Products | Grin and Bake It!

Category Archives: Products

Written on August 29, 2010 by Kate

Last week, during the Orange County heat wave, I was in my kitchen making these peppermint Christmas cookies. No, I wasn’t delirious from the heat, just excited about this holiday baker’s give-away that Wilton is sponsoring. After these cookies dried, they were packed up and brought to my dad. I could tell he thought it was odd to receive Christmas cookies in August, but the man is smart and he knows better than to question homemade cookies.

There are 116 shopping days or baking days until Christmas, depending on how you want to look at it. I have gone without a paycheck since June, and am officially poor. (It’s not easy being a teacher!) The word “shopping” has been banned from my vocabulary, so I prefer to think in terms of baking days. I know it seems like there’s plenty of time before the holiday madness starts, but it always seems to sneak up on us.

These peppermint candy cookies are festive for the holiday, but you can use any colors to coordinate with your party theme, and they’d make cute cookie favors. I tried two different decorating techniques for two different effects.

The fabulous people at Wilton are letting me give away one of my most used baking items… this 50 Piece Tool Caddy Decorating Set. This kit will keep your baking tools totally organized, so you’re not always searching for what you need. I keep my caddy in a kitchen cabinet right above my Kitchen Aid, and pull it out whenever I’m decorating.

Here’s what’s inside this 50 piece set:

• A bunch of decorating tips organized in a removable tray

• Flower nail

• Disposable bags and a reusable soft touch bag

• Tip brush for cleaning decorating tips

• Couplers

• Spatula

• 4 of the most popular Wilton gel icing colors

• Beginner’s guide to decorating

This kit is perfect for both beginning and advanced bakers. If you already have a baking tool caddy, this would make a fabulous Christmas present, and you’d be able to check someone off your gift-giving list.

But this is a holiday give-away, right? To get you inspired for all of your holiday cookie baking, Wilton is also including a copy of the Wilton book, Cookie Exchange. It is full of original cookie ideas, and step by step photo instructions.

Here’s how to enter*:

You have a total of 4 chances to win:

(Be sure to leave a separate comment for each.)

We have a winner! Random.org selected comment #105, Miss Jillian. Check out her adorable blog if you have a chance www.missjilliandesigns.blogspot.com . Thanks for playing along everyone. Grin and Bake it will be hosting a fall give-away soon, so stay tuned!

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite Wilton product is. Here’s the link if you want to shop!

2. Follow Grin and Bake it ~ Join the Grin and Bake it Facebook group, follow me on Twitter, or sign up for the RSS feed. Scroll down on the sidebar and click under “Follow Me”. (If you’re already a follower, let me know in a comment how you follow the blog.)

3. Subscribe to Grin and Bake It and receive emails when new posts are published. To subscribe, scroll down on the sidebar to “subscribe” and enter your email address. I promise this is totally safe! Post a comment letting me know you subscribed.

4. Tweet this give-away “Christmas comes early… Enter to win Wilton’s holiday giveaway @grinandbakeit http://wp.me/pnls6-2O1

Contest ends on Friday, September 3rd at 9 P.M. Pacific Standard Time. The winner will be selected randomly at random.org, and will be posted on this post. I will send the winner an email letting him/her know that he/she has won. The winner will have 24 hours to respond to the email, otherwise, a second winner will be selected.

*This contest is only open to people living in the U.S. (I do apologize to my Canadian blogging friends.)

Tweet This Post

Gift Ideas, Give-Aways, Holidays, Products, Recipes, cookies

172 Comments - Leave a comment!

Print This Post

Written on July 5, 2010 by Kate

11 Comments - Leave a comment!

A few weeks ago, I had a few girlfriends over for a wine and cupcake tasting party. I baked up four different flavors of cupcakes, and paired each flavor with a wine to bring out or complement the cupcake’s flavor. Cupcakes, wine, and a few girlfriends are a perfect combo for a great night. I have been dreaming up a lot of cupcake flavors, and this gave me the perfect chance to try a few.

Have you read the book The Lovely Bones? My book club read it awhile back. I had mixed feeling about the book, and usually try to avoid books with creepy, child molesting murderers, but there were a few things about the novel that I did like, one part being the author’s depiction of heaven. Each person in heaven is given their own, unique space that reflects what they love in life. If this is truly what heaven is like, I can guarantee you that my space will be filled with these chocolate-covered strawberry cupcakes… so feel free to stop by my heavenly pad if you’re hungry, but let’s not rush it, okay?

