Christmas Fudge - 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
HOLIDAY Bake Along!

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CHRISTMAS FUDGE

My grandmother taught me some pretty important things: how to sew, how to crochet, and how to LOVE fudge! She was famous for her chocolate fudge that she made only at Christmas. It was a special treat I looked forward to almost as much as getting presents from Santa. When she passed away, I thought fudge in my life would never be the same, that I would never enjoy my own homemade fudge or even commercially-bought fudge, because it wasn’t hers. However, my aunt, sister and I experimented over the years to replicate Grandma’s fudge and now use this recipe annually. As with sewing, crafting, and needlework, the skills and memories passed down are as important as the final product. No one may ever make fudge just like my grandma, but carrying on the tradition is a treat in itself.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. margarine
2/3 cup Carnation Evaporated Milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups (11 1/2 oz package) milk chocolate morsels
1 cup pecans, chopped (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar

Step by Step

1) Combine margarine, evaporated milk, sugar and salt in a medium sized saucepan.
2) Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
3) Boil 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
4) Remove from heat, stir in milk chocolate morsels, marshmallows, nuts and vanilla.
5) Stir until all combined and pour into an 8″ baking dish.
6) Chill until firm.
7) Serve and Enjoy!

Kreinik Mfg. Co., Inc.

I have the wonderful job of running the Design Department at Kreinik Manufacturing Company. I get to work with some of the most creative people in the world doing hand and machine embroidery. At Kreinik, we are all about thread: playing with thread, experimenting with thread, using thread to bring designs, ideas and projects to life. We play with “recipes” to come up with new colors, try to “mix” in a little texture, and “cook up” creative designs to inspire stitchers and crafters. Like a delectable dessert, a project made with Kreinik metallic, silk or iron-on threads is sensory excitement.Dena Lenham

http://www.kreinik.com/

No Bake Peanut Butter Bon Bons for the 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
HOLIDAY Bake Along!

ILoveToBake.com
PEANUT BUTTER BON BONS
No Bake Recipe

My recipe is from my aunt, who has participated in many cookie trades. Every year, she and eleven other neighbors and friends bake 12 dozen cookies each.
They all meet before Christmas with their cookies and give each other a dozen of their cookies. They talk, have hot chocolate and egg nog and then catch up with their lives. When everything is said and done, they each have 12 dozen different cookies to share with family and friends at the holidays. Isn’t this a great idea? The particular recipe is one of my aunt’s favorites. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup margarine
16 ounces powdered sugar
3 cups rice crispies
24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Step by Step

1) In a sauce pan, melt margarine and peanut butter.
2) In a large bowl, combine rice crispies and sugar.
3) Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture. Blend by hand and form into 1/2″ or 1″ balls.
4) Chill until firm.
5) Melt chocolate in double boiler.
6) Dip balls into chocolate and place on waxed paper lined cookie sheets.
7) Chill.

Recipe makes 100 cookies. Can easily be halved.
9) Serve and Enjoy!

Metro Quiltworks

Metro Quiltworks owner Diane Dixon has been involved with the creative arts world for over twenty-five years and has a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. For the past six years, Diane has been focusing on quilting and most recently is designing her own quilts and quilt patterns for Metro Quiltworks.

“My approach is to design something a little bit more contemporary and different - a fresh look without being fussy or difficult. There’s a lot of traditional quilt design out there - I want to create something unique and fun.”

My works have been shown in both local and national quilt shows. I am a member of our county Arts Council and participate in bringing art of all variety into the public eye. http://www.metroquiltworks.com/

Forgotten Kisses - 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
HOLIDAY Bake Along!

ILoveToBake.com
FORGOTTEN KISSES

When I think back on past holidays, I can see a plate of pink and green minty chocolate Forgotten Kisses. These delicate confections of meringue are a favorite remembrance on mine around the holidays. This recipe derives from what was handed down from my grandma to my mom. I refined for the version of Forgotten Kisses I like best: a subtle mint flavor and chunks of chocolate
in a crisp meringue. The ingredients are simple and drop cookies are about the easiest type of cookie you can make. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 egg whites
few grains salt
1/2 (scant) teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon mint flavoring
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
few drops of red food coloring
few drops of green food coloring

Step by Step

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1) Beat egg whites until frothy.
2) Add salt and cream of tartar to egg whites and beat the mixture until stiff.
3) Add sugar slowly, beating all the time.
4) Continue to beat until mixture is glossy. Stir in mint flavoring.
5) Divide mixture equally between 2 bowls.
6) Tint one part with red food coloring.
7) Tint the other part with green food coloring.

