Christmas Light Bulb Cookies

 

I'm joining a group of talented, creative ladies sharing their delicious Christmas cookie recipes for this awesome hop Twelve Days of Cookies Recipes starting on December 1st! It's sponsored by  Janet @Try It - Like It! From December 1-12, a brand-new cookie recipe will be shared daily, offering a delicious lineup of treats to inspire your holiday baking. Stay tuned for mouthwatering creations you won’t want to miss! This is such a unique hop concept which is active for 12 days!. A brand-new cookie recipe will be shared daily, offering a delicious lineup of treats to inspire your holiday baking.   

Be sure to visit each and everyone on their designated day. The links will be updated each day so don’t forget to visit often to access each recipe

 Twelve Days of Christmas

Cookie Blog Hop  

Dec 1	Birds of a Feather	Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe
Dec 2	Tales of Belle	Danish Pebernødder Cookies
Dec 3	Jenron Designs	Movie Night Toffee Pretzel & Popcorn Cookies
Dec 4	Sum of their Stores	Chocolate Orange Porridge Oat Cookies
Dec 5	Esme Salon	Easy and Fun French Macarons Recipe!
Dec 6	Our Hopeful Home	Belgian Butter Waffle Caramel Sandwich Cookies
Dec 7	Purple Hues and Me	Christmas Light Bulb Cookies
Dec 8	Rose Bakes	M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dec 9	Painting in the Dark	Sugar Balls
Dec 10	Get Inspired by Faith	No-Bake Candycane Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Dec 11	Jupiter Hadley	Chewy Lemon Cookies
Dec 12	Save Money Fever	Piped Butter Cookies

Today, December 7th is my recipe sharing day for Christmas Light Bulb Cookies:

If you're coming over from Kathleen @ Our Hopeful Home, welcome! Doesn't her Belgian Butter Waffle Caramel Sandwich Cookies look delicious!

I'm not much of a pastry baker but every now and then I'll try out a recipe that looks interesting and inviting! Sometime ago, I was intrigued by an adorable picture and recipe of cookie light bulbs I saw on Pinterest. They looked quite pretty and unique - perfect for Christmas - so I decided to give it a try!

How to Make Christmas Light Bulb Cookies 

Gather: 

• 3 cups of all-purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp. kosher Salt
• 2 sticks Butter (room temperature)
• 2 oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 large Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Plastic wrap, parchment paper, bulb shaped cookie cutter, skewer
• Frosting and asst. Sprinkles 
• Shoestring Licorice 

Directions:

Whisk together flour and salt. Beat butter, cream cheese, and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy for 2-3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture until combined. Divide dough in half, flatten into batches and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll one batch of dough to 1/4" thick. Cut out cookies with a 3" light bulb shaped cookie cutter.  

Make a hole in the top of each cookie with a skewer - spinning it around to make sure the hole is large enough for the licorice shoestring.

Bake until edges are golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Cool on pan for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Spread a thin layer of frosting on each cookie and .  .  .

decorate with different kinds of sprinkles.

Thread licorice strings through holes for an edible version of a cookie garland!

Can you tell my cookie decorating skills are somewhat lacking! Lol!

A delicious treat .  .  .

or a homemade tree decoration!

December 8th features Rose Bakes sharing her recipe for M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies! Hmmm, sounds yummy! You must check this recipe out!

Happy Christmas Cookies Baking!!!!

No Sew Ribbon Gift Bag

It's time for our last Sustainable Craft Challenge!  I am so sorry to see this wonderful craft challenge hosted by Julie @Sum of Their Stories end! Julie has been a magnificent and charming hostess! As you know, this challenge is all about sustainable crafting with a different theme each month!  The projects must have some sort of a sustainable element to them. This could be an upcycling or recycling element, or something that reduces waste, uses leftovers, etc. This month's theme is Last Minute Gifts!

Psst! I need to tell you something! I'm on the Bowdabra Design Team and have lots and lots of ribbon - EVERYWHERE! And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere in my home! That's why I'm making a last minute gift bag out of ribbon! Did you know that most ribbons are not recyclable due to the materials they are made out of!  Most are made out of synthetic materials and some even have bits of metals in them. That's why ribbons should never be put in your recycling bin since they can tangle up in the recycling machines. Consequently, ribbons should be REUSED again and again for other purposes like hair accessories, crafts, gifts and even in home decorating! 

A beautifully made no-sew ribbon gift bag filled with homemade treats or even store bought treats, makes for a tasty gift your family and friends won't soon forget! Plus you can also put lots of different types of knick-knacks in the ribbon gift bag, too!

So let's get started making a no-sew ribbon gift bag!

Materials:

• Wired Ribbon - 5" wide
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Fabri-Tac Glue
• Cording
• Parchment Paper
• Clamps

How To:

Begin by cutting one strip of 5"wide wired ribbon, 16" long and two strips, 6" long. The finished gift bag will be approximately 5 1/2 inches tall. 

Once you have the lengths of the ribbon lined up, place the longer strip in between the two shorter strips. Fold over (1/4") the top edges on each strip, making sure the lengths are even. Also fold up the bottom edge of the longer strip, too. 

Glue all the folded edges down using Fabri-Tac glue.

 Begin adding glue along one wired edge of the shorter strip and one wired edge of the longer strip, stopping where the shorter strip ends and .  .  .

press edges together to bond. Let dry.

Once that side has bonded together, continue adding glue to the next side of the short strip edge to the longer strip edge and bond together.

Continue to the third side, moving around the short strip adding glue to its' wired edge and .  .  .

then the long strip edge, to bond the two pieces together.

Be sure to go around all three sides, pressing together, making sure all the edges are glued together, especially the corners.

Repeat the steps to glue on the last strip, starting at the top side edge and then the bottom and finally the side to connect all the edges - pressing the edges together. Let dry.

To Make the Handles:

Cut two cording pieces 12" long. To prevent the cording ends from fraying, place Fabri-Tac glue on each end, wrap in small pieces of parchment paper and clamp each end together until dry. 

While the cording ends are drying, cut two strips of ribbon two inches deep and five inches wide. Once the cording ends are dry, lay ends in the middle of one strip of ribbon in a horseshoe shape. Add glue along strip and under cord ends. 

 Add additional glue on top of the cord ends that are on the ribbon strip.

Fold ribbon strip up over the cord ends, matching edges and pressing together to secure.

Once the handle strips are dry, add glue to the back of each strip, one at a time, and attach each one to the front and back inside top of bag. 

Use clamps and parchment paper to hold cords in place while drying.

Look how cool the ribbon gift bag looks! But we're not finish yet!

Complete the charming gift bag look by tying on a stunning handmade bow - cut from the center of the same ribbon!

There’s something special about gorgeous ribbon - especially when made into a gift bag.

Nothing’s more impressive than receiving a gift in a beautiful homemade ribbon bag!.

Be sure to check out all the creative "Last Minute Gifts" Sustainable Craft projects from my fellow crafters listed below:

Julie @Sum of their Story   Crochet Sleeping Bag for a Tiny Toy

Terri @Our Good Life   The Ultimate Guide to Last Minute Gifts: Unwind with Lavender Bath Salts!

Christine @Christine's Crafts   Easy DIY Leaf Brooch from Scrap Fabric

T'onna @Sew Crafty Crochet    Crochet Christmas Holly Scarf

Gail @Purple Hues and Me   No Sew Ribbon Gift Bag

Marci @Old Rock Farmhouse     Christmas Berry Cordial Recipe 

Happy Holidays!