Caramel is one of my very favorite things. Even more than plain caramels I love salted caramels and goat’s milk caramels. I love the creamy vanilla flavor with the bite of the goat’s milk. Yummy. I don’t know why I don’t make them very often, but I’m glad I did this Christmas. I saw this pin and knew I wanted to make the salted caramel variety.
Double.Yummy.
Maybe I love caramel because I’m not really a fudge person. I think I started making fudge so young that it’s become a little too “been there done that” and unexciting. No offense, fudge people…not my thing. I don’t crave it.
 
I am not posting the recipe because I didn’t alter it since it is candy. I didn’t make the recipe my own and wouldn’t support making something with corn syrup on even a semi-regular basis anyway. But, who are we kidding? Caramel is sugar so it’s not really good for you either way.
I am however providing a visual of what the colors look like at various stages. I love kitchen science. I feel like Harold McGee would be proud of the science in these pictures, I think.
It’s hard to wait, but it does happen
“Firm Ball”=perfect caramels.
 You could choose any salt, I suppose, however the lighter and more flaky it is, the more likely it will melt in your mouth with the caramel.
I wrapped mine in parchment to make them extra-adorable and also to limit myself on servings. Actually, I just gave them all away and that very much limited my servings. I would have eaten all of them. You can find these cute take-out containers for $.99 at the always awesome, Container Store.
Make anything fun…post it here…
Have you noticed lately, that the word old is being replaced with the word “found”? I noticed it first in a Pottery Barn catalog a few years ago when they were starting to bring the salvage look back because it was coming to new life again. They started selling items called “found” items which were actual vintage pieces they had “collected” on their own. My first thought was, “Hmmm”. My second thought was, “Who charges that much money for things you buy at garage sales?”. I know that salvage is popular with people who had never been actual purchasers before but I’ve already gone off on the subject before. I still find it interesting that people pay Pottery Barn money to do something for them that is actually really fun and will sometimes just cost you a few smackers instead of 80.
Over the last few years, I’ve been having my kids find (literally…not just a cool sounding Pottery Barn word) pine-cones so we can save them for Christmas and I can make something cool. Last year the time past and it never happened. When it hits the 2 week mark before Christmas, I tend to switch gears from decorating to gift-making. I’ll make tags, last-minute add-on gifts (you can never give too many handmade gifts), “can” something to gift, make cookies for the neighbors, or make cards for special people in our lives.
That list may sound like a lot (or maybe it doesn’t to you), but I do it WITH the people I love, too. This project I got to do with my friend, Leah. It’s so nice when you get to hang out with a friend and talk about everything you can think of but also make something to you can take away from the day to remember the laughs but also the pains in our thumbs from screwing the hooks in the pine-cones. Mine are still a little sore, but it was worth it for the company. Plus, my friend often travels with muffins. Super-bonus.
The garland looks cute next to the reindeer foot “portraits” my babysitter did with the kiddos. Great idea, Brandi :)
We made the garland based on this pin. That pin was way too complicated for my interest at the moment. We decided on something simpler like another garland we saw where the pine-cones had hooks screwed into the tops and then they were strung on a ribbon. The search box is apparently gone from Pinterest so I can’t find it at the moment. I only had picture frame hooks, but they seemed to do the job with a little elbow grease and sore fingers. I couldn’t help but add a jungle bell. It just felt right.
I’m hoping to give it to my mother-in-law so she can decorate her coach that is visiting us here in San Diego. She is always away from home on Christmas, so since her traveling home will be here, I though we could give it a little festive flare!
Are you making anything handmade for your Christmas gifts this year?
You’ve probably seen that one super-cute peppermint wreath floating around Pinterest. I love the simplicity of it and that you only need glue, peppermints, and a wreath form. I had planned to make one, from this pin, but then I watch “Elf”. I’ve said before that if you haven’t seen that movie, you most definitely should. It’s one of my favorites. So, I was listening to the description in the movie about the candy-cane forests and I thought to myself…I think I need one of those. I need a candy-cane forest.
Right away, I put my little elves to work on the unwrapping of the peppermints. It’s a GREAT job for kids, it only costs you a few peppermints in the process (snitchers). We kind-of made it a race where I glued them while they unwrapped them. You add some Christmas music and it was pretty fun. You just buy a foam tree from a floral supply place or a craft store (San Diego, you can find these at Michael’s), you glue them on with a hot glue gun, and wait for it to dry. The only tricks I learned were to start at the bottom and always keep a portion in the back that is your “sloppy” side. The shapes just can’t meet up every time so I think it’s a good idea to leave yourself some room to mess up on that back portion so you aren’t using a pill divider to slice your peppermints to fit. I’m sure there are people who do that, but I’m not that crazy. I’m sure you could paint the tree the correct color so it doesn’t look “off” but this is only 1/12 Pinterest projects.
