During the twelve days until Christmas break, the King Street Chronicle will again present staff favorites from the holiday season.  This eighth edition will not include eight maids-a-milking, but beloved Christmas songs, memories, recipes, movies, and crafts.

Song: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” performed by Perry Como.

Recipe: Holiday Seven Layer Bar

• Total Time

  

  • 90 minutes, for cooling 
• Makes
  • One eight-by-eight inch pan 
• Ingredients
  • One five and one-half ounce bag of Cashew Softer Than Brittle, ground into fine crumbs
  • One-fourth cup of melted butter 
  • Six tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • One-half cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • One-half cup of white chocolate chips
  • One cup of sweetened shredded coconut flakes, measured loosely and not packed
  • Two-thirds can (14-ounce) of sweetened condensed milk
  • Holiday sprinkles
• Steps
  • 1) Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line an eight-by-eight inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
  • 2) To the canister of a high-speed blender or food processor, add the Softer Than Brittle, and process on high speed until the crumbs are very fine (about 15 seconds).
  • 3) Transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl; set aside.
  • 4) To a small microwave-safe bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about one minute.
  • 5) Add the butter to the crumbs, add the flour, and stir to combine.
  • 6) Pour mixture out into prepared pan, forming an even, smooth, flat crust layer by smoothing the mixture into place with a spatula.
  • 7) Evenly sprinkle with the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and coconut (in that order).
  • 8) Evenly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top.
  • 9) Bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around edges and the center is mostly set.  Keep an extremely close eye on bars in the final minutes of baking because coconut can go from raw-looking to burnt in one minute.  Watch the bars and not the clock.
  • 10) Place pan on a wire rack, evenly cover with sprinkles, and allow bars to cool in pan for at least 90 minutes before slicing and serving.  Bars firm up as they cool.  Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to six months.

Movie: Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas

“On the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch (Jim Carrey), who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.  Though Ron Howard‘s big-budget adaptation of Dr. Seuss‘ classic story received mixed reviews upon release, it was an unqualified box office smash, spending four weeks atop the North American box office and ultimately becoming the second highest-grossing holiday film ever behind Home Alone, with over $345 million.  One thing everyone could agree to admire was Jim Carrey‘s screen-commanding, supremely dedicated and undeniably impressive performance,” courtesy of parade.com and imdb.com. 

Craft: Snowman Ornament       

• Supplies
  • Small wood slices
  • Hot glue gun and hot glue 
  • Ribbon or fabric scraps to make a scarf

    

  • Toothpicks
  • Orange and black markers
  • Twine
  • Small twigs 
• Instructions
  • 1) Choose two wood slices, one slightly larger than the other.  Use hot glue to glue them together (it’s a good idea to glue a small popsicle stick spanning the two slices to secure them together). 
  • 2) Cut twine and fold it in half to make a loop.  Glue the ends to the top of the smaller slice.
  • 3) Cut twigs so they resemble snowman arms and glue them to the larger wood slice.
  • 4) Flip the wood slice over and use a black permanent marker to make dots for eyes and buttons. 
  • 5) Use an orange marker to color the end of a toothpick.
  • 6) Cut off the orange end of the toothpick and use hot glue to glue it on as a nose.
  • 7) Cut ribbon with fringes on both ends.  Tie the ribbon around the snowman’s neck, using hot glue to secure it.

Memory: Zada Brown ‘20

“One of my favorite Christmas memories-traditions is playing games with my whole family at Christmas dinner.  Last year, my mom bought a Family Feud card game because my family loves watching that show.  [It is] hilarious because everyone gets so competitive and accuses each other of cheating.  We also did a White Elephant last year, and everyone was trading their gifts with each other.  I’ll always remember how much fun I’ve had laughing and playing fun games with my family”

Featured Image by Caroline Baranello ’20