Holiday Treats

My mom has always prepared little tins of our holiday treats to give to the neighbors. I decided that I want to start the same tradition in our new home. (I didn't have tins, so I used cellophane and gift bags.) What surprised me is how surprised two of the families were. They're two very generous families and it surprised me that it would surprise them that I give something back.

Regardless of my neighbors' reactions, I thought I'd share with you what I made.

I gave everyone cake batter truffles, about which I've already done a post.

I also made two kinds of sweet popcorn, which I found at Your Home-Based Mom.

First, I made her White Chocolate Popcorn. I must admit that we cannot afford real white chocolate chips and that I used the Meijer brand "Vanilla" chips that everyone just assumes are white chocolate. And really, when they're not side by side, who can tell the difference? I also doubled the M&Ms and ditched the peanuts. Partly because it's a common allergy, partly because we didn't have any, and partly because I just didn't want them ruining my popcorn. Other than those things, I followed her recipe to the T. (Or rather "y", since that's the last letter in her recipe.)

Second, I made her S'mores Popcorn, which she posted on Thirty Handmade Days as a guest blogger. For this one, I wanted to use regular microwave popcorn, like we did for the white chocolate popcorn. Not only did I not have popping corn, Karo syrup, or patience, ... well, that's actually the only reason why I didn't use caramel corn. So, I measured how much one bag of microwave popcorn makes when popped and then made three bags of the stuff. I used this as the base instead of caramel corn. Everything else I did the same.

After I had all these delicious treats made, I searched for cellophane. My mom always puts her treats in cute little tins with wax paper layers separating them, but I didn't have tins and I had a great idea for cellophane bags. Turns out cellophane is super expensive everywhere except the Dollar Tree. You can get nearly the same amount on a roll as at Meijer, except for $1 instead of $3.50. I got clear and red. I cut squares large enough to hold the treats, poured in whatever amount I wanted, drew all the corners together, and then tied it off with a ribbon. I added a label tag and then tied a bow.

I really wish I had taken pictures of my treats because they were exceptionally cute.

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

Love and Chocolate,

Leah Joy