• Heavenly Angels
• Yule Trees

plus recipes for

• Marzipan
• Cookie Glaze
• Gingerbread Cookies

Heavenly Angels

These adorable Heavenly Angels can be given away as edible take-home favors, grouped to form a heavenly choir, or used to decorate a cake. The recipe is easy enough for children to help you decorate these edible Christmas favors. The heads are made of Marzipan. The Marzipan recipe follows the Heavenly Angels recipe.

What you need:

• 6 tablespoons Marzipan
• 3 white chocolate baking bars (2 ounces each) or confectionery coating, coarsely chopped
• 6 ice cream sugar cones and sprinkles
• 6 large pretzel twists
• Assorted food colors
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut, tinted yellow
• 6 small (about 1 1/2 inches) round cookies (Nilla Wafers)

What to do:

1. Prepare Marzipan; set aside.
2. Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling water. Using spoon or pastry brush, coat 1 ice cream cone at a time with melted white chocolate. Dip cone in colored sugar and decorate with sprinkles as shown in photo. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet; refrigerate until firm.
3. Dip pretzels in white chocolate, turning with fork to coat completely. Remove to waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm. reserve remaining white chocolate.
4. To form angel’s head, roll about 1 tablespoon marzipan into smooth ball; repeat to make 6 heads. Paint features on heads as shown in photo with wooden toothpicks and cotton swabs dipped in food color.
5. Press marzipan heads onto pointed ends of cones. Attach pretzel wings to back of cone bodies with some of reserved melted white chocolate, remelting chocolate if necessary. For best appearance, attach smooth side of pretzels to body.
6. Attach tinted coconut hair and cookie halos to head with melted white chocolate as shown. Refrigerate until firm.

Makes 6 angels.

Marzipan

What you need:

• 1 can (8 ounces) almond paste
• 1 egg white*
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

* Use only grade A clean, uncracked eggs.
**If coloring marzipan, stir in desired amount of food color before kneading in remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar.

What to do:

1. Combine almond paste and egg white in small bowl. Add 2 cups confectioners’ sugar; mix well.** Knead in remaining 1 cup sugar until smooth and pliable.
2. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap; refrigerate until ready to sue.

Makes about 2 cups

Yule Tree Edible Place Cards

Make as many of these adorable place cards as needed for your holiday dinner table, then serve the remaining decorated cookies for dessert.

What you need:

1 recipe Gingerbread Cookie dough 1 recipe Cookie Glaze (see below) Green food color Confectioners’ sugar Assorted candies 3 packages (12 ounces each) semisweet chocolate chips, melted 1 cup flaked coconut, tinted green*

Supplies:

• Pastry bag and small writing tip
• 24 foil baking cups ( 1 3/4 inches) or small foil tartlet pans (3 inches)
• 3 1/2 – 4 -inch tree-shaped cookie cutter

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll dough on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out cookies using cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
2. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
3. Reserve 1/3 cup Cookie Glaze; color remaining glaze green with food color. Place cookies on wire rack over waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Spoon green glaze over cookies.
4. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons confectionrs’ sugar to reserved Cookie Glaze. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with small writing tip. Pipe names onto trees as shown in photo. Decorate with assorted candies as shown. Let stand until glaze is set.
5. Spoon melted chocolate into baking cups or tartlet pans filling evenly. Let stand until chocolate is very thick and partially set. Place trees, standing upright, in chocolate.
6. Sprinkle tinted coconut over chocolate.

Makes 24 place cards

Cookie Glaze

What you need:

• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 4 to 6 tablespoons milk
• Assorted food colors

What to do:

1. Combine confectioners’ sugar and enough milk to make a medium-thick pourable glaze.
2. Color as desired with food color.
3. Place cookies on wire rack on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Spoon glaze over cookies; allow to dry completely.

Makes about 4 cups glaze

Tags: angel christmas favors, christmas cake decorations, christmas cookie place cards, Christmas place cards, edible christmas decorations, edible christmas favors, edible place cards, gingerbread cookies, marzipan recipe