Archive for the ‘Holiday Bake Along’ Category
Holiday Bake Along – Needlework and Quilting!
The joy of creation can result from doing beautiful needlework, creating a lovely quilt or simply baking and cooking delicious treats for your loved ones!
Professionals from the Quilting and Needlework Industries have joined together to share their holiday memories, a glimpse into their businesses, and MANY irresistible recipes!
Please visit ILovetoBakeCookies.com and TheArmchairChef.com for more fabulous holiday creations!
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Needlework and Quilting Pros |
| ILoveToBake.com MACADAMIA TRUFFLES |
| I love naughty treats and chocolate truffles are a favourite. I also know that ALL my stitching friends and students also love chocolate truffles so when designing my stitchery book, Christmas Truffles, I decided to combine the two. However, we can’t lose too much stitching time slaving in the kitchen so all of the recipes in the book are quick and easy to make but produce mouth watering, irresistible treats. This one, Macadamia Truffles uses white chocolate – my favourite, but is quite sweet so the truffles can be shared by many. Helen Stubbings, designer and owner of Hugs ‘n Kisses. |
| Ingredients |
| 200g/7oz white chocolate 125g/4oz packet Philadelphia cream cheese 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract 20 macadamia nuts 1/4 cup desiccated coconut 1/2 cup coconut extra for rolling |
| Step by Step |
| 1) Melt chocolate in double saucepan. 2) Beat chocolate, cream cheese, honey and vanilla with an electric beater until smooth. 3) Stir in coconut. 4) Refrigerate until firm. 5) Roll mixture around macadamia nut to form ball. 6) Roll in extra coconut and refrigerate again before serving. 7) Serve and Enjoy! |
| Hugs ‘n Kisses |
| Hugs ‘n Kisses – Feelgood stitcheries and associated thingys! Patchwork and stitchery patterns including gift box ranges, BOM’s, Bags of friendship, quilts, dolls and brooches and iron on transfers. Home of the Colourqueâ„¢ technique – appliqué using coloured pencils. Iron on transfer printing service, Snugglybug Rug Project and Charity Stitching days and retreats. http://www.hugsnkisses.net/ |
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Posted in Holiday Bake Along
Holiday Bake Along – Needlework and Quilting!
The joy of creation can result from doing beautiful needlework, creating a lovely quilt or simply baking and cooking delicious treats for your loved ones!
Professionals from the Quilting and Needlework Industries have joined together to share their holiday memories, a glimpse into their businesses, and MANY irresistible recipes!
Please visit ILovetoBakeCookies.com and TheArmchairChef.com for more fabulous holiday creations!
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Needlework and Quilting Pros |
| ILoveToBake.com NUTMEG LOGS |
| My mother-in-law used to make 17 kinds of Christmas cookies. This tradition has passed into our household, but I only make about 7 or 8, plus some chocolate-dipped pretzels or apricots or something easy like that. I put together big platters of cookies every year and deliver them to my local quilt shops, who are so wonderfully supportive of me throughout the year, plus the animal shelter where I volunteer, my printer, etc. This Christmas cookie recipe is very holiday-y and makes a nice addition to a platter because of its unusual shape, color, and flavor. |
| Ingredients |
| Cookies:1 cup butter or margarine, room temperature 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon rum extract 3 cups all-purpose flour extra nutmeg to sprinkle on top of icing |
| Icing:2 cups sifted powdered sugar 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature 1/2 teaspoon vanilla a little milk |
| Step by Step |
| Cookie Instructions:
1) Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. |
| Icing Instructions: 1) Stir together powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until blended. 2) Add milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time until of spreading consistency. 3) Spread icing on top of each log so that it looks like drifts of snow. 4) Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Makes about 48. 5) Serve and Enjoy! |
| Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs |
| Fun books and patterns for the quilter.Kay Mackenzie’s Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs offers a variety of really fun books and patterns for your quilting pleasure, from theme quilts to kid quilts to appealing appliqué designs. Kay has created four collections of appliqué designs, each book created around a theme – teapots, baskets, hearts, and Christmas. Rather than putting an emphasis on making specific projects, these attractive little books encourage quilters to use the designs creatively as they wish, using their own favorite methods. Of added value are Kay’s tips for those interested in hand appliqué, including an excellent illustrated guide to points and notches. Visit the Quilt Puppy website often to find out the latest monthly special, or sign up for the newsletter to receive this information delivered to your in-box. |
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Posted in Holiday Bake Along
The joy of creation can result from doing beautiful needlework, creating a lovely quilt or simply baking and cooking delicious treats for your loved ones!
Professionals from the Quilting and Needlework Industries have joined together to share their holiday memories, a glimpse into their businesses, and MANY irresistible recipes!
