thimbly things

As it turns out, the tension rod in the kitchen is too long for the little nook in the bathroom.  I think I’ll just take my time and ponder the possibilities of my new fabric before I jump in.  I always have that initial excitement that makes me a bit irrational with new crafting supplies.  But if I sit on my ideas and materials for too long, I don’t do anything.  Hopefully blogging about all this will help me be both productive and rational all at once…

Speaking of productivity, while Evan had a Super Smash Bros. Wii party last night, I entertained the girls and finished a WIP.  These little blossoms are from Pretty Knits by Susan Cropper (another great library find!).

The pattern is for a brooch, but I used larger needles than called for (#6) and made a bouquet instead.

These are intended as decoration for my upcoming baby shower (hence my silly rhyming title).  Though some friends are throwing it for me, I can’t let go of the opportunity to make lots and lots of stuff.  I’m now obsessing over favors, but I must keep those a secret.

I will tell you that I’m making Cream Cheese Mints to freeze for the party.  With only 4 ingredients (2 of which are sugar…), they are delicious and addictive.  Thanks to my dear friend Page, who introduced me to these years ago.  If I remember correctly, the recipe goes like this:

1 bag powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 8 oz.  block cream cheese
several drops oil of peppermint (to taste)
food coloring (optional)

*You’ll also need a candy mold, though you could just smoosh the mints between your fingers if you don’t have one.  I found my mold at Michaels, where I also found oil of peppermint in a set with other candy flavorings.

Combine powdered sugar and cream cheese.  This gets tough, but you just have to get your hands dirty.  Then add mint to your liking.  Don’t overdo it though!  And, as Page always said, you must use oil of peppermint and not mint extract!   Just keep tasting it until you know it’s right.  At this stage, you can also add a drop or two of food coloring.

The next part is time-consuming, and you should probably enlist the help of a friend or two.  With cream cheese concoction thoroughly mixed and a bowl of granulated sugar, pinch off quarter-sized bits of mixture, roll in your hands, coat in sugar, and then press into candy mold.  The granulated sugar should help in removing the mints from the mold.  If you have trouble releasing them, try sprinkling sugar into the mold before pressing mints into it.

Set mints out on a paper towel or plate to dry for an hour or two.  Once dried to your liking, you can freeze them for your upcoming party where they’re sure to be a hit!  Just try not to eat them all in the meantime.

OK, Page, did I get all that right?  I hope so, since I’ll be making some quite soon!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pm and is filed under Crafting, Food, Knitting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.