Cupcake Friday Project

Christmas is a week away! Are your cookies baked? Presents wrapped? Decorations decking the halls? If so, then maybe you have time to take on this project, some adorable Christmas tree and Santa hat cake pops … it’s the perfect project if you need a little gift to send in for your child’s teacher, or if you’re having a little shindig of your own and would like to send guests home with a sweet treat.

Now, for our final installment of Craftsy Tuesday, let me turn you over to Joshua John Russell who will guide you through this adorable baking project. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree and Santa Hat Cake Pops
Ingredients
5 cups cake crumbs
1/2 cup frosting
24 oz. chocolate (candy melts, red, white, green)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Holiday sprinkles

Additional equipment
Plastic wrap
Pop sticks
Cake pop holder or styrofoam

Directions
Place the cake crumbs in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and turn onto low speed.
Add frosting gradually. You may not need all of the frosting, so add slowly until a “cookie dough” consistency is formed.
Wrap the mixture in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Once the mixture is cold, roll into balls and then into cone shapes.
Once all of the cones are formed, place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
When you are ready to dip, melt chocolate and add the oil.
Stir the mixture until combined.

Take pops out of the refrigerator a couple at a time to dip.
Place cones on stick.

Dip pop into the chocolate all the way until the chocolate touches the stick.
Let excess chocolate drip and place pops upright in a pop holder of styrofoam.

Decorate with sprinkles.

Enjoy!

For our second Craftsy Tuesday, I’m pleased to introduce Richard Ruskell, one of the top 10 pastry chefs in America. Today Chef Ruskell is sharing with us a unique gingerbread recipe that is perfect for your holiday gift-giving.

This is my favorite gingerbread cookie recipe. I adapted it from one of my mother’s church cookbooks which were so popular in the 50s and 60s.

Growing up in a heavily Scandinavian-influenced part of Minnesota we often went to the Lutheran church for lutefisk and lefse suppers. Swedish meatballs: yes! Lutefisk: I’ll pass! Lefse: yes! Pepparkakar: Always! This recipe is derived from pepparkakar, a gingerbread cookie with pepper. Although I have cut back on the pepper I did keep a representative amount. Hope you enjoy.

This recipe is one I submitted for the cookbook

For our first Craftsy Tuesday, I’m pleased to introduce Atlanta cake artist, Food Network challenger and Craftsy instructor Joshua John Russell.

As an instructor for Craftsy, it’s my job to teach people techniques that will help them further their culinary careers and hobbies. As a friend and family member, however, I’m the one who is always required to bring dessert to an event, and really, I don’t mind. This is why every holiday season, I not only whip up treats for the parties, but I also try to make everyone a special gift from my kitchen.

Now, anyone can simply follow a recipe and hand it over in a decorative tin, but I’m going to show you how to make something unique, and also how make it look like it came out of the pages of a magazine.

Decorative Boxes
Holiday packaging can be expensive, so here’s a way to make customized boxes that are inexpensive, simple and beautiful. Here is what you need:

1. Plain white boxes (from the Container Store or a craft store)
2. Rubber stamps (you can use whatever design you like, but choose one you will reuse often)
3. Ink (from a craft store)
4. Ribbon and bows
5. Small name card to personalize your package
6. Tape
7. Scissors
8. Ornaments (optional)

Practice stamping on some scrap paper first before committing to the boxes.

Then carefully stamp the boxes while they are flat. Let them dry and fold them.

Now for the goodies….

Chocolate and Peppermint Treats 3 Ways

• Peppermint Rice Cereal Treats
• Swirled Peppermint Bark
• Peppermint Diamonds

Peppermint Rice Cereal Treats
Ingredients
6 cups cocoa rice cereal
6 cups mini-marshmallows
3 tbsp butter
4 to 5 candy canes (crushed)
7 to 8 peppermint patties (chopped)
1 to 2 cups milk or dark chocolate, melted

Instructions

• Melt the butter and candy canes over medium heat until dissolved.
• Add marshmallows and continue to stir until melted.
• Add cocoa rice cereal and peppermint patties and stir until incorporated.
• Turn out onto a Siplat or parchment paper and spread thin.
• Pour melted chocolate over the top in a very thin layer and spread to cover.
• Once this sets, break it up to look like traditional bark.

Swirled Peppermint Bark
Ingredients
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 cups dark or milk chocolate chips
4 to 5 candy canes (crushed)

Instructions

• Melt equal amount of white and dark/milk chocolate and drizzle them together on a Silpat (you can also use parchment paper).
• Take a wooden skewer and make swirly designs with the melted chocolate.
• Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the melted chocolate and allow it to set.
• After the bark is set, break it up or cut it into smaller pieces to fit into the boxes.
• NOTE: You must place the bark in plastic before placing it into the boxes; this will keep the boxes from getting greasy.

Peppermint Diamonds
Ingredients
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dark or milk chocolate chips
2 to 3 candy canes (crushed)

Instructions

• Melt chocolate and mix in a small amount of crushed candy canes.
• Pour mixture into diamond-shaped ice cube trays (you can find trays like this at Fred and Friends).
• Let the candies set before removing them from the trays.

Time for the grand reveal. Drumroll please …

And here are our gifts!!! Once you pack the goodies into the boxes, finish them decorative ribbon and/or bows, personalized gift tags or even a lightweight ornament as a final touch (and additional gift).

Your family and friends are going to love these!!!

Check back next week for the next installment of Craftsy Tuesday.

While I was in Toronto, sitting at the White Squirrel Cafe and sipping an excellent iced mocha, I received an email from the folks at Craftsy inquiring about what I had planned for the blog in December. Would I like to feature some recipes and/or tutorials from some of the big names in baking and crafting?

Ummmm … YES!

So, I pitched back to them the idea of “Craftsy Tuesdays,” where I’d let one of their baking/crafting/cooking experts take center stage, sharing with you some great recipes, crafts and tips for the holidays. Craftsy loved it, so now, for the next 3 Tuesdays you’ll get to enjoy some projects that you can work on this month for your gift-giving and party-throwing needs.

Stop by tomorrow to see what Atlanta cake artist Joshua John Russell has in store for you!

Disclosure: None of the Craftsy Tuesday posts are sponsored content. I am working with Craftsy solely because I like the educational content they create.