Easy Truffle Recipe

 How to dip truffles into chocolate 

&

Melting chocolate tips

After mixing and freezing the above recipe, 

I prepare to dip the truffles in chocolate.

Melting tips:

- only melt about 1 cup at a time

- microwave method: place in glass bowl in microwave for 1 minute & stir.

   (If the chocolate is not fully melted after stiring thoroughly, place back in and stir at 

   30 sec. intervals.  *Remember that if you cook chocolate too long it looses its 

   consistancy.  So try not to over cook.  It will continue to melt for a while after you get 

   it out of the microwave because the glass bowl is hot).

- prefered method: I do not have a microwave, so I boiled water on the stove.  To melt

   your chocolate~ place a glass coffee mug with 1 cup of chocolate in a glass bowl.  

   Now pour boiling water in the bowl around the coffee mug.  Let sit for about a minute 

   and then stir. Your chocolate will become silky smooth the more you stir.  I love melting 

   chocolate this way,  because I don't waste any and it is melted perfectly (no overheating   

   here).

Now dip your truffles!

Helpful hints:

~ be sure that your truffles are frozen or they will be too soft to dip properly

~ keep a metal spoon in your chocolate (it helps to conduct the heat 

and keeps it from hardening faster)

~ dip using a small condiments fork or shishkabob skur

I dip the truffles and place them right onto

mini cupcake papers.

my Christmas  truffles - Yum!!!

 Place your choice of nuts, sprinkles, coconut,

or whatever you want on top.

Package in an airtight bag or container.

*They only last about a week on the counter, so freezing is suggested.

Hope your Valentines day was as sweet as my truffles!

Gingerbread Men & Gingerbread Boys

Last Sunday afternoon, I finally got around to baking the gingerbread dough 
I had made a few days before.

My brother, William came over and we had a relaxing afternoon of cookie baking fun.

I love Gingerbread cookies, but my dad loves them more.

Every year he asks me to make Gingerbread cookies for him.

"Make them soft", he says.  I am like him.  I love soft cookies.  

The only cookies we like hard are my grandmother's sand tarts.

Here is the best Gingerbread Recipe that I have used over the years.

ROLLED GINGERBREAD COOKIES

1 cup shortening                        1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup King's syrup molasses      1 egg

2 tbsp vinegar                            5  cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda                1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger                    1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in egg, molasses, and vinegar.  

Sift together dry ingredients; blend in.  Chill 3 hrs.

Preheat oven 375 degrees.  Roll dough 1/8 in. thick on lightly floured surface.  Cut into shapes.

Place 1 in apart on greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 6-9 minutes (I get them out just as they are lightly brown (because I like them soft).  Cool 1 minute and remove from baking sheet.  Makes 5 dozen.

After they are cool.  We decorate them with icing and sprinkles.  The icing is made from confectioner's sugar and water.  In a bowl place a cup of confectioners sugar.  Then add a little water at a time.  Alternate between stirring and adding water. Stir in enough water until the sugar becomes a thick paste.  The sugar will harden after it cools on the cookie. Add sprinkles.

After baking the cookies and letting them cool, we put icing on them.

While the icing is still wet William decorated them with sprinkles.

We laughed as he made some of their faces very funny.

It was a great time for making memories.

I am so glad that God has given me a brother who enjoys the simple things.

Every time I make a memory like this, it causes me to be thankful for these times.

After all, William will not be a Gingerbread Boy forever. 

Sometime in 2012, I plan to be moved to South Africa.  

When I return a few years from now, he will be a Gingerbread Man.

Christmas Cookie Exchange

Every year the Ladies' Quilting Ministry 

at my home church host a 

Christmas Cookie Exchange.

It is so much fun to make a huge batch of cookies to take to church 

and then to come home with a bunch of differant cookies.

We had lots of delicious cookies this year.

There were Red Velvet pinwheels,

Sandtarts,

Peanutbutter Blossoms,

Maple Cookies,

Fruit Cake Cookies,

Vienna Fingers, 

Apple Cider Cookies, 

Reese's Cookies,

and many more.

