DIY Holiday

Gingerbread Nativity Scene
By Erin Fitzpatrick

Baking doesn’t have to be all doilies and Food Network and so-cute-I-want-to-stick-my-head-in-an-industrial-mixer. It’s a fun, cheap way to do something creative. Hence, the Drift Magazine Gingerbread in Florida Nativity Scene. Goofy? Yes. Awesome? Totally.

Follow these instructions and you can make a Gingerbread Jesus of your own!

Gingerbread (this is enough to make the whole scene)
1 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 ½ cup Molasses
2/3 cup Cold Water
7 cups All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground All Spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground clove
½ teaspoon salt

Mix flour, salt & spices in a bowl. In a large bowl mix sugar, shortening, molasses and water. Mix dry ingredients into the liquid. Mix thoroughly, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough ¼-inch thick on floured surface. Cut out pieces using a knife or cookie cutters. Put on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper about 1-2 inches apart. Bake 10 -12 minutes or until no indention remains when touched. Cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, ice and decorate.

Icing (this icing sets up hard and is used to glue the pieces together)
1 lb. Powdered Sugar
3 Egg Whites*
½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
Flavoring – a few drops vanilla, mint, almond etc.

Sift sugar into bowl. Add egg whites, cream of tartar and flavor. Beat until it holds its shape or a knife drawn through it leaves a clean cut. After beating cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap to prevent drying. Divide into smaller portions; mix in food coloring to desired color. Put in frosting bag & decorate!

*We use pasteurized eggs. If you don’t have those, there are recipes available online that “cook” the egg whites. Powdered whites are also an option.

Decorating tips
1)    PLANNING! Going back to the store for one thing S.U.C.K.S. This is top of the list for a reason. Check your cabinets for all of your ingredients, tools and space.
a.    Decide what you want to build and how much. You may want to sketch it out.
b.     Decide if you want it to last longer than one day. This determines how long you bake the cookies for and if you want gingerbread or artificial supports (clothespins work great for this).
c.    Consider whether you want more than icing for decoration.
d.    Make patterns for your pieces if you aren’t using cookie cutters.
e.    Think about where it is going to sit once you’ve put it all together.

2)    TIME. Once you have a plan, get ready to spend all day making your gingerbread. It will always take longer than you think. This also leaves room for disaster recovery – like running to the store a 10 p.m. to get all of the ingredients for the icing AGAIN because you botched the recipe. There is a lot of trial and error when baking unusual shapes. (That simple-looking umbrella took four tries to get it right.) Also, allotting more time gives you more time for cocktail breaks
3)    Bake in batches. Don’t try to cut out all of the pieces before you bake.
4)    Take breaks during the baking process. Getting frustrated with how things are coming out could lead to something pretty ugly. We also recommend cocktails. Not too many, but hey, a little peppermint schnapps in hot chocolate might help the creative juices.
5)    Spending the money on disposable frosting bags is worth it! When you’re done you don’t have to worry about clean up, just throw ‘em away.
6)    Decorate all of the individual pieces before “gluing” them together.
7)    Clean as you go. When you get to the end all you want to have to think about is eating gingerbread.
8)    Don’t make it perfect if you plan on letting people eat it. If it is too good you will get sad when someone rips the head off your Gingerbread Justin Timberlake.
9)    Make some just for yourself, just in case you want to rip the head off a Gingerbread Justin Timberlake.

Make Your Own
by Drift Staff

If it’s the thought that counts, handmade gifts reign supreme. What could be more thoughtful than taking the time and suffering through paper cuts and Superglued fingers to create a one-of-a-kind present?

Cards
Shop the scrapbooking section in one of the local craft stores to create your own sweet cards. If you’re trying to save money, remember to bring a calculator to add up how much you’re spending. All those cool things on the scrapbooking aisle can get expensive.

Ornaments
Let your imagination run wild. There are plenty of sites with different ornament ideas to get started. One of our favorites, I-Mockery, provides some hilarious instructions on how to combine clear glass balls, magazine clippings, and glitter glue for sheer holiday splendor: http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/custom-ornaments/

Picture frames
We aren’t talking macaroni here. You know your relatives are always asking for new picture of you. So give it in a customized frame. Check out this site for some tips: http://www.creativity-portal.com/howto/a/jessica-ackerman/ideas-decorating-wood-picture-frames.html

Mix CD
Each CD can be as individual as the person you are making it for. Score retro points for making a true mixtape.

Double-Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Dude, seriously, these are the freaking best cookies we have ever had. We are not kidding. If you don’t make these, Christmas is RUINED.

(This is for a double-batch that makes about 70 cookies total. You will need them.)
32 oz    Bittersweet chocolate, coursely chopped (Ghirardelli has jumbo chocolate chips that work well and require no chopping)
2 cups    All-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
6 tbl    Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
2 tsp    Baking powder
1 tsp    Course salt
2 sticks    Unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cup    Granulated sugar
1 cup    Packed light-brown sugar
4    Large eggs
2 tsp    Vanilla extract
1 cup    Dried cranberries (Craisins)

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds.
* Place 20 oz of chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over, not in, a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted and then set aside.
* In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
* In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in melted chocolate.
* With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined (do not over-mix).
* Fold in remaining chocolate and cranberries.
* Drop dough by large, rounded tablespoons (be generous) onto parchment-lined baking sheets, approximately 12 per sheet.
* Bake each batch until edges are dry and tops are cracked, approximately 12 minutes.  Rotate sheets halfway through baking.
* Remove from oven and let stand on sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool.
* Eat ridiculously cookies. Especially when they are still warm. We probably should have added milk to the ingredients, because you will need a glass to wash the awesomeness down.