~WRAPPING IT UP - SWEET CHRISTMAS CONFECTIONS~

~CHOCOLATE ALMOND BRITTLE~

Christmas will be here before we all know it and so just like every year I've been busy in my kitchen creating yummy holiday treats.  Now that my three "S's" are done (Shopping, Selling and Shipping) I can finally get my head back into a wee bit of Christmas baking fun!!!

~IT'S IN THE BAG~

I've shared with you in the past how we've gifted either homemade ALMOND BRITTLE or SUGARED PECANS to our co-workers, neighbors and friends for many years.  It's become a little tradition and we love remembering the special people in our lives in such a SWEET way.

~ALL JARED UP!~

Finding containers to hold our goodies is a yearlong process (think thrift stores!) and this year proved to be no different.  Year after year I hunt down glass jars to hold the most delicious and easy to prepare confections possible and when I can snag jars for .25 or .50 I'm sooo happy!  If you'd like to read my Almond Brittle post from last year you can go HERE.   Sugared Pecans (from 2009) you can go HERE.

 

~SWEET LITTLE TAG~

Incredibly I found just enough jars this year to make twenty separate gifts.  I opted to do Almond Brittle again this year because it's our personal favorite and unlike the Sugared Pecans they have CHOCOLATE.  Who doesn't like CHOCOLATE????

 
Instead of wrapping the jars up with cello wrap I decided to place them into decorated bags!

I'm lovin' how they came out!

 ~ORIGINAL SHEET MUSIC~

A few days ago I was in BIG LOTS (do you have those where you live?) and I found gift sacks in natural paper for 5 for $2.  I opted to decorate them up with a ruffle of doily shelf paper (edging) and then attached a sweet customized tag.  The edging was hand pleated and stitched like a fabric ruffle and then hot-glued to the bag.  

 ~PAPER SHELF EDGING~

The graphic was originally the cover of some antique/vintage sheet music and I just changed it up a bit!  Reworking the graphic took a little time, but it was fun!  Just added more of the paper edging to the bottom of the tag before tying it onto the bag's handle.

A little white tissue inside and DONE for 2012!

~SWEET and SIMPLE~

Here it is again!  I've had the edging for years and I'm sad to say I'm clueless as to where it came from!  If I can hunt it down I'll let you know! 

Blessings as the Joy of the Season continues!

Love to you...

~SPICES~

 My Mr. AGPMan's family came to America from Sweden and settled in a small Nebraska town.  My guy was raised in the tiny town of Gothenburg and over the years I have loved learning about his ancestors and the customs and traditions once celebrated by his family. 

 In Sweden, a century ago or so, spices were a luxury the commoner rarely enjoyed...except of course, during the Christmas Season.  It was at that time that people saved their finest produce and costliest ingredients for the most special, end of the year celebration.

 Saffron, cardamom, and ginger.  Cocoa, vanilla pods, cloves and cinnamon.  Their baking was done with fine -ground white flour, braided into saffron buns or rolled out for gingerbread.

Sounds delish, right?

Baking ingredients were carefully measured out from ornate tins and glass jars. 

Their houses and tiny villages were filled up with the smells from exotic places one could only hope to see and flavors connected solely with the holiday time of the year.

One thing on my to-do-list this year is to bake a something different for my family during the holidays~

Something never before tried~

Something special from, say,  

 Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden!

  How fun will that be?  I mean~I know my hubster, children and Miss  K LOVE special treats...spicy cakes, buttermilk spice muffins, etc.  But, just maybe this year I'll just try baking a braided coffee-cake ring for myself...one filled with bits or orange and lemon rind, sweet raisins, cinnamon and ginger....hmmmm...

Probably won't add the Saffron...Wikipedia says this:

 Because each flower's (Crocus) stigmas need to be collected by hand and there are only a few per flower, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.

Off to ponder.  And plan. 

Love to you~

~~WHITE CHOCOLATE and ALMOND COOKIES~~ And Boy Am I Stupid!

~SIMPLY YUMMEEE TREATS~

Early this morning my Miss K and I baked up a big ol' bunch of yummeeee White Chocolate and Almond Cookies for a friend of mine recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  We had such a wonderful

time mixing and baking and

I snapped away like a goofeee 

PROUD Nana!

Well...I accidentally deleted ALL the pictures while tranferring them from my camera to my computer.  Wahhhh...  I'm just SICK! :(  Tomorrow we will bake more JUST so I can retake new pictures!

Anyway...here is a little glimpse of the cookies we packaged up for Miss Becky!  We started off with this:

  ~A SIMPLE PAINTED PINK BOX~

~ADDED A VINTAGE PAPER DOILY TO THE TOP~

This sweet garage sale find was for a package of 80 count 8" paper doilies and they cost me ten cents!  The bonus was they were already gently aged...no "paper-baking" needed!

~PLACED CELLO WRAPPED COOKIES INSIDE~

 ~TOP DECORATED w/ FLOWERS FROM MICHAELS~

(These were a great and inexpensive find!!!!)

~A HEART LOCKET and RAYON RIBBON~

Simple and sweet and not a lot of money!!! 

 ~MY MISS K~

(Shame on you, Nana!  Be MORE CAREFUL!)

The cookie recipe is easy!  I used the one on the back of Nestle's Premier White Morsals (Chips) and substituted almond extract for the vanilla and added 1/2 cup of sliced almonds to the mix.  Easy Peasy!

Here's a fabulous tip for you!

Want your cookies to be super fabulous without totally flattening out while baking?  The recipe I used called for all butter~  If you use half butter and half shortening in your cookie recipe they will be absolutely 2die4 (no pun intended!).  Try it...you'll see!

