Last week my friend Nina and I set up a table at the Embassy Holiday Bazaar. I was pretty skeptical that we would sell much but we went into it knowing that at least we would have an afternoon out of the house to chat! A couple of months ago I was trying to get all crafty to sell crafts, it was fun but about 10 unfinished crafts into it I decided I should just focus my energies on baked goods and stocking stuffers. I thought I would include all of the recipes I used in case anyone is looking for some holiday treats or super cheap stocking stuffers!!

For the stocking stuffers I made homemade playdough…to give them a holiday twist I made 3 kinds-Cinnamon Spice, Peppermint and hot chocolate.  I used this recipe that I have shared before and I added to it food coloring (red for the cinnamon and green for peppermint) and spice or extract, cinnamon or peppermint respectively. For the cocoa playdough I used this recipe. The cocoa does the work of coloring and adding scent so no need to add anything else! I threw in a few sprinkles while I was cooking it to give it some holiday bling!

I bought a few silicone molds and made red and green sidewalk chalk…Easy, peasy and kids love it! I used this recipe for the homemade chalk.

For the baked goods I made Cranberry Orange Bread. You can find the recipe here.

And Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. You can find the recipe here. I loved this recipe because it yielded 3 loaves and with the smaller foil pans I was able to get 4 out of one recipe!

For cookies I chose to use this recipe for Pumpkin Gingersnaps that I posted earlier in the fall. I think the name is a bit decieving…they are more like pumpkin snickerdoodles.

And to top off the sweets I made Mint Oreo Truffles and regular Oreo Truffles. I used this recipe but I know there are lots out there. I actually never got to try one but they sold out first and people kept coming looking for them.

I sold out and only wished I had made more!!  And for those of you that may be rolling your eyes thinking I must be overloaded with free time…I am not!  My baking day happened to be the day I took my grandmother to the airport. We got stuck in Zurich far longer than expected and when I did get to baking Owen cheerfully stripped the bottom half of the Christmas tree and cleaned the bathroom with the toilet bowl brush.  It was a comical scene around here! So roll up your sleeves and make something festive. It’s good for the soul…even if it isn’t good for the Christmas tree!!