Category Archives: Gifts

Ghirardelli Chocolate Brownies

Posted on by

This is the same recipe used in the “Ghirardelli Chocolate Brownie Mason Jars” post. I decided to post it by itself so the friends and family who received the brownie mix can make it again on their own.

brownies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups White Sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract (fun fact: if you don’t have vanilla extract you can substitute it with maple syrup!)
1 Stick Butter (Melted)
2 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat eggs separately, then mix all ingredients a large bowl.

3. After you’ve mixed it well, transfer to a greased 9×9 baking dish.

4. Bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes.

The original recipe before my tweaks can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/brookes-best-bombshell-brownies

Advertisement

Movie Night Kit

Posted on by

My coworker, Virginia, loves to make her own popcorn while her husband is out of town on work trips. For her Christmas gift I decided to make her a movie night kit for while her husband, Brian, was out of town. It was super easy to throw together and I’ve attached links to everything I bought!


movie night

 

What I used:

1. Popcorn Bowl- World Market, $9.99

2. Haribo Gummy Bears- Found at most convenience stores for around $2

3. Dean Jacobs Old Fashioned Popcorn Kit-  Soupbase, $11.95

4. White Cheddar Popcorn Seasoning- I bought it from William Sonoma for around $5 but it’s no longer available. You can find seasoning anywhere.

5. A bottle of Prosecco (because it’s her favorite)

6. A Redbox gift card would also be a nice touch! (I was putting this together last minute so I didn’t have time to do that)

For the Sign, I printed it out then glued it to a piece of red construction paper. I taped it to the top part of a bendy straw, shoving the longer part into the bowl filled with raffia. This made it stand out and move where I wanted it!

She already had a popcorn maker convenient for the microwave but I saw this one and thought it was awesome! It’s glass so you don’t have to worry about what chemicals might be coming off the plastic containers. It’s $22.50 at William Sonoma, click the picture to see it on their website.

 

img24c

Milly’s Pumpkin Dog Treats

Posted on by

I made these dog treats for my dog, Milly’s first birthday as favors. I recommended everyone keep them in their freezer to preserve them longer, since they only last as long as human cookies. Everyone said their dogs couldn’t get enough! It’s pretty simple and the smaller your cookie cutter the further your treats will go.

millys treats

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 can pumpkin
4 tbsp. dry milk
1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups whole wheat flour

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin. After you’ve mixed it well, add the dry milk and salt.

3.  Gradually add the flour while mixing.

4.  Once you’ve mixed everything together, move the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it out. Using your cookie cutter, cut your cookies out and put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Ball up whats left of your dough and roll it out, cutting more until you run out.

5.  Bake cookies for 20 minutes. Remove the sheet and flip them over, then bake for 20 more minutes.

dog treats

dogtreatss

 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Brownie Mason Jars

Posted on by

I made these as Christmas gifts this year for close friends and family. I found one of the top rated brownie recipes on allrecipes.com, cut the portion in half to fit a quart size mason jar, and made the labels on Avery.com

christmasbrownie

What you’ll need

1 Quart size mason jar with lid (I bought cases of 12 online, Kmart has the cheapest if you sign up for the free membership but otherwise Michaels has individual ones)
Ribbon
Paper for labels, or look into Avery products for easy design and printing
Measuring cups and spoons
5 Paper plates (or a Funnel if you have one)
Metal Spoon

Ingredients for Jars

1 1/2 cups White Sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips (feel free to use more to fill the jar up completely)

Directions

1.  Measure out each ingredient onto individual paper plates.

2.  Fold the plates to create a funnel and pour in each layer. The order I used was 1) Sugar 2) Cocoa Powder 3) Flour 4) Salt 5) Chocolate Chips. After each layer, use your metal spoon to try to even it out and make a smooth line. Flour and Cocoa are the hardest because it sticks to the sides, just make sure you funnel those in as far as you can so it lands in the middle so you can spread it out.

3.  Just add your ribbon and label and you’re done! Don’t forget to add the rest of the directions.

Directions for baking

You will need:
Brownie Mix
3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Stick Butter (Melted)
2 eggs
1 9×9 baking dish

Instructions:
1. Mix jar contents in a large bowl.
2. Add 1 stick melted butter, 3 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 2 beaten eggs and mix.
3. After you’ve mixed it well, transfer to a greased baking pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes.

The original recipe before my tweaks can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/brookes-best-bombshell-brownies