Gingerdoodle/Snickersnaps - Christmas Cookie Bake

My sister-in-law is hosting a cookie swap tomorrow and I have decided to tackle the Gingerdoodle. It will be more work (due to the fact that I will have to make two separate doughs), but they just sound so fantastic! The idea is make a gingersnap and a snickerdoodle and smooch them together. They end up looking so lovely and marbled, and the taste is pure festive Christmas. Molasses and spices + cinnamon and sugar = awesome!

Here is the recipe (straight from Bakergirl):
The only thing I did differently is that I used butter rather than shortening. My version of the snickerdoodle dough was not crumbly at all. 

Gingerdoodles (or snickersnaps, if you will)

Snickerdoodle Dough

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon cinnamon + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling cookies in

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix well, until creamy. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar and mix until combined. Dough will be a little of crumbly, but it'll come together when you roll it into balls.

Combine cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl and set aside for rolling dough in. 

Gingersnap Dough

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies in

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add molasses and egg and continue beating. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Put 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl and set aside for rolling dough in.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease baking sheets with no-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Roll a small amount of gingersnap dough into a ball and toss in granulated sugar. Roll a small amount of snickerdoodle dough in a ball and toss in cinnamon-sugar.

Place both doughs together and gently roll or squeeze together (it worked best if I kneaded the snickerdoodle dough in my hand a few times before rolling both doughs together since it's a  thicker consistency).

Place on baking sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes before moving to cooling racks.

Source: A Year of Cookies. 

I just love how pretty they turn out. 

Robot 1st Birthday Party (DIY installment)

About two weeks ago i spent a ton of time putting together this post. It was beautiful. Apparently  I wasn't signed in while I was creating the post so it didn't save and when my son unplugged the computer I lost everything I had done. I got so fed up with the whole thing that I just resigned myself to not posting my links and recipes. Needless to say, I changed my mind. So, here are all the secrets behind my son's first birthday party, now you can host your own fool-proof Robot Birthday Party!

Invitations

I just made a stencil (check out my tutorial here) and stenciled on blank greeting cards I had from the craft store. I also used this stencil to make Jude a t-shirt.

Decorations

 I used the font "Fraulein" from dafont.com to make all the signs and labels. I printed out the words on card stock and cut them out and then glued them onto colorful scrap book paper. For the big signs, I then strung the letters together with ribbon. Easy and CUTE!

I cut gear shapes out of foam core and spray painted them sliver. These got hung up around the house and on the front door. 

For cupcake toppers, I used some really cute robot stamp on some card stock and glued them onto toothpicks. 

 Call straws "Wires" and utensils "Tools," put them in cleaned out tin cans to add to the theme!

The Robot Photo Shop

We set up a photo booth. Guest were encouraged to pull out their cameras and phones and take some silly shots! I sewed a small casing in a yard of fabric and slid a dowel through it, then I tied some ribbon around the dowel and hung it up as a backdrop. Then I put some fun props (a chalkboard, a frame, some Mardi Gras beads, a tangle of Christmas lights, a robot mask with chalkboard mouth, and some funky party hats) on a small table with a sign that said "Go ahead, grab a prop and take some pics!" 

Here are some of the results.

The Fueling Station

AKA - The food!

Atomic Chili - Regular Chili

Assorted Parts - Chili Fixin's (sour cream, cheese, hot sauce, cheese, onions, jalapenos, Fritos)

Back Up Cables - Carrots and Celery Sticks (and other veggies)

Machine Oil - Pumpkin Pie Dip (recipe link below)

Nuts and Bolts - Chex Mix

Fuse Boxes - Grapes

Battery Cells - Bacon Wrapped Dates (recipe link below)

Sprokets - Bell Pepper Strips

Computer Chips - Regular Tortilla Chips

Mechanical Munchies - Salsa and Bean Dip (recipe below)

Loose Screws - Greek Pasta Salad (recipe below)

Antifreeze - Blue Cream Soda

Frozen Robots - Robot Ice Cubes (tutorial/recipe below)

Memory Cells - Cupcakes (recipe links below)

Here are some other ideas for food:

Robot Fuel - Drinks

Motor Oil - Drinks

Cables or Wires - Licorice Whips

Shockwaves - Cupcakes

Robot Parts - Decorate Your Own Cupcakes or Make Your Own Sundaes

Robot Screws - Cheese Curls

Recipes

Pumpkin Pie Dip - Kitchen Simplicity (I added some powdered sugar and served with ginger snaps, but its super yummy with granny smith apples)

Bacon Wrapped Dates - YumSugar

Cupcakes

Gluten Free, Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Icing - Lemon Drop (These are so good. You would never be able to tell that they are gluten free!)

