Sunday, December 1, 2019

Christmas Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop


Welcome to the Christmas Virtual Cookie Exchange & Blog Hop hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt.  Thank you, Carol, for putting together yet another great blog hop where we can swap stories, recipes, inspiration, and loads of fun!!

Today is my day to share with you what is going on at my house in preparation for the coming holiday.  Of course my sewing room is the normal disaster, so I won't be showing you that.  But for this hop I did put together a little quilt I thought fit the theme.


I bought this kit for a small quilt on a shop hop last year.  The fabric is called Sugar and Spice by Karen Tye Bentley for Northcott.  

The center is a panel featuring 12 different Christmas recipes.  The 9-patches that help make up the border are also from this fabric line and features holly, gingerbread men, snowflakes, and gingham.  The dark green plaid that borders the panel and binds the quilt is a nice contrast to the subtle colors.  
    


My only thought about this quilt is that it looks somewhat unfinished between the recipes.  I thought about placing buttons or ribbons inbetween each recipe, but finally just left it blank.  What do you think?  Any ideas?


The finished quilt is approximately 38" x 58", the perfect size quilt for Jack and me to snuggle under while watching tv.

But WAIT, there's more.

And now to the sweet part of this post.  I love the taste of sweet and salty, and what better than white chocolate and pretzels?  I found round pretzels at my local store and they made the cutest snowmen.  These are super simple to make.


Ingredients:

White chocolate, melted
Pretzel rings
Mini M&M's (I used orange ones only)
Black food coloring paste
Toothpicks
Spoon

Preparations:  (Chocolate dries fast)

1.  Line a cookie pan with parchment or waxed paper and spread retzels in rows on pan.
2.  Remove orange M&M's from package.
3.  Pour out a small amount of black food coloring paste.
4.  Melt white chocolate in microwave per directions.


Assembly:
1.  Use a spoon to fill each pretzel ring with white chocolate.
2.  Working quickly, drop an orange M&M in center of pretzel ring.
3.  Dip toothpick into black food coloring paste and dot eyes and mouth of snowman.  You may need to dot several times to get the size you want.
4.  Let dry overnight before packaging




Each snowman will be unique but all will be delicious.  When completely dry, scoop them into a decorative jar or bag and tie with a colorful ribbon.  Perfect for gift giving, or a sweet snack while watching your favorite Christmas movie.


Don't forget to visit the other participants on today's list:
December 2nd