Christmas Archives - The Coupon Challenge

Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe

by Dana Zeliff on November 26, 20192019-11-26
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Are you looking for the Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe? Give this one a try at your next meal and let us know what you think.

Ingredients:
4 lbs Russet Potatoes
2 sticks (8 oz) room temperature Butter
1 cup room temperature Heavy Cream
1 head Garlic
1 tbsp Virgin Olive Oil
S/P

Directions:

Cut end off end of head of garlic, place in foil and drizzle with olive oil.
Close up foil and bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool.
Peel and dice potatoes into 1/2″ cubes.
Cover in water in large pan and boil 20 – 30 minutes, until soft.
Drain potatoes.
Add 4 cloves of the roasted garlic by popping out of their skins.
Mash potatoes with a masher until everything is pretty mashed
Add butter.
Use hand mixer to smooth out any remaining lumps.
Slowly add cream until potatoes reach right consistency.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

(Serves 6-7 people)

Have you looked at my Green Beans with Bacon Recipe or the 50 Thanksgiving Side Dishes with 5 Ingredients or Less?

No Comments

Mini Pumpkin Pie Sugar Cookies

by Dana Zeliff on November 21, 20192019-11-21
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

How cute are these Mini Pumpkin Pie Sugar Cookies? Seriously they are adorable! While these might look like pumpkin pie, it’s really a sugar cookie in disguise. YUM!

INGREDIENTS
3 cup Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup softened Butter
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
Wilton Orange Cookie Icing
Can Whipped Cream

ICING INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup softened Butter
1 tbsp Milk
2 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 tbsp Cocoa Powder

DIRECTIONS

Combine dry ingredients and set aside
Cream butter and sugar.
Add beaten egg and vanilla.
Gradually add in dry ingredients.
Take teaspoon size pieces, roll into balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake in 375 degree oven about 8-10 minutes (watch for edges to begin to turn lightly brown).
Leave on cookie sheet for several minutes before moving to cooling rack.
After cookies are cool cover top of cookie in orange icing.
Allow to dry.
In a large bowl, cream the butter.
Mix in the sugar one cup at a time.
Add cocoa powder and mix until color is uniform.
Beat in the milk mixing until fluffy.
Transfer icing to a piping bag.
Refrigerate to firm.
Pipe a ring around the cookie to look like crust.
Put a tiny dollop of whipped cream in center of cookie.

Looking for more recipes? You may also like these Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies!

No Comments

Recipe for Gingerbread Cookies in a Jar {Homemade Gift Idea}

by Dana Zeliff on December 17, 20182018-12-17
in Gingerbread, Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

{Pin It}

Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas unless there was a tray of sweet little Gingerbread men baking in the oven.

A wonderful gift idea is to use this Recipe for Gingerbread Cookies and put it in a jar for busy moms who love to bake homemade but could use a little help pulling together ingredients. It’s also perfect for teachers who would love the taste of fresh baked cookies but lack time.

Delicious and full of the taste of the holidays these cookies are sure to put two times the smile on everyone’s face, once while baking and again while devouring them. The are equally delicious with a steaming cup of coffee or a glass of ice cold milk. Layer in a quart sized mason jar and add a pretty ribbon and handmade label with baking instructions, don’t forget to attach a cute Gingerbread cookie cutter or two to finish them off!

Recipe for Gingerbread Cookies in a Jar:

Layer the following ingredients in a quart mason jar in this order:
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1Tbsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. cinnamon

Place lid and ring on the jar and close securely. Top your gift with fabric tied in raffia or twine or cut festive scrapbook paper using your mason jar ring to trace for a topper – add ribbon and a handmade tag for a thoughtful gift.

Baking Directions:

Place cookie mix in a large mixing bowl, stir well.
Stir in ¾ cup of molasses, ½ cup butter-softened, and 1 egg. Mix thoroughly.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate to firm up dough for one hour.
Preheat oven to 350°
Roll dough out to ¼ thickness on a smooth surface that has been lightly floured.
Cut shapes from dough and place on lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Allow to cool completely.
Decorate with icing and small candies (using icing as a glue)

Simple Icing Recipe:

1 ½ cups of powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. water
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp.vanilla

Start with sifted powdered sugar in a small mixing bowl, add vanilla, cream of tarter, and water 1 Tsp. at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Place in an icing bag and pipe onto cooled cookies.

* Frugal icing tip – Use a ziplock sandwich bag, after filling the bag snip off a small corner, squeeze bag gently as you go. This is also much simpler for cleanup-just toss the baggie when done!

What do you think of this Recipe for Gingerbread Cookies?

See more Gingerbread Cookie Recipe and Gingerbread Recipes!

You might also like:

No Comments

Marshmallow Krispie Treat Ornaments

by Dana Zeliff on November 9, 20182018-11-09
in Recipes

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

{Pin This}

Looking for another great recipe to use all that Rice Krispie Treat cereal that you can usually find on a good sale? These Christmas Rice Krispie Treat Ornaments are sure to be a huge hit. So get the kids in the kitchen and start Holiday baking!

INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp Butter
6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
10 oz Marshmallows
Green Food Coloring
Red Food Coloring
Rolo candies

DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan, melt half the butter over low heat.
Add half the marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
Stir in enough food coloring to make the marshmallows very green.
Remove from heat.
Add half the Rice Crispies cereal and stir until cereal is well coated.
Prepare a sheet of wax or parchment paper.
Butter a your hands or use wax paper to press the mixture into 2″ balls and place on wax paper.
Press a Rolo into the top of each.
Repeat this process with the other half the ingredients and the red food coloring.
Allow to cool.

Looking for more recipes? How about these Mini Pumpkin Pie Sugar Cookies!

2 comments

Easy Kids Gingerbread House

by Dana Zeliff on November 18, 20162016-11-18
in Crafts, Gingerbread

Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link.

Children love getting crafty around the holiday season, so this kids gingerbread house is the perfect craft for a wintry day. You don’t need a great deal of ingredients, nor do you need any real crafting skills. The end result is a fun and frugal gingerbread house that tastes as good as it looks. Take a look at how you can make your own.

Ingredients:

Graham crackers
White frosting
Gumdrops
Assorted holiday candies
Plastic baggie

I was able to find all of the ingredients for this project at our local dollar store. The total cost for the ingredients shown here was just $4, and I was able to make several houses out of it all. Now that is a budget friendly craft!

Directions:

1. Begin by placing two crackers together.

2. Put a few spoonfuls of frosting in a plastic baggie, move the frosting to one edge, and snip off the tip to create a piping bag.

3. Put a line of frosting around the edges of the crackers as shown above.

4. Place some crackers standing upright in a teepee or triangle shape, using the frosting at the base almost as glue.

5. Apply a line of frosting to the top to secure the edges of the crackers together.

6. Make decorative lines of frosting along the crackers as shown to give them a gingerbread house look. You can make small shingles or large ones as we did.

7. Go along the edges of the crackers and add additional frosting to secure the house together.

8. You can now take the candy pieces and decorate the house. Add it as you wish to the edging of the roof and house. You can even make a walkway as we did!

9. Add some final details such as the gummy trees or Santa for some extra holiday flare.

That’s all there is to it! In no time at all you can have a decorative and tasty kids gingerbread house. Give this simple craft a try and see how fun and frugal it can be to get into the holiday spirit.

No Comments