the thrifty crafter

I’m one of those knitters that never really progressed beyond scarf-making.  I love to buy yarn, however, and have an entire bin of the fuzzy stuff in storage that quietly waits to be used. Recently, I decided that my friends and family had been subjected to my scarves long enough, so it was time to move onto the dog.   I’m not sure he thinks he looks quite as fashionable as I think he does, but it is a great, festive accessory for winter. Just wait ’til you hear all the “Look, Mom, that dog is wearing a scarf!” comments.  It is pretty darn cute.

I fashioned this scarf from plain old, dirt cheap Red Heart acrylic yarn, in basic knit stitch. I casted on 18  for the proper width for my dog’s neck, but you can adjust your width accordingly.  The only fancy thing this scarf has is a keyhole built in so it won’t fall off.  All you do is after you’ve knitted enough to wrap around your dog’s neck (about 90 rows in my case), you begin your next row and at the halfway point, in my case after nine, you tie on a second skein.

Knit both sides at the same time, rejoining the sides with one skein only when you have about a 2.5 inch opening (or whatever is big enough for the width of your scarf.)  Continue for another 2.5 inches to finish and bind off.  Cut and add tassles to end opposite of keyhole for some extra pizazz. Try the scarf on your dog and sew on a button to secure keyhole end of scarf.  Personally, I think the button is what makes this scarf so darn cute!

Finished dimensions for my 20+ lb Jack Russell: 3.5 inches wide, 22 inches long (not including tassles), 2.5 inch keyhole, 2.5-3 inch tassles, 6 inch neck opening when buttoned.

If you need a good handbook for basic knitting, I like Stitch ‘n Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook.  The Windy City scarf on page 159 has a keyhole, if you need additional help.

Doesn’t he make the best doggie model?

I think everyone has had some version of the acclaimed Better-than-$&# cake.  In my family, we innocently call it Heath Bar Cake but the result is the same – decadent, moist, fudgy deliciousness with a pillow of whipped topping and covered in crunchy bits.  This is the Ultimate dessert, and for good reason, just check out the ingredients! Absolutely no health benefits here, this is pure indulgence.

I changed up the recipe slightly for some holiday festivity, using the Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge boxed cake (the original uses Devil’s Food) and some peppermint bark from Trader Joe’s (the original is crushed up Heath bars).  I might prefer the original just for nostalgia’s sake, but this is definitely a fun and festive variation!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake mix
• 1 can sweetened, condensed milk
• 1 jar Mrs. Richardson’s hot fudge
• 1 tub Cool Whip
• 6-8 ounces Peppermint Bark, like Trader Joe’s, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Bake chocolate cake according to box instructions. Allow to cool, slightly.

Using back end of a wooden spoon, poke holes through the cake.

Pour consdensed milk over top of cake, making sure milk gets down into poked holes.  Wait a few minutes until condensed milk is absorbed.

Warm up your hot fudge to a spreadable consistency, then pour over top of cake.  I like to then tap the pan against a kitchen towel on the counter to encourage the fudge to run down into the holes.

Refrigerate fudge-topped cake overnight for best results.

The next day, top cake with Cool Whip (that you shave stored in the fridge, not the freezer, otherwise you have to thaw and final consistency can be too wet, just ask me how I know) and sprinkle chopped peppermint bark pieces on top.

Don’t be a grinch now, share!

 

 

This Christmas, I’ve decided to share with the blogging world the refreshingly minty, sweet joy of these cookies, which my mom has made at Christmas since we were kids.  Over the years, I’ve changed the recipe a bit and now use a brown sugar spiced cookie, which, combined with the minty buttercream frosting, makes for one delicious holiday bite.  I look forward to making them every year, and hope you will, too.

Ingredients:

Cookies (makes 64, 2-inch diameter cookies):

• 2 3/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 packed light brown suagar
• 1 c unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt

Frosting:

• 2 1/2 c powdered sugar, sifted
• 7 1/2 TB unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4-5 TB whole milk
• 1 3/4 tsp vanilla
• a generous pinch of salt (just under 1/4 tsp)
• 15 peppermint candy canes, pulverized

Directions:

Cookies:

Preheat oven to 375. In stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat brown sugar and butter until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated.  Stir in vanilla.

In seperate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in 3 parts, beating until just incorporated.   Optional: chill dough for 30 minutes prior to rolling cookies

Use small scoop to portion out cookie dough, roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Use measuring cup (or bottom of a glass) lightly dusted in flour to gently flatten balls.  Brush off any excess flour.

