Mug Rugs

Mug Rugs, a photo by saucypotato on Flickr.

As a novice yet determined sewer, I figured the best way to work up to making a full quilt would be to start small, and by small I mean 'mug rugs'. What is a mug rug? Well, it's basically a big coaster made of quilting scraps, large enough for your mug as well as a treat on the side. They make for a fun little project, and are fairly easy to put together.

There are endless online tutorials from far more experienced quilters on how to make a mug rug, so I won't run through the process, but I've shown the patterns and dimensions after the jump.

Peppermint Bark Trees

The holidays are winding down, gifts are unwrapped, and most of the cookies and chocolates have been given away or (guiltily) consumed. One of the last treats I have yet to deliver is made up of two things I feel are synonymous with the season: chocolate and candy canes. Inspired by these lovely peppermint bark snowflakes by Wilton, I decided to try making my own. While it would seem easier to pick up a kit, it takes away some of the fun...

After searching online for the best recipe, I found easy instructions over at Baked by Rachel. The tutorial shows snowflakes, but I opted for a silicone tree mold instead and gave it a whirl!

The shapes themselves turned out great, and not too bad for a first attempt. I did learn some things though, and will know to be more careful next time. I may have been over zealous with the dark chocolate layer, as it turned out a little wide for my liking, and not very bark-like. The other item I neglected was proper storage for the chocolate trees after they were fully set, which resulted in some "chocolate bloom" (white film that can develop on solid chocolate). All in all, I'm pretty happy with the result and look forward to whatever else I can make with the tree mold.

They may not be the prettiest little trees, but they are a tasty post-holiday treat!

Red Velvet Peppermint Shortbread

While I had full intention of kicking off this blog with some Halloween crafts and spooky baking, one thing lead to another, and it’s now a mere three days before Christmas! Given that, what a better way to start than with a cookie recipe…

Red Velvet Peppermint Shortbread, a photo by saucypotato on Flickr.

These little cookies were adapted from another shortbread recipe that included white chocolate dipping and crumbled pistachios, but I’ve nixed that and given them a minty twist by adding candy cane sprinkles instead. They have a mild chocolatey taste with just a hint of peppermint candy flavour.

The following recipe is for approximately 24 bite size cookies:

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp red food colouring
peppermint candies (broken into fine bits)