I'm off to sulk some more.  Ugh!

Love to you...

~CANDY CONFECTIONS ALL WRAPPED UP~

SUGARED PECANS
(A Family Favorite!)

As most of us know, homemade confections and goodies make wonderful gifts! With a little imagination and some easy planning they can make very special Christmas and Hanukkah presents for a neighbor, a hostess or a friend.

~JARS FROM ROSS~
Jar on Left was an Estate Sale Find

Many years ago when my Mr. AGPMan and I moved into our La Chaumiere de Briarwood we began the simple tradition of sharing home baked goodies with those we love. Little has changed over the past seventeen years, unless of course you want to talk about the price of chocolate and sugar...

~ALL WRAPPED UP~

(And Soooo Yummy, Too!)

During the Spring and Summer months, when I'm out junking about in my town, I'm always on the hunt for neat little jars and glass containers to hold our yummy holiday gifts. I love it when I can find them for about a quarter, but if the truth be told that is rare price these days. Usually they are about a dollar, maybe two. Because this was lean jar-finding-year I was forced to purchase a few at ROSS (3 for $11.99). Overall they were still VERY inexpensive when you consider what a crystal container might cost! Through the years I've used small baskets, boxes, canning jars, thrift store plates and even little tins to hold our tasty offerings. Even brown paper packages tied up with string (especially sweet with rubber stampings, glitter, etc.) make a sweet presentation! :) You can package your treats as simple or as elaborate as you wish! After all, they are from YOUR HEART! ~>>><3>

~SELF PRINTED TAGS~
(My Favorite Part!)

This year I decided to make Sugared Pecans for our friends, neighbors and Mr. AGPMan's co-workers. Earlier today I snapped a few pictures of my finished jars for you and I'm also including the very SIMPLE recipe in case you want to try them out for yourself. If you are a NUT-LOVER :) I think you will love them...

~ROSES-MY GARAGE SALE FIND~
(Remember? Shared With You Before!)

I always wrap my jars with clear cello wrap (skip the dollar store stuff...not enough on the roll for the money). I used regular Christmas Ribbon (the kind you might put on a Tree) for the bow and added tiny springs of garland, berries and one of the roses I found on those garage sale baskets this past summer! If my calculations are right the larger finished jar above cost me about $5. The smaller jar (junk store find) cost me about $2.

The best deal I've found this year on Pecans was at SAM'S. They were about $9.88 for 2lbs.

~RIGHT OUT OF THE OVEN~
(Easy-Peasy~ I Promise)

Here's the recipe I used:

SUGARED PECANS
(Makes 1 pound)

1 Pound Pecan Halves
1 Egg White
1 tsp. Cold Water
1 Cup Fine Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Salt

Preheat Oven to 250 degrees. Beat Egg White with water until fluffy (soft peaks). Fold Egg White into Pecans until well coated.

Mix together Cinnamon, Sugar and Salt. Fold coated Pecans into Sugar Mix. Bake on un-greased cookie sheet for 1 hour. Cool. Serve. EAT. :)

I told you it was simple!

Blessings to you as you give gifts from your kitchen, birthed from your heart...Rebecca

~WOMAN'S HOME COMPANION COOKBOOK - Apples Muffins At Their Finest~

WOMAN'S HOME COMPANION COOKBOOK

CIRCA 1955

When I was a bitty girl my Mother baked and cooked recipes directly from this wonderful old Woman's Home Companion Cookbook. She married my father in November of 1955 and for as long as I can remember this was the ONLY cooking book she ever used.

Several years ago she found several copies of the Cookbook and purchased one for each of her girls. They fetch a pretty penny now! I've seen them go as high as $80 on eBay! In all my years of junking and slumming (that would include antiquing), I've only seen one and it was being carried around in the arms of SOME OTHER WOMAN...err...

SPICY APPLE MUFFINS

(Do you SIFT? Well, I certainly do!)

Recently I had the JOY of making (for the umpteenth time) one of my favorite TREATS from the Book! The recipe is for the BEST "Spicy Apple Muffins" I have ever, ever had! I promised our Miss K that we would whip up a batch to welcome her beloved Papa when he arrives back home tomorrow... so that is exactly what we did! We baked!

WHISK TOGETHER DRY INGREDIENTS

(Includes cinnamon and nutmeg! Yum!)

Now my entire house has a lingering aroma of Fall and other spicy Autumn scents!

Here's a recap! If you'd like the Full Recipe I've included it below!

FOLD WET INTO DRY
(By hand please...no MIXER!)

ADD ONE CORED & CHOPPED APPLE

(I leave mine in BIG CHUNKS!)

LOOKS YUMMY!
(It is!!!)

APPLE WEDGE ON TOP

(Dipped in Cinnamon & Sugar, of course!)

The recipe calls for these fabulous apple wedges on the top dipped into cinnamon and sugar. This was a step my Momma never missed, sooo~this is the way I do it, too!

MAKES 12 PERFECT MUFFINS

(Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes)

ABSOLUTELY DREAMY!

(Simply fabulous served warm with butter!)

I'm tellin' you peeps...you DON'T need Panara Bread when you have recipes like this!

FABULOUS WITH A CUPPA JOE

(or your FAVORITE Tea...mine is Raspberry!)

I am sorry to say that back in 1955 the calorie and fat/sugar content in recipes was NOT available.

NOTHING LEFT BUT THE CRUMBS

(Maybe I'll have another!)

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE

Thank you, Mom, for passing down the love of baking to me! Just the smell of the muffins baking today reminded me of living on Sigman Street...back when you were so young and I was sooo little.

Blessings to you as you BAKE MEMORIES with those you love...Rebecca