Clever Christmas Treats
Duckie
Sherry Brennen
Sometimes the best part of holiday baking is doing something simple in
a clever way. Here are a few Better Living tips to help you create
quick and clever Christmas treats.
HOLIDAY CUPCAKE CHARACTERS
These cupcakes are adorable and easy enough for kids to make. Use a
cake mix, canned frosting and candy decorations.
SANTA CUPCAKES
Frost cupcake with white icing. Use round candies for eyes and nose.
On top edge of cup cake, sprinkle red sugar in shape of hat. (Or cut
Santa hat shape from red fruit leather and lay on cupcake). With
mini-marshmallows cut in half, make fur trim on hat by pressing
marshmallows at the bottom of the hat along Santa's forehead. Snip a
mini-marshmallow in half for pompom at pointed end of hat.
Pipe on a red smile with frosting. Slice one mini- marshmallow in half
lengthwise and shape into moustache. Snip other marshmallows in half
crosswise and use to create fluffy beard.
REINDEER CUPCAKES
Create Santa's reindeer by piping a dollop of chocolate frosting for
the muzzle and add candy canes.
Frost cupcake with chocolate icing. Fill a zip-close plastic bag with
chocolate frosting and snip off a tiny corner to create a pastry bag.
Pipe little pointy ears on top of the cupcake. Pipe a dollop of
chocolate frosting to create a muzzle. Add blue candies for eyes.
Place a red hot on the muzzle to create a red nose. Push in miniature
candy canes (curve side out for antlers.)
ELF CUPCAKES
And don't forget Santa's elves. Form their cute little ears from pink
chewy squares.
Frost cupcake with white icing. Create a stocking cap with fruit
leather. Add blue or green eyes with round candies. Pipe on eyelashes
with chocolate frosting.
Add red hot for nose. Pipe on red smile. Create pointy ears by
pinching pink chewy-candy squares into desired shape. Add rosy cheeks
with round sprinkles of red sugar or starlight mints.
DECORATIVE COOKIE FROSTING
1 box powdered sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder
1/3 cup warm water
Paste food coloring
Use an electric mixer to blend first three ingredients. Separate into
bowls and color with paste colorings. Keep covered to prevent drying
out. Thin by adding drops of water. For smooth application, apply
with artists' brush.
SHIMMER COOKIE FINISH
Turn plain sugar cookies into sparkling masterpieces with this
technique.
Gold or silver luster dust
Lemon, orange or peppermint extract
Frost cookies with white decorative frosting (recipe above) and allow
to dry completely. Mix one teaspoon extract with one tablespoon of
luster dust. Paint over frosted cookies.
NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS MICE
Everyone will love these Night before Christmas Mice. Shape the dough,
and add sliced almonds for ears and a crunchy Chinese noodle for a
tail.
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Decorations:
1 egg plus two tablespoons of water, beaten together
Sliced almonds for ears
Crunchy Chinese noodle for tail
Chopped raisins for eyes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars with an electric
mixer until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Blend well.
In a separate bowl
Use a fork to blend together flour and spices. Slowly add dry
ingredients to liquid to form dough.
Use your hands to shape one tablespoon of dough into an oval for the
mouse body. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush each oval with egg
and water mixture. Press in raisin eyes, noodle tail and almond ears.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes at 350 degrees.
EASY CHRISTMAS TRAIN
Kids will love to make this Christmas train. It's made from individual
snack-sized cakes, canned frosting and candies from the grocery store.
Just trim the cake into shape, frost and decorate.
6 individual cakes
2 cans white frosting
Food coloring
Round peppermint-striped candies (for wheels)
Round sandwich cookie (for engine front)
Roll of fruit-flavored round-hard candies
Animal crackers
Assorted candies and sprinkles for decoration
Track:
On a foiled-covered piece of cardboard about 12 x 24 inches, spread
1/2 cup of frosting into an S shape, about 18 inches long and three
inches wide, to create a train track. Decorate track by scattering
multi-colored sprinkles.
Train cars:
Divide remaining frosting into bowls and color red and green with food
coloring. Stack two individual cakes for each car. Frost two cars red
and one car green. Place frosted cakes on track and press on
peppermint candy wheels.
Engine & coal car:
Frost a round cookie and attach to the front of the engine. Stack
round candy rings to create a smokestack on top of engine. Hollow out
one cake to create a coal car, fill with red and green candies. Use
frostings, candies and animal crackers to decorate rest of the train.