During the twelve days until Christmas break, the King Street Chronicle will again present staff favorites from the holiday season. This sixth edition will not include six geese-a-laying, but beloved Christmas songs, memories, recipes, movies, and crafts.
Song:
“Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues.
Memory:
Mr. John Zwack, Assistant Head of Middle School and Middle School Academic Dean
“I always enjoyed decorating our family’s Christmas tree when we were all college age and older. Inevitably, my siblings and I (five of us) would come home on Christmas Eve from different parts of the globe, go buy the last available tree and then stay up late decorating it. It was the one time of year when we were able to be together and catch up to share what we had all been up to the previous year. We’d share info about school, jobs, relationships, etc.”
Recipe:
Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Cookies
Ingredients:
- One and one-quarter cups of all-purpose flour
- One-half teaspoon of baking soda
- One-quarter teaspoon of salt
- One-half cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
- One-half cup of packed light or dark brown sugar
- One-quarter cup of granulated sugar
- One large egg
- Three-quarters cup of creamy peanut butter
- One teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Eighteen Reese’s Miniature Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped
- One cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Two teaspoons of creamy peanut butter
- Make the cookies: Toss the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together on medium speed until combined. On low speed, beat in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Turn the mixer to high and beat until light in color and smooth. Turn the mixer to low and slowly pour in the dry ingredients. Mix until combined and a dough is formed.
- Cover tightly and chill the cookie dough for at least one hour (or up to three days). Chilling is mandatory.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Take one tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Take another one tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Stick a peanut butter cup into one ball. Top the peanut butter cup with other cookie dough ball and seal down the sides so that the peanut butter cup is securely stuffed inside. Roll the large cookie dough ball to ensure it’s smooth. Repeat with the rest of the dough and 18 peanut butter cups.
- Bake the cookies for ten to 11 minutes or until very lightly browned on the sides. Some cookies may be taller than others, just press the cookies down a bit to flatten them out. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for at least ten minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the drizzle: melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in the microwave, stirring often to prevent seizing. Add one teaspoon of shortening if the mixture isn’t smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies.
- Cookies stay fresh stored covered at room temperature for up to seven days. Cookies freeze well, up to three months. Stuffed cookie dough balls freeze well, up to two months. Bake for two extra minutes, do not thaw.
Movie:
A Christmas Detour
“Two New York City-bound travelers find themselves inextricably linked when a snowstorm reroutes them to an airport hotel in Buffalo. Ever the eternal optimist and hopeless romantic, Paige desperately needs to find a way back home to meet her fiancee’s parents before her forthcoming wedding. And it’s somehow up to fellow passenger Dylan MacKenzie, who is permanently soured on romance following a recent heartbreak. Yet Dylan somehow rises to the occasion to become Paige’s chivalrous helpmate. The pair is joined on this misadventure by an older couple named Frank and Maxine trying to get to Connecticut. As their madcap journey ensues, our foursome will find plenty of surprises in store,” courtesy of hallmarkchannel.com.
Craft:
Iced Branches
Supplies:
- Christmas Tree template
- Seven-inch embroidery hoop
- An eight-by-12-inch sheet of wool felt
- One skein of six-strand embroidery floss
- one skein of metallic copper embroidery floss
- Sewing thread in coordinating color
- Stuffing
- Embroidery needle
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Air-soluble marking pen
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Cut an eight-by-eight-inch square of felt. Fold and crease the felt at the corner for a starting line. Beginning at the corner of the felt, and using the ruler, mark a dot at every centimeter down the crease. Perpendicular to the centerline, mark across the felt in one-centimeter intervals. Move to the next dot on the centerline and repeat marking until the felt is covered by a one-centimeter grid.
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Place the marked felt into an embroidery hoop. With the non-metallic thread, using two strands of a six-stranded thread, backstitch in lines from dot to dot across the felt.
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Turn the embroidery hoop 90 degrees, and backstitch from dot to dot in long stitches perpendicular to the lines just made.
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Using two strands of the copper embroidery thread, and working in lines, make a running stitch over each dot or the intersection of the grid.
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Rotate the embroidery hoop 90 degrees, and make running stitches across the small copper stitches, making a cross at each intersection.
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Using a Christmas tree template, trace and cut out two backs from wool felt.
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Pin the backs to the right side of embroidery, aligning tree shape so that copper threads run up and down and straight across the piece. Using needle and sewing thread, make tiny stitches around tree shape, leaving the top open to turn inside out, stuff and add the hanger.
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Turn the tree shape right side out, poking out the branches. Stuff the tree with polyester filling.
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Create a hanging loop by braiding three seven-inch lengths of the main embroidery thread, knotting both ends. Insert knotted ends into the top of the tree. Fold in edges of felt, and pin into place. Use the ladder stitch to close the top of the tree and secure the hanger.
-Curated by Daisy Steinthal ’19, Editor-in-Chief
Featured Image by Daisy Steinthal ’19