Chocolate Peppermint Spoons: Festive plastic spoons dipped in chocolate candy coating then dusted with crushed peppermints.
Tonight we’re having our little tree-trimming party here at Stringtown Rising Farm–me and 52 and the teenagers, pigging out on homemade pizza and fudge brownies, decking the halls with homemade ornaments and downing all the leftover rum and bourbon. I’m just kidding! About the teenagers, anyway……. My dining room table is an assembly line of cookie ornaments and homemade gifts. I’ll be packing up gift baskets with some combination chosen from the below items, depending on the recipient.
I’m compiling the whole list here of what’s going out in Santa’s sleigh from the beating heart of Old Stringtown, with links to the posts with instructions, in case you missed one or are still looking for a last-minute fun and frugal idea–and some of these gifts really can be made at the last minute! Including the ones I’m adding in this post–the Vanilla Peppermint Pretzels and Chocolate Peppermint Spoons.
Old Stringtown Holiday Gift Guide 2008:
Wild Bird Suet
Chocolate Peppermint Spoons (see top of post)
Grandmother Bread–White and Raisin
Dump Cake Mix
Homemade Kahlua
Funnel Cake Mix
Homemade Baking Mix
Shoo-Fly pies (baked in pretty thrift store pie plates the recipients can keep)
Pumpkin Bread
Homemade Dough Enhancer
Vanilla Peppermint Pretzels (see bottom of post)
Winter Citrus Potpourri
Homemade Vanilla Extract
Drunken Rum Cake (I decided to try these out for gifts as Mini Drunken Orange Cakes–replacing the rum in the recipe for orange juice and baking them in mini-loaf pans with a slice of orange decorating the top of each one)
Bourbon Balls
Also, of course, a variety of homemade jams.
And you know everything comes with a cookie ornament gift tag!
Vanilla Peppermint Pretzels: Small pretzel twists dipped in vanilla candy coating and sprinkled with crushed peppermints.
P.S. Don’t forget a 2009 Chickens in the Road Calendar!
Clover: “Would you shut up about your calendar already, woman!”
“Where is my holiday? Where is my festivity? WHERE IS MY COOKIE ORNAMENT?”
Leah says:
WOW!Everything sounds sooo Goood!I want to make the Peppermint vanilla pretzels for the girls at wk. I did’nt know what i was going to get them because there are so many of them it would be to expensive to buy them all gifts.Plus, easy and probably not too time consuming.Thanks for all the great ideas! :sheepjump:
On December 19, 2008 at 5:22 am
WV Janis says:
On PEPPERMINT Candy Canes
Has anyone else noticed it is getting harder and harder to find peppermint candy canes? I searched for the miniature ones, individually wrapped, and finally found them at Target. They have some other flavor, fruit, I believe.
Christmas on Stringtown sounds, indeed, truly magical. I think we are all longing for a little bit of the “good life.” Thank you for keeping it alive in our minds and hearts.
WV Janis
On December 19, 2008 at 5:25 am
Heidi says:
My GOSH she is like SO demanding already! For some reason, I hear her voice as being like, ya know a ‘valley girl’ – not sure why! LOL Thanks for some great ideas’!!!
On December 19, 2008 at 5:28 am
Susan says:
Merry Christmas to you!!!
On December 19, 2008 at 6:44 am
stefinity says:
When I was a kid, I used to make chocolate covered spoons to give to all my school teachers. You can use a variety of red and green spoons, dip them in white or dark chocolate. After it hardens, wrap the chocolate end in clear saran wrap, and tie with a pretty ribbon. Then you can arrange the spoons in a christmas mug with a packet of hot chocolate!
On December 19, 2008 at 7:52 am
Nancy in Atlanta says:
As usual, you have me drooling on my keyboard! I think I could handle the plastic spoons, but my daughter and her husband are lucky that I’m going to have chili in the crockpot waiting for their arrival tomorrow night! Wish I lived up or down the road from you! :catmeow:
On December 19, 2008 at 9:28 am
Nell says:
You never cease to amaze me. So creative, talented, and energetic you are. Keep it up.