Fold Â¾ cup chocolate chips into each part.
9) Drop by tablespoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
10) Put in oven. Turn heat off immediately and “forget” the cookies.
DO NOT OPEN OVEN FOR AT LEAST 5 HOURS to allow the cookies to become dry and crisp in the cooling oven.
11) To store, place in tightly sealed container with waxed paper between layers. On the other hand, they probably won’t last long enough to store. Enjoy!

TIP: If possible, make Forgotten Cookies on a dry day. If it is humid, the meringue is more likely to “wilt”, and the cookies might tend flatten out and lose their crispness.
Makes about 30 festive meringue cookies. The red and green colors suggested in this recipe are for the Christmas holidays. Feel free to vary the colors for other holidays and special events such as Halloween, school colors for homecoming, etc.

HeartStrings FiberArts

Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer (Jackie E-S) is a long-time knitting enthusiast, certified master knitter and teacher. She shares her love and knowledge of knitting through workshops and publication of skill-building patterns
showcased by HeartStrings FiberArts. Her interest in the fiber arts extends beyond knitting to include spinning, weaving, dyeing and all needle arts.

Look for HeartStrings knitting patterns at local yarn shops and online dealers. You’ll find designs from the classic to the uniquely appealing with yarn-generic instructions to allow creative freedom using the yarns YOU like. HeartStrings knitting patterns feature skill-building, clear, comprehensive instructions to help take your knitting beyond the ordinary. Web site: http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/

Blog url: http://www.jackie-es.com/

Orange-Fig Drop Cookies for the 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
HOLIDAY Bake Along!

ILoveToBake.com
ORANGE - FIG DROPS

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!A relatively new cookie (for us) which has turned out to be a big success is Orange-Fig Drops.

Ingredients

Cookies:1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange peel, finely shredded
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 cups flour
1 cup dried date pieces
1 cup dried cranberries (soak overnight in a flavored brandy if desired: YUM!!)

Orange Icing:1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice

Step by Step

Cookie InstructionsPreheat oven to 350 F
1) For the cookies, in a mixing bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
2) Add egg, honey, and OJ.Â Beat until combined.
3) Add the cinnamon, orange peel and baking soda; beat until combined.
4) Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer.
5) Stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon.
6) Stir in dates and cranberries.
7) Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2″ apart on baking sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or ’til lightly browned.

Remove drops and cool on wire racks.

Make icing:Â 1) In a small bowl, mix the sugar together with enough of the orange juice to make an icing of drizzling consistence.
2) Drizzle over baked cookies.

Tip:Â If you decide to soak the cranberries, it will make the drops wonderfully moist!

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

Apple Crisp - 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!

While technically this may be argued to be an *Autumn Recipe* it is also one of my personal favorites… and if the Holidays aren’t the time to serve favorites, when is the time? LOL

Needlework and Quilting Pros
HOLIDAY Bake Along!

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APPLE CRISP RECIPE

A trip to New England in the Fall is a special time for many, especially when a trip to an apple orchard is involved. You are surrounded by the vivid colors of the leaves and the crisp, cool Fall weather. What better time to pick a bushel of apples to take home! A special memory for me is of the smell of Apple Crisp baking at home and the joy of those smiling faces who canâ€™t wait for the crisp to cool before digging in! Here is a special family recipe that we use:

Ingredients

4 cups of sliced and pared tart apples (about 5 medium apples)
Â½ cup all purpose flour
Â¾ teaspoon cinnamon
Â¾ teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 to Â¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
Â½ cup rolled oats
1/3 cup butter

Step by Step

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1) Lightly grease a square, glass baking dish, 8×8x2, with butter.
2) Place the apple slices in the dish. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
3) Melt the butter, pour over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle over the apples.
4) Bake 30 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is a golden brown.
5) Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if desired.
6) Serve and Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings

Medeiros Needlecraft Design

Medeiros Needlecraft Design is a cross stitch design company located in beautiful, coastal New England. The designer, Melinda Medeiros, started her business with the idea of creating decorative needlecraft designs that captured some of the local beauty of Cape Cod and the Islands of Marthaâ€™s Vineyard and Nantucket. The beaches, ocean vistas, historic villages and lovely homes with captivating gardens are just some of the scenes native to the Cape that provide Melinda with plenty of inspiration for her artwork. Many of Melindaâ€™s designs incorporate flowers, baskets and seascapes. Her designs will bring fond memories by those who would like to take a little of Cape Cod back home after a visit. http://www.needlecraftdesign.com/

Portzelki - New Year’s Cookies for the 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
HOLIDAY Bake Along!

