Crafty Catty: December 2011

Monday, December 26, 2011

My House for Christmas 2011

My fridge, I used the Cricut Designer's Calendar Cartridge to make my Calendar

Some of my Santa's

My Christmas Tree

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What You Need

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine (1 1/2 sticks)

1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup) (Do not use sweetened condensed milk.)

1-10 oz pkg. Reese's Peanut Butter chips

1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme

1 cup chopped PLANTERS Cocktail Peanuts

1 tsp. vanilla

Make It

LINE 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to full rolling boil in 3-qt. saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
ADD chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until melted. Add nuts and vanilla; mix well.
POUR into prepared pan; spread to cover bottom of pan. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift fudge from pan before cutting into squares.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise

A serving of this sweet treat is 2 squares. You'll find that a small portion goes a long way on chocolate flavor.

Classic Fantasy Fudge

Prepare recipe as directed, using 3/4 cup butter and substituting 1 pkg. (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips for the chopped BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate and a 13x9-inch pan for the 9-inch square pan.

Use Your Microwave

To prepare the fudge in the microwave, place butter in 4-qt. microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min. or until melted. Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave 5 min. or until mixture begins to boil, stirring after 3 min. Stir well, scraping down side of bowl. Microwave 5-1/2 min., stirring after 3 min. Let stand 2 min. Add chocolate
and marshmallow creme; continue as directed.

I used Stampin Up's Bigz Top Note, for the large label.
Nestabilities Grand Labels One, for the white label.
Stampin Up's Yummy stamp set.
CTMH Holiday red ink, K& Company paper, Peppermint Twist (code 626461)
Tree brads to hold the labels on

Monday, December 19, 2011

Oreo Truffles

What You Need

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 pkg. (16.6 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups), divided

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Make It

MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.
SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

How to Melt Chocolate

Place unwrapped chocolate squares in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2-1/2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted, stirring every 30 sec.

How to Easily Dip Truffles

To easily coat truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Use 2 forks to roll truffles in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove truffles with forks, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. Place truffles on prepared baking sheet; let stand until firm.

How to Store

Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator

I don't divide my crumbs, but I remove the white cream from the cookies before putting them into the Food Processor , then I add the white cookie cream to the cream cheese and mix with the cookie crumbs. I use a small ice cream scoop to make the balls, and chill them for about 15 to 20 minutes before dipping them into the chocolate