Mini Piñata

At Craft Gym last week we made sweet Mini Piñatas. Today is May the Fourth and it is my sister Kathleen’s birthday.  Happy Birthday! I’m sure the piñatas were to honor Cinco de Mayo but I thought it would be a just the thing to celebrate Kathleen’s birthday and make it an even more festive fiesta.

Unfortunately, the link for the mini piñatas on the Once Around site isn’t working, so I’ll walk you through the steps.

Mini Piñatas

You’ll need:

• A Template (lots of online options) or draw your own
• Pencil to trace template
• Lightweight Cardboard such as cereal box or poster-board
• Scissors (if you have multi-blade fringing scissors, now is the time to use them!)
• Masking Tape
• Colorful Crepe or Tissue Paper
• Glue Stick or Glue such as Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue
• String (if you want to hang it and/or to attach to trap door)
• A large needle (to put the string through the cardboard)
• Optional: Washi Tape to close the trap door for accessing the treats inside
• Small Candies or other tiny treats to fill the piñata

I used some hand-cut confetti, sequins, paper hearts, felted balls and a variety of small candies to fill the piñata.

I saw several patterns online that had tabs for putting together the pieces of your piñata but in our Crafty Gym we didn’t cut any tabs, and they worked fine.

Cut two matching shapes of cardboard, (I thought the donkey was really cute, but it was a little tricky putting it together – a big heart would also be cute and much easier!) and one long strip of cardboard, about 1.5 inches wide.

Use masking tape to assemble the piñata. I started at the bottom of one leg and taped the strip to it for a few inches.  I creased the strip whenever I reached a sharp corner, then lined up the matching shape and starting taping it on the other side of the cardboard strip to form a 3-D shape.

If you want to hang the piñata up, use a large needle to poke a hole through the cardboard at the top of your shape and thread the string through the hole. I did this after I’d completely covered the piñata with paper fringe and it was pretty tricky.

I used super-cute yellow pom-pom cord that came on a birthday gift and I saved for just such an occasion. One piece is for hanging it up, one piece connects to the little trap door underneath.

Most directions suggested cutting a flap or trap door for candy removal after you’re finished assembling the piñata but I cut the trap door on the inside of one leg before I’d started adding fringe.

(Above) here is the candy door open, it is on the inside of the leg to the right) and you can just see two yellow pom poms attached to the door.

Cut tissue or crepe paper into strips about 1.5 inches wide and fold several strips together, folding in half and then in quarters, keeping the paper aligned.

Cut the tissue or crepe paper into a fringe, then unfold.

Using glue stick or tacky glue, glue two rows of each color of fringe to the piñata, starting from the bottom and working upwards.

Once you’ve completely covered your piñata, you might want to trim the fringe  so as to keep the shape of the piñata from become obscured.

Let glue dry.  Fluff the fringe a bit to give it more texture.

Fill your piñata with treats, tipping and tilting to fill every little corner.  Attach cord to trap door.

I added a small “happy birthday” tag on the cord for pulling open the candy door.

Close door and use some washi tape, if desired, to keep it closed.

Two strips of polka dot washi tape are keeping the treats inside until the recipient opens the piñata.  You might want to provide a plastic bag when you give your piñata so they don’t lose any goodies.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

O Henry Bars (Two Ways)

I saw these bars mentioned on a friend’s Facebook status.  Andy had baked a batch using her friend Leanne’s recipe which turned out to be the recipe of Leanne’s cousin, Megan! It is an oatmeal bar topped with a combination of peanut butter and chocolate. They are pretty easy to make and they are delicious.  The recipe looked like the best one of many I saw online and once I made a batch I didn’t need to try any others.

They would make a wonderful, sweet Valentine for someone special.  The first time I cut them into average brownie-sized bars and when I made them again, I cut them smaller, more like a piece of fudge.  They’re very rich and the small size makes them less guilt-inducing.  I also put them in candy papers for giving.

Rem and I make holiday treats for our neighbors after Christmas and one family is vegan. I read a few articles and blog posts about replacing butter with an equal measure of extra virgin coconut oil. By subbing coconut oil for the butter, this recipe worked beautifully.  The oil adds a mild coconut flavor that works well with the other ingredients.  I found organic, extra virgin coconut oil at Trader Joe’s.

Here is my slightly adapted recipe:

O Henry Bars

Ingredients

Bars:

2/3 cup softened butter * (1 stick + 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup (I had light corn syrup in the cupboard and used it, but I think dark corn syrup would work fine too)

1 tablespoon vanilla

4 cups rolled oats (I’ve made it successfully with quick oats)

Topping:

6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

pinch of salt, optional (I use unsalted peanut butter and thought the salt helped balance the sweetness in the bar)

* You can substitute 2/3 cup of extra virgin coconut oil for the butter.

Directions:

Set oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Beat together butter and sugar until well-combined and creamy.  Beat in corn syrup and vanilla.

Stir in oats.

Press mixture into a well-buttered (or sprayed with non-stick spray) baking dish.  I used a glass 9 x 13 inch Pyrex dish but it could be a little larger and still work, just watch the baking time because it will be thinner.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes – err on the side of underdone rather than overdone.  I found that I slightly over-baked the pan with the coconut oil and they were a real challenge to get out of the pan.  Delicious but I learned that I should have taken them from the oven sooner.

This picture is the butter version and it looks a little gooey and soft still.  The coconut oil version was more toasty and dry looking.

Let bars cool in baking dish.

Once they’re cooled, make the topping: in a medium/small, microwave-safe bowl combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter, and salt, if using.