ILoveToBake.com
PORTZELKI - New Yearâ€™s Cookies

Portzelki has been a Christmas/New Yearâ€™s tradition in my family as long as I can remember. My grandmothers made them, my momâ€™s made them, although not very often, or as regularly in recent years. It is still an annual tradition in my husbandâ€™s family, though, and they often plan a day to make them together with friends of theirs, or other family. It is an all day event to make Portzelki. A couple of years ago I had a chance to enjoy this with them. The morning was spent mixing the dough, and letting it rise, making several batches, some with raisins, and even some with dried cranberries. The men spent the time outside, getting the fat hot for frying. (If possible, the deep-frying is done outside, as itâ€™s done in a huge pot, not an electric deep-fryer, although Iâ€™m sure that would work too, for smaller batches than what the Dyck family makes.) About mid-afternoon we were ready to sit down and for coffee and portzelki. My favorite way of eating them is dipping them in confectionerâ€™s sugar (icing sugar), but other family favorites are dipping them in regular sugar, or syrup. They are also yummy plain. While I know portzelki store well for a few days, and Iâ€™m sure they freeze well, they always seem to disappear before that becomes an issue.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pkg yeast
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
3 cups raisins
11/2 cups thick cream
1 tbsp margarine or butter
8-9 cups flour
1/2 cup water
3 cups scalded milk (cool)
4 beaten eggs
2 tsp sugar
Â½ cup sugar
2 tbsp baking powder

Step by Step

1) Mix yeast and 1 Â½ cups water together.
2) Let rise for 10 minutes.
3) Scald milk. and cool.
4) Beat eggs.
5) Cream together margarine and sugar.
6) Add eggs.
7) Add remaining ingredients and mix.

Allow to rise until double in bulk.
9) Drop by spoonful into hot fat or oil.

Olive Hope Design

Cross Stitch and Punchneedle designs of hope and inspiration by Canadian designer, Olive Dyck, for a variety of interests, including a unique line of Braille cross stitch designs!

Web Site: http://www.olivehopedesign.com/

Blog: http://olivehopedesign.blogspot.com/

Lemon-Ginger Sugar Cookies for the 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
HOLIDAY Bake Along!

ILoveToBake.com
HOSPITALITY THINS
(Lemon-Ginger Sugar Cookies)

This cookie has been made by my family for many years. It’s an old recipe, and different from what most people consider to be “Christmas Cookies”. It is a winter recipe because that is when the lemons in the back yard ripen! It is also easier to handle in the winter, as the cooler temperature makes the dough easier to handle. My kids always liked smashing the cookies with the cookie stamps. This doesn’t give a very definite picture on the cookie, as they are too soft. It’s mostly just a lot of fun. The two options give slightly different flavors to the finished cookies.
Be sure to use real butter. Fresh lemon rind and juice gives the clearest flavor.

Ingredients

2/3 C butter
1 C sugar
2 t lemon rind
2 t ginger
Â½ t soda
Â½ t salt
1 t vanilla
1 egg
3 T lemon juice
2 C flour

Step by Step

1) Cream together butter, sugar, lemon rind, ginger, soda, salt, and vanilla.
2) Add egg, lemon juice and flour and stir well.
3) Refrigerate 2 hours or more.
4) Roll into Â¾â€ balls.
5) Place on ungreased cooking sheet.
Options: Flatten with greased, sugared glass before baking.
6) Bake unflattened, then flatten with cookie stamp as soon as they come from the oven.
7) Bake 6 to 8 minutes at 400 degrees F. They will still be white and very soft.

Cool
9) Serve and Enjoy!

Sunshine Knit Designs

Sunshine Knit Designs has the warm-weather knitter in mind. There are many patterns for short, tennis-style socks. Garment patterns are designed with cotton yarns and come in a wide range of sizes. Many have darts to improve fit. These are comfy, wearable clothes. http://sunshineknitdesigns.com/