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    When you have 22 people together on a trip to Disneyland, it isn't very feasible to buy everyone all of the fun and delicious looking treats that they will see and want in the park!  So, Maddy and I planned in advance how we could make the food part of the trip less expensive, keeping in the Disney theme, fun and delicious all at the same time.  Here is what we did: 

• Maddy had asked for and received this Mickey Mouse Waffle Iron for Christmas from Alicia and her family.  So, in advance of going to Disneyland, we made waffles, both regular and gluten free and froze them to eat on our first morning in our house.  We also had juice, fruit and sausage or vegan bacon to go along with the waffles (and syrup).  It was a great way to start our first morning and add to the excitement and anticipation of actually going inside the park. 
• Using Mickey Mouse Cookie Cutters, we made both vegan and regular Rice Krispy Treats that are also gluten free!  I dipped the regular treats' ears in white chocolate with sprinkles and then made the vegan ones with vegan marshmallows and dipped the ears in dark chocolate with sprinkles.  I had no waste because after cutting out as many Mickey heads as I could, I used the scraps to form the heads using the cutter like a mold.  We added sucker sticks and held them in place with a bit more chocolate.  Food on a stick always seems festive! Finally, I wrapped them individually in treat bags.  They came out so cute! 

• We wanted some healthy snacks as well as treats, so I made a big batch of our favorite trail mix recipe.  But, since one of my grandsons is allergic to peanut butter, I left out the peanut butter chips and added more regular M & Ms.  Also, I added Mickey Mouse shaped Goldfish Crackers!  Had to stay with the theme! I bagged up separate bags full for everyone to take into the park.
• Tigger Tail Pretzels were a big hit with my granddaughter Jayda! I used the left over white chocolate that I had dipped the Mickey Mouse ears and colored it orange.  I dipped long pretzel rods in the chocolate in it, leaving a bare handle of pretzel at the bottom.  I sprinkled orange decorating sugar over that and used dark chocolate to pipe diagonal Tigger stripes.  When they were dry, I packaged them in long pretzel bags. These were perfect to munch on in the line to the Winnie the Pooh ride. 
• Lindsey made us macarons that I decorated like Mike from Monster's Inc. and some with Minnie polka dots. I filled some with a lemon-strawberry filling and some with chocolate. 
• I made Mickey Mouse Oreos by making red and white fondant and making his pants on the Oreo and using mini Oreos for Mickey's ears. I forgot to take pictures.  But you can google them and get the idea.  Most of the ones I found on line were dipped in Candy Melts, but I just applied a half circle of fondant and cut out the white buttons with a straw.  I also found that the Mega Stuff Oreos were great for giving room to stick in the ears.  Otherwise, you have to stick them to the back of the head with frosting or chocolate.  
• I also made big round sugar cookies with a Winnie the Pooh or Piglet shaped cookie sandwiched on top with chocolate frosting in between.  Then I piped decorations all around.  They came out super cute and I bagged them individually for the kids.  (Once again, I forgot to take pictures.) I couldn't find the cookie cutters that I have of the Pooh characters, but these would work great. 

Besides making all of those treats, we also found fruit snacks with Frozen and Toy Story themes, Yogurt Shakes with a Star Wars theme and Disney themed breakfast cereals for day 2.  The kids ended up drinking the Yogurt Shakes at the house before leaving.  Snacks without a Disney theme included Handi-Snack Bread Sticks with cheese and Fig Bars from Costco. There were plenty of snacks for everyone!  We even had some left over for the ride home and it cost so much less that the price of purchasing them in the park! I was able to freeze or refrigerate everything to keep them fresh until the trip.  Each day we set out the snacks for that day and everyone packed up what they needed for the day.  

So, if you are planning a big trip, plan ahead!  It was really a lot of fun to see what I could come up with and it was so great to see how happy the kids were to see all of those great snacks! Have you made some DIY Disney snacks that you can share with us?  We'd love to hear about them. 

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In case you've forgotten something about me, I've lived in France. A few times actually. The first time was as a law student. The second time was as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After I got back from law school I searched for a recipe to make those delicious macaron cookies. I found this lovely blog. The author is French! So, obviously, when she wrote blog post tutorials on how to make the French macaron cookie, I'm going to believe everything she says because she is French.

​I don't know if you know this, but French people invented food.

