Hand-Dipped Oreos {5th 12 Days Recipe}

Here is the first of two easy-peasy no-bake recipes I tested out for you this weekend.  All you need for these super delicious cookie treats are two ingredients {plus toppings/decorations}, a microwave and microwave-safe bowl, and some wax paper.

I remember when fudge-covered Oreos hit shelves about ten years ago.  I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!  It occurred to me this year that I could easily {I hoped} whip up these treats for Christmas baskets and dessert buffets.  Classic Oreo cookies + a teeny bit of effort = yummy, simple treats that will please kids young and old.

 Your ingredient list ~ Oreos.  Chocolate Chips.  The End.

{Plus toppings ~ I went with red and green sugar sprinkles, and crushed candy canes}

 Dip your Oreos in melted chocolate.  Swirl, sweep, and roll the cookies to coat them.

 Sprinkle toppings on Oreos while the chocolate is still wet.

Place coated cookies on wax paper to set.

 Hand-Dipped Oreos ~ with sprinkles or with crushed candy canes

Hand-Dipped Oreos

Ingredients

Oreos {I picked Holiday Oreos, for the pretty, festive filling}

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Toppings, if desired ~ crushed candy canes, sprinkles, melted candy melts or white chocolate to drizzle

Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl at 30-second intervals, stirring between intervals.    Once chocolate is melted and smooth, begin dipping by swirling or sweeping Oreos through the chocolate one at a time.  Roll Oreo around in chocolate to coat all sides and place on wax paper to set.  {Don't "dunk" or dip Oreos in chocolate and lift straight up ~ the weight of the chocolate may cause cookies to break}.

Dip four to six Oreos at a time in chocolate, and then sprinkle with toppings before chocolate begins to harden.  Allow cookies to set {30-40 minutes or until chocolate is hard to the touch} before packaging or plating.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Bean

Party Dress Roundup!

Are you getting sick of Christmas recipe and crafts posts?  Me too, a little!  They're useful, of course ~ I'm loving sharing ideas with you all, and I love getting great new creative ideas from other blogs and sites.  But it's time to break it up a bit, don't you think?  With party season in full swing {and New Years' Eve less than three weeks away, if you can believe it}, I decided to scope out the web for a selection of great party dresses in all different price points.  Some festive red frocks, a few LBDs, and a sparkly mini or two ~ there's something for everyone!


Kohl's
Both of these flowy, above-the-knee dresses are budget-friendly LC Lauren Conrad.  Top either with a cozy shrug for a feminine seasonal party look.

Ruffle Mixed-Media Dress, on sale for $38.40

Tiered Chiffon Dress, on sale for $44.80














Banana Republic and Old Navy
Enter code HOLIDAY at BR, ON or Gap for 30% off your online order {thru Tuesday 12/13}.  The prices below do not include extra 30% discount.  {These brands offer many styles in tall, regular and petite}.

Banana Republic Bijoux Sheath, on sale for $108

Banana Republic Gemma wrap dress, on sale for $88

 Old Navy Embellished Tank Dress, $44.94

 
Old Navy Tie-Belt Tank Dress, on sale for $29.99
















Forever 21
My favorite store for cheap, trendy fashions!  Check out this scarlet bell-sleeved mini option from Forever 21, and the empire-waist lacey number from their plus-size collection.  Cute pieces at bargain prices in just about every size!

Textured Lace Dress, for $24.80

 
Shimmer Lace Dress, for $24.80
















Charlotte Russe
Looking for a sparkly, sexy New Years' frock?  Charlotte Russe is just as good as Forever 21 for trendy, stylish pieces for minimal money!  {Check out their shoe department too ~ they usually have sales and deals going on!}

Belted Glitter Dot Dress, for $34.99

















Happy Party Dress Shopping, fashionistas!

xoxo
Bean

Mini-Chip Snowball Cookies {4th 12 Days Recipe}

Warning:  these.  are.  addictive!  These bite-sized little chocolate chip-studded treats are simply delicious, and they're the perfect size for packaging up for gifts.  They have an almost shortbread-like taste and texture, and are egg-free {great for vegans ~ using vegan-friendly carob chips? ~ and those with egg allergies}.  With a half-dozen ingredients, this recipe is simple to make and super easy to eat!

This recipe is also from the Cookie Bible cookbook I told you about when I posted the Chocolate Crackletop Cookies recipe.

Mini-Chip Snowball Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups {3 sticks} butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups {12-oz pkge} Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt in a large mixing bowl until creamy.  Gradually beat in flour; stir in morsels.  Shape level tablespoons of dough into 1 1/4 inch balls.  Place on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browned.  Remove from oven.  Sift powdered sugar over hot cookies on baking sheets.  Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired.  Store in airtight containers.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

xoxo

Bean

Reindeer Cookies {3rd 12 Days Recipe}

As if the fact that these cookies are flat-out adorable wasn't enough of a selling point...you use pre-made refrigerated cookie dough, so there are four {count them ~ four!} ingredients total!  Plus, no mixers, beaters, or spatulas needed, so clean-up is a breeze!  Thanks, Pillsbury!  {Find the link to another reindeer recipe from them at the bottom of this post}.

Reindeer Cookies

Ingredients

1 roll {16.5 oz} Pillsbury refrigerated gingerbread or peanut butter cookies 

64 small pretzel twists

64 semisweet chocolate chips

16 candied cherries or gumdrops, cut in half {or 32 M&Ms}

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  With hands, shape roll of cookie dough into triangle-shaped log.  {If dough is too soft to cut, place in freezer 30 minutes}.

