Santas Workshop Recipes

SANTA'S WORKSHOP

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and eggs. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. Divide dough into eighths. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle., With lightly floured rolling pin, roll out one portion of dough directly onto a greased baking sheet to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut into a 7x5-in. rectangle for side piece. Remove scraps; repeat. Roll a second portion into an 8-1/2x5-1/2-in. rectangle for roof piece; repeat., Roll out two portions of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Position shop pattern on dough. With a sharp knife, cut out one shop front. Repeat for shop back. Remove scraps. On shop front, score door and window outlines. , Bake at 350° for 10-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes; while warm, place pattern over baked dough and recut. Cool on wire racks., Roll out scraps; cut out two reindeer and one Santa. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool on wire racks. Use the remaining dough for cutout cookies., To make icing: Prepare three batches, one at a time. In a large bowl, beat two egg whites until frothy. Gradually add 3 cups confectioners' sugar; beat on medium speed for 4-7 minutes or until icing forms peaks. Cover icing between uses. Prepare fourth batch of icing; tint a fourth red, a fourth green and 1/4 cup black., To decorate front: Place shop front on waxed paper. Cut Fruit Roll-up into a 3x2-1/2-in. rectangle and a 1-1/4-in. square. Spread with white icing; position rectangle over shop front window and square over door window. Insert #25 top into pastry bag; fill two-thirds full with white icing., Pipe small stars around door and windows. With #2 tip, pipe windowpanes. On large window, pipe triangle of icing in bottom corner of each pane. Attach red Chiclet with icing for doorknob. , For wreath, trace 2-in. circle below roof peak. Pipe 1-in.-wide strip of white icing around inside edge of circle. Place green and red Nerds on icing for wreath. , Using green icing and #2 tip, pipe a thin line on sides and top of large window; attach Chiclets for lights. Let dry., For side windows: For each window, form a rectangle with six cereal squares on waxed paper; pipe between squares with white icing. Let dry. Attach to sides of house with white icing. Pipe a thin line of green icing along top and sides of windows; attach Chiclets for lights. Let dry., For roof:Spread a thin layer of white icing over the roof pieces. Cut two mint wafers in half diagonally; place the cut edges against bottom edge of roof. Continue placing wafers on the diagonal, cutting as needed at edges; pipe white icing between for mortar. Let dry., To assemble: Pipe icing along base and sides of front section and one side section. Position at right angles to each other and place on display board. Press firmly into place; prop with small cans. Pipe icing along inside edge for added stability. Repeat with second side section and back. Pipe icing along each outside corner; press 5-in. licorice pieces into each corner. Let dry., Pipe icing along top edge of shop. Position one roof piece; repeat. Pipe icing along top edge between roof pieces; press 8-in. licorice into icing. Place a starlight mint at front and back roof peaks. Using #9027 tip, pipe stars along front and side edges of roof for snow. Add lights with green icing and Chiclets., To decorate Santa: Frost Santa with red, white and black icing. For skis, cut gum in half lengthwise, tapering ends. Position in an "X" shape; pipe icing between skis, holding until stable. Attach red Chiclets on skis with icing; let dry., To decorate reindeer: Frost reindeer with white, red, black and green icing; let dry. Attach with icing to roof, holding until secure. With red icing, attach shoestring licorice from one collar to the other., Finishing touches: For bushes, pipe thin lines of green icing on gumdrops; decorate with Chiclets. For trees, use #67 tip with green icing; beginning at bottom of ice cream cones, pipe frosting in rows. Add Chiclet lights. Place on waxed paper to harden., Working in small sections, frost base with icing for snow. For path, place 2-in. licorice pieces side by side in a curve. Position bushes, trees, Santa and skis on base an secure with icing.

