Why I Haven't Been Blogging

Because it seems about all I did for the month of December was bake!
Here's the rundown -- First up, homemade apple butter.
Finally, an excuse to use my Pampered Chef Apple Peeler Corer Slicer!!!
It makes such perfect little slicesThen into the crockpot with a bunch of sugar, cinnamon and spices. Cook on low for ...2 hours... make that...6 hours... or maybe...10 hours!! Yup.. think that's about right.The recipe says to use an immersion blender, but I don't have one so I poured it all into a food processor. Blended it all up and then put it into 4 oz jars for gifts -- it filled 12 jars and one tiny tupperware bowl. I didn't technically jar it... by boiling the jars. I just put the lids on and then froze it until ready to give.

Then it was cookie time -- I made more than 150 gingerbread faces and tiny little men. I found the idea for the faces on Bakerella -- hers are cuter than mine -- But I also use buttercream and she uses royal icing.. Royal icing makes prettier cookies, but I think it tastes gross.In fact, I still have some unused gingerbread dough in my freezer if anyone wants it.. It freezes for up to 6 months I believe.

Up next -- 130 candy cane cookies with buttercream icing. These are my FAVORITE!!!Then there was Hot Chocolate on a stick -- what else would I need a 72oz bag of chocolate chips for (I actually didn't use the whole bag).First you heat a milk mixture -- then add the chocolate chips -- cooking in a double boiler -- or as I do a glass bowl on top of a pot of boiling water.Guess I should have rotated these pictures. Sorry.. Stir until melted, thickened and glossy.Pour into a parchment lined dish and let set overnight.Then make marshmallows -- yup homemade ones. You boil corn syrup and water and sugar to exactly 240-degrees then slowly pour it into unflavored gelatin that has set up slightly. Then whip for 15 minutes or until it looks like it is going to overflow your mixing bowl. Definitely want a stand mixer for this part. Then pour into a 9x13 dish coated with crisco or spray on cooking oil and a mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch. (This is SUPER sticky!! If you don't coat your pan you may never get it out.)
Let that sit for 4 hours or up to overnight. Then cut both the chocolate and the marshmallows into squares -- or use a biscuit cutter and make some cut not so perfect circle cutouts of both.Stack one on top of the other and wrap with instructions -- mix with 4-8 ounces of warm milk and wahlah!! Hot Chocolate. I found this on pinterest -- I don't remember the web site with instructions -- but google Hot Chocolate on a Stick and you can find it.... FYI, it is incredibly time consuming. I gave these to a few people at work and the people who frequently help us with Brixton. I still have one left. I think I'm going to enjoy it myself sometime.
After you have made about 15 HC sticks (that's all I got out of it) then you will have a lot of marshmallow left. We drink a lot of hot chocolate so I just cut the rest into squares and put it in a baggy.Perfect and DELICIOUS!!!
No wonder I've gained a little weight lately!

I didn't only bake -- I also I figured out that I can sew--- kind of. I got a sewing machine about 3 years ago for Christmas and have barely pulled it out of the box out of fear. I had no idea how to use it. A few months ago I read the manual. Then I found this pattern for a bag I wanted to make for Brixton.
Before I made his I bought all of this and decided to make one for our little friend Haylie's birthday.I think it turned out pretty great. It took me a whole day, but I got it done..I have since made a bigger one for Brixton.

I originally wanted the sewing machine so I could hem my pant legs (because I'm not petite, but I'm too short for "regular" length pants). I can now say that I have hemed one pair of pants.

I would love to take a baking break but as we speak I'm baking a baby shower cake and planning to bake some baby shower cookies in a couple of weeks.. I think I will just keep it to about a dozen this time.

Hope you all enjoyed the holidays.