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing - Brown Eyed Baker

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Icing - My Baking Addiction

# 1 Sprinkle Smash Cake Topper - kojo designs

Coco Butter Cream Recipe

Adapted from my mom's 1980's Betty Crocker Cookbook - this is my Go To chocolate icing recipe

(used to top half of the Vanilla Bean Cupcakes)

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/5 teaspoon vanilla extract

About 2 tablespoons milk

Cream the butter and the cocoa until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add vanilla and milk, beat until smooth. Add more milk until icing is spreading consistency.

Bean Dip Recipe

This recipe came from my dear Red Headed College Roommate

1 can re-fried beans, 32 oz. can (the big one)

1 tub sour cream , 12 oz. tub

1 packet ranch dressing mix (more or less depending on your taste)

Mix everything together in a large bowl. Chill for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips, Frito Scoops, or veggies.

Greek Pasta Salad Recipe

1 12 oz. box of curly bite-sized pasta (fuslli, girandole, cellentani, gemelli, etc...)

1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped (you want bigger pieces, so don't fine chop the pepper)

1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped (same note)

1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 medium cucumber, cut into bite-sized chunks

3/4 cup of Kalamata olives, cut into quarters

1, 16 oz can of chick peas, draned and rinced

1 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles

About 1 cup (more or less according to your taste) oil and vinegar based Greek salad dressing (I used Newman's Own brand)

Cook the pasta to al dente according to the directions on the box. Mix everything together in a large bowl. Chill for at least an hour.

NOTES:

-Remember if you are making Loose Screws, you need curly pasta! Plus the curls provide a place for the dressing to rest and make the salad more flavorful

-This recipe would also be really good with salami chunks, pickled artichoke hearts, baby spinach leaves, red onion (My husband and I hate the taste of onion, so I almost never include it in my recipes), chunks of chicken

- I have made this recipe using just olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar as a dressing. Add some salt and pepper, garlic powder, and maybe some fresh oregano and you are good to go!

Robot Ice Cubes

Water

Food coloring

Fred & Friends Chillbots Robot Ice Cube Tray

Mix food coloring and water, pour into Chillbots tray and freeze until solid. Run upside-down under hot water before carefully popping Chillbots out of tray. Be very careful when popping these little guys out of the tray, I snapped off many a little claw hand.

Robot 1st Birthday Party (3rd installment)

I just couldn't resist putting up the Smash Cake progression. 

I used this recipe for a gluten-free blueberry cake with blueberry cream cheese icing. The cake turned out so yummy! Used the Chillbots ice cube trays to make little chocolate robots and keys to put around the sides. Used this tutorial from KoJo Designs for the #1 sprinkle cake topper.

Robot 1st Birthday Party (2nd installment)

Here is some more results of Jude's birthday party!

We created a Robot Photo Shop. 

Hung up a yard of cute fabric, and made and collected some fun props (including a chalk board, a tangle of Christmas lights, a big frame, and some party hats and a robot mask with a chalkboard mouth.) 

Here are some of the great moments that happened in our Robot Photo Shop...

Robot 1st Birthday Party (1st installment)

The great thing about first birthday parties is that you (the parent) get to do WHATEVER you want! There is no little person complaining about not getting the party that they want, its whatever you want. You can do a crazy robot theme with adult drinks and totally get away with it, because lets be real, this party is as much celebrating you getting through the first year as it is for your little sweetness.

Here is the results of my son's first birthday.

Handmade stencil.

Check out the tutorial here.

Handmade invitations. 

Made the stencils and printed the cards. They turned out so well!

Robot ice cubes!

Used the Fred & Friends Chillbots Ice Cube Tray.

It was a little difficult getting the robots to come out of the tray without breaking their legs and claw hands off, but after breaking a few batches I figured out that if I ran the tray upside-down under hot water for a few seconds the little robots popped out pretty easily.