During the 12 days until Christmas break, the King Street Chronicle again presents staff favorites from the holiday season.  This seventh edition will not include seven swans a-swimming but beloved Christmas songs, memories, recipes, movies, and activities.

Song: “Mistletoe” performed by Mr. Justin Bieber

Recipe: Candy Cane Cookies

Total Time: 40-42 minutes 

Quantity: 24 cookies 

Ingredients:

• Two sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• One cup powdered sugar
• One large egg
• One teaspoon vanilla extract
• One teaspoon peppermint extract, or one-half teaspoon almond extract
• Three cups all-purpose flour
• One teaspoon kosher salt
• One-half to three-fourths teaspoon red food coloring

Steps:

• Place two sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature and one cup powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if using an electric hand mixer).  Beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until fluffy and frosting-like.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Beat in one large egg, one teaspoon vanilla extract, and one teaspoon peppermint extract (or one-half teaspoon almond extract).  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in three cups all-purpose flour and one teaspoon kosher salt until no more visible flour remains.
• Use a stiff spatula to mix the dough a few times by hand to work in any last bits of flour.  Divide the dough in half and remove half of the dough.  Add one-half teaspoon red food coloring to the remaining dough in the bowl.  Work the color into the dough with the spatula, kneading by hand, or in the mixer on low speed, whichever method seems easiest to you.  Add more food coloring as needed until the dough is a bright, vibrant red.
• Pat both pieces of dough into one-inch thick discs and wrap each one in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least one hour or up to three days.  This will make the cookies easier to roll out and shape.
• When ready to bake the cookies, arrange two racks to divide the oven into thirds and heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Unwrap both pieces of dough.  Pinch off about two tablespoons of each dough.  Roll each into a thick rope about six inches long.  Pinch a red and white rope together at the top, then gently twist them together.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  If the dough starts to break as you roll it or become hard to work with, put it back in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.  Transfer the twisted ropes to the baking sheets and gently “hook” the top to create a candy cane shape.
• Refrigerate the cookies on the baking sheets for 15 minutes before baking.  This helps the cookies hold their shape during baking.
• Bake until the bottom edges and the tips of the cookies are just barely starting to turn golden-brown, ten to 12 minutes.  Let cool for ten minutes on the baking sheets.  Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.

Movie: Love the Coopers

“The intertwined stories of four generations of Coopers unfold right before the annual family reunion on Christmas Eve.  Can they survive the most beautiful time of the year?” courtesy of imdb.com.

Craft: Pom-Pom Snowman 

Supplies: 

• Yarn
• Scissors
• Colorful pipe cleaners
• Glue
• Twigs (collected from the garden)
• Beads or buttons
• Felt
• Cardboard or pom pom maker

Instructions:

• To create your snowman, you will need to make two pom poms of different sizes, one large pom pom for the body and one small pom pom for the head.  If you do not have a pom pom maker, you can create your own.  Cut two “U” shapes from cardboard.
• Wrap white yarn around the “arms” of your pom pom maker and make sure not to wrap too tightly.  The more yarn you use, the thicker and fluffier your snowman will be.  Take a piece of yarn and tie it in the center.  Gently remove it from the pom pom maker.  Do this with the small pom pom maker to create the head.
• Take scissors and cut the loops to create your pom poms.  If needed, you can trim each pom pom to create a nice rounded shape.
• Attach the two pom poms together with a long piece of string.
• Create accessories for your snowman with pipe cleaners and felt.  Twist together a set of earmuffs with a pipe cleaner.  Cut out a matching scarf from felt to complete the look, or even try making a candy cane with red and white pipe cleaners.  Use an orange pipe cleaner for the mini carrot nose.
• Use glue to attach your created accessories to your snowman.  Add little twigs, beads, or bells for extra details.  Tie an extra piece of yarn to turn them into ornaments and hang them on the tree.

Memory: Liv Starr ’27

“My favorite Christmas memory [is] making Christmas cookies with my grandparents.  Once [the cookies] were baked and decorated, we put them in front of the tree for Santa along with carrots for Santa’s reindeer.  I always loved coming downstairs on Christmas morning seeing bites out of the cookies and carrots.  [This memory is] so special [to] me and my family.”