When we think of holiday treats those beautiful plates of perfectly decorating cookies and desserts come to mind.
When we do the job ourselves--something unique is what we get.
No matter how pretty or unique the out comes is, it is the memories of doing this together that mean the most.
"A lot of people are going to be staying home for Christmas, probably, so why not be in the kitchen," Stacey Dempsey said. "Make memories together. Everybody has to eat. It doesn't have to come out perfect. It's not about the end result, it's the process of getting to that end. The memories."
Dempsey has been decorating cakes for years and she is pretty good at it.
We enlisted her talents to help us create some fun and pretty desserts that you would want to share with everyone.
"What's fun about decorating is that you can do whatever you want to do," Dempsey said. "You can be creative, make it your own, and not follow instructions."
My first reaction when she showed me the Christmas Trees we would be decorating, "this looks hard."
"I baked brownies inside of these waffle cones," Dempsey said.
After the cones are baked, you want to heat the green icing (you can make your own or used store bought) in the microwave for 20 seconds.
"Press it down so the green icing goes down the cone, but not all the way," Dempsey said.
You sprinkle a little decoration on top and VOILA! A perfectly decorated Christmas Tree.
If you want to get a little more involved, cupcakes!
Dempsey said you can make your own cupcake recipe from scratch or use a box.
Bake the cupcakes.
Get a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, and Hershey Kiss.
You are going to want to glue the candy together using butter cream icing.
This requires a piping bag or,"Ziploc bag. Get the air out, put the icing to the corner of the bag, zip it up, twist it, and then spread your icing on the top of your Reese's," Stacey said. " Don't do too much. You don't want it to spread out and see the icing. Take your Hershey Kiss and do the same and press it down."
You are going to want to let them set for a bit. During that time you can ice your cupcakes, and then it is time to decorate.
While it is fun to make these holiday treats, in the end, it is about making memories and trying to stop and enjoy the season before it passes us by.
Christmas Tree Cones
What you Need:
Waffle Cones
Brownie mix or favorite recipe
Sprinkles
Disposable pan
Green icing (store bought or homemade)
Directions:
Cut small holes in your disposable pan and then place the waffle cone inside.
Put brownie mix inside the of the waffle cone; only going about half way.
Bake the brownies for about 20 minutes. You want to make sure that they are still a little gooey inside. You can do the toothpick test.
Let them cool.
Place your green icing in the microwave for 20 seconds. You just want it to loosen and not melt all of the way.
Take your waffle cones and dip it into the icing. Make sure the cup is at an angle so you can get all of the cone. Leave a little bit of the cone exposed at the bottom.
Decorate your cones with your favorite colors.
Christmas Tree Cupcakes
What You Need:
Cupcake mix from a box or a favorite recipe
Butter cream icing from the store or a favorite recipe
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Hershey Kisses
Sprinkles
Piping bags or ziploc bags
Spatula
Directions:
Bake your cupcakes and let cool
Place butter cream icing in a piping bag or Ziploc bag.
(if you are using a Ziploc: Simply fill it up, close it, twist the top, and cut a small hole at the point).
Use the butter cream icing to "glue" your mini Reese's on top of the big one and then the Hershey Kiss on top of the Mini Reese's.
Set it down and let it dry.
Take that time to ice your cupcake.
Once you are done you can start decorating your Christmas Tree. Use the piping bag or Ziploc to make fun designs on your tree.
Use sprinkles to add a little color to it.
Take a spatula and move the chocolate Christmas Tree from the counter to the top of the cupcake.
