Showing posts with label gingerbread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gingerbread. Show all posts

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Magical Memory Maker

I live in Austin, but it was Katie @ Preppy Empty Nester
who gave me a heads-up on this amazing venue
right here in downtown Austin.

 Kudos to the Weston Downtown Austin
for creating this life size gingerbread house as the perfect
spot for brunch with these two cuties.


 I arrived a few minutes early to add some special touches
to the table before the girls joined me.

The Weston had covered the tabletop with the perfect plaid
wrapping paper, black napkins, and white dishes.  I added
Courtly Check chargers, red gingham napkins with tartan napkin rings, a tabletop tree, and party treats as take home favors.

 A tabletop tree from Bethany Lowe was embellished with
Courtly Check glass balls, miniature lighted gingerbread houses, tiny tin hearts, Santas, snowmen, and candy canes.

It was three days to Christmas,
and the littles were filled with excitement.

I filled pink tins from Target's Dollar Spot
with candy for the girls to take home to enjoy later.

I also found the darling 2017 snow globe with the gingerbread
boy and girl at Target, a music box that plays Toy Land.

Special gingerbread cookies in a tin and gingerbread boy
and girl headbands were waiting at their spot.

 The little girls were beyond excited with 
all the sweets and the details of the gingerbread house.

Festive boxes of caramel treats and a
Starbucks gift card waited for the "older" girls.

We ordered off the brunch menu, 
and the food was delicious!

Curren, our waiter, was both attentive and engaged.
Outstanding service!!!  Thank you, Curren!

A big thank you to Weston Downtown Austin for offering this
creative venue that was perfect for making magical memories.

They say that the best gifts to give children 
are experiences that provide lasting memories.
In this day and time when many children have an abundance
 of toys, electronics, etc. it makes sense to give a gift 
that creates a magical memory for years to come.

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Gingerbread Acorns



In celebration of 

National Bundt Cake Day

I'm joining

Cuisine Kathleen's  Bundt Cake Challenge




~ Acorn Cakelets ~

Majestic and long lived, 

many varieties of oak trees grow in Texas.




And with oak trees

 come an abundance of acorns!




Squirrels scurry about to

 gather their store for the winter months,

 but I, too, like to gather a few of these

 icons of autumn for a festive natural touch.




Autumn is when I like to use one of my

 favorite teapots with its acorn finial.




And white linen napkins embroidered

 with acorns and rusty brown oak leaves.




The current arctic blast pushing

 cold temps as far down as the southern states

 has us enjoying a cozy fire in the living room.





And these little gingerbread acorn bites

 are the perfect addition for afternoon tea.




I've set out two cups

 with the hope that you will join me.




Care for a bit

 of sugar with your tea?




This little hand carved box

 is one of the treasures I found

 on my recent trip to Paris.




I don't use sugar in my tea, but couldn't

 leave these petite sugar packages behind.

They make the perfect tea time souvenir

 from favorite Paris Tea Salons,

 especially when served in the antique French box.




A recipe for spice cake made into

three-dimensional treats filled with a

cream cheese icing came with the cakelet pan.




More yummy and delicious 

bite sized treats!




~ Acorn Cakelets ~

 Printable Recipe




If you are looking for a savory treat,

the cakelet pan is also perfect for 

mini cornbread bites to serve for Thanksgiving.




You can use a packaged mix

or mix up your favorite cornbread recipe.





Old Fashioned Gingerbread

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1tsp ground ginger
1 cup dark molasses
1 tsp soda
1 cup boiling water

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and molasses.  Mix throughly.  dissolve soda in boiling water and add to batter.  Mix well.  Pour into greased 9"x11" pan and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.  When cool, dust with powdered sugar.  ( This is a cake like gingerbread.)
The recipe calls fora  9"x11" pan to bake the gingerbread and serve it as a piece of cake.  To adapt the recipe to bake in the acorn cakelet pan, I fill each cakelet half full, about 1 tbs. of batter, and bake till a toothpick comes out clean.  About 10-15 minutes.  Let cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan.  Using a toothpick helps lift out the acorns.




I purchased my pan at William Sonoma several years ago, but these versatile pans are still available from a variety of sources on line.   Click the link above for Nordic Ware site.

National Bundt Cake Day
November 15, 2014

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS


This time of year I often like to relax with a cup of hot tea and look through some of my Christmas books for inspiration. I shared this little book last December and decided to offer it up again for Chari's Sunday Favorites.



