started decorating for Christmas yet? ~ Or are you like me and not have a stitch of decorating done this year.  I usually have at least something done but not this year.  So instead of showing you my decorations, I am going to be showing some of the decoration and how I decorated in past years.

No Sun for Sunlit Sunday...

This week came and went... with only a bit of a peak of the sun ... I noticed it the other day when I got up in the afternoon... But my eyes just couldn't stay awake to enjoy it and when I got up for the day the sun was gone.... and then I was sad and wishing that I hadn't wasted the day sleeping.  Looking at the forecast it doesn't look like we will see any kind of sun until next weekend.

Pretzel Salad

Pretzel Salad has been a tradition at my house for years.  It wouldn't be a holiday meal without it.  If there is turkey there is this salad.   Over the years I have changed it slightly, using different flavours of strawberry jello like strawberry banana and I have also used raspberry jello with raspberries.

Scandinavian Spice Cookies

Both Sweden and Finland have a spice cookie that is eaten during the Christmas season.

In Swedish they are called Pepparkakor and in Finnish they are called Piparkakut or Pepparkakkuja

The recipe for these cookies are fairly similar

These cookies can either be rolled thin and cut into shaped and then iced

or rolled into balls and pressed down.

The cookies that are cut into shapes are much crisper then the rolled ones.

Here is the recipe that I came up with after reading a few different recipes. 

I made these for our cookie exchange this year.

Scandinavian Spice Cookies 

1 1/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 T brown Karo syrup ( you could also use molasses)

1 egg

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamon 

1 tsp ginger.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the syrup, egg and soda mixed with a small amount of flour and mix well.  Mix in the remaining flour cloves, cinnamon, cardamon and ginger.  Mix well.    

After dough is mixed, I place it in the fridge for an hour or so, so that the dough is cool. 

Roll out dough thin and cut with cookie cutters or roll into balls and flatten out with a glass or a cookie press.  I used a cookie press that had been dipped in sugar.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 -12 minutes.

You can also decorate these cookies ~ I outlined the stars and hearts with royal icing (recipe below) or you could also put sprinkles on the cookies before baking them. 

Royal Icing

2 egg whites

2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)

1 tsp vanilla 

Mix all ingredients together.  Place in decorating bag with straight tip and outline cookies with icing.

rolled and used a snow flake shaped
cookie press

Star shape cookie cutter

heart shape cookie cutter

I am sure that there will be someone here that will say that Finland isn't part of the Scandinavian countries.  I have both Finnish blood and Swedish blood in me and I say that I am Scandinhoovien... Not a word but you know what I mean.  Although there is a lot different between Finland and Sweden there is a lot similar just like between Canada and United States.

Links: 4 You with Love, Christmas Cookie Exchange Party, Winter Wonderland Party