Mad For Plaid Holiday Party By Jeanne Benedict

Our new friend Jeanne Benedict, who is the host / chef / designer of the TV theme party show, Weekend Entertaining, on the DIY network, created a super cute Mad For Plaid Holiday Party Theme using our Plaid Wafer Paper! She has some fun and delicious holiday recipe ideas that we would love to share with you!

Her Mad For Plaid Party Theme was inspired by RumChata liqueur, a delicious blend of real Wisconsin dairy cream, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla perfectly balanced with five times distilled Caribbean rum.

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RumChata Gingerbread Martini – recipe from Jeanne Benedict

- 3 parts RumChata
- 1 part Torani gingerbread syrup (or substitute Hiram Walker Gingerbread Liqueur)
- 2 parts vanilla rum

Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with gingerbread cookie crumbles.

To play out the theme on the drink, she applied our Plaid Edible Wafer Paper to a gingerbread man cookie and used melted chocolate to stick him to the rim – how clever!

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To create the forest centerpiece, she used birch logs and inserted Minty Marbled Christmas Tree Marshmallow Lollipops! Use this homemade marshmallow recipe and substitute fresh mint for the rosemary and swirl green food coloring on top of the marshmallow mixture after you pour it into the pan.

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She used our Plaid Edible Wafer Paper and our Retro Holiday Cards Wafer Paper to create these sweet treats!

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Are these not the cutest holiday treats you have ever seen? She used red candy melt chocolates to make the Santa hat and topped it with a marshmallow rolled in coconut, water, and powdered sugar. The hat’s trim is white fondant. How fun!

More treats from her party include…

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…cute white chocolate mousse cups with peppermint brickle on top and…

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…gingerbread cupcakes wrapped and topped with more of our Plaid Wafer Paper.

Photos, recipes and ideas in this post are thanks to Jeanne Benedict!

Cookie Stamps

Hand carved heirloom terra cotta cookie stamps by Rycraft. Baking and decorating is fun and easy. Simply roll the dough into small balls, stamp them with your favorite cookie stamp design, and pop them into the oven. Minutes later, you’ll have beautiful cookies for your cookie jar or for any festive gathering.   SHOP COOKIE STAMPS

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Cookie Stamp Shortbread – Thanks to Rycraft Stamps

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 cups flour

Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar thoroughly. This is important as the dough can flake off when stamping if not creamed well. Add flour gradually, one cup at a time. Mix this until well blended, but do not overmix. Roll into one-inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Stamp with cookie stamp. Bake at 350° F for 15 to 20 minutes.

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Brown Sugar Shortbread - Thanks to Rycraft Stamps

Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 1/4 cups unsifted flour

Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar thoroughly. Add unsifted flour. Beat at low speed until combined and well mixed. Form one inch balls. Place 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Stamp with cookie stamp and bake at 350° F for 10 to 12 minutes.

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Peanut Butter Crunchies - Thanks to Rycraft Stamps

Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup butter or margarine
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 cups flour

Instructions:
Beat butter and peanut butter until well mixed. Add sugar and egg. Add flour alternately with milk. Roll into one inch balls. Stamp with cookie stamp. Bake at 350° F for 10 to 15 minutes.

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Basic Preparation and Helpful Hints:
- Season cookie stamps before each use by using toothbrush to oil lightly with cooking oil. Re-oil lightly as needed when stamping to prevent sticking. Never use butter!!! The oil protects the stamp from the butter in your recipes and keeps them from turning rancid while stored.

- Clean stamps with hot soapy water and soft brush.

- If your recipe calls for creaming the butter and sugar, be sure not to overcream, as this may introduce excess air into the batter which can cause the imprinted design to melt away somewhat during baking. High-speed mixers (such as Cuisinart) may cream too fast try turning it to the slowest speed or else cream by hand.

- Experiment with your own butter cookie recipes. You may want to avoid ones that contain baking powder or baking soda, as the design disappears as the cookie rises.

- You may also want to experiment with the type and brand of flour you use, as flours vary by sack and brand and may affect the doughs texture and ability to hold the stamp designs. If the design stamps well but disappears when baked, add a little more flour to the dough. You may find you prefer to use more flour than is called for in our recipes. You may also find that bread flour holds the designs better because it has more gluten. You may also add gluten (found in the grocery store) to your recipe to give more body to the dough and hold the design during baking.

- When finished decorating your cookies, clean the face of your stamps with hot water and a soft brush to remove all traces of butter. Your cookie stamps may be washed like any dish. Let them dry and store in one of our cookie stamp home displays for a charming addition to your kitchen decor.

- Adjustments in baking time and temperature:
…if cookies are too brown on the outside and not done on the inside, lower your oven temperature and increase the baking time.
…thin cookies bake quicker than thick cookies; adjust baking temperature and time accordingly.

- These chaming stamps are not just for cookies. You can create works of art with paper or clay also.

Back to School Ruler Cookies!

You will need:
- Rectangle Cookie Cutter, we used our 5″ x 3.25″
- No Fail Sugar Cookie Recipe 
- Yellow Fondarific Fondant 
- Black Food Color
- Royal Icing Mix

Instructions:
1. Make our No Fail Sugar Cookie Dough. Cut out as many rectangle shapes as you can and cut them into thirds.

2. Bake cookies on parchment paper and let cool on wire rack.

3. While cookies are cooling, prepare the yellow fondant and cut out the shapes the same way you cut out your cookies (cut into thirds).

4. Prepare your black royal icing (following the directions on the mix bag).

5. Cover the cookie shapes with the yellow fondant first, then pipe ruler markings with your black royal icing.

Summer Citrus Cupcakes

Make adorable & vibrant citrus cupcakes this Summer! Perfect for any occasion!

You will need:
- Sugar Fruit Slices Assortment
- Fluted Colors Muffin Cups
- Orange Sparkling Sugar
- Yellow Sparkling Sugar
- Green Sparkling Sugar
- Favorite Cupcake Recipe

Ultimate Rocky Mountain Avalanche Bars

Ingredients:
- 12 oz chopped white chocolate (use Lindt bars)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (use Squirrel Brand)
- 3 cups crisp rice cereal
- 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
- 1/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch square baking pan. Alternatively, line with lightly greased parchment paper. This recipe can easily be doubled to fit a 13-by-9-inch baking pan.

2. In microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate bars (broken up) in the microwave on medium powder for 30 seconds. Stir and heat for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted.

3. Add the peanut butter to the melted chocolate and stir until smooth.

4. Place the rice cereal in a large bowl. Pour over melted chocolate mixture and gently toss until completely coated. Continue to stir until the mixture is no longer warm to the touch, about 10 minutes.

5. When the cereal mixture has cooled, fold in the marshmallows and 1/3 cup of the mini chips.

6. Spread into prepared pan, compressing lightly with the back of your spoon. Don’t press too hard or you’ll crush the cereal. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips and a handful of marshmallows and press lightly to adhere.

7. Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes, then cut into 2-inch squares and serve. Bars will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.