Please visit ILovetoBakeCookies.com and TheArmchairChef.com for more fabulous holiday creations!
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Needlework and Quilting Pros |
| ILoveToBake.com CATHEDRAL WINDOWS No Bake Recipe |
| One of my favorite cookbooks is called “In the Forks of Hanover”. Hanover is home to an historic Episcopal Church called Fork Church. In 1979 the members compiled a cookbook and offered it for sale through out the community. My copy is dated 1982 and was a Christmas gift to me from my mother. Whenever I need a recipe for anything this is the first book I reach for, and especially when I’m looking for Holiday treats to bake. I’d like to share a cookie recipe called “Cathedral Windows”. It was a big hit with our graddaughters when they came to visit last year and went to see the Nutcracker.My favorite thing about the recipe is that it doesn’t really require baking! |
| Ingredients |
| 12 ounce chocolate bits (I use Toll House Chocolate Chips) 1 stick butter 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts 10 ounces colored small marshmallows |
| Step by Step |
| 1) Melt the chocolate bits and butter. 2) Cool slightly and add marshmallows. 3) Divide into 4 parts, roll on waxed paper sprinkled with the finely chopped nuts, and put into the refrigerator to harden. 4) Cut into slices. What could be easier! 5) Serve and Enjoy! |
| Caroline’s Thread and Canvas |
| What is it about needlework and cooking? I guess it’s the fact that those of us who are stitchers need one more outlet for our creative tendencies. It’s much the same reason I had to open a needlework shop–I just couldn’t get enough needlework “stuff”. I just love needlepoint and all those yummy threads. I’m actually a one-person shop (well, 2 when you count my husband) located in a small town in Hanover County, Virginia. (Actually we’re pretty convenient to Williamsburg, Charlottesville, & our capital of Richmond). If you’re ever traveling Interstate 95 south from Washington D. C., our shop is only 2 miles from the Interstate! http://www.carolinesthreadandcanvas.com/ |
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Posted in Holiday Bake Along
The joy of creation can result from doing beautiful needlework, creating a lovely quilt or simply baking and cooking delicious treats for your loved ones!
Professionals from the Quilting and Needlework Industries have joined together to share their holiday memories, a glimpse into their businesses, and MANY irresistible recipes!
Please visit ILovetoBakeCookies.com and TheArmchairChef.com for more fabulous holiday creations!
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Needlework and Quilting Pros |
| ILoveToBake.com CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY COOKIES |
| For the past 20 years, my best friends and I have gotten together during the first full weekend in December for our annual Great Cookie Bake! For 3 days solid, we eat, talk, laugh, and of course, BAKE *enormous* amounts of cookies. We bake so many cookies, in fact, that we now have a database containing our recipe ingredients and number of batches baked. We’re quite productive, considering there are only 4 of us baking! (To give you an idea, for the 2005 bake, we made 26 varieties, which required about 13 lbs. butter, 5 dozen eggs, and about 20 lbs. of flour!) About a month before the Bake, we get together and decide which cookies we feel like baking this time around, who will be bringing how much of what ingredients. Then we converge on the host’s house at the appointed time and the Games begin! For many years, we rotated between our three homes…then one of our group bought a new house with 2 wall ovens… talk about heaven for cookie baking! We have a great time getting together; the baking part is really just an excuse to do it! We give most of the finished product away as gifts.There are several types we simply *must* make every year, as people are disappointed if we don’t!
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies have to be one of the all-time favorites. |
| Ingredients |
| Cookies:1-1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup cocoa 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup maraschino cherries, cut in half |
| Glaze: (melt together) 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk 3-1/2 teaspoons cherry juice |
| Step by Step |
| CookiesPreheat oven to 325 F 1) Mix cookie ingredients together. 2) The dough will mix easier if the butter is melted. 3) Do not chill the dough. 4) Form into 1″ balls, place on parchment paper-covered cookie sheet. 5) Make a deep depression with thumb in the center of each ball, and place a cherry half in the thumbprint. 6) Cover cherry and make sure to seal with the glaze. 7) Bake for @ 10 minutes. Cookies will be very soft right out of the oven; allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from sheet. |
| GlazingThese cookies are tricky at first, but well worth the effort! 1) Make sure the glaze isn’t too thin… microwave only long enough to melt the chips. 2) The cookies turn out better if the depression in the middle of the cookie is uniform. 3) Try not to smash the cookie out; if you can make the depression deep and keep the cookie as close to ball form as possible, they won’t spread so much while baking. 4) As always, try to make all of the cookies on the same sheet as close to the same size as possible so they all cook to the same degree of done-ness! 5) One final tip: if you’re using dark cookie sheets, you may want to lower the temperature of your oven by 10 to 15 degrees as the cookies tend to get very dark on the bottom very quickly. 6) Using parchment paper will help keep them from getting too dark, and will make clean up a snap! |
| TW Designworks |
| TW Designworks: Specializing in fantasy-inspired counted cross stitch designs, sold through fine needlework retailers and via PatternsOnLine.com. Also now offering fine art prints and original artwork by Teresa Wentzler, sold consumer-direct via the TW Designworks website. Sign up for the TW Art Newsletter to stay updated about what’s new! Visit Artistic License, my blog, for glimpses into the life of the artist/designer. And visit the Teresa Wentzler Bulletin Board to network with other needlework enthusiasts. Stay tuned for some new developments as TW Designworks continues to grow! http://www.twdesignworks.com/ http://b33.ezboard.com/bteresawentzler |
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Posted in Holiday Bake Along
The joy of creation can result from doing beautiful needlework, creating a lovely quilt or simply baking and cooking delicious treats for your loved ones!