A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS
By Koren Trygg & Lucy Poshek

A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS , an Antioch Gourmet Gift Book, is a petite book of cherished Christmas traditions. It's the perfect size to slip into someone's stocking, and though out of print, it can be found here on Amazon.



This delightful book credits the Victorians for the "classic, festive holiday we cherish today". It was during the 19th century and Queen Victoria's reign that many of the age old customs were revived, "emphasizing their romantic and religious significance". The Christmas tree, a German tradition, dates to the 16th century. When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, a German, she wanted him to feel at home and had a Christmas tree brought into the palace. Thus the practice of decorated Christmas trees became fashionable in British homes.



Gingerbread cookies decorated with red sugar were often hung on the trees for decoration.



Most of the ornaments were handmade.



Glass ornaments later became the fashion.



The Victorians took the pagan idea of hanging greens in the house as a welcomed opportunity to use wreaths and garlands of fresh greens to "dress up their homes in the spirit of the holidays".



The custom of Christmas cards dates fromVictorian times. The typical greeting of the time is the same as today, "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."



Traditions of Christmas stockings, according to British legend, date from "when Saint Nicholas dropped some gold coins along with his gifts down a chimney. The coins would have fallen through the grate but were caught by a stocking that had been hung to dry on the hearth. Ever since then, children have been leaving their shoes or stockings to be filled on Christmas Eve."



Victorians loved their sweets and began preparing marmalades, jams, jellies, puddings, and cakes months ahead.



By December they began baking cookies and breads.



The last two chapters are devoted to special recipes that can be used as gifts from your kitchen or to host your own Victorian Christmas Feast. I selected the recipe for Old-Fashioned Gingerbread to share for Food For Thought because gingerbread is my favorite.



It's cold outside, so come on in by our cozy fire . . .



Where you can enjoy a cup of hot tea and a piece of gingerbread fresh from the oven.



"Had I but a penny in the world, thou shouldst have it for gingerbread."
William Shakespeare

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Friday, December 10, 2010

A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS by Trygg & Poshek


A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS
By Koren Trygg & Lucy Poshek

A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS , an Antioch Gourmet Gift Book, is a petite book of cherished Christmas traditions. It's the perfect size to slip into someone's stocking, and though out of print, it can be found here on Amazon.



This delightful book credits the Victorians for the "classic, festive holiday we cherish today". It was during the 19th century and Queen Victoria's reign that many of the age old customs were revived, "emphasizing their romantic and religious significance". The Christmas tree, a German tradition, dates to the 16th century. When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, a German, she wanted him to feel at home and had a Christmas tree brought into the palace. Thus the practice of decorated Christmas trees became fashionable in British homes.



Gingerbread cookies decorated with red sugar were often hung on the trees for decoration.



Most of the ornaments were handmade.



Glass ornaments later became the fashion.



The Victorians took the pagan idea of hanging greens in the house as a welcomed opportunity to use wreaths and garlands of fresh greens to "dress up their homes in the spirit of the holidays".



The custom of Christmas cards dates fromVictorian times. The typical greeting of the time is the same as today, "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."



Traditions of Christmas stockings, according to British legend, date from "when Saint Nicholas dropped some gold coins along with his gifts down a chimney. The coins would have fallen through the grate but were caught by a stocking that had been hung to dry on the hearth. Ever since then, children have been leaving their shoes or stockings to be filled on Christmas Eve."



Victorians loved their sweets and began preparing marmalades, jams, jellies, puddings, and cakes months ahead.



By December they began baking cookies and breads.



The last two chapters are devoted to special recipes that can be used as gifts from your kitchen or to host your own Victorian Christmas Feast. I selected the recipe for Old-Fashioned Gingerbread to share for Food For Thought because gingerbread is my favorite.



It's cold outside, so come on in by our cozy fire . . .



Where you can enjoy a cup of hot tea and a piece of gingerbread fresh from the oven.



"Had I but a penny in the world, thou shouldst have it for gingerbread."
William Shakespeare



Click the link below to see more FFT Edible Reviews


Jain has invited everyone to visually share favorite holiday books during the month of December. I hope you'll join in with some of your favorite books, illustrating them with treasured collectables, holiday decorations, or food from the kitchen.

Also linking to:












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