My first attempt at these chocolate strawberry cupcakes was based on the Sprinkle’s strawberry cupcake recipe. I adapted the recipe a tad, and frosted them with my creamy, white chocolate frosting. Finally, I garnished them with chocolate-covered strawberries. My girlfriend, Melissa, loved these. For me, the combination of strawberry cake and white chocolate frosting was divine, but I did have one reservation. I won’t make excuses. All I can say is that I’m a girl raised on cake mix from a box. Many cupcakes from scratch are denser than cake from a cake mix. The dense cupcakes are not my preference. I’m a cake mix girl at heart, and proud of it!

Our cupcake and wine tasting was a success, but even I was a little cup-caked out. That changed when I heard about Duncan Hine’s “Red Carpet Cupcake Challenge”. Duncan Hines is sponsoring the 62^nd Primetime Emmy Awards this year, and is asking contest participants to submit an Emmy worthy cupcake recipe that uses a Duncan Hines product. My mind immediately flashed back to those almost perfect chocolate-covered strawberry cupcakes.

I’m not sure what the specific criteria the judges will be using, but I have a feeling this might be part of it:

widespread audience appeal
dressed in formal attire (It’s the Emmy’s for goodness sake. I’d be humiliated if my cupcake showed up on the worst dressed list.)
has to taste fabulous… I’m talking standing ovation fabulous!

That’s where Round 2 of my quest to create the perfect Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcake began. It took three more batches of cake batter for me to award it Emmy worthy status. I did feel a little wasteful throwing out so much cake batter, but once I started, I wasn’t about to stop until it was exactly how I had envisioned.

So here’s the deal. I’m not one to ask for help. In fact, I bag my own groceries at the store. The bag boy or manager always comes running to take over (you think they’d know by now). I guess they assume I’m an unhappy, impatient shopper, but the reality is I like doing it myself ~ Control freak? People-pleaser? Let’s just say, way too much of both! (Could that be why I’m still single after four years post divorce? Okay, let’s not analyze that one right now.)

Back to the contest… This contest relies on help. The cupcake entries are narrowed down to ten, based on the highest numbers of votes they receive. People can vote for their favorite every day until July 28^th. Here I go, with great trepidation (can’t believe I’m about to ask this)… If you think this cupcake is award winning Emmy material, or if you just feel like helping a girl out, you can vote for me again and again and again daily. There I said it! If I win, I promise to throw another cupcakes and cocktails party, and you’re all invited because I’m a people-pleaser, and proud of it!

Vote for me here! Pick Me! Pick Me!

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

(Created by ME!)

Makes approximately 30 cupcakes

1 box Duncan Hines Classic White Cake Mix

1 box (4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

½ cup sour cream

2/3 cup pureed strawberries (This requires approximately one cup of whole strawberries prior to pureeing)

A few drops of pink gel coloring ~ optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Puree one cup of whole strawberries. Reserve 2/3 cup of the strawberry puree.

Blend cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil, and sour cream at low speed until moistened. Add strawberry puree. If you want the cupcakes to come out a little pinker, add a drop or two of pink gel coloring.

Beat at medium speed until well combined (approximately two minutes). Fill cupcake liners two thirds full. Bake immediately for approximately 15 minutes, or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

White Chocolate Frosting

(created by, ME)

4 oz. white chocolate baking squares

1 cup butter, softened

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Melt white chocolate using the double boiler method or microwave. If using microwave, microwave at thirty second intervals and stirring in between until completely melted. Set aside melted chocolate to cool.

Sift powdered sugar in a medium-sized bowl.

Combine butter, whipping cream, vanilla, salt in an electric mixer. Gradually add in powdered sugar until well combined. Frosting should be fairly stiff if piping onto cupcakes.

Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes. Top cupcakes with half of a chocolate covered strawberry, just prior to serving. Refrigerate cupcakes if not serving right away.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

(no idea who is responsible for this fabulous combo)

15 small to medium-sized fresh strawberries

Milk or dark chocolate for dipping

White chocolate to decorate

Wash strawberries and dry completely. Cut strawberries in half. Melt chocolate, either using double-boiler or microwave method. Dip strawberry halves into melted chocolate and place on waxed paper to set. Pipe thin lines of white chocolate across strawberry for garnish. Refrigerate until ready to serve cupcakes.