Professionals from the Quilting and Needlework Industries have joined together to share their holiday memories, a glimpse into their businesses, and MANY irresistible recipes!
Please visit ILovetoBakeCookies.com and TheArmchairChef.com for more fabulous holiday creations!
|
Needlework and Quilting Pros |
| ILoveToBake.com CARAMEL PECAN COOKIES (originally from Gourmet Magazine, published by Food Network) |
| I originally tried this recipe as a challenge to see if I could make caramel, one of my favorite flavors since childhood. My children were skeptical that it would turn out. My son was working on his car in the garage in the cold December weather and I ran into the garage from time to time with a spoonful of very hot caramel in progress for him to try. Of course, like most kids, he likes all kinds of cookies . Nevertheless, these came out particularly good and I now repeat them every year. They look great, and as a bonus, they freeze well. So make your own caramel ! Just don’t leave the stove while it is cooking. Betsy |
| Ingredients |
| Crust Ingredients:2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 lg. egg 1/2 tsp. vanilla |
| Caramel Ingredients:1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup heavy cream 3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into bits 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups pecans (1/2 lb) toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped. |
| Step by Step |
| Crust Instructions1) Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. 2) Beat together butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until pale and fluffy. 3) Beat in egg and vanilla. 4) Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. 5) Grease 13 by 9 in. metal baking pan. Then line with foil, leaving a 2 in. overhang on both ends. Grease foil. 6) Press dough evenly into pan. Chill until firm. (about 20 min.) Preheat oven to 375. 7) Bake crust until golden brown, about 30 min.  Cool in pan, keeping oven on.
While crust cools, make caramel: |
| Caramel Instructions1) Cook sugar in 2 1/2 to 3 qt heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until sugar begins to melt. 2)Â Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted to a deep golden caramel. 3) Tilt pan and carefully pour in cream. 4) Caramel will harden and steam vigorously. 5) Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. 6) Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla, salt and pecans. 7) Immediately spread topping over cooled crust and bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack.9) Run a heavy knife under hot water, then wipe dry and cut confection. 10) Cookies will keep, layered between sheets of waxed paper or parchment, in an airtight container for 1 week. 11) Serve and Enjoy! |
| Cultured Purl |
| My company, Cultured Purl, specializes mostly in felted items. There are a variety of purses, some emphasizing the use of color and some with interesting shapes. There are a number of techniques used, like circular knitting, modular knits which you knit together as you go, or short rows. You can learn these techniques, which apply to lots of other items. I have felted totes, which are colorful and practical to carry your projects, and show off your skills ! I have some hats too. These projects are quick and make great gifts, which are always welcome. Get into the world of felting, and watch the magic happen as your project is transformed when you felt it. http://www.culturedpurl.com/ |
Related Reading:
Posted in Holiday Bake Along
The joy of creation can result from doing beautiful needlework, creating a lovely quilt or simply baking and cooking delicious treats for your loved ones!
Professionals from the Quilting and Needlework Industries have joined together to share their holiday memories, a glimpse into their businesses, and MANY irresistible recipes!
Please visit ILovetoBakeCookies.com and TheArmchairChef.com for more fabulous holiday creations!
