Tried and True Sweet Christmas Goodies

One of my favorite parts of Christmastime is making sweet goodies for loved ones. I have a couple tried and true recipes that I turn to each year that never fail to delight.

First is my homemade fudge with walnuts (+ a small portion without nuts), buckeye bars (which I think are even better than Reese's Cups!), and chocolate truffles (rich and melt in your mouth).

This recipe is so simple you can make it in a microwave, which I do. Before finding this recipe I tried and failed making fudge on the stovetop more times than I can count. I almost gave up until I tried this version in the microwave and BAM! Nailed it! Recipe for Fantasy Fudge from Kraft.

Some folks make buckeye balls but I prefer them in bar form. I don't even like peanut butter (yeah, I've heard it all before.) but I LOVE these bars! Recipe for Buckeye Bars.

I stumbled upon the truffle recipe in a Kraft Foods magazine several years ago. They are super easy to make but a bit messy. I've never tried to alter the recipe just the toppings or sometimes no toppings. I'm sure you could alter it and come up with some awesome versions but I like the simplicity of the recipe and the sweet creamy taste without no changes. I used chocolate sprinkles, red and green colored sugar crystals, and peppermint sugar crystals. Recipe for Chocolate Truffles.

This recipe is a newbie for me. I've made monkey bread before but this one kicks it up a notch. Cream cheese makes everything better! Recipe for Cream Cheese Monkey Bread.

Sweetly Yours,

Weekend Recap - Mixed Media Explorations

Mixed media explorations - now that's an understatement! Not only have I been working at my art desk but also in my kitchen too. I decided to make something special for my son for Halloween when I stumbled upon these adorable brownie spiders that Bakerella created for Paula Deen's website. They didn't seem too difficult when reading the recipe but what a train wreck!

Epic fail! I felt a bit defeated until I came across these Frankenstein marshmallow pops and gave them a shot.

Not bad. I couldn't find green candy melts so I put 10 drops of green food coloring into white (vanilla) Wilton Candy Dips (in it's own microwavable container). The black edible food marker wouldn't work correctly due to the oils in the chocolate so I used a Betty Crocker black gel decorator. I used cupcake pearls for the eyes. The gel would have worked better had it been a fine line but they're still cute. Let me tell you, if I ever had illusions of being a cake/candy decorator that dream has now been thrown out the window. LOL.

I also tried making fabric flowers for the first time. The very first one I made was with burlap and didn't turn out so well. The second one I made was with regular fabric which worked much better.

Next I made a button flower with 8 folded fabric circles. I like it the best.

Maybe I should just stick with what I love the most... :-D 

I worked on these two small pieces for our local artist's group:

They're collecting pieces for a hanging display (and sale) for the holidays. The doodle piece was color washed with Caran d'Ache artist crayons. A few more details are needed before it's complete.

Don't you just love getting goodies in the mail? Here are a few lovelies I've received the last few days:

Clockwise from top: "Free Your Beautiful Soul" shadow box art from Melody Ross for Demdaco (Amazon), 73 Lessons Every Goddess Should Know by Goddess Leonie Dawson (Amazon), Brave Girls Club gear (Zazzle), and a limited edition hardcover of Ordinary Sparkling Moments by Christine Mason Miller ((Etsy) at the softcover price!). Love!

Oh yeah, the German inspired desserts from Friday's luncheon were a hit! The containers were scraped clean, possibly licked clean. LOL. In fact, I made another batch of the black forest dream dessert since I bought double the ingredients and it was devoured during lunch yesterday. You have to try it!

Since I've babbled on long enough...I'm leaving you with a picture of a sign I saw in World Market to ponder.

Have a wonderful week!

XOXO,

TGIFive on FridayI

Hello Lovelies! I hope you've had a wonderful week. My creating has mostly been in the kitchen this week. I came across a recipe for red velvet pancakes and had to give it a chance.

I put a touch of whipped cream cheese and drizzle of (leftover) Cracker Barrel syrup on top. They weren't as fabulous as I thought they would be. They were a bit cakey which is fine for a cake but not a pancake. That could be fixed but they're a little too sweet for my pancake tastes. If you like super sweet pancakes these might be right up your breakfast alley. Okay, so mine were for dinner. :-)

We have a German-themed luncheon at work today so I made these two desserts:

This one's apple kuchen (cake) which will be served with a vanilla sauce and/or vanilla ice cream. It's kind of an apple cobbler of sorts.

This one's called black forest dream dessert which is a take on the black forest cake. It has a crust on bottom and layered with a cream cheese and cool whip layer, a cherry pie filling layer, a melted chocolate chip and vanilla pudding layer, and topped with cool whip and chocolate shavings. I can't wait to give them a taste!

This week's sweet finds:

1) Goddess Leonie's book launch of 73 Lessons Every Goddess Should Know

2) Kind Over Matter's *free* iPhone & iPad wallpaper, Build Your Wings on the Way Down

3) Eye Popping Halloween cake pops from Bakerella

4) Beautiful post, At the end of the line from Brave Girls Club

5) Caramel Apple Cupcakes from The TomKat Studio

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,