Cinnamon Rolls...!

This was an afternoon project.  Why not the morning you say?  Well, because they really do take 2 hours from start to finish and it was another cold day and well, the boys are home to eat them all!  

Or most of them.  The recipe threw me a little bit because it said "serves 8" on the top.  80 is more like it, ha ha.  Once I started rolling and cutting the rolls getting ready to bake them I had to keep pulling out more pans.

The recipe for these Cinnamon Rolls is from The Pioneer Woman.   
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/ 

And they are fantastic.

The maple, coffee infused glaze melts right into them.  You will be the all around hero if you make these for whatever...whoever...whyever.  We had them for dinner. Why wouldn't you?

Morning After Snow

As the Christmas tree comes down inside, Mother Nature gives us some lovely ones outside.

A little frosting on the trellis.

My new fence looks nice against the snow, I think.  Rustic, barnyard is what I was going for ; )

The birdhouse is wearing a hat!

Boy, the new firepit certainly has taken on the shape of an innertube.  Especially against the back drop of the Adirondack chairs.

Hello?  It's me.  The sun?  Remember me?

My hearty Arborvitae stooped over in the snow. 

Cranberry SnowDay Bread

Well...the Snow Gods have spoken.  The school vacation as been extended and we are soon knee deep in a two day snowstorm.

How odd that I would bake something?  Add flour, sugar, baking powder, some nuts...

 and some cranberries...into the oven to warm up this frosty 7 degree day.

 That's right, you heard me.  It's S-E-V-E-N outside.
Not 70.  Not 17.  Just 7.  At 3:30 in the afternoon.

So cranberry-orange snow day bread it is.  Having the two older boys home from college has been fun.  I don't ask.  I just bake and leave it out on the tray.  It gets scooped up, you know it does.  Mostly long after I've gone to bed ; )

Girls Making Merry

If there's one thing that is worth hours of cleaning and food prep it is having friends over to celebrate.

Put out a good spread and get a good bar going.  

Fill the room with people who make you smile and laugh.

A Yankee Swap adds to the festivities.  Everyone goes home with a gift.
Sometimes with their own gift ; )

The specialty drink this year was champagne punch courtesy of Kathy.

Some funny napkins from Pam's mother.

And a gift to me of the prettiest bottle I've seen all year~!
Reflecting on the past year these were the faces I saw most of all. Many others near and far would be included to round out my perfect crew, but all affirm to me the good things in my life.  A toast to all of you who raise me up.

Christmas Wrappings

Dear Lord, may one year not be a blur.  I confess to not knowing the secret to keeping the holidays neatly organized in your pocket.  My friend used to pool the money and instead of individual gifts, the whole family would go on a great vacation right after Christmas.  I shall offer that idea up next year!

One small way that makes me feel crafty and a wee bit in charge of things is making my own tags.

These are great, bright and festive!  But it's fun to make your own, too.

Just buy some tags at Staples.  Then use your favorite catalog or magazine, my preferences are Ballard Designs and Garnet Hill.  Cut out cute things...anything will do.  A glue stick as an adhesive works perfectly.

And off to the teachers go the gifts.
Merrily we roll along.

Fancy Krispy Treats

I put three boxes of treats plus 3 1/2 bags of marshmallows plus 2 1/4 sticks of butter into a 12x18x2 pan.  One batch was made at a time and just layered one on top of the other and it worked fine. 
I drizzled some Callebeaut Brand white and milk chocolate that I melted over a double boiler.
Then sprinkled with pretty pink "jimmies".

Butter the pan very well and after the treats refrigerate for a while, tip them over and they will pop right out of the pan.  I took out a large knife and cut them in long strips and then cut smaller squares out of each strip.

Then each was wrapped up with an ingredient label on teach one...(kind of a pain, I will admit, but with all of the allergies these days, the food inspector requires it)...and brought over to the Church Faire for sale at the bake table.

Fun and festive!

Birthday Kits

In this season of giving, we always become more aware of the need of those around us.  This terrific idea was not mine, but I just loved it.  And certainly it works perfectly with my love of baking. 

So for about $4.00 (if you're a smart shopper!) you can put together these lovely little Birthday Cake kits for your local food pantry.  All the work is done.  Hope it puts a smile on someone's face!