Merry Christmas from very warm Florida.
Nell
On December 19, 2008 at 9:57 am
MaryLundShu says:
What size are the mini loaf pans? Are you substituting OJ for rum since folks, in general, don’t care for the rum? If you use the OJ do you still add the sugar to the glaze mixture (like you do with the rum glaze?
DH has made 2 of your rum cakes! The first was knocked off the counter during the night and consumed by our 2 Aussie dogs. Grrrr! So, DH made another last night – YUMMMY!!! LOVE IT!
On December 19, 2008 at 11:14 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
There are a few people on my gift list who would prefer not to have something with alcohol in it. You make the glaze just the same, just substitute orange juice for the rum. It’s really good!
Oh, and the loaf pans–they aren’t real tiny, maybe about half the size of regular loaf pans.
On December 19, 2008 at 11:20 am
IowaDeb says:
Everything looks so scrumptious! Mini orange cakes sounds oh so yummy! I keep making things for baskets but am having a terrible time deciding who gets what.
On December 19, 2008 at 12:45 pm
MARY says:
:biggrin: Have fun tonight!! I bet the house looks and smells fabulous!!! Santa will definitely want to hang out for a long while, so save him some rum!!!!! :rockon:
On December 19, 2008 at 1:02 pm
catslady says:
You are going to be making some lucky people very happy with your homemade goodies – so much better than store bought and they come with extra love :yes:
On December 19, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Mari says:
I was missing seeing those goats(even tho I got some goats right here!) You mean you can get your teenagers to help decorate? Even the 12 year old isn’t interested to decorate anymore! Oh I get it, no decorating,no brownies, that might do the trick..
On December 19, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Brandy says:
I let my kids decorate our tree. *G*
Your gift baskets sound lovely! I’m sure they’ll be appreciated. Those spoons are a great idea!
On December 19, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Estella says:
Your gift baskets sound great!
Hope fun is had by all tonight.
On December 19, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Miss Lila says:
WOW, wish I could come. :hissyfit:
Miss Hissyfit 9Lil) in Atlanta
On December 19, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Miss Lila says:
oops. Thats Miss Hissyfit (Lila) in Atlanta
:hissyfit:
On December 19, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Miss Lila says:
ohhhh boy.
I’m really using this hissyfit emotion to my advantage. I’m trying to “contact” you through your contact link and for some galdurned reason my computer won’t go there. It’s not you, it’s the “protector of all things holy and computerized” in my computer, so my daughter (computer genius) tells me. Anyway, I wanted to know who designed your blog site because I really like it and want to start a blog of my own after reading everyone elses for the past 10 months. Here’s my email address, [email protected] I know you’re really busy and all but if you could take just a second and email me I would be forever in your debt. Well, maybe not forever, but for a really, really long time.
Miss Hissyfit (Lila) in Atlanta :hissyfit:
On December 19, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Miss Lila says:
Oh Yeah, (this is fun) and where can I get a hissy fit emotioncon or whatever you call them. I LOVE it.
Hope you get some money or something for every comment. LOL
Miss Hissyfit (Lila) in Atlanta :hissyfit:
On December 19, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Susan says:
It sounds like you are having a good time! I hope Clover gets at least one cookie. :yes:
On December 19, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Lynn says:
Get that goat some cookies pronto!
By the way, received my calendar and I love it – you are such a wonderful inspiration.
Merry Christmas!
On December 19, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Carolyn A. says:
I would love to be on your gift list next year! 🙂 Everything looks so yummy and nice. Thanks for always sharing these great ideas with us. xxoo
On December 19, 2008 at 11:02 pm
M says:
:hungry: OK I am off to make some of those pretzels right now!
On December 19, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Linda T. says:
These are great ideas…..is there somewhere else to access the bird suet? I get a “404” error message when I click on the link.
Thanks for the inspiration!
On November 27, 2010 at 9:59 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
Sorry, Linda! Thanks for letting me know. I fixed the link.
On November 27, 2010 at 10:04 am