This and that

Friday, December 21, 2012

Candy Cane Meringue Kisses

I have never made meringue before... 
But I saw these somewhere on Facebook with candy cane kisses
 and thought they looked wonderful, I am not sure where I found them
so if you posted it let me know so that I can give you credit.

The first batch I made I used the candy cane kisses and tinted the meringue with red food colouring.
The second batch, I used chocolate kisses and mixed in candy cane crumbs in the meringue.
Both smell heavenly.



Candy Cane Meringue Kisses

2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
dash of salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
Hershey kisses - I used candy cane kisses and chocolate kisses
1-2 drops of red food colouring
crushed peppermints
red coloured sugar or sprinkles

Preheat oven 200 degrees F
In large bowl, mix egg whites, cream of tarter, and salt.  Beat until egg mixture until it forms peaks, add sugar slowly and continue to beat until stiff and glossy.  Add food colouring if you like.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and place a candy cane kiss on the paper about 2 inches apart.  Using pastry bag and star tip, pipe meringue around candy cane kiss.  Bake in 200 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Turn off oven.  You can now add coloured sugar or sprinkles at this time.  Return the meringue back to oven and leave in until completely cooled - at least 3 or more hours or even over night.   I was able to make 21 -24 meringue kisses.

For the meringues that I made with the chocolate kisses, I crushed about 1/8 cup of candy cane and mixed into the meringue before piping it around the kisses.  I did not put food colouring in the meringue or use sprinkles with these.  Some of the pieces of candy canes were bigger then the others.

Meringue with 2 drops of red food colouring,
ready to be piped around kisses


meringue piped around candy cane kisses











meringue piped around chocolate kisses

Both types of meringue kisses, to show how they are piped
around the  Hershey kisses








Enjoy






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Santa's elves Gingerbread house and Bloggers Unite for Sandy Hook

After the terrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School,
many bloggers got together to show their support
 to the families of the victims and the community of Newtown.
Today, December 21st, bloggers are going to unite and bring cookies or a craft.
To find more information about this please go to Your and Mine ARE ours and  Crazy for Crafts.
cookies and crafts for sandy hook
I found this on Tammy's blog ~ Yours and Mine ARE Ours

As I was trying to think of something to make or do to show my support
My thoughts went to making a Gingerbread House.
I loved making Gingerbread Houses with my nieces and nephews over the years,
and I wondered if any of these children that lost their lives had ever made one or 
if they were going to be making one this Christmas.


I haven't made a gingerbread house for many years but this year
My gingerbread house is going to be a tribute to all the children and adults that lost their lives
in the senseless tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14th.
This will not bring them back but it is my way of showing support to the families and the loved ones of 
these fallen victims.

May God give you the strength and comfort you through these trials.


After cutting out and baking my elves gingerbread house,
 I decided to decorate the pieces before putting them together.

the roof
the walls, front and door
 After decorating the roof and the walls, it was time to start putting it together
Once the walls together, I knew that I need a bit of support before I put the roof on.

a straw made a good beam

a picture from the side... not the best picture


a close up of the final project from the front..
I will be posting the recipe for the dough that I used for the gingerbread house hopefully this weekend.
I used the leftovers to make cookies..
Here is where I found my pattern.




related articles
Gingerbread House Competition at the Daily Dish (marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com)
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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party -12/20/12

Last party of the year...
It has been a great year and I have had lots of fun...
Hope you all did too.
There has been so many great recipes linked up,
I just wish that I would have time to make them all...

Thank you to all of you who have made our parties such a success

If it wasn't for you we wouldn't be able to do this...

This week's giveaway is sponsored by one of our own

Remember to fill out the rafflecopter for your chance 
to win some peppermint foot scrubs..
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now onto this week's party
Hosts:

Foodie Friends Friday http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com
Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com
Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/
Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com
Michelle at  From Calculus to Cupcakes http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com
Cynthia at Feeding Big  http://www.feedingbig.com
Jodie at Binomial Baker http://www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com
R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade http://www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com
Angie at A lil Country Sugar http://www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com
Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings: : http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com 
Joanne at Winelady Cooks: http://www.wineladycooks.blogspot.com
Marlene at Nosh My Way: http://www.noshmyway.com


Rules:











Last week party:


Hun What's For Dinner ~ Mini Chocolate Cherry Flourless Cake
Hun What's For Dinner ~ Double Chocolate Candy Cane Fudge
Half Baked Harvest ~ Chocolate Covered Pecan Truffles 

Sweet Heat Chefs ~ Rosemary Garlic Infused Oil
This and That ~ Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies
Walking on Sunshine ~ Homemade Coloured Sugar


Did you make a Gingerbread House this year?
Remember to link it up at the Daily Dish...
You could win an apron with a gingerbread applique..
 

You do not have to be a blogger to enter
Just ignore the URL.
Enter at the Daily Dish or on my blog.



Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Granola Bars... the most delicious ones yet.

 Fri
I love granola bars and my husband eats them like they are going out of style...
and I finally found a bar that works for us...
tastes good, not too sweet
and has fruit..
YUM!


Fruity Granola Bar

adapted from All-recipes.com 
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup flax
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup dried fruit (I use cranberries, apricots and mangoes)*
1/2 cup honey
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup coconut oil ( I use Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil) melted
2 tsp vanilla 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish generously. 
In large bowl mix together rolled oats, brown sugar, flax, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut, flour, salt, and dried fruit. Make a well in the center of ingredients.  In separate bowl mix honey, egg, coconut oil and vanilla and pour into dry ingredients.  With hand mix everything together and pat into baking dish.
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until edges start turning brown.  Cool for 5 minutes and then cut into bars.  Cool the rest of the way.  You need to cut them after 5 minutes or they will be too hard to cut.

*I have omitted the brown sugar entirely and they still turn out.  
* when using dried fruit the majority is the cranberries and then added cut apricots and mangoes for the rest. Cut in small pieces
**  I have also doubled the recipe and still used the 9 X 13 pan.. they are thicker and I cut them into thinner pieces.

Enjoy!


These are great for breakfast and breakfast on the go, and for snacks.
They also would be a good Christmas gift to give for people that are on the go..

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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Gingerbread Truffles

Like my Candy Cane Fudge Truffles,
my Gingerbread Truffles came from the same way...
I made some Gingerbread Spice cookies and they didn't really turn out...
They tasted wonderfully, but as they wouldn't come off the pan and also were hard..
I couldn't serve them...
So I decided to make the cookies into crumbs,
Add some Cream Cheese and roll them into balls and dip them into white chocolate.




Gingerbread Truffles

3 cups gingerbread cookie crumbs
8 oz cream cheese
white chocolate
ginger candy or sprinkles for garnish

Mix cookie crumbs and cream cheese, I used my kitchen aide to do this.  Roll into balls.  Put in refrigerator to chill.  Once chilled dip into melted white chocolate and garnish if you like with small pieces of ginger candy or sprinkles.

I haven't got the art of dipping into white chocolate ~ The balls wouldn't dip, so I used a knife and spread the white chocolate onto the balls.





Related articles
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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas Subway Art.

Subway art is becoming very popular
and I have tried to do my own.
These are all done with some help of the web and searches I have done
Also from pictures I have seen both online and in stores.
You are welcome to use any of these, but they are not available to be used for profit.
They are only available for personal use.








I am also going to repeat the links so that you can find them to copy as I sometimes have problems with the links at the beginning of my post.  Please let me know if you are having problems finding the links as this is the first time I am doing this and using google doc.


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