During the 12 days until Christmas break, the King Street Chronicle will again present staff favorites from the holiday season.  This fourth edition will not include four calling birds, but beloved Christmas songs, memories, recipes, movies, and crafts.

Song: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” performed by Mr. Michael Bublé. 

Recipe: Yule Log Cake

Total Time: Two hours and five minutes

Quantity:  One cake (12 servings)

Ingredients:

• Six eggs
• One box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ devil’s food cake mix
• One-half cup of water
• One-fourth cup of vegetable oil
• One tablespoon of powdered sugar
• One cup of semisweet chocolate chips
• One tablespoon of corn syrup
• One-fourth teaspoon of vanilla
• One container of Betty Crocker™ Whipped Vanilla Frosting

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line the bottom of the pan with foil or waxed paper.  Place paper baking cups in each of the eight regular-sized muffin cups.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon-colored.  Add the water, oil, and cake mix.  Mix ingredients together.  Pour three one-half cups of the batter into the pan.  Divide the remaining batter into the muffin cups.
• Bake for 14 to 16 minutes.  Take the cake out of the pan and turn it upside down onto a clean kitchen towel sprinkled with one tablespoon of powdered sugar.  Carefully remove the foil.  Roll up the cake on the towel from the narrow end.  Cool it completely for about one hour.  Cool the cupcakes for ten minutes.  Remove the pan; cool completely for around 30 minutes.  Save cupcakes to the side.
• In a medium microwavable bowl, microwave the whipping cream uncovered for one minute 30 seconds or until it starts to boil.  Stir in chocolate chips and corn syrup.  Beat with wire whisk until smooth.  Beat in the vanilla as well.  Refrigerate for one hour and take it out periodically to stir the mixture.
• Carefully unroll the cake and remove the towel.  Spread the filling evenly across the cake, then roll up the cake.  Place the cooling rack on a sheet of waxed paper and place the cake on the rack.  Frost the cake.  Drag tines through frosting to look like a log using a fork.  The cake is now ready. 

Movie: The Noel Diary

“The story of a man who returns home on Christmas to settle his estranged mother’s estate.  Once there, he discovers a diary that may hold secrets to his own past and of a beautiful young woman on a mysterious journey of her own,” courtesy of imdb.com. 

Craft: Popsicle Stick Christmas Trees

Supplies:

• Three popsicle sticks (one with about a one-inch cut off of its end)
• One inch by one inch of brown card-stock (square)
• A star cut from glittery paper
• A piece of twine (around six inches long)
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Tiny pom poms

Instructions:

• Hot glue the three popsicle sticks together in the shape of a triangle.  Make sure that the stick that has the one-inch cut off of its end is at the base of the triangle.
• Fold the six-inch piece of twine to create a loop.  Secure the twine to the top of the triangle using hot glue.
• Cut a star out of glittery paper and glue it to the tip of the triangle in front of the twine.
• Glue a square piece of brown card-stock to the base of the triangle.
• Decorate the popsicle sticks with the tiny pom poms.

Memory: Mr. Vincent Badagliacca

“Looking back to childhood and to Christmas seasons past, with each passing year I am more appreciative that my parents gave my sisters and I the gifts of innocence and joy.  As the youngest of three “baby-boomer” children (my sisters are three and six years older, respectively), I most fondly remember the Christmas mornings when we were ten or younger.  My parents waited until we were all asleep on Christmas Eve before bringing in and decorating the tree, as well as the rest of the house.  Thus, on Christmas morning we awakened to a Christmas wonderland–the tree, the lights, the stockings, decorations everywhere, baby Jesus in the creche, music, chocolates, and, of course, the lovingly wrapped toys and presents, all miraculously delivered by Santa.  It was nothing less than magical for my sisters and I–an overnight transformation of our home without any previous hint.  Today, with full appreciation, I still wonder how, with three children, my parents pulled this off annually on Christmas Eve, despite my dad unavoidably getting home late from work, dead tired, and my mom having had to do so much concealed planning and advanced preparation.  I get tearful thinking of the gifts of innocence, joy, and, above all, love, which they gave us as parents.  We are all so blessed to have been their children.”

Featured Image by Giada Coviello ’24