Making Winter Fun!

The weather is definitely not getting any warmer as 2012 kicks off... all I want to do is cuddle up under the heat vent and munch on some yummy winter snacks.

To spice up the winter season, I thought I'd whip up some winter snackies and send them to our family and friends- I came across a few simple recipes for tasty goodies in a magazine and I chose 3 that seemed particularly mouth watering (to me at least) ~~

* Ranch popcorn mix

* Butterscotch chocolate bark

* Peanut butter oatmeal cookies

For the popcorn mix, the recipe was: -1 cup of kernels

                                                 -3/4 cup of canola oil

                                                 -1 packet of powder ranch

                                                 -2 tbsp butter

                                                 -1 cup cheese crackers

                                                 -1 cup of mini pretzels

It was the first time for me to pop popcorn the traditional way.  It was exciting at first, but after standing and shaking the pot frequently for about half an hour until I heard a single pop, I wished I had just popped a few bags in the microwave instead, especially after realizing that they didn't taste spectacularly different. (I was expecting a popcorn sensation)

For the butterscotch bark, the recipe said: -1 cup butterscotch chips

                                                         -1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

                                                         -1/2 cup dried fruit

I added 1 cup of white chocolate chips to the recipe and used 1/2 cup of dried cranberries for fruit.  Just melt the chips separately (by flavor), spoon them randomly on wax paper, swirl with a spatula, sprinkle the cranberries, and refrigerate! Super easy!

For the peanut butter oatmeal cookies: I just followed this recipe (it was easier than the one in the magazine)

My favorite part of this whole thing is the wrapping/presentation part of it! 

I put each snack in a plastic goody bag and tied them with a variety of red and white ribbons to give a cute emballage.

I found these adorable popcorn tins, but I realized that the popcorn bags I made were way too small for them, so I filled the bottom third of the tin with tissue.  I chose tissue colors that went with each color tin.

All I needed was a cute and different way to sign a little note to go with the assortment.

So, when I found these teensy photo frames, I thought putting a little message in the frame would be the perfect way to be creative with a simple note!

These were extremely fun to make, and finding everything to go together was the best!  

bm