Food: Christmas Crack

Christmas Crack: AKA Poor Man's Toffee

One of the things that I love most about the winter holiday season is baking treats for my friends and family. Several years ago, I hosted a cookie swap party. Everyone was to bring their favorite cookie (or candy) along with enough recipe copies to share. It was so much fun! Not only did I enjoy an evening with dear friends, I also enjoyed many treats. Yum! 

One of the treats shared that night, was Christmas Crack, also known as Saltine Toffee or Poor Man's Toffee. It was delicious. Imagine my pleasant surprise after reading its recipe and discovering it was so simple to make. 

Over the years, I have made a few changes to the original recipe. So, today, I want to share my family's version of Christmas Crack:

Christmas Crack

You will need:

 * about 35 saltine crackers

 * 2 sticks of unsalted butter (1 cup)

 * 1 cup of brown sugar

 * 2 cups of milk chocolate baking morsels (you can substitute semisweet, if desired)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line a 9 x 15 jellyroll pan with waxed paper. Arrange saltine crackers in pan. 

Heat butter and sugar in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 3-5 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken and bubble. Pour evenly over saltines in prepared pan.

Bake pan in oven for 5 minutes.

After removing pan from oven, sprinkle chocolate morsels evenly over crackers. Allow to stand for about 3-4 minutes (or until chocolate is melted). Spread chocolate over crackers. 

Allow pan to cool, and then cool completely in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Once cooled, remove from pan by sliding a spatula under the waxed paper. Then, peel paper from the bottom of crackers. Break crackers into pieces before serving. Be sure to keep in an air tight container for storing. 

DIY: Christmas Signs

Christmas Signs

With Christmas literally just around the corner, I wanted to share a few Christmas decorative signs I made the other day. 

As usual, I started with a few pieces of salvaged materials: two cupboard doors, and a square of pallet wood. After sanding the selected pieces, I simply painted a solid background and sanded them after they were dry. I drew my template designs on the boards with a washable craft pencil. Then, I painted the designs. After the designs were dry, I gave them a light sanding and a coat of furniture wax.

Holidays: Decorating the Historical Block Home

Decorating the Historical Block Home

For the past several years, my family and I have decorated a local historical home for a holiday open house. This home is located at a nearby state park, and it is one a several historical homes decorated for this event. Most of the homes are decorated for the Christmas season. However, the Block family, who were the original occupants of this home, were Jewish. As such, their home is decorated for Hanukkah. 

There are only three main rooms open to the public, so it's not a very big job. Besides, I truly enjoy this yearly ritual. The home's setting is remote and peaceful. With no electricity or passing traffic, working in the home gives you a feeling of being transported back in time.

I try to decorate the home simply: in keeping with the park's regulations and my own personal style.

Here a few photos from this year's finished product. I hope you enjoy!

The parlor is ready for spinning the dreidel.

This dreidel set was made by my husband many years ago.

It is a wooden set, perfect for little ones to enjoy.

The parlor's fireplace is decorated with evergreen, dried pomegranates, salt dough ornaments, and holly berry swags.

A close up of the parlor fireplace décor.

The front door was given a simple swag of cedar clippings, jasmine vine, magnolia leaves, and pinecones.

A simple blue grosgrain ribbon is the perfect finishing touch.

The dining room's fireplace is decorated with evergreen, blue ribbon, and golden walnuts.

The dining room table holds the menorah.

Only simple touches were needed here.

A centerpiece of blue grosgrain ribbon, cedar clippings, and golden walnuts compliment the home's Blue Willow collection.

The kitchen table is set for a light tea.

I must admit, my tea set does look lovely after a good polish.

DIY: Repurposed Doorway Casing

Repurposed Doorway Casing

My husband and I often pick up salvaged materials. To me, every piece is unique and beautiful to behold: even the broken ones. This has always made it very difficult for me to part with even the less than perfect items. However, I don't believe in keeping things just for the sake of keeping them. This project was born from my desire to find use for even the imperfect of items.

I used a salvaged piece of doorway casing. It was from a much larger piece, but it had suffered from rot on one end. Instead of throwing the whole thing away, I had my hubby cut off the damage. I must confess, he thought me mad for wanting it. After it was trimmed, I gave it a thorough sanding. Then, I just added a couple of hooks on the front and a sawtooth hanger on the back. 

I think it looks lovely. An added bonus, the top ledge is wide enough for display!