Autumn Projects Roundup

We had our first snowfall yesterday morning, which I think means we are cruising right past autumn and moving on to winter here. But for those of you lucky enough to still have fall-like weather, here are some seasonal crafts and recipes you may have missed. (Click on an image to go to the original post.)

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Mason Jar (Flameless) Candles

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Acorn & Pinecone "Tree" Centerpiece

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Autumn Burlap Wreath

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Reversible Scarecrow/Snowman Sign

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Porch & Mantel Decor

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Dryer Vent Turkey and Pumpkin Centerpieces

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle (No need to bake!)

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Beef and Vegetable Soup

Canada Day 2018

Happy Canada Day, y'all!

From my family to yours, I hope you have a terrific day.

And here's an interesting little bit of trivia: Did you know that if July 1st falls on a Sunday, like it is this year, Canada Day is moved to July 2nd? I'm not talking about getting the day off work and businesses being closed, I mean that the actual statutory holiday is moved. I couldn't believe I'd never heard about it before.

Celebrations are still usually held on July 1st of course, even though it's technically not the holiday.

But no matter the date, these ruffians are always ready to celebrate.

Shortbread - 3 Ways

One of my goals this Christmas was to do more baking. Along with sugar cookies and dog cookies, I tried my hand at shortbread for the first time. They turned out so well that I wanted to share the recipe with you.

I tried two different methods, rolled cookies and piped cookies. I'm partial to the piped ones, but only because of the chocolate chips.

Rolled Shortbread Cookies (2 flavours)

2 cups of butter, softened
1 cup of icing sugar (i.e. powdered sugar)
1 cup of cornstarch
1/4 tsp of salt
4 cups of flour
Zest of one lemon
Juice of half a lemon
Gummies or other candy to decorate
Granulated sugar for sprinkling on top

Beat the butter until smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl mix the icing sugar, corn starch, salt, and flour. Stir the mixture briskly with an egg whisk (or sift it if you have a sifter) to get it light and airy. Add the dry mixture to the butter, a little at a time, until all is combined. Split your dough into two parts and add the lemon zest and lemon juice to one portion, mixing it in evenly.
Cover each dough portion with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 325F.

Roll your dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut your cookies into shapes. Place on a greased or parchment-covered cookie sheet.
-For the lemon cookies, sprinkle the tops with a bit of granulated sugar (coloured sugar would be fun!)
-For the plain cookies, slice your gummies in half lengthwise if they are thick and place a half in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are slightly golden brown. Let cool completely.

Whipped Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

2 cups of butter
1 cup of icing sugar (i.e. powdered sugar)
1/2 cup of cornstarch
1 tsp of vanilla
3 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 cup of chocolate chips
Piping bag

Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Mix in the cornstarch, vanilla, flour and salt. Beat until fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover your dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 325F.

Let your dough warm back up and transfer to a piping bag. (You could also drop the cookie batter onto the cookie sheet by spoonful if you don't have a piping bag.) Pipe your cookie dough onto a greased or parchment-covered cookie sheet in swirls, flattening them slightly with a fork or spoon. I'm not afraid to admit that mine look a bit like poops. I know you were thinking it.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are slightly golden brown. Let cool completely.

Thoughts: I found that piping the cookies was really difficult as the batter didn't want to stick to the sheet and  kept lifting up when I pulled the piping bag away. I would probably drop them by spoonful next time, but it was something I wanted to try.

Just look at Little Miss Cookie Monster wanting to know which ones are hers. :-)

Christmas Crafts

I so wanted to get back into crafting Christmas decorations and other projects this year, but I fear I've left it too late. I'm hoping to get some finished this weekend and I'll post about them if I do get them done, but until then I'll leave you with some of my favourites from past years.

Scrap Wood Christmas Tree Ornament

Pinecone Map Ornament

Rustic Wall Hanging and Glitter Pinecones

Burlap Christmas Carol Sign

Jingle Bell Mod Podge Ornament

Wreaths

Happy Thanksgiving!

Carrot Cake Easter Cupcakes (with Cream Cheese Frosting)

I'm not a baker by any means. But there's something about spring and Easter that just makes me want to get creative. I have a recipe for carrot cake that I love - I think it's the pineapple that really makes it - and nothing is better than cream cheese frosting.

For the cupcakes:

1 cup pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
3/4 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup crushed pineapple with juice

Pumpkin Pie Spice:
(This will give you more than enough spice)

1/2 tbs cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice


For the frosting:

1/2 cup of cream cheese - softened
1 cup of icing sugar (i.e.confectioners' sugar)
butter
food colouring
piping bag and tips (or plastic sandwich bags if you're like me)

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Preheat the oven to 300-325 degrees depending on your oven. Cupcakes cook faster than cake and you don't want to dry them out.

Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, oil, and egg, stirring well. Add the carrots and pineapple, stirring again. You could add coconut or chopped nuts as well at this point. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture a little at a time, blending as you go.

Spoon the batter into greased cupcake tins, filling them about half full. I found that the batter rises quite a bit so don't overfill them. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

While the cupcakes are baking you can prepare the frosting. Cream the sugar and cream cheese together until smooth. If you would like the frosting a little softer add butter a little at a time to get the consistency you like. I added my butter (about 1/4 cup) at the start and didn't like how soft/runny the icing was so I suggest testing as you go. If you want stiffer icing, add more icing sugar.

Divide your icing into small containers and dye each with the food colouring of your choice. For orange you will need just one drop of red but several drops of yellow. That red is strong stuff!

I don't have a piping bag so I just used several small sandwich bags with the corners snipped off instead. Spoon in some icing and squeeze it down to the corner you've snipped. Then use your imagination for the decorations!

Here is my first cupcake. I liked the look of the carrot so much that I made all the small ones the same. Carrot cake has to have carrots on top.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I attempted some other styles that are not quite as pretty. I think the baby chick and the rabbit look like they're wearing sunglasses, don't you? The rabbit ears are made from pieces of paper with some pink icing applied.

They're not professional looking - I get it. But I had a lot of fun. And they were fun to eat too! The pineapple makes a huge difference to the moistness and flavour. You know, the more I look at them, the cuter I think they are. Well done, me.

I think I'm going to keep working on this decorating thing. I'll give you an update when my bakery is opening.