Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Hershey(r)'s Double Chocolate Mint Cookies


2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Hershey(r)'s cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
10 oz. Hershey(r)'s Mint Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Beat butter and sugar till creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together dry ingredients and gradually add to cream mixture. Stir in mint chocolate chips.
Drop, we use a small ice cream scoop, by teaspoon fulls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-9 minutes or until set; do not over bake. Cool for several minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Pudding Pops

I have been kindly reminded to post this recipe multiple times.

1 pkg. (5.1oz) JELLO Chocolate Pudding (Must be Cook & Serve!)
3 cups Milk
1/2 to 3/4 cups Cool Whip

I put mine in actual Popsicle molds but you can put them in Dixie cups with Popsicle sticks.

Make the pudding from the box directions. Let the pudding cool slightly then add Cool Whip. Put in molds and freeze for approximately 5 hours.

Cinnamon Ornaments



1 c cinnamon
1 T ground cloves
1 T nutmeg
1 T allspice
1 T ginger
3/4 c. applesauce
1 T white glue

Combine into a dough. Roll out to 1/4 inch and cut with cookie cutters.
Punch hole for a string with a straw.
Bake at 150F for an hour on a cookie sheet then an hour and half on the rack.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Mint Chocolate Delights


Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Filling
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mint extract (we used peppermint)
3 to 4 drops red food coloring (little men were helping, SO, there was way more than that)
2 to 3 Tbsp. milk or half-and-half

1 For cookies, beat butter and sugars in bowl until creamy. Add melted chocolate, egg and vanilla; beat until blended, scraping down bowl occasionally. Mix flour, cocoa and salt in bowl. Gradually add four mixture, beating until well blended. Shape dough into 16-inch log. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

2 Preheat over to 400 degrees. Grease cookie sheets and line with parchment paper. Cut log into 1/3-inch slices; place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets. Remove to wire racks to col completely.

3 For filling, beat powdered sugar, butter and salt in bowl until blended. Add mint extract and food coloring; beat until evenly tinted. Add enough milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time (unless having little people help), to make filling fluffy. Spread or pipe filling on bottoms of half the cooled cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Melt Crayons



Peel old broken crayons.

Some of the old crayons were difficult to get the paper off. I put them in some water in the microwave for A FEW SECONDS so they wouldn't melt but the paper would easily peel off.

You can spray old muffin tins to use but I really like silicone baking cups for these. I own mini-heart shaped silicone baking cups I use often. Crayons, lotion bars, bath bombs ALL just pop right out.

OVEN: 200F for about 9-11 minutes, then cool. You can cool in the fridge or freezer

MICROWAVE: 5-8 minutes, the oven seems to work better for more even melting but if your child wants to do it alone this is safer.



We passed these out for Halloween. The heart shaped crayon is folded into the nose of the puppy. We put my daughter's memory verse with the puppy, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." --Psalm 119:11

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Plaster Sculpture




Recipe:
2 cups water
2 cups Plaster of Paris
3 cups vermiculite

I purchased vermiculite at Earl May gardening center. Make sure you get the kind without fertilizer. The students should be fine if they aren't eating it or breathing in the dust. The mixture should be thick enough that there isn't any dust.

Pour the mixture into your containers to dry. We used plastic yogurt and sour cream containers.

We let ours sit for an hour and it was pliable with our fingers. After four days it was completely dry and ready to carve.

The best item to carve it was a nutcracker pick.

No-Bake Craft Clay


No-Bake Craft Clay
1 cup corn starch
1 1/4 cups cold water
2 cups baking soda
saucepan
food coloring (optional)
plate
damp cloth
tempera or acrylic paints (optional)
clear shellac, acrylic spray, or nail polish

Combine cornstarch, water, and baking soda in saucepan; stir over medium heat for about 4 minutes until mixture thickens to a moist mashed-potato consistency. (For colored clay, add a few drops of food coloring to the water before it is mixed with cornstarch and baking soda.) Remove from heat, turn onto plate, and cover with a damp cloth until cool. Knead until smooth. Shape as desired or store in an airtight container or Ziploc ba. Dry sculptures overnight, then paint with tempera or acrylic. Seal with shellac, acrylic spray, or nail polish.

This recipe is from The Toddlers Busy Book by Trish Kuffner.


This recipe is one of the best I have found- easy, cheap and looks good.