Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Wednesday, 2 December 2020

2020 Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop

 This is day 3 of the Virtual Cookie Exchange and Christmas Blog Hop, hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt


What better time than Christmas to share a sweet treat, even if we can't all be together this year, we can always pop some cookies in the mail and share the joy of giving that makes Christmas so merry! Christmas is definitely going to be different for me. Normally I am a Christmas nut but with the loss of my hubby and not being able to have Christmas with all my children and grandchildren this year I am dreading it.

The cookie recipe I will be sharing this year is Cinnamon Roll Cookies. My grandma made the best cinnamon rolls, you know the ones made with sweet yeast dough. Yum, I do make them but these cookies are so much easier and almost as good. I think you'll enjoy them as much as my family does.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla 
Filling
2 Tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Icing
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Cookie Dough:
Using a mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute on high speed until creamy. Beat in the sugar until completely creamed and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined.

Making the rolls: 
Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out in a rectangle approximately 9×7 inches to about 1/4″ thickness. 
Kind of a rectangle, but it's all good

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter onto each rectangle. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together then sprinkle evenly over each roll.

cinnamon sugar sprinkled on rolled out dough

Working slowly, tightly roll up each rectangle into a 9-inch log. If the dough cracks use your fingers to smooth it out. Some cracks are fine. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the logs of dough for at least 2 hours. 
Preheat oven to 350°F. 
Remove dough logs from the refrigerator. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10-11 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Icing: 
Mix all of the icing ingredients together. Drizzle over cookies. Cover and store cookies at room temperature for up to 5 days. They also freeze well.

I like to place parchment paper under the cookies before drizzling the icing. I reused the parchment that I used when baking the cookies.

For my Christmas project, I made a  pillow top, in traditional colours.


I kept the quilting simple as I wanted a soft fluffy pillow. You can get the pattern in my Etsy shop.

Take a little time to visit the other blogs and pick up some more recipes for sweet treats.

Tuesday, 3 December 2019

Virtual Cookie Exchange

Carol of Just Let Me Quilt is hosting the Virtual Cookie Exchange for which we are to share a Christmas cookie recipe, tradition, and/or quilt.




My favourite cookies are shortbreads and not just for Christmas but anytime of the year. I make whipped shortbreads and use a cookie press. 
I know you're looking for a photo of a plate of some tasty looking cookies I would show you however my cookie press is broken. My daughter borrowed it and the tube broke down the seam, I have had it for more than 30 years, so I guess it really doesn't owe me anything. I need to replace it real soon. So I am sorry to say no picture BUT worst of all no shortbread cookies here. YET. 
I'm going to give you the recipe so you can make some for yourself.


Whipped Shortbreads


1 cup softened butter
½ cup icing sugar
½ cup cornstarch
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour


Beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add icing sugar, beating after each addition. Sift together flour and cornstarch, gradually add to creamed mixture beating constantly.
Place dough in cookie press and form cookies. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes.
Enjoy!

A little Christmas project for all those fab gifts you are going to be making as a result of this blog hop. You are going to need something to put them in. Right? How about a gift bag?

Ruffled Gift Bag

Instructions for a 10 1/2'' x 19 1/2'' bag.

1 pc fabric 11 1/2″ x 20″
1 pc 3'' x 20'' accent fabric
ribbon

Turn one long edge of the accent piece under 1/4''.
Sew the opposite long edge of the accent piece to one of the long edges of the main fabric. 

long edge of both main and accent fabrics sewn together and pressed towards the accent fabric.
Press the top edge under a 1/4''
Place a mark 4'' down from top edge of the accent fabric on the side and another mark at 4 3/4''.

Sew from the bottom edge of the main fabric up to the 4 3/4'' mark you made. Backstitch at both ends.

Starting with a backstitch at the 4'' mark, sew to the top of the bag with a ¼” seam. Making sure to leave a 3/4'' unsewn gap between the two marks.

leave a 3/4'' gap for the ribbon to thread through on the main fabric. starting from top of the accent piece to the 4'' mark and from 4 3/4'' mark to bottom
Fold the accent piece, at the seam line to the inside of the main fabric having wrong sides together and covering the ribbon gap by the accent piece.  

Sew a line of stitching 7/8'' above the 1/8'' seam. This is the ribbon casing. 

Topstitch 1/8'' from the top and also 1/8'' from the previously 1/4''  turned

Sew the bottom edge with ¼” seam.
Turn and press.
Thread the ribbon through the gap, gather and tie a bow.

An easy bag ready for those gifts! 

A ruffled edge bag already for gift giving.

You can adjust the size of the bag by simply changing the size of fabric pieces you start with.


Make sure to visit all the blogs participating