Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Cookies, Anyone?

I'm still hard at work preparing for Christmas... but I'm happy to report that I've already mailed over half of my cards. I had to take a break, though, because Friday is the boys' last day of school, and I need get their teacher's gifts ready.

At Christmastime each year, my husband, sons, and I make one particular "cookies-in-a-jar" mix to hand out to a few people. These cookies have a peculiar (but memorable) name - Cranberry Hootycreeks. I found this recipe many, many years ago from I don't know where, but it has always been a huge hit. This year, I decided to jazz up the tag using the same look as my Christmas card:

The instructions are printed on the back:

Normally, I put a piece of cloth over the top and tie a ribbon around it, but this time, I used my Coluzzle and 1-3/4" Circle punch to make a snowflake topper.

...and because this may very well be the last thing I post until after the holidays (except for the winners of the drawing, of course!), I wanted to leave you with a special gift...

The Cranberry Hootycreek Recipe!

Layer the following in a quart-size jar:
5/8 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour (yes, another layer of flour)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans


Print these instructions on the tag:
In a large bowl, cream together:
1 stick of butter [that's 4oz. for you Aussies!]
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat with a mixer until the mixture is fluffy. Add the entire jar of ingredients and mix together by hand until well blended. Drop small rounded balls onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until edges start to brown. Makes approximately 24 medium sized cookies.


Now, go grab a cup of hot chocolate, surround yourself with loved ones and have a very Merry Christmas!

Tag Recipe:
Stamp Set: Winter Post, En Francais background
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Ski Slope DSP, Naturals Ivory
Accessories: Gold Metallic thread, Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, Alpine Ribbon Originals, Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelet, Antique Brass Eyelet
Tools: Designer Label Punch, Tag Corner punch, Small Tag punch, 1-3/4" Circle punch, Crop-a-Dile, Stamping Sponge, Coluzzle

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

MMM, these sound delishious Michele!! I would have to leave out the pecans though, I'm not a nut lover. I bet they make a pretty cookie. Did you say what size jar you put these in? I'll have to go reread your post and see. Maybe I'll give them a try over the holidays.
Thank you!
Liz K

Anonymous said...

What a fun recipe and what an adorable gift you've made with it. Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas, Michele!

Karen said...

Merry Christmas to you and yours Michelle!
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful work through the year- your an inspirational to me! Oh, and thank you for helping me figure out how to put that nice fuzzy edges on my photos too! lol

Karen
xo

~Cheryl said...

I can't wait to try those cookies. They sound yummy!
I really like the way you dressed up the jars with the winter post set. I used that set for my Christmas cards too. I haven't finished mine yet. But I am getting close. Hopefully this weekend....

Anonymous said...

These sound really yummy. It's the second time in the past month that I've heard about this recipe. I might have to bake them for myself. Merry Christmas!