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: “Jingle Bell Rock” performed by Bobby Helms.

Recipe: Gingerbread Cookies  

• Total Time

  

  • One hour and ten minutes 
• Makes
  • 25 servings 
• Ingredients
  • Three-fourths cup (one and one-half sticks) butter, softened
  • Three-fourths cup packed brown sugar
  • Two-thirds cup molasses
  • One large egg
  • One tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • Three and one-fourths cup all-purpose flour
  • One tablespoon ground ginger
  • One tablespoon baking soda
  • One tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • One- half tablespoon ground cloves
  • One-half tablespoon kosher salt
  • One-fourths tablespoon ground nutmeg
  • Sugar cookie icing 
  • Sprinkles
• Steps
  • 1) In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and molasses until fluffy, for about two minutes.  Add egg and vanilla.  Beat until combined.
  • 2) In a medium bowl, whisk flour, spices, baking soda, and salt until combined.  With the mixer on low, gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until dough just comes together.  (Do not overmix!)
  • 3) Divide dough in half and create two discs.  Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about two to three hours.
  • 4) Preheat oven to 350° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Place one disc of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll until one-fourths inch thick.  Cut out gingerbread men with a three-inch wide cutter and transfer to baking sheets.
  • 5) Bake until slightly puffed and set, nine to ten minutes, depending on the size of the cookie cutters.  Let cool on baking sheets for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. 
  • 6) Repeat with the remaining disc of dough.  Decorate with icing and sprinkles as desired.

Movie:  A Christmas Carol

“This 1938 movie is one of the earlier, full-length film adaptations of the Charles Dickens classic.  On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his former partner, Jacob Marley.  The deceased partner was as mean and miserly as Scrooge is now and he warns him to change his ways or face the consequences in the afterlife,” courtesy of goodhousekeeping.com and imdb.com.

Craft: Christmas Treat Mason Jars

• Supplies
  • Jars 
  • Glitter
  • Googly eyes
  • Pom poms
  • Ribbon
  • Foam sheets
  • Beads
  • Paper
  • Decoupage
  • Hot glue gun and hot glue 
  • Pipe cleaners
• Instructions
  • Start by covering the jar with a layer of decoupage.  Pour glitter all over the jar, fully covering it.  Set aside to dry.  The directions will then vary just a little for each mason jar craft.
    • SNOWMAN MASON JAR: Cover the jar with white glitter.  Glue two small googly eyes on and then cut a small carrot nose from the orange paper and glue that in place as well.  Grab the small black beads and glue them to create a smile. 
    • REINDEER MASON JAR: Cover in brown glitter.  Hot glue two googly eyes in place and add the pom-pom nose.  Cut one brown pipe cleaner in half.  Snip off another one-two inches and wrap them around the other piece to shape it into an antler.  Hot glue this to the lid and its are set.
    • SANTA BELT MASON JAR: Once the red glitter is dry, wrap a piece of black ribbon around the jar and hot glue it in place.  Cut a square slightly larger than the ribbon and cut out the center of the square to make a belt buckle.  Hot glue that in place and then fill it up with candy.

Memory: Sinclair Noonan ‘23

“My favorite Christmas memory is probably going to my grandparents’ house each year.  My cousins also go and we all eat a big dinner together and exchange gifts.”

Featured image by Caroline Baranello ’20