Treats, Treats and MORE Treats!

Merry Christmas Eve! I have a lot of my Christmas treats to show you but first, I interrupt this post for a Ho Ho Ho! from your friend, Maddie Bat.

She doesn't look like she's filled with the holiday spirit, but she is.

She helped me make ornaments for the stapling on the treat bags for my neighbors by eating some Cherry Cobble tulle.

She also really enjoyed playing with the pom poms that I used to decorate the little nugget snowmen I made for my Starbucks peeps.

Splotchy would like to interrupt me to sing PAWrum-pa-pum-pummmmm!! Look at that adorable Splotchy paw.

He is very much feeling the holiday spirit, as he is existing on a diet of ribbon and pine needles!

Now I stepped out of my paper box to make some cute little snowmen that I saw on Etsy! I just guessed on the beads the original artist used and they came out PERFECT! The little collar is a Swarovski bead, and there's a little Swarovski crystal on the bottom of the pin they're on. Then I just popped three of them on a kilt pin for a cute stocking stuffer!

And next up - some OMGOODNESSTHISISBEAUTIFULANDDELICIOUSNESS!

I made some cream cheese mints for my neighbors, which are my new fave food on earth. They are creamy and pepperminty and oh so pure white. They are just gorgeous and so easy to make. 

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer. Because I chose poorly when I asked for one, mine does NOT look like this one: 

But anyway, into the boring white Kitchen Aid, put 1 tsp of Peppermint Extract. Add 3 oz of cream cheese and beat until smooth. Slowly add three cups of powdered sugar until the dough has a sort of shortbread consistency. When you go to roll them into balls, they shouldn't stick to your hands. You should be able to roll them into a smooth ball easily. I used a 1/4 tsp to scoop them out and ball them up - you don't want them too big. Put them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet that you've dusted with a little powdered sugar. Gently press a fork into the tops in a crosshatch pattern and set aside to dry for at least 24 hours - flipping them over every few hours. Do not put them in containers until they are dry and hard or they will stick together. 

They are cool, creamy and delicious - truly some of my fave treats ever.

 

 To prepare them for your neighbors, take your brand spanking new Pool Party Embossing Powder from the upcoming Spring Mini and ribbon from the Sale-A-Bration catalog and make an adorable Friendship Preserves Tag with the Friendships Preserve stamp set and die bundle! Isn't that embossing powder beautiful on Crumb Cake? I just low how they turned out.

Can you believe how many things I have to show you? Finally, a little snowman tealight with a light up nose! We made these at my monthly class for December and they are so easy and fun! I saw the idea on Splitcoast and could not resist making them. Just use circle and oval punches for the face and hat and embellish with Cherry Cobbler Sweater Trim!

It was so fun to do all these things - it really makes me wonder why don't don't bake treats and make fun little things for each other all year.

Maybe we should!