Anyway, I've made macarons a few times using Tartelette's recipe and tips to ensure the best outcome. I'm not a pro, but I've gotten pretty good at it.

Well, a couple of weeks ago my mom told me she was going to make macaron cookies like Mike from Monsters Inc. for us to take on our trip to Disneyland. Did she consult me on the recipe? Or ask me to help? NO!

She used a Tasty video. Ugh. Let's be honest guys, you enjoy watching those videos, but nothing turns out like they say it's going to. They do weird things like bake a cookie for 40 minutes. Like, how does that sound good?

​Well, I got over being offended and decided to make some cookies for her. I made a batch of green ones and then a batch of pink. My daughter wanted red, but I didn't add enough food coloring to make it red so they're pink. We're going to decorate them with polka dots and make them Minnie Mouse macarons.

I am going to share with you here how I make these cookies. It is all based off of Tartelette's recipe.

A few tips to get you started.

1. Use a digital scale.

The recipe is in grams, because it is French. A scale will ensure that you get your measurements just right. French macarons can be finicky little cookies, so you want to make sure you have your measurements right.

2. Leave your egg whites sitting out for at least 24 hours.

I know that might gross you out, but I assure you, you will be fine. Just do it.

3. Do not overbeat your egg whites.

When adding the sugar you want to beat them until they have a glossy shine like shaving cream. They hold their shape, but if you over beat them then your cookies will be hollow and not as good.

4. Use the Simple Home Creations Silicon mat to make them (linked below.) Alicia's family got it for me for Christmas one year. It is so nice because it helps ensure that my cookies turn out all the same size.

5. Finally, Tartelette uses an Ateco tip to make her cookies. I use Wilton's #12 size tip. A #10 works too, but I like #12 the best.

Okay, are you ready to make some French macaron cookies?

French Macaron

These delicious little French cookies are fun to make and so tasty! Recipe adapted from Tartelette.com
Ingredients:90 gr   Egg whites
25-50 gr White Sugar
110 gr Almond Meal
200 gr Powdered Sugar
Directions:Allow your egg whites to age in a bowl on the counter, loosely covered for 24-48 hours.
In a large mixing bowl sift together almond meal and powdered sugar
In a stand mixer beat egg whites until they are a bubble bath consistency.
Slowly add in sugar while continuing to beat eggs until they become a shaving cream consistency.
Fold in almond meal/powdered sugar mixture with whichever food
 Coloring you want to add. It should only take you a maximum of 50 strokes to mix in the almond mixture.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton’s #12 tip with the batter.
On a silicon mat, pipe out your cookies to about an inch and a half in diameter.
Let cookies sit for 30 minutes to an hour white you preheat the oven to 280 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool at least five minutes before removing them from the sheet.
After filling the cookies you can store them in the refrigerator. This will enhance their flavor.

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The recipe I am sharing today comes from my sister in law Korina. I honestly don't think I ever had ginger soft cookies before she married my brother and made them at Christmas. I had never thought of ginger cookies being soft, but, they are SO delicious!!! I asked if I could share the recipe here with you, and she said I could! This is our last recipe before Christmas and these cookies will be a hit at any holiday gathering you might be having. Fair warning, the recipe as is right now is already multiplied by 4. This makes A LOT of cookies, so don't double it unless you want to have enough cookies to feed everyone at the Sermon on the Mount.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Thank you for being part of this blog with us! Merry Christmas!

Korina's Gingersoft Cookies

For this recipe, you will need:

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    JUST TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! If you need something quick and easy to add to the Christmas platter, here are some 3 Ingredient Jam Thumbprints.  I made mine with Orange Cranberry Marmalade and they are delicious!  
      We have published a series of 3 Ingredient Cake Mix Cookies for our subscribers to have access to.  (Here is the post)  But, today we wanted to share these as a little Christmas Gift to you.  Any of those cookie varieties would be perfect on a Christmas platter, but these little thumbprints are extra special to me.  I have shared my regular thumbprint cookie recipe with you in the past, but these are a great alternative when time is short. 
      I originally made these cookies with a gluten-free cake mix.  But, if you make it with a regular mix, it will work just as well.  You may need to adjust the amount of pudding that you use in the mix because of the difference in texture. Here are more tips:
​

      These cookies will make a pretty and tasty addition to any cookie tray. Here is the recipe.