Santa Claus making Candy Canes - Best Video Ever!!!

You have to see the end - it is absolutely Magic when it becomes a Candy Cane!!

Candy Cane Peppermint Soap Sugar Scrub Cubes

These are to die for!!! The best of both worlds, these deliciously scrubby soaps are filled with sugar so no more dipping into that scrub jar! Grab one of these and have at it…This is the first of my tutorials, so I hope you enjoy!

These are the proportions…

1 part glycerin soap – this is designed for commercial melt and pour soap – you may have to play with any handmade soaps to get the right proportion. 

1 part oil – any oil you prefer will do

3 parts sugar – you can use white sugar or brown sugar – I mixed in some red sugar for a bit of an accent, but the sugar creates color rather than specks. To get specks swirl in some Jojoba beads as I did with the white sugar!!

 * A few drops of essential oil – I used Peppermint of course!

* is optional

Melt the soap in a double boiler or a crock pot – I used a crock pot for mine (I only use it for soap, so I would suggest the same for you as well)

Pour in the oil and mix thoroughly

Pour the soap into a glass container (I use a glass measuring cup) and mix in the sugar and the additives. This may take some hands on manipulation to thoroughly mix it together!

Pour into a squarish container

Cut into cubes and ….voila!!

Cubes of delicious sugar and soap for a luxurious scrub down!!

Although these are decorated for Valentine's Day, don't they just remind you of candy canes? This great recipe was taken from http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/red-velvet-cupcakes-in-a-jar/

Red Velvet Cupcakes In A Jar

February 13th, 2012

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 24 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes

1 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon white vinegar

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1 pound confectioners’ sugar (about 3 ¾ cups), sifted
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract*

Directions:

For the Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners or spray pan with spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine oil and sugar until well-blended. Add egg and mix until combined.
4. Turn your mixer down to the lowest speed and add vanilla, then slowly add in the food coloring. Note: If you are using liquid food coloring, it will take about 2 tablespoons of coloring to get a dark red shade. I used about 1 tablespoon of gel dye to achieve the shade in the photographs. Add the dye slowly and color according to your preference.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches; scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing until just combined, taking care not to over mix.
6. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with the machine running. Beat for about 10 seconds.
7. Using a medium scoop (about 3 tablespoons), divide batter between the 12 wells, filling each well about 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together cream cheese and butter until well combined.
2. With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Add vanilla and mix to combine.

To Assemble in Jars

1. Slice cupcakes horizontally to create layers. Each cupcake will yield 2-3 layers depending on how thick you want your layers to be.
2. Place one cupcake layer into the bottom of your jar, pipe a layer of cream cheese frosting directly onto the cake layer. Repeat the layering process until you reach the top of your jar. If desired, garnish with festive sprinkles or red velvet cake crumbs.

Notes:

- This cupcake recipe has been scaled down from the original recipe by The New York Times. Follow the link provided to view the full recipe.
- Clear vanilla extract was used in the cream cheese frosting recipe to maintain a bright white color. Feel free to substitute pure vanilla extract in its place.
- I used a Wilton 1A tip to pipe the frosting into the jars.
- The sprinkles are made by Wilton.

 

I found this amazing idea at http://stunningpicz.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmas-heart-lollipops.html

What a great way to combine Christmas and Valentines Day!!

Ingredients

1.       24 mini candy canes

2.       12 6″ lollipop sticks

3.       1 cup white candy coating

4.       Sprinkles

Instructions

1.       Heat oven to 300 degrees. On a parchment lined baking sheet, arrange the candy canes as hearts with the lollipop stick centered in between the two candy canes. Bake for 3 minutes. You want them to be malleable, but not melted.

2.       Remove from oven & shape candy canes into hearts by pinching the the bottom of the heart into the stick and pinching the top ends together. I also pulled the edges out to make my hearts more round and full. They will be hot & you need to work fairly quickly. If the candy canes harden before you have them shaped, just stick them back in the oven for a couple of minutes. I re-heated mine a few times before I got the hang of shaping them the way I wanted them.

3.       Melt candy coating in the microwave at 30 second intervals on medium power, stirring between heatings, until smooth.

4.       Spoon the melted candy coating into the center of each heart, then top with sprinkles. Cool the pops before serving or wrapping.

Christmas may be over but there is still time to enjoy the last of the peppermints in a cup of really good hot chocolate. The best recipe I found is over at Chow.com found here: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11146-peppermint-hot-chocolate. However, to make it a little easier, I am giving it to you right here so that you can make your own cup of heaven! This isn't for the person who wants a powdered quicky and the effort is well worth the time put into this creamy drink!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 peppermint candies, crushed (about 4 teaspoons)
• 5 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine milk, cream, and candies in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk occasionally until candies are dissolved, about 4 minutes.
2. Add chocolate and whisk until it is completely melted and well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.