Holiday Tips & Treats
We love the holidays here at All Around Town, and we thought why not share some of our staff’s favorite holiday tips and treats with you! No matter if you are just staying home with your family for a small Christmas together, or you have all the aunts and uncles headed your way for a house full of fun. We hope that some of these tips and treats will help you to have a wonderful and easy holiday season!
Below are some fun and easy treats you can make ahead of time that are sure to keep people happy and satisfy their sweet tooth.
Homemade Peppermint Bark:
2 packages of Almond Bark (Vanilla)
Peppermint Extract
Red food coloring
1 Package of Peppermint Candy Canes
This is so easy and fun to do with the kiddos, just follow the steps below!
Melt the Almond bark in a double boiler over light to medium heat.
While the Almond Bark is melting, crush up the candy canes (you are going to want small chunks, NOT powder)
Grab a cookie sheet and place wax paper over it, so the bark is easy to peel up once it hardens. Once its melted add the peppermint extract to your liking (I usually do 3-4 drops depending upon how strong I want the peppermint taste!)
After you get that tasting just the way you want to add 1/2 of the crushed up candy canes & red food coloring then stir.
I add 3-5 drops of food coloring to make it a pretty pink color
Then pour it over the wax paper on your cookie sheet.
Sprinkle the rest of the crushed candy canes over the top
Place in fridge to harden
Lastly just start breaking the bark up with your hands to make inconsistent pieces!!
Great to keep for yourselves or to give away as a Holiday Treat!!!
Homemade Meringue Cookies:
4 Egg Whites
½ Teaspoon of Cream of Tarter
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
Dash of Salt
1 Cup of Sugar
These are fun and easy!
Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except the sugar in mixer and mix until you form stiff peaks.
Gradually add in sugar while the mixer is on.
Once all is combined fill pipping bag and pipe on to baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 225 degrees for 1 hour, after an hour turn off the oven and leave cookies in oven to cool as the oven cools.
Eat and enjoy!
Friendly Reminders from your Friends at AAT:
Holiday Lighting: Holiday lighting is a fun and easy way to brighten up both the inside and outside of your home for the holidays. Come see us at our retail center where we have everything you need from LED decorations to custom length LED stands of lights. We can custom cut any length of lighting, so it fits perfectly to your home design. Then one of our holiday lighting experts can go over tips and tricks for installation, or if you like we can set up our team to install them for you! Either way stop in and see how we can take the hassle out of holiday lighting.
Gifts: Our homes goods area is stocked full of fun and unique holiday gifts for anyone on your list. We have spent hours looking for the best the Midwest has to offer in local and bespoke goods. We can even help take our home goods items and package them in a custom gift basket that is ready to go under the tree. All you must do is narrow down what items you want from all the amazing options we have. No matter if you are looking for gifts for the amazing teachers, friends, parents, & pet lovers in your life, we have them all!
Pet Safety: Did you know that poinsettias are poisonous to pets? While they are beautiful to look at, and a holiday staple when it comes to decorating. They can cause your dogs to have a not so merry and bright holiday season. So keep them up and away from your holiday guest with paws.
We hope that no matter how you choose to celebrate this holiday season, that you get to spend time with friends and family. We just want to wish all of you a happy holidays from all of us at All Around Town.