Skillful hands: december 2015

2015. december 27., vasárnap

2015. december 20., vasárnap

The BEST Soft & Chewy Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft, chewy and perfectly tender Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies will be a hit with your family! Tart, bright cranberries and smooth, sweet white chocolate make for the ultimate irresistible flavor combination.

These Cranberry White Chip Cookies produce such soft and chewy cookies that are totally foolproof! Perfect for the holidays, or anytime!

One thing I would like to carry with me at all times would be these cookies. Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies, to be exact. These are one of my favorite cookie flavor combinations ever. There’s something just so magical and irresistible about the combination of bright, tart cranberries with sweet, smooth white chocolate.

Ingredients

¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract (I like to use Madagascar Bourbon)
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar & white sugar with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and egg to combine. Lastly, beat in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and pinch of salt until a soft dough has formed. Stir in the cranberries and white chips by hand.

Refrigerate the cookie dough for AT LEAST 1 HOUR. You can chill it overnight if you'd like, but one hour chill time is mandatory to prevent cookies from spreading and to create that light, soft and chewy texture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone liners or mist lightly with cooking spray. Remove chilled dough from fridge and roll into Tablespoon-sized balls. Place onto the cookie sheets about 1-2" apart from one another.

Bake for approx. 8-10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time to ensure an even cook. Cookies may appear slightly undone, but do not over-bake them! They will continue to set up more as they cool. Allow cookies to set on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes or so before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If you'd like to make them prettier, garnish cookies with additional white chips on top of still-warm cookies before serving.

2015. december 16., szerda

Beaded Christmas Santa Claus Earring Pattern

Seed Beaded Christmas Santa Claus Earring Pattern

Hi! I have a new Christmas brick stitch earring pattern for you! It is a Santa Claus pattern. Here is the pattern that I came up with. They are a really nice size too! This pattern uses brick stitch (obviously my favorite stitch!) and fringe. It is mostly single brick stitch, with the brim of Santa's hat being the only row of two drop brick stitch. The beard is composed of looped fringe.
I chose a deep red shade for my Santa's hat, but you can use a more traditional red color (or really any color that you wish). My Santa is composed of 6 different bead colors. You will also need a needle and beading thread (I used Toho One G and a size 13 needle).
Here is the pattern. Click on the picture to enlarge:

Santa Claus Earring Pattern ( Download)

Start in the center with 10 rows of two beads in each row using the ladder stitch. Next, work your way up, using the pattern in brick stitch, to the tip of the hat, finishing the hat with a six bead loop to hang your earring finding. Then, work your thread to the bottom of the earring, flip and finish the bottom half of his face. Once you are finished with Santa's face...it is time for his beard. I worked my thread up to the first ladder stitch row, then added fringe around the bottom half of the earring and back up to the other side. Add earring finding...done!

2015. december 9., szerda

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
1 package Hot Cocoa Mix (about 3 Tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
⅓ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
⅓ cups White Chocolate Chips
12 ounces, fluid Can Evaporated Milk, Divided
4-½ cups Ice
Whipped Cream, To Taste
Mini Marshmallows, To Taste

Preparation:

Combine sugar, cocoa mix, and butter in the top of a double boiler that is set over gently boiling water. Stir often until melted and a smooth paste forms. Add semi-sweet & white chocolate chips; stir. When chips begin to melt, slowly stir in 1/2 cup of evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Combine the chocolate base mixture, the remaining evaporated milk and ice in a blender (you can do this in batches) and cover. Blend until smooth. Pour into frosty glasses. Top each with whipped cream. Sprinkle with additional chopped chocolate chips & mini marshmallows, if desired.