HOW TO DO A COOKIE EXCHANGE

First, you send out invitations, weeks in advance.

This years invitation looked like this-

This is the front.  It is just a standard invitation with the info, time, and date.

On the back are instructions on how to bag the cookies and guidelines on what not to bring.

I made the invitations in My Digital Studio (a product of Stampin' Up, 

which allows you to use SU stamps, paper, colors, 

and embelishments digitally to make cards, crafts, DVDs, and photobooks).  

A few suggestions:

1) be sure to specify whether you are okay with some people making other things (like- cookie bars, fudge, mini-muffins,...) rather than just cookies.  We chose to only allow homemade cookies because the ladies work so hard to make nice and sometimes, very fancy cookies.  We felt it a little unfair when they exchanged all of that hard work for cookie bars.

2) Make the place and date of the cookie exchange convenient.  For example: we did ours on a day other than regular church service, but it was a date when most of the church families were there (for homeschool & quilting ministries).  It was also a day right after our Wednesday evening church so that they could drop them off the night before if they were not coming to those ministries.  After the cookie exchange was over, those ladies came back over to the church to get their exchanges (or other ladies who were there dropped the cookies off at their houses on the way home).  If you are doing a cookie exchange among friends or in a work setting, just pick a day that is convenient & place where everyone is already going.  Christmas time can be hectic, the last thing you need to stress out about is a cookie exchange.  Make it enjoyable by being convenient!

3) Also, make it early enough in December so it can be done.  Do it before the busyness starts.  We do ours within the first 10 days of December.  It is before the big holiday baking begins, but still into December where you can enjoy the cookies.  

4) Encourage everyone to do it, if possible.  I am a single lady who lives by herself.  I may have one cookie a day. How could I possibly eat all of those cookies?   Well, I'll tell you.  I don't!  When I get home they all get divided up into my traditional cookie tins.  Whenever I have someone come to my house I pull out those cookies.  It is so fun and encourages people to fellowship!  It also gives me a chance to brag on all the great cooks at my church.  I know that some of the ladies are grandmas.  They divide them up and freeze them to get out when thier grandkids come.  Another lady cannot have bakedgoods, so she takes them around the neighborhood and hands out flyers to our Christmas Cantata.

Now that you have read how to prepare, here is what happens on the Cookie Exchange day.

Everyone brings their cookies in all neatly packaged according to the invitation guidelines..

Most are tagged with the baker's name and the kind of cookie.

Some even come with recipe cards so we can make them at home.

As they come in, we ask each participant how many total bags/plates of cookies they made.

You don't need to know how many different kinds, just the total 

(this helps you know how many they get back).

We write their name and that number down.

Then set the cookies out with a label of whose they are.

Then, comes the hardest part for me - dividing them up.

I am no mathmetician, and it can get a little tricky.

Finally, this year I got better at it.

A little hint:  start by giving the person who brought the most their exchanged cookies first.

I bring a cookie platter, gift bag or a box to divide them out.

Each platter, bag or box is labeled with the person's name.

Do not give the recipient any of their own cookies back.  

Remember, the idea is to get other people's cookies.

After they are divided out, I just let them on the table with the name labels on

 and the ladies come by and pick them up.

There were lots of great cookies this year.  

My favorite are always the healthy cookies that one of our deacon's wife makes.

Mmmm, Mmmm, GOOOOOOD!!!!

Here are the recipes for the two cookies I made.

They are NOT healthy!

The recipe cards were made on Stampin' Up My Digital Studio

We try to include a small gift for everyone who participates.

Last year, we gave tin cookie cutters with a recipe for easy sugar cookies 

and the history of "tin cookie cutters".

This year, each participant got a cookie tray and a wonderful smelling Glade candle.

It is so neat how every year, the Lord provides great gifts to give to the participants!

If you try to do a cookie exchange, I hope it is as great a blessing to you as ours was!