Good THINGS FRESH IDEAS TO ELEVATE THE EVERYDAY
LANDSCAPE THE PLACE
To fashion a small forest of snow-dappled trees, roll out extra dough and cut, bake, and ice it. Then add a pile of peppermintstick firewood and gum-stick skis. PS: Make more cookies to put on a plate, so no one will be tempted to take a bite of your snowy setting.
| DIY DÉCOR |
Home Sweet Home Santa’s got a brand-new. . . alpine ski chalet! This well-appointed A-frame flips the script on traditional gingerbread houses, with a rusticchic exterior (courtesy of a faux-bois roof and pretzel-log walls) and a cozy interior complete with a “stone” fireplace. For details, turn the page. TEXT BY ELENI N. GAGE
PHOTOGRAPHS BY PERNILLE LOOF
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MARTHA STEWART LIVING
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10/19/17 4:05 PM
GOOD THINGS
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To build our mountain retreat (inspired by classic A-frame cabins, some of the simplest yet sturdiest structures out there), start by baking the cookie-slab roofing, pentagon-shaped back wall, low side walls, and floor. Then assemble with royal-icing “mortar,” and stack pretzel logs on the sides. For the full recipes, templates, and all the sweet details, visit marthastewart.com/ cookie-cabin.
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RAISE THE ROOF
Create our freshly hewn siding by firmly pressing a fauxbois tool into rolledout dough. Cut out, chill, bake, and cool the cookies, then stain them with melted chocolate.
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THE DETAILS: Martha Stewart pattern roller, in Faux Bois, $20; and pattern-roller handle, $27, michaels.com.
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THE FINER POINTS
1. Cotton-ball smoke for chimney. 2. Almond + pretzel buck head. 3. Pretzel-log walls with royal icing. 4. Peppermint-stick logs with candy-coated sunflower-seed flames. 5. Licorice-rope rug.
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WARM THE HEARTH
The back wall features a fanciful fireplace made of candy-coated chocolate pebbles (we used Koppers brand; $8 per lb., economycandy .com), secured to the gingerbread with royal icing.
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DECK THE HALLS
A green-buttercream Christmas tree (cleverly piped onto a sugar cone), almond-and-pretzel taxidermy, and a red rug made of licorice ropes (or Twizzler’s Pull ’n’ Peel) complete the scene.
DECEMBER 2017
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10/19/17 4:06 PM
GOOD THINGS
| CELEBRATE |
A Surprise Inside Whether you’re lighting up eight nights or counting down 24 days, half the fun of the holidays is the anticipation. Extend the excitement with a twinkling treeline full of hidden presents. We covered paper cones in spray adhesive and metallic glitter, slipped a treat under each, and attached a paper tag with a number st icker to create a free-form calendar. A word to wise men (and women): Wrap your miniature gifts, in case someone sneaks a peek.
THE DETAILS: Saveon-Crafts papier-mâché cones, 10½", $12 for 12, save-on-crafts.com. Martha Stewart vintage leaf glitter, $16 for 12 0.14-oz. jars, amazon .com. Meyer Imports German glass glitter, from $6 for a 1-oz. jar, meyer-imports.com.
| SIP & REPEAT |
A Tinted Toast PEYCHAUD’S BITTERS
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CRÈME DE VIOLETTE
Here’s a charming way to spiff up your sparkly: Swap a Champagne cocktail’s usual brown Angost ura-bitters-infused sugar cubes for ones soaked in a vivid flavored liqueur. Color sugar cubes with a few drops, set them out with bubbly, and let guest s choose a shade.
SUZE
GIFFARD PAMPLEMOUSSE
DECEMBER 2017
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10/19/17 4:07 PM
GOOD THINGS
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FOLD
Join two corners of a wonton wrapper to make a triangle, then fold in half again.
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CUT
Snip shapes into corners and sides of triangle.
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COOK
Unfold and fry for 2 minutes in a hot, neutral oil, like safflower. Let dry on paper towels, then dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve the same day.
| MAKE & SHARE |
Snow Angles 24
Introducing a new cookie-making secret weapon: store-bought wonton wrappers. Let other bakers wrest le with hot irons to create traditional Swedish rosettes. You can just grab a pair of kitchen shears—or hand kids’ scissors to a household elf who has a knack for making paper snowflakes. Fold the squares into triangles, and snip diamonds, semicircles, and notches into the edges. Then unfold them, fry, and dust with confect ioners’ sugar. The most magical part? Just as in nature, no two are alike.