Tips:

To get the frosting the consistency that you like, you may need to add a little more cream, or powdered sugar to the frosting.
If you want to pipe the swirl, use Wilton’s 1M tip.
If you’re piping the swirl, double the frosting recipe.
It’s a little tricky to dip strawberry halves. The stems can break if you’re not careful. You’ve been warned.
Do not top cupcakes with chocolate strawberries until you’re ready to serve. Otherwise, the juice from the strawberry will start to seep out.
If the temperature is very warm outside, your frosting may melt a bit. This is fine and makes it easy to spread (yet impossible to pipe). If you want to pipe the icing, refrigerate the frosting until it firms up a bit.
These taste great both straight from the fridge, and at room temperature. Yes, I tried both ways.
I made the icing with a (4.4 oz) Lindt white chocolate bar, worth every penny. (YUM!)
To make the cupcakes a pretty pink hue, I added two drops of Americolor Rose gel coloring. (Remember, food coloring is your friend.)

Thanks for voting!

Tweet This Post

Baking Contests, Cupcakes, Desserts Galore, Parties, Products, Recipes, chocolate, frosting

11 Comments - Leave a comment!

Print This Post

Written on February 8, 2010 by Kate

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

Each February I go in search of a clever valentine for my son to make for his friends. It has to be something that reflects whatever he’s into that year. Third grade is somewhat of a transition year from what’s cute to what’s cool. Cutesy valentines aren’t going to fly this year. We needed something that would earn cool status.

And you know what’s cool… the wii! The boy loves video games. Lucky for him, he was born the son of the Atari Frogger champion from the 80’s. I mastered that game! And whenever I see an old Ms. Pac Man game, I can’t resist the urge to play.

I don’t think video games are evil, as some parents do. And I don’t think they will negatively impact this generation of kids. It’s all about balance. As long as there is still plenty of outdoor play with friends and other activities going on, I have no problem with a little Wii. In fact, if you stop by unannounced, you may just catch me playing Guitar Hero or singing into the microphone for Simon on the American Idol Wii game.

Last month, I went in search of a Wii valentine, but couldn’t find anything. I remembered reading about a bowling Wii tournament party on Hostess With the Mostess, so I went back for some inspiration. It is full of great Wii themed ideas. I, then, found a template online to make a paper, Wii-mote. This served as the envelope for the valentine. It is a pdf file and perfectly to scale. I printed one on my printer and ran the rest on the copier. The quality was still great. These would make perfect party favors too. Take my advice, use a glue gun to put these together, regular glue will make you a crazy person. There is a little cutting and folding involved, but it’s a great excuse to catch up on Tivo.

If you’re familiar with the Wii, one of the first tasks you do is to create a Mii (pronounced “me”), a graphic version of yourself. There are a few sites on the web that allow you to create and print your own Mii’s, just for fun, including MakeWee and My Avatar Editor. For the valentine, I had the boy go on the site and make his mii. I then cut and pasted it into Photoshop and created a valentine note to stick into the Wii-mote. The boy is one of three other Blake’s in his class and is referred to as Blake R. I’m hoping that doesn’t stick. To finish these off, we filled the Wii motes with AirHeads and other smaller candies. The boy can’t wait to share them later this week.

One of Blake’s best friends made Ipod Valentines this year, using small conversation heart boxes. The Ipod valentines are complete with peanut butter cup headphones attached. I love this idea! Family Fun shows all of the directions on how to make them.

Do you have any other great ideas for valentines, do share!

Tweet This Post

Favors, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Parties

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

Print This Post

Written on February 2, 2010 by Kate

5 Comments - Leave a comment!

Hallelujah… I am finally caught up. I’ve been drowning in work for awhile, but the worst is over. My house is clean. My hair is freshly cut. What can I say…it’s a good life! Last week, however, not so good. Even in the comfort of my home, things seemed on the brink of havoc. The boy came home upset one afternoon, so I went to see what was wrong. I think he had reached the point of being over-tired. In our house we refer to that state as being “over-cooked”. I listened and consoled, while unbeknownst to me, the Naughty One was on the couch snacking on my laptop. I wish I was kidding. Looking back, I did hear some noise that may have resembled chomping, but in that moment I decided the boy’s well-being was my top priority. Seriously, what kind of dog eats a laptop? By the time I responded, she had ripped off and maimed “Ctrl”, “Alt”, and “X”. Last year, my previous laptop drowned while sitting overnight directly under a leak from my second story. So to put things in perspective, it’s still a good life ~ minus a few computer keys.

That incident required comfort food. One of best things to calm me down is a warm vanilla chai ~ cupcakes help too, cocktails too (but you already knew that). This brings me to the latest experiment in my kitchen, vanilla chai latte tea-cup cakes.