Heat on high in microwave for 1 minute, remove from microwave and stir.

Continue to heat for 15 second intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate and peanut butter are melted and you can stir them together into a smooth mixture.

Spread chocolate-peanut butter mixture on oat bars.

Chill until set before cutting.

Store in a airtight container in the refrigerator.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

Christmas Past

Easy Paper Heart Ornaments These are some past posts with Christmas crafts and recipes you might enjoy.  The Paper Heart Ornaments are easy and if you are like most crafters I know, you have an ample supply of beautiful paper that would work perfectly for these hearts.

Cracker Toffee

Additively good, salty-sweet toffee with the crunch of crackers and coated with chocolate.  It’s pretty easy to make and doesn’t take special tools (no candy thermometer needed).

Vellum Ornaments

I’ve been making these for a few years.  They’re not a quick project like the paper hearts but they are beautiful, even when doing a more simple design.

Chocolate Mice

Dip a maraschino cherry in chocolate and put a chocolate kiss on it.  Add ears from sliced almonds and what do you get? A very cute little chocolate mouse that would look adorable on a tray of Christmas cookies, or perched on a Buche de Noel.

Cheese Wafers

Rich and buttery, these are easy to make – just like stir and drop cookies.  But they’re savory, not sweet.  Yum.

Thanks for your visit.

Cracker Toffee, Pretzel Turtles and a Link

Here are recipes for two easy, sweet treats that I made for a potluck at work.  First – an apology: I didn’t take pictures when I made them and though I made a second batch of the Cracker Toffee, I don’t have any pictures of the Pretzel Turtles.  You can see them here: at Glorious Treats.

There are variations to both of these recipes all over the internet but if you haven’t tried them yet, now you can have both recipes in one convenient place.  Both are easy, don’t need special equipment like a candy thermometer and both are popular.

The first one, my favorite, is sometimes known as Saltine Toffee.  OK, I admit I refer to it as Crack.  It is hard to resist.  I’ve seen recipes using other crackers (club, matzo, graham) but I like it with classic Saltines.  The combination of the salt and crunch with the sweet toffee and the semi-sweet chocolate is pretty hard to beat.

I went to one of my favorite sites, Smitten Kitchen, and adapted her recipe for Chocolate Caramel Crack(ers).

Saltine Toffee

Ingredients:

40 to 48 Saltines crackers (enough to cover cookie sheet – mine is aprox. 11 x 17 inches)

1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1  to 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (much as I love chocolate, the lower amount lets the caramel really shine in this recipe.  The higher amount is wonderful and helps the nuts to stick better)

1 cup toasted finely chopped pecans or toasted sliced almonds (optional)
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet completely with parchment paper, cut to fit.

Line the  baking sheet with crackers.  Break some if you need to so you fill the whole sheet.

In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and stir it over medium heat until it begins to boil.

Once it has begun boiling, keep stirring it and watch for the sugar and butter to come together.  Cook for three minutes, stirring constantly.

Note: If you use matzo instead of Saltines you should add a good pinch of salt.  The Saltines don’t need any extra.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, and then quickly pour it over the crackers. Spread it over the crackers quickly before it hardens.

If you are having trouble getting the caramel spread over the crackers, put it in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes then take it out and spread it all the way to the edge of the crackers

Put the baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes total (12 or 13 minutes if you already had it in 2 or 3 minutes).

Remove from oven and sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Let stand five minutes then spread them evenly across the caramel.

Sprinkle the melted chocolate with toasted chopped nuts (if you are using them).

Once this is cool and the chocolate is set, break into pieces and store in an airtight container.  I’ve heard that they’ll last a week but I’ve never been able to test this theory.  I try not to make a batch unless I am planning on giving most of it away because I have a hard time resisting this stuff.

Pretzel Turtles aka Rolo Bites

Adapted from Glorious Treats

These are even easier than the Saltine Toffee but don’t quite achieve that addictive balance of sweet/salty/crunchy.  Close but no cigar.

Ingredients:

1 bag of square pretzels (such as Snyders of Hanover Snaps)

1 bag Rolo candies, unwrapped

Pecan Halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250°F.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  A bit of the chocolate will inevitably goosh through the pretzels onto the baking sheet (I learned the hard way) and without the parchment paper you will have to work get them them unstuck without breakage.  On the other hand, broken ones are calorie-free.

Put pretzels about an inch apart on baking sheet.  Put a Rolo on each pretzel.  I’ve done it with the wide part of the candy down and the wide part up and it doesn’t seem to make any difference.  So do it any way you like.

Put the baking sheet in the oven for 4 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and and press a pecan half in each Rolo.  Let cool and set before removing from baking sheet. If you are in a rush, pop the baking sheet in the fridge or freezer (well, if you can find room in there).  Don’t leave them in too long because biting into a really cold Rolo might just pull out a filling!

Once they are cool and chocolate is set store in airtight container.

Joe Pastry

Now, about that link I mentioned.  The two sweet-salty treats I mention in this post are both yummy but I have to admit they are kind of down market.  If you are looking for something a little more challenging, something kind of special and maybe even spectacular, you just might want to take a look at Joe Pastry which has a ton of recipes for pastries with all their component parts, techniques, and the science and history behind them plus gorgeous pictures that show the steps, helpful descriptions and a friendly, personal style.

Rem and I have been inspired to attempt a Bûche de Noël following the how-to’s on his site.  I will post pictures.

What kind of treats are you making for the holidays?

Thanks for stopping by.