SANTA'S WORKSHOP CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For beach balls: Cut wedge shapes from Fruit Roll-Ups. Position on each hard candy ball; press to attach., For blocks: Attach four graham cookies with frosting to form the four sides of a box; attach another cookie to the top. Using a paint brush, brush food coloring over cookies to color as desired., For car pull-toy: Using frosting, attach Life Savers Gummies to circus peanut, forming tires. Insert a sunflower kernel into center of each tire. For pull-rope, loop a 4 in. piece of shoestring licorice; insert into peanut., For dog: Place two Tootsie Rolls on a small piece of waxed paper; microwave on high for 5-7 seconds or until softened. Break off desired amount for body; roll into a rounded triangle shape. Roll two smaller pieces into legs; press onto front of body to attach. Roll another piece into an oval shape for head; attach two small pieces for ears. Press head onto body; attach a small piece for tail., For collar, wrap a thin strip of Fruit Roll-Up around neck. Form another strip of Fruit Roll-Up into a bow; press onto collar to attach. Attach a dragee to center of bow with frosting. Pipe a small amount of frosting for eyes., For drum: Remove a miniature cupcake from paper liner. Place cupcake upside-down. Spread frosting over the top and sides. Decorate drum with thin strips of Fruit Roll-Ups. Using frosting, attach dragees as desired., For presents: Cut a Fruit Roll-Up into thin strips. Place two strips widthwise around desired amount of Starburst candies; press together at base to attach. For bow, form two Fruit Roll-Up strips into figure eights; press together in center and press onto wrapped candy., For teddy bear: Place a Tootsie Roll on a small piece of waxed paper; microwave on high for 5-7 seconds or until softened. Break off desired amount for the body; roll into a rounded oval shape. Roll two smaller pieces into arms and two pieces into legs. Press onto body to attach. Roll another piece into a ball for head; attach two small pieces for ears and one for nose. Press head onto body., For bow, wrap a thin strip of Fruit Roll-up around neck. Form another strip of Fruit Roll-Up into a bow; press onto ribbon to attach. Pipe a small amount of frosting for eyes., For train: Cut a thin slice from one end of sponge cake to allow it to stand. Frost top and sides of sponge cake; coat with red sprinkles. Stand on serving platter. Frost one cupcake; dip the top in red sprinkles. Place cupcake bottom against the flat side of sponge cake., For smokestack, attach a miniature kiss to top of cupcake with frosting. Attach licorice coin to center of cupcake. Attach a vanilla wafer to sponge cake for large wheel., For train cars, frost desired amount of miniature cupcakes; dip the tops in sprinkles. Arrange on their sides behind the engine car. Place a sandwich crackers at the base of each car. Pipe window and wheel details with frosting; decorate with dragees as desired., For Santa and elves: With a pencil and paper, draw a beard, mustache, eyes, eye brows, ears and hair pieces. Melt white and chocolate candy coatings in separate microwave-safe bowls; stir until smooth., Divide white coating into three portions; tint one portion ivory and another blue. Transfer each to a resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in the corner of each bag. Place waxed paper over the drawings. Working quickly, pipe coating over designs. Using chocolate coating, pipe a small dot into the center of each eye. Refrigerate until set., Frost a cupcake; dip the top in red sprinkles. For each elf, frost a miniature cupcake; dip the top in green sprinkles. Tint a small amount of frosting ivory. Using ivory frosting, frost a cupcake and a miniature cupcake for each elf. Lay each ivory cupcake on its side on top of each sprinkled cupcake; secure each with a toothpick., Gently lift candy features from waxed paper; arrange on cupcakes. Form smiles with shoestring licorice; use sunflower kernels for noses., For Santa hat, place four red Starburst candies on a small piece of waxed paper; microwave on high for 3-5 seconds or until softened. Place candies side by side, using a rolling pin, roll candies together to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into a triangle; form into a cone shape. Press seam to seal; gently form around a small ball of plastic wrap into a hat shape. Repeat for elf hats using three candies for each hat., For pom-poms, cut marshmallows in half; roll each half in corn syrup then in nonpareils. Press onto the tip of hats and around brims. Attach Dots candies, M&M's or additional pom-poms to elves to form collars. Remove plastic wrap from inside hats; attach to heads with frosting., For list: Roll out fondant; cut a strip to form list. Write names with food writing pen. Keep covered until ready to use., Finishing touches: Arrange cupcakes on tiered serving platters. Decorate with balls, blocks, cars, dogs, presents, teddy bears and additional assorted candies as desired; gently drape list down tiers.