Awhile back, someone from Duncan Hines commented on my blog about Duncan Hines’ Birthday Bash contest. I wanted to participate, but with the contest deadline during the crazy work season, I wasn’t sure it would happen. Post dog-eating-laptop episode, I seized the moment and began baking. This recipe became not only my comfort, but also my contest entry.

It’s quite simple in that it starts with a Duncan Hines Butter Golden Cake Mix. The first step is to steep your favorite chai tea bags in milk over the stove. Once cool, you incorporate it into the cake batter. My favorite spices in chai - cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg are then whisked into the mix, along with some vanilla. These tea cups were topped off with my favorite buttercream. I haven’t met a kid who doesn’t like this frosting, so this is my go-to kid frosting. This dessert takes comfort in a cup to an all-new level. I love the flavor of these mini tea cup cakes. The crystallized ginger in the cake seals the deal. Truth be told, I could be happy eating the batter and forgoing the cupcakes entirely.

I baked these up in my Ralph Lauren wedding china tea cups, which I love for their simple elegance. I had no idea if they were oven safe, but seeing how my marriage fell apart several years ago, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if one of these tea cups did too. I’ve overcome much more in life than a cracked tea cup. Nothing exploded or melted, so I figured it was safe to make a bunch. Crate and Barrel sells some white oven-safe tea cups that are pretty and inexpensive, if you don’t want to risk your wedding china.

These are perfect for a little girl’s tea party. Let’s be honest, most little ones prefer cupcakes over tea any day. To my girlfriends with little girls, someone plan a tea party and I promise to bring a batch of these!

You can check out all of the other Duncan Hines contest submissions here. Crossing my fingers & hoping Duncan Hines likes my entry!

Vanilla Chai Tea-Cup Cakes

2/3 cup milk

4 chai tea bags

1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Golden Cake Mix

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons crystallized ginger, minced

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottoms of oven-safe tea cups with non-stick cooking spray. Make sure to use tea cups that are heat-proof, up to at least 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over low-medium heat. Add tea bags.

Remove from heat and steep for 5 minutes. Cool completely.

In a separate bowl whisk cake mix, cinnamon, minced ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom.

Using electric mixer, mix softened butter, eggs, and vanilla until combined.

Add dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.

Fill tea cups half-way and place on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, and until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer tea cups to a wire rack and cool completely.

Standard Buttercream Recipe

1/3 cup white Crisco shortening, softened

1/3 cup stick butter or margarine, softened

4-6 tablespoons cream, unwhipped (you can use half and half or milk)

Pinch of salt

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

Ina a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat together shortening and butter. Add whipping cream, salt and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth (about 2 -3 minutes). Add in sifted powdered sugar, gradually, beat well until smooth and fluffly. To reach the consistency you need, you may need to add more confectioner’s sugar or cream. Add food coloring and blend well. Remember, gel or paste coloring will darken over time.

Tweet This Post

Baking Contests, Cakes, Cupcakes, Parties, Products, Recipes, frosting

5 Comments - Leave a comment!

Print This Post

Written on January 19, 2010 by Kate

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

I love when talented crafters, artists, and baking bloggers put their fabulous creations out there for the rest of us to enjoy, at little or no cost. Next week, I’ll be sharing some ideas and printables for kids valentines, but today here are a few ideas that grown-ups will love too…

Kathleen’s blog Twig and Thistle is one of my favorites! For Valentine’s she created theses adorbale apple pie boxes . You can print out the template, read how to put it together, and even get the apple pie recipe on her blog. She also created the graphic on the top right to make Valentine brownie bags. It’s been updated at her site with the 2010 year. This is a great one when you have to make something for multiple people in your life. Make a batch of brownies, print a bunch of these and voila – you saved a lot of time running around, a lot of money, plus you can eat any left-overs.
For just a few dollars on Etsy, you can get printables and directions on how to make these festive paper fortune cookies. And they’re calorie-free!
Ez over at Creature Comforts, another great blogger, regularly shares her creations with her readers. She made these Valentine tea bags (bottom right). You can print-out the template and read the tutorial on putting them together on her blog. Wouldn’t these be perfect for co-workers or girlfriends? She also has free printable Valentine candy bar wrappers. Buy your valentine his favorite candy bar, add a cute wrapper, and you’re done!

P.S. I just visited Twig & Thistle this morning. Go check out the new Valentine’s bag printable Kathleen posted, it’s beautiful!