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove and let cool on racks.

Frosting:

Remove wrappers from candy canes and break each one into 4-5 pieces.

Place candy canes in a mini-chop and pulse on high until you have a good mixture of finely ground and some smaller pieces.

Add softened butter to bowl of stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment.  Sift powdered sugar into bowl and mix, adding 4 TB milk and vanilla until very smooth.  Stir in pulverized candy canes and salt, adding milk as necessary to achieve good spreading consistency.

Use teaspoon to place dollop of frosting on each cooled cookie, using a knife to spread it over the top.  Let dry, then package as you’d like.  This year, I used glassine treat bags from Michael’s that came with a foiled cardboard insert and tied them off with red and white butcher’s twine.  These make great, festive little gifts!

 

 

I found myself in a pinch this week, gifting wine without a wine bag to present it in.  Since presents are most fun when they need to be unwrapped, I scoured my house for something I could use and remembered I had some freezer paper laying around from a previous crafting project (heaven forbid I actually use freezer paper for wrapping things that go into the freezer!).

The nice thing about freezer paper is the width of it – 15 inches – as opposed to using my beloved parchment, which I use religiously for baking purposes, at a mere 12.  It was perfect to fully cover a bottle of champagne, which stands at almost 13 inches.

What you do: Unroll a length of freezer paper and place your bottle, upright, on top.  Take a corner and bring it to the top of the wine bottle to figure out where your ‘center’ is, then use the end still in the box and bring that to the top.  Cut.  Bring two opposite corners of your cut paper to meet at top of bottle, then fold over and tuck in the rest.  Tie off with your choice of string.  I added some red and white baker’s twine and a glittery gift tag that I found in the $1 spot at Target for some festive pizazz.  Once the bottle was wrapped and tied, I snipped the cut edges with scissors.  Inexpensive, cute, and classy.  Just the way I like my crafts. 

I never used to be a bourbon drinker.  Whiskey, bourbon, scotch – they always made me feel like my throat was on fire and my nose was being subjected to bad smells for no good reason.  Fast forward to this holiday season, the only cocktails that sound any good are bourbon ones.  Maybe it is the fact that this spirit family does tend to have that internal warming effect that makes them such lovely winter cocktail components.  Regardless, this recipe is great, and I prefer it over ice.  Some spice from a good ginger beer (try Reed’s), some sweetness from the apple cider and a touch of heat from the bourbon.  Garnished with an apple slice, you could sip this spicy-sweet heat by the fire all night!

Ingredients:

• 2 parts ginger beer
• 2 parts apple cider
• 1 part bourbon (we like Blanton’s)
• apple slice

Directions:

Measure out and mix liquids in a cocktail shaker with ice to chill.  Serve over a glass full of ice.  Garnish with a slice of apple. Adjust your liquor depending on the kind of day you’ve had.

I discovered Pinterest earlier this year and stumbled upon this recipe for Pecan Bars right before Thanksgiving.  I’m a Nuts and Chews kind of See’s gal, so these sounded right up my alley.  The original recipe had splenda in it which turned me off (it is the holidays after all!), so I used C & H dark brown sugar and toasted my pecans prior to adding them for increased depth of flavor.  These little babies are deliciously crumbly right out of the oven and oh-so-chewy, buttery and nutty when cooled.  One of the simplest and best things I’ve ever baked.  So much so, that I’ve already made them three times this holiday season for various groups of people!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 c unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 c dark brown sugar
• 2 2/3 c all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Topping:

• 1/2 c unsalted butter
• 1 c dark brown sugar
• 1/3 c honey
• 2 TB heavy cream
• 2 c toasted pecan halves or pieces (I like to buy raw pecans from Trader Joe’s and toast them at home)

Directions:

Earlier this year, my husband and I moved into a cute little rental in a charming, established neighborhood, replete with mature fruit trees.  Imagine my delight when, come autumn, my next door neighbor had not one, but two, persimmon trees bursting with the gorgeous orange orbs!  I eat the Fuyus raw and put them in salads, but the Hachiyas, which I used in this modified recipe from David Lebovitz, are great for baking.  Hachiyas should feel heavy and soft, with skins about to burst when ready to use.

Ingredients:

Cake

• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup whiskey
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups persimmon purée
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Icing

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 4 or 5 teaspoons water

Directions: