2011 Holiday Goodie Box

 Pretty freaking adorable, huh?

It's been awhile since I've made Christmas cookies.  Last month, I brought treat boxes with me to a Christmas gift exchange and one of my girlfriends said "You didn't make us cookies last year!... Or the year before!"  I know... I know... but, shit... it's hard work!  So, I figured I'd make it up to them and make them LOTS of goodies this year (so maybe I can take a break again for the next 2 years, or even 5).  In the boxes were: pistachio macarons, cinnamon sugar butter cookies, mini heart shaped apple pies, chocolate hazelnut cookies, a red velvet cupcake and soft ginger cookies.

I've made almost all of those cookies/treats before, except for the mini pies.  It was my first time making pie dough from scratch and I used Martha's pate brisee (pie dough) recipe.  It was super flaky and buttery.  Working with the dough was very easy and I had no problems making it by hand, without a food processor, but I did get a food processor for Christmas (after I made all these freaking mini pies) and made pie dough with it for Christmas day.  I would still consider both ways equally as easy but the food processor is just faster.

For the pie filling, I made a stove top apple filling first.  I based my recipe on this one.  I added twice the amount of cinnamon and my little pies took approximately 15 to 18 minutes to bake until golden brown.  I think that someone could easily make a bunch of these guys and throw them in the freezer.  When you get the craving for some pie a la mode, warm one (or four) in the oven and serve with vanilla ice cream!

To create the packages, I went to Smart and Final and got a bunch of take out boxes (the sort of flat and rectangular kind).  To keep everything cozy inside so that things could stay separate and not crack or break, I used jumbo cupcake liners, which I found at Safeway and Michael's.

Goodie box tied with a red ribbon and adorned with a homemade tag, ready to go.

I'm a little late, but I hope everyone had happy holidays and an even happier new year!

Cupcake Pops

After carving the two birthday cakes (see previous posts), I had plenty of scraps left over. I scooped them into a bowl and refrigerated what was left after my parents picked at them. I knew before I started baking that the scraps would be perfect for making these cupcake pops.

My first encounter with these guys was at my goddaughter's birthday party earlier this year. Her mom, Jasmine, presented us with something probably a hundred times cuter than what you see here. They were almost too cute to eat. Almost. You can find the instructions on how to make them here.

After that day, I wanted to find a reason to make them and found the perfect opportunity when a friend asked me what ideas I had for party favors at a baby shower. I didn't get a chance to take photos when we made them then, but gladly got them this time.

Marshmallow Treats Birthday Cake

Last year, we surprised Mary (yes, I am all about surprising the people I love) with an early birthday party. Along with her surprise was a cake made of marshmallow treats.

I used two different sized pans, since I wanted the two layers to be different diameters. The bottom layer was made using a spring form pan. It was difficult getting the marshmallow treats off the bottom of the pan afterward. Next time, I'll remember to use parchment paper. For the top layer, I only had a cake pan. So, I lined the bottom and sides of that with parchment paper.

Once again, I was rushing so it was tricky getting the paper off of the treats before it had time to cool.

I used a silicone mold for the star and stuck a wooden chopstick to make it into a wand and the writing was done with milk chocolate.

The funny thing is... Mary hates girly, princess stuff.

Marshmallow Treats

6 tablespoons of butter
1 package of marshmallows (I prefer the large ones)
6 cups of crispy rice cereal

Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan. In a large saucepan, melt the butter on low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Turn heat off and stir in cereal. Pour contents into buttered baking pan. Press down until evenly distributed in pan. Allow to cool completely before cutting into 2 inch squares.

24 servings.