Welcome to three kids and a fish Countdown to Christmas! Throughout the month of December I will be sharing a holiday recipe, a holiday kid creation, and a holiday life lesson in each Thursday post! Be sure to check back on Fridays for my holiday edition of Fabulous Find Friday!
Thanks for hanging out with us as we count down to Christmas!
Candy Cane Coffee Cake
This candy cane shaped sweet bread is filled with fruit goodness and is perfect for anytime of day! You can use any type of preserves, dried fruit, and added extras like nuts and chocolate chips depending on your taste! Cozy up with a warm mug of your fave hot beverage and a nice slice of my slightly tweaked Pampered Chef’s Candy Cane Coffee Cake.
Coffee Cake
- 1 16-ounce package of hot roll mix
**
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup very warm milk
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries
- 1/2 cup apricot preserves
- 1 tablespoon water
Glaze
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons milk
- 1 TBL cream cheese
**Sooo…I went to the grocery store for the ingredients and I forgot the hot roll mix!You can find hot roll mix in the baking aisle! I improvised and did my sweet roll dough in the bread machine, and it worked out fabulous! So if you forget the hot roll mix,or you want to make this recipe a bit simpler here is the sweet roll dough for the bread machine.
Sweet Roll Dough for the Bread Machine
1 egg room temp. plus enough water to equal one cup
3 TBL oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
OK…back to the recipe 🙂
Preheat oven to 375°F. For coffee cake, combine hot roll mix, yeast packet and granulated sugar in a bowl. Separate 1 egg white from yolk; reserve white. Add milk, butter, whole egg and egg yolk to a bowl. Stir until mixture forms a ball.
Turn dough out onto well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead dough 5 minutes. Sprinkle additional flour over surface as needed to reduce stickiness. Cover; let dough rest 5 minutes.
Chop pecans; combine with the dried fruit in a bowl. Place dough in center of lightly floured rectangle stone; roll into 12 x 15-inch.
Cut 1-inch-wide strips on each side of fruit filling to within 1/2 inch of filling. Lift strips of dough across filling to meet in center, twisting each strip one turn; pinch together in center to seal. Tuck ends up to seal.
Lightly beat egg white with 1 tablespoon water; brush over dough using a Pastry Brush. Bake 20-23 minutes or until deep golden brown.
For glaze, mix powdered sugar,milk, and cream cheese until smooth; drizzle over warm coffee cake. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into 1-inch slices. Enjoy 🙂
Christmas Cards
One of our favorite things about this time of year is checking the mailbox everyday for Christmas cards! Our kids tear open each envelope to see updated pictures of family and friends who we don’t get to see very often, read the letters, and yes look to see if there are any gift cards or money inside!
I found this great make your own card kit in the dollar bin at Target and I thought that it would be a great way for the kids to create a card, get practice addressing an envelope, and allow someone else to get that great feeling of receiving a card in the mail!
This time of year all sorts of stickers, glitter, glue on things are available to add to paper and make a card to brighten someones day!
It’s better to give than receive!
How many times have you heard that little catch phrase spoken…now that I am a Mom I find myself saying this very phrase quite often! My hubby and I have begun to instill this life lesson in our kiddies from very early on. One of the best ways to teach that its better to give than receive is to live it out,put it into action!
Each year our church participates in Operation Christmas Child! We go shopping for the things needed and then help prep to pack the boxes. Our family worship space is then transformed into a workshop where we get the opportunity to fill a shoebox with toiletries, toys, paper, crayons, candy and more for a boy or girl. It is so amazing to be a part of the excitement as kids and adults of all ages come together to prepare gifts for children that would otherwise go without. Once the boxes are put together they are shipped to North Carolina for inspection and from there there are personally delivered to children around the world.
To get the full scoop on how you can get involved with Operation Christmas Child visit their website: www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation–christmas–child/
Now its your turn to share…do you have any fave holiday recipes, kid creations, and life lessons?
Be sure to stop by tomorrow as I feature my first edition of Holiday Fabulous Find Friday!