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Needlework and Quilting Pros |
| ILoveToBake.com CREAM WAFERS |
| Our recipe is a favorite of both of us and it’s a bit of work, but the outcome is simply delicious! Round, delicate cookies with a delicious filling. Worth the effort, it will be everyone’s favorite holiday cookie! |
| Ingredients |
| Wafer Ingredients1 cup butter 1/3 cup whipping cream (don’t skimp, it should have 35% butterfat!) 2 cups all-purpose flour Sugar for sprinkling |
| Butter Filling Ingredients1/4 cup soft butter 3/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar 1 tsp. vanilla. If desired, red or green food coloring. |
| Step by Step |
| Wafer Instructions1) Sift flour before measuring, combine flour with butter and cream and mix thoroughly. 2) Chill one hour. Preheat oven to 375 F 3) Roll chilled dough 1/8″ thick on lightly floured board. 4) Cut into 1 1/2″ rounds. 5) Transfer to waxed paper heavily sprinkled with sugar, turning to coat both sides. 6) Place on ungreased baking sheet. Prick in four places with a fork. Bake 7 to 9 minutes, or until slightly puffy. 7) Put two cooled cookies together with filling recipe below. |
| Creamy Butter Filling: 1) Blend 1/4 cup soft butter, 3/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla. 2) If desired, tint with red or green food coloring. 3) Spread on one wafer and gently press second wafer, creating a cookie sandwich! 4) Serve and Enjoy! |
| Beach Garden Quilts |
| My name is Lynnette Sandbloom and my business partner is Laura Jones. We are pattern designers for Beach Garden Quilts. We live and work on Bainbridge Island, 30 minutes by ferry from downtown Seattle, in Washington. We began our business in 2003. Laura and I took a quilt class together and enjoyed quilting but it wasn’t until I was painting a table with a quilt design for my studio (on our adjoining properties) that the discussion of a design business began. Beach Garden Quilts was born! Please visit our website at www.beachgardenquilts.com or contact us at Beach Garden Quilts, 9723 Olympus Beach Road NE, Bainbridge Island, WA  98110, (206) 842-5118. Our designs range from traditional to contemporary and we always share a little about our inspiration for each quilt. http://www.beachgardenquilts.com/ |
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Posted in Holiday Bake Along
The joy of creation can result from doing beautiful needlework, creating a lovely quilt or simply baking and cooking delicious treats for your loved ones!
Professionals from the Quilting and Needlework Industries have joined together to share their holiday memories, a glimpse into their businesses, and MANY irresistible recipes!
Please visit ILovetoBakeCookies.com and TheArmchairChef.com for more fabulous holiday creations!
|
Needlework and Quilting Pros |
| ILoveToBake.com JEWELED CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIES |
| Ever since I can remember the Holidays have always centered around the family making crafts. Each year my grandmother would have a newly crocheted red and white hat and sweater set for all her grandchildren (she started with 2 and now she has 23 grandchildren and 12 great grand children). We would make cookie ornaments and hang them on the tree. My mom and grandmother would pull out our Christmas blankets, we would draw our Christmas cards and make our presents. Till this day I still make each of my aunts and uncles an ornament for their tree. Now instead of using glue and construction paper I design a family ornament for each year and stitch it. It is so amazing to me to see everyone so excited to receive their ornament and place each one lovingly on their tree. My whole family has continued our crafting traditions within their immediate families and I encourage you to do the same. |
| Ingredients |
| 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/3 cup butter, chopped 3 tablespoons sugar 1 egg white 2 tablespoons orange juice 8 ounces colored fruit candies colored ribbons to decorate |
| Step by Step |
| Â Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. 1) Sift flour into a mixing bowl. 2) Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. 3) Stir in the sugar, egg white and enough orange juice to form a soft dough. 4) Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. 5) Roll out thinly and stamp out as many shapes as possible, using a floured Christmas tree cutter. 6) Transfer the shapes to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them well apart. knead the trimmings together. 7) Using a 1/2 inch round cutter or the end of a large plain pastry nozzle, stamp out and remove six rounds from each tree shape. Cut each candy into 3 and place a piece in each hole of the trees.9) Make a small hole at the top of each tree to thread through the ribbon. 10) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cookies are slightly golden in color and the candies have melted and filled the holes. 11) Cool on a baking sheet. 12) Repeat until you have used up the remaining cookie dough and candies. 13) Thread short lengths of ribbon through the holes so the cookies can be hung up. 14) Serve (or display!) and Enjoy! |
| Follow the Leader Designs |
| Versatility best describes Follow the Leader Designs fresh designs which reflect Colleen’s unique approach to needlework: “I have changed patterns my entire life. Every time I purchased a chart or read a magazine I always found myself tweaking the design just a bit…add some specialty stitches; change the threads, different count linen. It got to a point where my finished pieces looked nothing like the chart!†Each FTL design packet contains two charts: the design can be finished entirely in counted cross stitch but also includes a second chart to complete the design using the many specialty stitches that Colleen enjoys stitching in hand dyed fibers and floss. Since the stitcher is at liberty to choose how and which specialty stitches will be integrated into the overall design, each piece becomes a unique expression of that stitcher’s skills and personality. http://followtheleaderdesigns.blogspot.com/ |
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Posted in Holiday Bake Along