Cooks Corner

THE NEW TOWN PRESS presents: The Cook's Corner Featured Article by Jean Redstone

It’s very hard to find the quality “family” time all the magazines and TV shows keep saying we need but as the holiday season begins, I suspect more and more families make more and more effort to do just that. And nothing lends itself to family fusion better than a tradition of making some of your own holiday ornaments. OK, maybe the teens will grimace and prefer to be grinches but younger kids will absolutely love pitching in.

Especially fun are the ornaments made from foods, since these have several advantages. The kitchen smells good when the ornaments are under construction, everyone has a chance to be creative and personal in their decorating, and foremost, of course, the decorations can be sampled as they’re made. Add some hot cocoa or spiced cider and you have the makings of a party – or a tradition.

Here are two cookie ornament recipes, one of which can be digested and is very tasty, and recipes for food garlands. These garlands hark back to colonial days when only the wealthy had glass or silver decorations to display on mantels or tables. The rest of us, dried fruit and gathered boughs.

An added advantage to making garlands is you don’t have to stay in the kitchen. You can all join around a TV or fireplace or coffee table and talk or sing or cry uncontrollably to the scene in “A Wonderful Life” when the bell rings and the angels are sure to be getting wings. You can do all this and still make a creative contribution to the holiday season as enjoyed at your house. The cookies and garlands can go on Christmas trees or in (and around) centerpiece bowls, or hang from windows, stair rails, even dashboards.

Now is the time to start. If you end up with enough homemade decorations, they make fun impulse gifts, hostess gifts or party favors. Just find a pretty box or bag and slip your creations inside.

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

1 C cinnamon
1 Tbs ground cloves
1 Tbs nutmeg
1 Tbs allspice
1 Tbs ginger
3/4 C applesauce

In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger and nutmeg. Add applesauce and stir to combine. Knead mixture with your hands 2 to 3 minutes or until dough is smooth and ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut dough with cookie cutters into holiday shapes. Using straw or pencil or kebob needle, make a small hole in the top of each ornament. Remember that as the cookie bakes, the hole will get smaller.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 150 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from the cookie sheet and bake on the oven racks for another hour and a half. Use glue to decorate with ribbon, buttons, sequins … whatever matches your whim.
Ornaments can be used to decorate gifts, hang on tree, as centerpieces, or tucked on a mantel amid pine boughs for a homey look.

NOTE: These smell delicious while baking, but they are not to be eaten. The taste is bitter. For cookie ornaments that CAN be eaten, see the next recipe.

Very Easy Cookie Ornaments

1or 2 packages refrigerator cookie dough (sugar cookies are traditional)
Decorations such as sprinkles, candies, icing.

Slice cookies and cut into your favorite holiday shapes. If needed, roll lightly with a rolling pin on a floured surface then use cookie cutters. With a straw or kebob needle, make a small hole in the top of each shape. Remember that the hole will get smaller as the dough rises in baking.

Bake the cookies according to the package directions. While hot out of the oven, decorate them with sprinkles or chips, etc., or, after they're cooled, with icing.

When the cookies are cool and dry, slip a colorful ribbon through the hole in each, then tie in a loop. That's it -- your cookie ornaments are ready to hang! (The ones that haven't been eaten already!) Kids love being able to brag, "I made it myself!"

Pretzel Garland

String store-bought pretzels, (small, but not the minis) either plain, or chocolate or white chocolate-covered, on brightly colored ribbons. Tie a loop around each pretzel as you string so they won't bunch together when you drape them around the tree. To make this easier, work with short lengths of ribbon, and after tying around the pretzels, tie all the ends together in a garland. Intersperse pretzels with ornaments, matched for size, or fancy bows, candy canes or whatever looks good.

Old-Fashioned Popcorn Garland

Thread strong floss, string, or fishing line through an embroidery needle or any needle with a large eye and secure. Carefully string on pieces of air-popped popcorn (no oil or butter) until you have a garland long enough to wrap around the tree.

Make sure to secure both ends of the garland with knots.

For color and variety (and taste), try alternating popcorn with dried or fresh cranberries, gumdrops, or other chewy candy or dried fruit.

Fresh Cranberry Garland
A great accent to the popcorn garland is one made from firm, shiny, fresh cranberries. Like the popcorn garland, string cranberries on a strong piece of string, floss, or fishing line through a needle and secure both ends with knots. This garland can be garnished with mini marshmallows or colorful lifesaver-type candies.

Share your favorite holiday recipes with everyone!!

If you send a recipe, please include a phone number should there be any questions about it. We might use the recipes in a future column or post them on our website.

Email your creations to:
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Cooks Corner
The New Town Press
421 Stone Meeting House Rd.,
Woolwich Twp., NJ 08085

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THANKS for SHARING!