Snowman Cupcakes

Ingredients:

12 cupcakes, baked and cooled

1/4 c. each red and green decorating sugar *

24 mini vanilla wafers *

1 16-oz can vanilla frosting

4 candy orange fruit slices

1/4 c. dark chocolate frosting **

1 c. white decorating sugar ***

6 each, red and green licorice twists

24 pink large sprinkles ****

24 mini brown M&Ms **

* I actually just used gum drops for the ear muffs. Cut down on a lot of work and supplies.

** I didn't use the frosting for the mouth. Instead I used mini chocolate chips for the mouth and eyes.

*** Didn't use the decorating sugar. I thought the white frosting was enough.

**** Didn't use the sprinkles.

Recipe:

1. Place the red and green sugars in separate bowls. Spread a thin layer of vanilla frosting on top of the mini vanilla wafers to cover. Press the top of 12 wafers into the red sugar to coat. Repeat with the remaining 12 wafers and press into the green sugar. Set aside. (These are used for the ear muffs)

2. Cut 12 1-inch triangles from the orange slices to make the noses. Spoon the dark chocolate frosting into a freezer-weight ziplock bag. Spoon 1/4 c. of the vanilla frosting into a freezer-weight ziplock bag. Place the white decorating sugar in a shallow bowl. Spread the remaining frosting on top of cupcakes and make a smooth mound. Roll the tops of the frosted cupcakes into the white sugar to cover completely.

3. Add the cut orange candy as the nose in the center of the cupcake. Add the chocolate candies as the eyes. Snip a very small corner from the bag with the chocolate frosting and pipe a mouth. Add the pink sprinkles as cheeks.

4. Cut the licorice twists into 12 6-inch lengths for the bands of the earmuffs. Insert the 2 cut ends into either side of the cupcake for the headband. Snip a small corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting. Pipe a dot of vanilla frosting on either side where the licorice enters the cupcakes. Add the like colored vanilla wafers as the muffs. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Rating: 4 of 5

I actually didn't eat any of the cupcakes, but how bad can it be? Cute idea. Kids LOVE them. We took them to Ally's class Christmas program and the cupcakes disappeared quickly. Although it requires a lot of supplies, they making of the cupcakes isn't bad. It goes pretty quickly.

Source: Allofyou.com, Snowmen Cupcakes

Gingerbread House

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. dark brown sugar *

1/4 c. light molasses, or dark corn syrup **

1 T. cinnamon

1 T. ground ginger

1 1/2 t. ground cloves

1 t. baking soda

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 T. water

Royal Icing

* I didn't have dark, so I used light.

** I didn't have molasses or dark corn syrup, but I had light corn syrup!

Recipe:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream to butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth.

2. Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough. Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm. *

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. Cut paper patters for the gingerbread house: **

- 2 rectangles, 3x5 inches, to make the front and back of the house.

- 2 rectangles, 3x5 1/2 inches for the roof.

- 2 pieces for the ends of the house, 3 inches wide at base x 3 inches to the roof line and slanted to a peak 5 1/2 inches from the bottom.

-4 small rectangles, 1 1/2 x 1 inch for the roof and sides of the entryway

- 1 piece, 2 inches wide at base, 1 1/2 inches to roof life, and slanted to a peak 2 1/2 inches from the bottom for the front of the entryway.

5. Roll gingerbread dough out to edges of a large, rimless cookie sheet. Place paper patterns onto the rolled out dough. With a sharp, straight edged knife, cut around each of the pieces, but leave pieces in place. ***

6. Bake for about 15 minutes until dough feels firm.

7. Place patterns on top of the gingerbread again and trim shapes, cutting edges with a straight-edged sharp knife.

8. Leave to cool on baking sheet.

9. Place Royal Icing into pastry bag with a writing tip and press out to decorate individual parts of house, piping on decorations, windows, door, etc., as desired. Let dry until hardened.

10. If following the cut-out pattern for this recipe, then glue sides, fronts and back of house together at corners using Royal Icing. Place an object against the pieces to prop up until icing is dry (it only takes a few minutes). Glue the two roof pieces to the pitched roofline of the house. Then, similarly, glue the sides and roof of the entryway together with icing. Attach entryway to the front of the house.

11. Continue decorating the house as desired.

* I actually forgot to chill the dough! But, it turned out fine.

** I completely skipped over the directions they have here and made my own house pattern.

***I wasn't sure if this recipe wanted the excess dough to remain on the sheet or not. What I would rather do, is skip this step of cutting out the shapes and do it right after pulling the dough out of the oven, or even when the dough has cooled.

Rating: 3 of 5

I've never worked with gingerbread before. So, I liked this recipe, but I'm sure there are better ones out there. Be prepared to open some windows while the dough is baking because your entire house will smell like a potpourri factory!! The dough is delicious though. A new favorite for Ally. Once the bread is completely cooled it becomes as hard as rock! So, don't plan on eating it if you have fragile teeth. Although there are a lot of steps listed in this recipe, it's actually very easy.

Source: Foodnetwork.com, Gingerbread House Recipe