During the twelve days until Christmas break, the King Street Chronicle will present staff favorites from the holiday season.  This first edition will not include a partridge in a pear tree, but beloved Christmas songs, recipes, movies, crafts, and memories.

Song: “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” performed by Michael Bublé.

Recipe: Silver Bells Frosted Cookies  

• Total Time
  • Prep: 20 minutes + chilling
  • Bake: 15 minutes per batch + cooling
• Quantity

  

  • About four dozen
• Ingredients
  • One and one-half cups of butter, softened
  • Three cups of sugar
  • Four large eggs, room temperature
  • One teaspoon of peppermint extract
  • One teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • Five cups of all-purpose flour
  • Two teaspoons of baking powder
  • One teaspoon of salt
  • One package (ten to 12 ounces) of white baking chips
  • One tablespoon of shortening
  • Black paste food coloring, optional
  • Silver edible shimmer dust or sugar
• Steps
  • 1) Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and extracts.  In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture.  Divide dough into quarters.  Shape each quarter into a disk and then cover them.  Refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about two hours.
  • 2) Preheat oven to 350°.  On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to one-eighth inch thickness.  Cut with a floured two and one-half inch bell-shaped cookie cutter.  Place one inch apart on greased baking sheets.  Bake until edges begin to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.  Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
  • 3) In a microwave, melt chips and shortening and stir until smooth.  If desired, tint with food coloring.  Spread over cookies.  Let stand until set and then brush with shimmer dust.

Movie: Home Alone

“In this John Hughes classic, troublemaking eight-year-old Kevin must defend his house from a pair of burglars (the W-E-T bandits) when he is accidentally left home alone by his family when they rush to the airport for a vacation in Paris,” courtesy of parade.com.

Craft: Christmas Countdown Blocks

• Supplies
  • Four wood blocks
  • One by four wood or wood plaque from the craft store
  • Paint
  • Mod Podge
  • Printable squares or scrapbook paper and stickers
• Instructions

  

  • 1) Paint the blocks and platform in the desired colors.  Set aside the blocks to dry and cut out the squares for your blocks.  If using scrapbook paper, cut the paper slightly smaller than the blocks.
  • 2) Paint a layer of Mod Podge onto the block and smooth the paper square onto the block.  Repeat with all squares.
  • 3) Two blocks should be numbered.  The other two blocks should be the “days till Christmas” squares.  Fill in the other numbers and pictures where desired.
  • 4) Once the squares are dry and secured on the blocks, seal them in with more Mod Podge or another varnish.  If using scrapbook paper, add the stickers.
  • 5) Now, stack the blocks and start counting down the days until Christmas.

Memory: Mrs. Judene Pendergast, Upper School Math Teacher

“When my five children were little, and I was an at home mom, we lived in the town of Greenwich next to many other young Brunswick families.  Around a week before Christmas, I would make Christmas cutout cookies and my children would help decorate them.  Then, I wrapped plates of cookies up with a Christmas bow on top.  We would load up the little red flyer wagon with the plates of cookies, put on our scarves and mittens and go around our neighborhood with lanterns and knock on the door while singing ‘We wish you a merry Christmas.’  It was a lovely tradition and people always appreciated the cookies.  Our children have very fond memories of that tradition.”

Featured Image by Caroline Baranello ’20