Every year, I have some folks who receive friendship gifts from my kitchen! This year, gingerbread and cheeseballs were on the list! Add a box of crackers ...a bottle of wine ... some flavored coffee or a six-pack of winter ale ... and you have a nice gift.
This kind of gift giving was instilled in me when I was a child. My mother made the most beautiful fluffy divinity and we shared it with neighbors. If you make divinity, you know you have to work quickly! It was always my job to follow her movements and put the candied cherry or the pecan half on top of the beautiful mound of sugary goodness while it was still warm and soft!
I thought it was important to instill the importance of "giving" in my daughter ... and now Miss Phoebe helps us cook and she goes with us when we deliver! It was pouring rain the day we made our deliveries this year ... but she pulled her hoodie over her head ... and tightly held the bagged tray of gingerbread as she made her way to the front doors!
I saw this cute gingerbread pan early in the season and I immediately started planning to use it! I used the recipe that came with the Wilton pan ... and used sorghum molasses in it.
The little oval plastic trays came from the Dollar Tree and I order saran gift bags in bulk because I use them to enclose door prizes, auction baskets and lots of other things throughout the year.
I made two flavors of cheeseballs. You can find my recipe for Pimento Cheese right here. Add an extra cup of shredded cheese and you should have the consistency of a cheeseball ... versus a spread. I rolled both flavors in chopped pecans.
The Asiago ball recipe is easy, too. I use the food processor to make the work easy. Blend an 8-ounce block of cream cheese with 2 cups of shredded Asiago and a Tablespoon of butter. After that is smooth ... add 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 cup dried cherries and 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots.
I'll be sharing this post with a couple of the blog parties listed in my sidebar, but check out my other posts on my home page before you move on! Merry Christmas!
