Glitter Ornaments

I love how easy these are to make, but also oh so pretty. You need only three things to make these.

• Clear ornaments (glass or plastic) that the tops can be removed from (they have them at Michael's)
• Liquid food coloring
• Glitter

Remove the tops from your ornaments. Depending on the size and shape, put a drop or two of food coloring inside. You can coat all of ornament, or create a design by swirling it in specific ways. Because of the point in my ornaments, most of the coloring and glitter collected in the bottom and fanned out from there. You can pour any extra onto a paper towel or into another ornament.

Now add the glitter. You can create a funnel by snipping off the end of an envelope, or folding a piece of paper. Now shake the ornament, covering the hole, making sure it coats all the places where there is dye.

Let them dry, then put the tops back on.

 You can put ribbon or twine through the loop if you want. These make a great gift, and it's very easy to make lots of them at one time.

Sweet and Spicy Nuts

These are addicting. They are crunchy, sweet, spicy and flavorful. My favorite combination of nuts is 1 cup each peanuts and walnuts, and 1/2 cup each pecans and almonds. Sometimes I reserve a little sugar for after they are out of the oven to give them more color and make them look more appetizing.

• 4 cups mixed nuts
• 1/4 packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350. place nuts on a baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and reduce the oven to 325. In a small bowl, mix sugars and spices together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg white with 1 tsp. water until frothy. Mix in the nuts.

Add the spice and sugar mixture and place on a lined baking sheet.

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove and let cool. When they are cool, separate with a fork. Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate

I wait all year to sit by a fire with a cup of steaming hot cocoa. This recipe is very easy to make, and the flavor is great for such simple ingredients.

• 3 quarts (16 cups) milk
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3 cups chocolate chips
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• Pinch of salt

In a large pot, heat the milk over low heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder.

Add the chocolate chips, making sure to incorporate all the melted chocolate into the milk and cocoa, scraping the bottom with the whisk to make sure you get all the chocolate. Bring to a low boil, then turn off the heat. Add the vanilla and salt. Serves 8.

That is simple it is. I often half this recipe, or even third it because the cocoa is so rich. it will be sweeter depending on what type of chocolate and cocoa you use. I like to use semisweet chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder, then add a bit of sugar if I feel it needs it. As a topping, you can freeze whipped cream, then cut it into shapes. My heart began to melt almost immediately  after I put it in my hot chocolate, but it will still be cold when you eat some. I saw this on Pinterest, and I encourage you to try it, as it tastes wonderful with the cocoa, and adds a bit of edible decoration.

Cookie Tips

I love to eat cookies around the holidays, and I love to decorate them even more. Here are some simple tips for decorating delicious cookies.

This snowflake was created by placing a circle of frosting in the middle of the cookie, then dragging the frosting out in a snowflake shape and then covering it in white sugar to give it a glittery snow affect.

This is a lacey pattern. Create vertical lines on the cookie with frosting. Now you can drag some of the frosting out with a toothpick or use more frosting in a sloppy herringbone pattern, creating the feeling of lace. You must do this from one line to the next, angling them so as to avoid straight across lines.

This is one of my favorite patterns because it looks so hard, but is so simple. Do a base layer of frosting, coating the entire cookie. In a different color frosting, make lines that all go the same direction. Take a toothpick and drag from one end of the cookie to the other in any way you want. For mine I piped vertical lines, then drew the toothpick through horizontally.

Try adding a bit of vanilla or almond extract to your frosting recipe to add a depth of flavor. I am not a fan of super sweet frosting, so I like to add a bit of vanilla. To help balance out sweet frosting, the sweeter my frosting, the more savory cookie I use. You don't have to stick with the colors of food coloring in your box, or buy special colors. Mix your own, carful not to add to many colors to avoid that mucky brown color. It creates unique colors that give your cookies that extra little pop. Hope you enjoy decorating (and eating) your cookies!
~Hannah