Hope you’re inspired… I know I am!

Tweet This Post

Favors, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Other, Parties

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Print This Post

Written on January 11, 2010 by Kate

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

No, it’s not me. I am not the party planner – that would be the woman on the other side of the world, spending 21 days traveling through Vietnam, China, Thailand, and who knows where else. A couple of days after she comes back, she is hosting a baby shower – only my Queen of Entertaining mom could handle this. The week before she left, she was scrambling trying to get everything ready to go.

She asked if I had any ideas on a theme and I told her I’ve been loving the adorable owls that are everywhere. We have been purchasing owls for the past 15 years or so for my sister, whose sorority, Chi Omega’s symbol is an owl. We have tortured her with owls, but these cute little pink, multi-colored, adorable owls were not available until recently. I think she might have enjoyed these ones!

My mom asked if I would create an invitation and help with the pre-party details. My first stop was Etsy. Do you all know about Etsy, the online crafter’s haven? I’m sure it is to blame for many online shopping addictions. Etsy has favors, jewelry, clothes, housewares, scrapbook supplies, baking goods, and so much more. If someone can make it, it’s probably for sale on the site. One of my favorite finds are from the graphic artists. Tracey Ann Digital Art had the cutest pdf. file of owls I’ve ever seen (on the left). For a few dollars, she emailed it to me and I cut and pasted the graphics in Photoshop to create an invitation. These owls are also perfect for valentine tags, cards, and cupcake toppers!

With a quick search for owls on Etsy, a ton of items came up. Some of my favorites are in the collage above. I loved the Valentine’s card with owls and a wiener dog from one crafter. I’m telling you, whatever you can imagine, you will find. The owl sugar cookies in the collage above are a great idea for party favors, as our the little pocket mirrors which are easy to find. I love the stuffed owls. They would be adorable party decor. I’ll post more details later.

Tweet This Post

Favors, Gift Ideas, Parties, Products

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

Print This Post

Written on December 29, 2009 by Kate

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Have you seen chocolates with pretty patterns on them in fancy chocolate stores and wondered how they were made? The technique involves using chocolate transfers. With a little practice, they’re simple to use and can dress up cakes, cookies, chocolates, and can garnish just about any dessert you come up with. Chocolate transfers are acetate sheets, embossed with cocoa butter and powdered food coloring. They come in hundreds of patterns and can be used with white or dark chocolate. I love their versatility and their ability to create a “wow” factor on something as simple as an Oreo.

Every year I make a batch of chocolate peanut butter truffles, (okay, technically not truffles - a peanut butter rice krispy filling covered in chocolate, but I choose not to be technical and will keep calling them truffles. It sounds fancier.) For New Year’s treats, I’ve used the same recipe, just changed the shape to accesorize it with this snowflake chocolate transfer. I also dipped Oreos in chocolate and added the same snowflake design to the top. To add a little variety, I garnished a few with white chocolate snowflakes and the new year numerals 2-0-1-0 using this technique.

Here is a quick how-to on using chocolate transfers on peanut butter truffles.

(skip to step #3 if using cookies.)

1. Make up a batch of the peanut butter truffle filling. Cover a 9″ X 13″ pan with parchment paper, allowing the edges to hang over the pan. Then spread the filling in the pan over the parchment paper and refrigerate.

2. Once cold and pretty solid, pull up sides of parchment paper and remove the filling from the pan. Used a small square cookie cutter to make peanut butter squares (a knife works too if you cut in straight lines). Put in the freezer to harden up.

3. Cut chocolate transfer paper a little larger than the candy or cookie you are covering. Melt chocolate or candy coated wafer in the microwave in a small bowl, removing every 30 seconds to stir. Once melted, dip squares in chocolate. Remove with a fork, shaking a little to allow the excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl.

4. Affix the chocolate transfer piece, embossed side (rough side) down and pat down on candy or cookie to make sure the transfer has fully adhered to the chocolate, and to pop any air bubbles that might have formed.

5. Put back in the fridge with the transfer sheet on top for 20 minutes. Then remove from the fridge and peel transfer squares off.

Where to find Chocolate Transfers:

Fancy Flours

Sugar Craft

Country Kitchen Sweetart

Shop Baker’s Nook

Chocolate transfers are perfect for Valentine’s Day Treats! Prince Charming will definitely be impressed. Look how Melody at Sweet and Saucy garnished cupcakes. And if you haven’t checked out her blog, you must and if you live in Southern Cal, visit her bakery in Long Beach… She’s an inspiration!

