25 Days Of Christmas~No Better Pair

Well, we had a GREAT Christmas today (since we celebrated early due to hubby's work schedule)!

The kiddos each got Nintendo DS lites,......but not games (that's what we told grandparents they wanted :)

and a few other toys.

Hubby and I The girls had a great time playing with their toys after they opened them and are already asking about our next Christmases (we will be having 2 more!).

SO,......

I just can't help myself when it comes to hot cocoa flavored with candy cane!

So, when I was making up some cute gifts for friends and neighbors I HAD to find a way to combine the two :)

So, I covered the tops of some "freecycled" jars and filled them mostly with hot cocoa mix.

Then, I made up a batch of candy cane mini marshmallows and topped off the jar with those!

To cover the lid of the jar, I started by painting the tops white since most of them were dark colors.

Then, I cut some cute tissue paper a little bigger than the lid and mod podged it on. I topped that off with 2 more coats of MP.

For the marshmallows, I followed this recipe from Our Best Bites (did you see they gave away a Blendtec blender?!?!?!?! How did I miss that one!), but used 1/2 tsp each of vanilla and peppermint extract.

Then, since I liked the look of Martha's so much (but not so much the recipe), I swirled red into mine.

Wait till the very last......right after it finishes on the mixer, fold in around 1/2~1 tsp of red food coloring. You need to do this quickly and then pour it into your prepared pan.

I also used a cookie sheet since I wanted them to be on the thinner side. It makes it easier to cut into mini pieces or for cutting into shapes.

Then, you just use your handy~dandy pizza cutter to cut the sheet up.

I really liked the cute little candy cane shapes, and let the kiddos help cut some of those.

Make sure you roll your pizza cutter or cookie cutter in the cornstarch/powdered sugar mix after each cut.

AND toss the finished ones in the mix too.

Those marshmallows are STICKY!!

This batch made 2 big bowls full of minis!

Now toss them into the jar filled with cocoa.....

AND

Finish the jars with some cute ribbon and a tag....

AND

voila!!

You have some cute and yummy to hand out to all your friends.

Have fun!