sweet snowy gifts (gingerbread snowflake ornaments and snowman cocoa jars)

I made a batch of gingerbread snowflake ornaments for cookie gifts this year, and since no one can escape my newfound love of painting marshmallows, I ended up adding a mason jar o' warmth to go with them.

I used a gingerbread cookie recipe from Williams-Sonoma (link provided below), then filled a mason jar with snowman marshmallows and hot cocoa. I added a recipe tag, slapped on a sticker and all done.



how to make gingerbread snowflake ornaments

you will need
gingerbread recipe
frosting
snowflake cutter (mine was about 2 1/2 inches)
straw
one frosting bag, coupler and size "3" tip
white frosting color
white sanding sugar or sprinkles
thin ribbon
cellophane favor bags

what to do
Prepare gingerbread recipe. Roll about 1/4-inch thick and place on parchment paper lined baking tray. Make holes with the straw and bake as directed by the recipe. Let cool. Tint frosting white and prepare a frosting bag with size 3 tip. Fill with white frosting and tie closed with a rubber band. Working with one cookie at a time, pipe snowflake designs and immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar or sprinkles. Let dry overnight.

To package, string ribbon through several cookies and tie. Place the cookies in a cellophane bag and tie closed with another piece of ribbon.



how to make snowman hot cocoa mason jars

you will need
mason jars
marshmallows
black and orange edible pens (I suggest Americolor gourmet writers)
hot cocoa mix
cellophane favor bags
tags, stickers and ribbon (optional)

what to do
use markers to make snowman faces on marshmallows. Let dry about an hour. Fill a favor bag with some hot cocoa mix (I used about a cup) and twist closed with a tie. (I used the favor bag instead of putting right in the jar to keep things tidy, but you can also just add the mix right to the jar.) Place the favor bag of cocoa in the jar with the tied area in the middle at the top. Place marshmallows around the top of the cocoa facing out of the jar. Close with lid.

If desired, add your own personalized sticker to the top of the jar, or attach a tag with the cocoa recipe using a piece of card stock, a hole punch and a piece of ribbon.


another mason jar idea
And here's another bonus idea for your leftover mason jars: pretzel rods. I used small pretzel rods, dip in melted white chocolate and coated with sprinkles. These mini rods fit perfectly in the jar.