With thin, sharp knife, cut dough into 32 {1/4-inch thick} triangular slices; on ungreased cookie sheets, place 2 inches apart.  Place 2 pretzel twists on each triangle near corners for antlers.

Bake 7 to 11 minutes, or until set.  While warm, lightly press 2 chocolate chips into each cookie for eyes, and 1 cherry half {or gum drop/M&M} for nose.  Remove from cookie sheets.  Let stand until chocolate chips are set, about 15 minutes.  Store between sheets of waxed paper in a tightly covered container.

Check out this frosted sugar-cookie version, also from Pillsbury ~ takes just a bit more elbow grease, but they're equally adorable.

xoxo
Bean

Homemade Gift Tags

This year I decided to make my own gift tags for all the presents I'll be giving.  Why?  I have no idea ~ but I've actually been having a lot of fun doing it!  I picked up a selection of Christmas-themed rubber stamps {some from the dollar bin!}, ink pads, and sparkly scrapbooking paper from Michael's.  {You could probably find similar items at Walmart ~ and don't forget to check your weekly fliers for Michael's or A.C. Moore coupons!}.  Using white cardstock I already had at home as the base of my gift tags, I've been making all sorts of festive, sparkly tags for all the gift recipients in my life!

You could whip up all your gift tags in one crafty afternoon, or do a few each day if you don't have too much time to dedicate ~ I crank out a few each night as I'm watching TV.  Check out the pics below to see the supplies I used and the different shapes, sizes, and styles of tags I've come up with so far!

Assemble your tools ~ plain cardstock for stamping and writing, sparkly or festive craft paper for backing, stamps, ink, adhesive, cropping tools, and embellishments.  {I also used paper cutting boards designed for scrapbooking, not pictured}.

 Some of my stamps {I went back and grabbed a "Merry Christmas" one and a holly-leaf one}.  Also, some of my old Creative Memories scrapbooking tools for fun edges and corners.

 Ink pads in red, green and silver, plus Glue Dots adhesive {the BEST craft adhesive, in my opinion}, a metallic silver pen and two Creative Memories wavy 'edgers' ~ you'll see how that works...

 Can't beat a little sparkle for the holidays!  {I went back and grabbed some green sparkly sheets too}.

So after I assembled my basic tools, it was time to get to work.  I didn't really plan any particular card ~ I just sort of zone out and see where my crafty side leads me.  Sometimes that yields great results, and sometimes it leaves me thinking "Well, that was a weird choice...".  Overall, when it comes to being crafty and creative, you really can't go wrong.

The first gift tag I made.  I used a Creative Memories "edger" to give the white cardstock a "scalloped" border.

 Silver pen comes out a bit too light ~ I may trace over the letters with a green or red pen to make them stand out more.  But who wouldn't want to receive a super-sparkly package like this one?!  {Glitter, glitter everywhere!}

 I used a Creative Memories "bubbles" paper punch to decorate the edge of some white cardstock.  After backing the bubble-holes with red sparkly paper and bordering the entire tag in festive green, doesn't it look like glittering Christmas ornaments are dancing across the paper?

 My favorite example of  'seeing where my crafty side leads me' ~ I used a holly garland stamp four times {once on each edge of the card} to create a "wreath" to frame my "To: / From:" section of the tag.

 Some of the final results!

I started this project last week, and I've gotten a number of tags done.  You have plenty of time to get a little creative with your gift tags, if you start now!  A piece of advice ~ stamp and embellish before you put your craft-paper backing on the tags.  Cardstock is much cheaper than scrapbooking paper, so tossing a piece that you don't like here or there isn't a big deal, but throwing away the craft paper could turn this into a much more expensive project.

Have fun, my little artists!

xoxo

Bean

Santa Claus Cupcakes {2nd 12 Days Recipe}

Want to serve up some classic, jolly old Saint Nicholas cupcakes this Christmas season?  With only a handful of ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, these Santa Cupcakes from FamilyFun are perfect!  You can tailor this recipe to your needs {make 4 or 40!}, so the amounts of ingredients will vary.   

Hint #1 ~ coconut allergies in the house or office?  Use a decorator's tip {I would use a small star tip} to create Santa's textured hair and beard out of frosting instead.   

Hint #2 ~ red icing is very hard to perfect.  Save yourself a lot of time and frustration {and food coloring} by purchasing frosting that is already tinted red at the grocery store.

Santa Claus Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes {flavor of your choice}

Icing {white and red}

Mini marshmallows

Shredded coconut

Blue and pink gel icing

Red candy {small and round, like an M&M}

Frost the cupcakes with a layer of white icing.  Add the red frosting hat, curving it around the side of Santa's face, and a marshmallow "pompom".

Sprinkle on a ring of coconut to make Santa's beard and hair {or use a decorator tip to pipe on a frosting beard/hair}.  Draw on his eyes and cheeks with gel icing; top it all off with a red candy nose.

How easy {and festive} is that?

xoxo

Bean

Polar Express Storytime - THIS Friday!

 

Looking for a no-cost way to entertain the youngin's and give them a jolt of holiday spirit?  {As far as I know, storytimes are still free}.  This Friday, December 9th, bundle up the kids in their cozy winter pj's and bring them down to your local Barnes & Noble for a special storytime featuring a reading of the beloved holiday classic, The Polar Express!  It appears that most {if not all} the participating locations are serving refreshments and start at 7 p.m..  However, click here and enter your ZIP code above the graphic to find a participating store near you and to read the details your local store has provided.

A cozy Christmas storytime + no cost to you  = happy parents and kids who "Believe" for that much longer!  {Some locations even mentioned gifting children with a free jingle bell, while supplies last!}


xoxo
Bean

{photo credit:  cincinnatilibrary.org}