This year I wanted to give gifts to the subject teachers (art, music, Spanish, etc) at Natalie’s school without breaking the bank while still being creative and fun. In my searches on the internet for all things delicious I saw a recipe for crockpot chocolate peanut clusters which was a jumping off point for a homemade tower of treats. (And yes, you read that correctly, I made these incredibly decadent and addictive treats with my crockpot, which was super duper easy).
In addition to peanut clusters, a friend and I roasted cinnamon-sugar pecans together and split the fruit of our labor. I made snicker doodle cookies to round out the treat trio.
I packaged the peanut clusters and cookies in holiday celophane bags I purchased for a dollar at Michael’s (you can also get them at the Dollar Store), but I wanted to put the nuts in a package reminiscent of a county fair. So I took 15″ parchment paper triangles I have in my cake decorating kit for making piping bags and went to town.
I then put the three goodies in a holiday bag (13 for $3.99 at Michael’s), made gift tags with my craft punch (which Natalie filled out for her teachers) and sent them to school with Natalie. Wha-la!
I really like how the gifts turned out… they are simple, but yummy. And they cost me about $5 a teacher including the wrapping. Not bad. But I think next year I’ll think through the array a little better. Two of them featured cinnamon and sugar… maybe next year, I’ll do chocolate-pretzel clusters, some kind of fancy nut, and ginger snaps… or peppermint bark.
To make snack cones, start with a triangle-shaped piece of parchment paper, card stock or scrapbook paper. Turn it so the flat end is at the top. For instructional purposes, I labeled the angles “A”, “B” and “C”.
Take angle A and loop it around the inside of the triangle so it sits on top of angle C.
Wrap angle B outside so it sits on top angles A and C.
Line the tips up as evenly as possible.
The tighter you pull them up toward the sky together, the tighter your cone point becomes.
Use clear tape to secure the cone on the seam.
Fill the cone with a snack… popcorn, nuts, M&Ms, pretzels, fries…. really the list is endless. Mine held about 3/4 c. of whole pecans. If you are serving them at a party, stop here and place them in a basket for people to grab.
However, if you are using them as a gift container, fold down the sides…
Fold up the bottom…
And tape down the top.
If you don’t want to use a large cone… you can also fold your triangle in half to make little snack packs. Perfect for a handful of nuts or goodies.
These are great to take on picnics, use as gift wrapping, or serve popcorn at a party. Once you have the basic folding pattern, you can turn anything into a cone! And you can decorate them to serve the occasion. I put a holiday sticker on the front, but you could stamp them, have your kids color them before you fold them, or tie a ribbon around them.
What do you give for teacher gifts? Or, if you are a teacher, what is the best gift you’ve gotten?
Comments (8)
You are so very crafty. That is a neat idea.
Love those crockpot peanut things! For years (23) I have been making gifts for teachers (school, sunday school, daycare, etc.) just like you, something homemade. I look for Christmas jars after Christmas when they are real cheap, store them till the next year. I make cookie mix (the kind you layer in the jar, flour, sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips or M&M, etc. Print the recipe out on a gift tag, tie it on with a ribbon and you are done! One year I bought about 100 snowmen jars, the hat was the lid and it held the M&M or chips perfectly, I’m still using those jars. Also I have done soup mix in the jars, it’s a gift the teachers can use and they have always seemed to enjoy it. Merry Christmas from Dothan, Alabama!
Such a great creative idea!!! Thanks for sharing! Those recipes sounds so yummy too! We are planning to start some Christmas baking this next week and we may have to add some of those to the list!
okay, seriously…. you spent all that time TALKING about the treats, but didn’t share the EASY crockpot recipe? I would love for you to share please 🙂
Wish I could have been your partner in crime making those… 🙂
hugs
I know! I meant to put the recipe and then forgot! Ha! Here is the recipe:
3 lb salted peanuts
3 lb almond bark
12 oz semi-sweet choc. Chips
4 oz German chocolate Baker’ bar
You need a 6 qt crock pot or larger…. Pour in peanuts. Break up almond bark and Baker bar and layer on top pnuts. Pour choc chips over that.
Turn crock pot on low for 3 hours or high for 1.5 hours. The chocolate will not look like it’s all melted, but after the allotted time, start stirring everything together. As you stir, the chocolate melts the rest of the way.
Scoup out 1-2 tbsp heaps onto parchment paper and let harden.
Here is the recipe ingredients I use.. just a little different!
1 (16 ounce) package dry roasted salted peanuts
1 (16 ounce) package unsalted dry roasted peanuts
1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate bits
1 (4 ounce) German chocolate bars
32 ounces white almond bark
As a teacher, I love getting Christmas ornaments (especially those that are hand made.) Then, when I put them on the tree every year, I once again remember that student.
Of course candy, cookies, and gift cards are always welcome!
Il semble que vous soyez un expert dans ce domaine, vos remarques sont tres interessantes, merci.
– Daniel