Peppermints are special in my family because they are the heart and soul of the best Christmas cookie on the planet, The Pink Cloud. We have been making this cookie for as long as I can remember. Apparently my Grandma found it in a magazine a long time ago and we’ve been making it ever since. I can’t remember it not being here. In fact, it is a requirement for tree decorating. My mom always made decorating the tree into a little party. There was always Babybel cheese with crackers, salami, eggnog (which I found out as an adult my mom never liked), and definitely Pink Cloud cookies. I faintly remember that ball of cheese that’s rolled in nuts, but I could be wrong. There has been stress, time crunches, a lack of ingredients, sickness, and tears, but nothing has kept us from our Pink Clouds for the process of decorating. There would be an empty tree all year if there were no Pink Clouds. I may or may not be leaving the recipe below, you’ll have to keep reading to see if it’s there at the end!
Here is our tree hunting for 2011. We never leave our personalities behind in this family:
We all agreed on the one to the right of us. It’s nice when it works out that way. I feel terrible, though, that for the first time ever in his life, our dog was forgotten. Poor guy has been in every Christmas tree photo for his 8 Christmases. Sorry, Leonard. We still love you.
Back to those cookies…I’ll give you the original recipe, but my sister and I don’t actually use the cookie dough part anymore. I gave up shortening and try to stick with butter, but it does make THE best pink cloud cookie :). You can basically use any sugar cookie recipe to suit your tastes. This year, I tried Alton Brown’s recipe and didn’t really love how it worked out. His cookies are really great, just not paired with the meringue in this recipe. They were a little too crispy. I must admit I really miss the old cookie dough/meringue combo. Maybe my Mom will make them. Are you listening to me, Mom?
Pink Cloud Cookies
cookie dough:
3/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs yolks
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
peppermint merinque:
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. white vinegar
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips ( I usually sub 60% cocoa here)
1 c. coarsely crushed peppermints (not candy canes!)**
In a large bowl, combine the cookie dough ingredients. Blend well with a mixer. Chill while making the meringue.
Beat egg whites in a bowl with salt till soft mounds form. Gradually add sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Fold in the remaining ingredients. Shape dough into balls (small walnut size-this is no joke!). Place on a ungreased sheet. Flatten with the bottom of a glass, dipped in water and sugar (alternating water then sugar between cookie squashing to help the dough not to stick to the glass). Top each cookie with a rounded T. of meringue. Bake for 20 minutes at 325 or until the sugar cookie is just barely golden.
**To crush the peppermints, I put mine in an old but sturdy pillowcase and hammer away. I put my crushed pile through my colander to make sure I don’t have huge pieces. If I had a sturdy canvas bag that didn’t “leak” fabric, I would use a canvas bag like my mom has.
Are you having an awesome Christmas so far? Ours is starting to look that way. I mentioned before that we are on break from homeschooling right now, but it hasn’t felt like it. It seems to be taking some time for the “vacation” to set in. Right now it feels like perpetual cleaning, dishes, laundry, and random carpet cleaning blocks. We have been visiting with people and making plans but my favorite part of Christmas is relaxing with a fire, some great music and people I love. Okay. Okay. Sometimes it’s jumping around by that fire after winning a game of taboo against the people I love, but ya know…same thing. Also, there are usually cookies or toffee there (made by my mom…thanks, mom:)). I’m excited for those times and for watching “Love Actually” with the man of my dreams. That has become one of my favorite things when you place it in the midst of a house of 3 little munchkins! I appreciate these moments so very much.
This nutcracker project was fun because my kids happen to LOVE this story. They picked out the nutcracker and were actually excited about making a “modern” nutcracker. I’m sure they were just excited I bought one. I found mine on sale at target for $10…not a bargain but not too shabby considering the one at West Elm (I pinned it here) I was modeling it after ranges from $29-$59. They come in white or red.
I was hoping to rescue some random hippie nutcracker who just shouldn’t be, but they make the random nutcracker’s heads different shapes. So, we had to choose a marine. We have a few marine nutcrackers or I would have just kept it as is. Plus, we were going for clean-cut and modern.
All you really have to do is remove the fabric or extra pieces from the wooden body, pray it with primer, and then put a few coats of paint on it. I think I ended up with 4 coats total , but it was really just a few sprays every few hours for the whole day. I just put it outside and would spray a few patchy areas as I saw them. Super easy.
One more thing to put in my entry-way. Plus, my kids love him. Bonus points for Mom.
I really like him.
What Christmas projects are you working on right now?
So00, this week the kids and I attempted to make snow-globes. We all know the kind that is made in the baby food jar, the tomato sauce jar, or the ever so fabulous mason jar. A month ago, while at the craft store, I happened upon some super-cool looking plastic snow-globes which had my 3 munchkin’s names written all over them. They claimed to be “shatter-proof” which is appealing because what kids wants to just stare at a glass jar. why not have a little fun? This week we broke them out, picked out our animals and trees (and Lego men!) to put inside, and waited for the glue to dry. After we filled them up with water they worked for about 5 minutes but slowly each glued item began floating to the top. We were bummed! The glue just wouldn’t adhere to the plastic. The upside is that it led us to something that I love more. It’s a spin on this Pinterest pin. You can find the “spheres” in my pictures at West Elm for $8!
These spheres of Christmas…
They might not be able to shake them and watch the snow fall, but they certainly will enjoy seeing them fly through the air like a Christmas bubble.
This doesn’t mean I have given up on the snow globes. I have mine in the mason jar that is just fine.
We’ll have another go at the kids jars…minus the plastic globe.
Don’t forget to post your Christmas Pinterest pictures…
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