DECEMBER 2017
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10/19/17 4:08 PM
GOOD THINGS
| THE PALETTE |
All That Glitters We took a cue from Mother Nature’s winter wardrobe for this gem of a tabletop tree, all dressed up in shades of icy blue, pale pink, and citrine. If you can string a bead, you can borrow her look with these jewelry-esque ornaments made from geodes, quartz, and shiny glass spheres.
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THE DETAILS: Cost Plus World Market Gold and Marble Leilani tulip table, $450, worldmarket.com.
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Make shimmery, dangling strands by grouping clear and light-pink quartz points on jewelry wire, adding a loop to each end, and attaching metallic cord.
Snip off an agate pendant’s jump ring and thread gold cord through the remaining loop for an instant ornament (or an extraspecial gift tag).
THE DETAILS: Fire Mountain Gems crystal quartz beads, from $1.50 for 2; and Zebra Wire copper wire, in Silver, from $3.50 for 15 yd., firemountaingems .com. Jaylagems rose-quartz strands, $19 each, jaylagems.etsy.com.
THE DETAILS: Bead Landing peach druzy agate pendant, $10; and Color Shop blue druzy agate charm, $6, michaels.com. M&J Trimming imported fine metallic twist cord, 1 mm, from $1 per yd., mjtrim.com.
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For the marbled ornaments, remove the top, add a teaspoon each of two paint colors mixed with marbling medium, swirl, and dry. For the flashy one, brush glue on the bottom and roll in glitter.
To mimic icy branches, use a saw to cut clear acrylic tubing into three-inch pieces, then string them on gray cord with crystalline chalcedony beads.
CHIC ICICLES
SWIRLED STONES
THE DETAILS (from left): Darice clear glass disc, 8 cm, $7.50 for 6; clear glass ball, 100 mm, $7.50 for 2; and iridescent glass ball, 35 mm, $8 for 20, amazon.com. Martha Stewart multisurface satin acrylic craft paint, in Slate Grey, Wild Blueberry, Rose Pink, and Poodle Skirt, $2.50 for 2 oz.; multi-surface marbling medium, $13; and Creatology Glitter Pack, in Neon, $4, michaels.com.
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EARTHY GEODES
DELICATE GARLAND
THE DETAILS: ePlastics clear extruded Plexiglas acrylic tube, ¼", $2 for 6', eplastics.com. Fire Mountain Gems blue chalcedony bead strand, 36", $9; and leather cord, 0.5–0.8 mm, in Grey, from $14 for 25 yd., firemountain gems.com.
DECEMBER 2017
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10/19/17 4:10 PM
GOOD THINGS
| RECIPE REMIX |
Newly Minted If you’re like Living assistant food editor Lindsay Strand, you love mint-chip ice cream all year long. Come winter, she puts extra candy canes to great use in this flavor-packed version, made by doctoring a few pints of the storebought stuff. And here’s the indulgent bonus: The sugar in the candy canes keeps the ice cream soft enough to scoop straight from the freezer.
| INSTANT UPGRADE |
Tree Huggers However pretty an amaryllis may be, nothing says “I got this for you at the grocery store” like a cellophane plant wrapper. To present a green gift—rosemary, orchid, paperwhite, mini boxwood—in a unique way, spray-paint a paper sack in a metallic shade. Let it dry, fold down a cuff at the top for contrast, and drop the plant into your upcycled package to deliver it to a happy hostess or teacher. THE DETAILS: Basic Supply XL brown paper lunch bags, $10 for 40; Prep4Life brownpaper bags, 8¼" by 5¼" by 16", $16 for 100; BagDream #4 paper lunch bags, 5" by 2.95" by 9.45", $7 for 50; and SmileMakers mini kraft paper bags, $7 for 100, amazon .com. Montana Gold acrylic professional spray paint, in Copperchrome (Metallic) and Outline Silver (Metallic), $8 each, dickblick.com.
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CANDY-CANE SUNDAES Place 2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened, in a large bowl. Fold in ½ cup crushed peppermint candies and ½ teaspoon pure peppermint extract. Pour into a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; smooth with a spatula. Top with ¼ cup crushed candies. Cover with plastic wrap; refreeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Serve in waffle-cone bowls (get the recipe at marthastewart.com/wafflecone bowls), topped with hot fudge (marthastewart .com/hotfudge) and more crushed candies.
DECEMBER 2017
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10/19/17 4:11 PM