Aaaahhhhh.
So I've managed to fill up the time making Christmas gifts. I spent every last cent of the Christmas budget so now I am feverishly trying to make nice presents. This isn't new, I try this every year, but this year I think I'm getting the hang of it. Sort of?
I'm always very critical of my homemade gifts. I watch people open them and wonder if they are thinking "Why in the world do I want this?" and when I leave it promptly finds it's way to the trash.
Oh well. At least I tried if that happens.
I thought I'd share a few of my ideas if you have also run out of money and still need a few gifts.
1. Almond Bark
This is embarrassingly easy, but it tastes like you spent all day making it. Get a bag of chocolate chips. I like Giardelli 60% cocoa, but you can use anything including white chocolate chips. Melt them in a double boiler (I just put my smaller pot in my larger one with water in the bottom of the larger one. As soon as they are melted, pour in a bunch of almonds. It doesn't really matter how much you put in. If you only use a few it will be more chocolately, if you dump in the whole bag it will be very almond-y. Either way it will be GOOD.
I should add that you're going to want your parchment paper covered baking sheet ready before you start. I usually don't, but at this point I always wish I did.
Pour out the chocolate and almond mixture (after you have stirred it) onto the parchment paper an smooth it out evenly and thinly. (If you want to at this point you can crush a candy cane and sprinkle it on top) Stick it in the fridge for a couple hours and Whoallah - you have almond bark.
Is that how you spell "Whoalah?" I confess I've never used that word before in my life. I'll bet spell checker is going to LOVE it.
2. Hot cocoa mix
I went online and googled (Actually, I "yahooed" it, but that doesn't sound as cool) "best hot cocoa mix." I came up with this one, which I didn't really feel was the best hot cocoa mix until I added more cocoa and sugar and cut down on the creamer. It was pretty much milk with a faint cocoa taste before that. I also added to this recipe a little bit of instant coffee and a big dash of cinnamon.
Here's the link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hot-Cocoa-Mix/Detail.aspx
3. Chocolate Chip cookies
I know that isn't a picture of the actual cookies. I didn't take one and I'm too lazy to do it now. Suffice it to say they look just like the picture on the link.
This is the best recipe I've found for Chocolate chip cookies. People will usually comment on how good they are, and I think that's because of the secret ingredient - vanilla instant pudding mix. They never turn out flat. I hate flat chocolate chip cookies.
Another secret I found after many many years of overcooking baked good because I was afraid the salmonella wouldn't get cooked out - take them out as soon as you see the tiniest hint of golden brown. They taste MUCH better this way.
Link. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Award-Winning-Soft-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/Detail.aspx
So enjoy making your own yummy yet inexpensive gifts, or scoff at my ideas because yours are WAY better. Then share them.
And spell check's verdict is that I should have spelled it "Wallah."
Voila.
ReplyDeleteUnless you meant
ReplyDeletewal·lah also wal·la (wälä, wl)
n.
1. One employed in a particular occupation or activity: a kitchen wallah; rickshaw wallahs.
2. An important person in a particular field or organization: "the Ritz, a favorite haunt of Republican wallahs" (John Robinson).
:) Once a spelling bee geek, always a spelling bee geek. Remember "B&E" in high school?
i neeeeed that almond bark. i will be expecting it on christmas eve.
ReplyDeleteUnless it was misspelled as an attempt at humor, I humbly submit (and only because you drew attention to it):
ReplyDeletevoi·là (vwä-lä)
interj.
Used to call attention to or express satisfaction with a thing shown or accomplished: Mix the ingredients, chill, andvoilà!a light, tasty dessert.
[French : voi, second person sing. imperative of voir, to see (from Old French; see voyeur) + là, there (from Old French la, lai, probably from Latin illc, by that way : ill, ablative sing. feminine of ille, that; see al-1 in Indo-European roots + -ce, deictic particle).]
An example from the world of Literature: "Sweet little coz!" answered the burly squire. "Such a dainty color! Such a mellow voice! Eyes of a bashful maid, and hair like a three years' babe! Voila!" He passed his thick fingers roughly through the youth's crisp golden curls." from The White Company by Arthur Conan Doyle.
The pictures seem to indicate a voilà, as well as a semble délicieux. The diacritical marks really set them off. I hope this is a lesson to us all to not trust our own intelligences or our presumed authorities (spell-checker) - thank goodness for acquaintances to keep us informed.
Unless of course you meant "Wallah" as a verbal ejaculation to mean 'He who is in charge' (i.e. a inventive way to call upon Jesus after a successful baking endeavor). Or perhaps "Whoalah" to be an interesting contraction of "Who(is)al(l)ah"(?), as a vaguely Islamic utterance of deity praise. Cheers.
Haha! I've enjoyed these responses. Sorry that they were published out of order, I don't know how I did that.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I meant "Voila." Now that I SEE it I feel quite sheepish.
I think I'm going to try to make the almond bark. If I fail, I bet I will still eat it.
ReplyDeleteAll you have to do is have a basic understanding of melting chocolate. Not much room for error. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI did it. Delicious. I mixed things up a bit - I melted cinnamon chips and used dark chocolate almonds for one batch (blue diamond brand); then i did milk chocolate with sea salt almonds; then dark chocolate with cinnamon brown sugar almonds. YUM! Thanks for the tips!!
ReplyDelete