Tweet This Post

Candy, Holidays, Products, Tips, chocolate, cookies

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Print This Post

Written on December 23, 2009 by Kate

2 Comments - Leave a comment!

I usually bring a bottle of wine to a dinner party, but this Christmas called for something more festive. If you follow my blog, you’ve probably figured out that I love a sweet martini. The sky is the limit when it comes to what you choose to infuse. Walk down the liquor aisle of your grocery store and you’ll be amazed by the number of flavored vodkas that are out there. But nothing on the shelf will compare to the flavor you can achieve by making your own infusions. Here’s how to start…

Step #1 Decide what to infuse

People make all kinds of infusions. For this batch, I wanted Christmas colors. I opted for the nostalgic Jolly Rancher and the more sophisticated cranberry-vanilla infusion Some other options…

Traditional

berries, pineapple, oranges, cherries, peaches, mangoes, cantaloupe, lemons, limes, grapefruits, cinnamon, ginger, herbs, garlic, peppers, mint, vanilla beans, almond, mint, chlli peppers, lemongrass

Creative (You may call them weird, I call them creative)

Skittles, Jolly Ranchers, bubblegum, candy corn, candy canes, caramel, Pop Rock, jalapenos, and even bacon. The last two don’t appeal to me, but maybe they will to you.

Step #2 Gather supplies

You first need a glass jar to infuse with. (See picture next to step#3)The key is to have something large enough with a tight seal. There are special infusion jars, but you probably have something in your kitchen already.

It is important to select the right kind of vodka. Don’t go cheap. Inexpensive vodka can leave a bad after-taste. There is also no need to spend the big bucks. Don’t waste your Grey Goose on infusions. Most of the flavor will come from what you’re infusing, so a medium grade vodka is your best bet.

You also need to find bottles to show off your infusions. Crate and Barrel, Ikea, and Pier One are pretty much guaranteed to have something. I checked all of those places and then came across a website that was the cheapest even when I counted in the cost of shipping. The bottles I used were on a special sale at Save-On-Crafts.com . Another great online site to checkout is SpecialtyBottle.com .

Step #3 Infuse

Mix the vodka and your infusion ingredient in your infusion jar. Shake once or twice and keep it in a cool place.

Step #4 Be patient

The next step is to wait while the magic happens. I shake my infusion mixture once a day. Most recipes will infuse between two and five days. Citrus fruits, candy, and strongly flavored ingredients tend to infuse more quickly. Softly flavored ingredients (vanilla, ginger) will need more time.

Once you think it is ready, try a taste. But, remember that some flavored vodkas will not taste very good straight. Jolly Rancher vodka definitely needs a mixer.

Step #5 Strain Away

Now here comes the fun part – straining. Depending on what you infuse, this can be a very important step. Some candy will dissolve within a day or two. Most infusions will require you to strain with cheesecloth or the vodka will be cloudy. The cranberry vanilla vodka infusion required me to strain several times. I first separated the cranberries and kept the nice looking ones for garnish. I then used cheesecloth and strained a few more times. It was worth the time it took. The result was clear and a beautiful Christmas red color.

Step#6 Don’t Forget the Gift Tag

If you’re giving you’re infusion as a gift, attach a gift tag that provides the recipient with a recipe. I was thrilled when I came across vintage Christmas tags on Etsy. One of the tags had Santa toasting – perfect, or what? I paid a few bucks through Paypal and shortly after received an email with a pdf file of the tags attached. I cropped it in Photoshop and made multiple copies of the Santa Cocktail tag. I printed the recipes on the same size paper and then backed them on black heavy-weight paper. To add a little pizzazz, I dipped a small paintbrush in glue and painted a few of the details on the Santa tag. I then sprinkled Martha Stewart’s gold glitter on and shook off the excess, and set them aside to dry. To get the remaining sparkles off, I took a dry paintbrush and brushed over the tag.

Voila! That’s how easy it is! Cheers to a Merry Christmas!

See recipes below

Green Apple Jolly Rancher Infusion

30 Green Apple Jolly Ranchers

750mL bottle of medium-grade vodka (3 cups)

Combine ingredients in infusion jar and stir to break up the candy. Seal the jar and place in a cool location. The candy will dissolve within 1-2 days. Your infusion will be ready.

Holly Jolly Cocktail

Pour two shots of Jolly Rancher martini in a highball glass filled with ice. Mix this with ginger ale, 7up, or Sprite to taste

Cranberry-Vanilla Vodka Infusion