Christmas Baubles

Have you got your Christmas tree up yet? WE DO! It is very, VERY exciting. I have been telling Rich all year he needs to prepare himself for a christmas tree that is way bigger than what reasonably will fit into our apartment. He thought I was joking, I assured him I was not, then of course he was rudely surprised when I picked out the BIGGEST one at the corner stand and made him lug it home for me. (Its nine feet tall. We live in a NYC shoebox.) There's Christmas trees for sale on so many of the corners here, and it makes it feel so lovely and seasonal! Not to mention that christmas trees are a different species here (we have boring old pinus radiata in NZ, which is the same as what we export all over the world for wood) but the trees here smell SO GOOD and are so so pretty! 

I decided this year that I was going to make my own christmas baubles! We had a bunch of clear baubles left over from a project that we did, and I have a shelf of jars that is overflowing with spices, beans, grains, dried flowers and sprinkles, so I put two and two together and it came out amazingly! It was crazy easy, and they are so much fun to do! 

We got the baubles from here. We got the 2", 2 ⅝" and 3", and it made a really nice mix of sizes. They should sell them at most craft shops too! They are very inexpensive (4 for $5), and you can fill them with literally anything you like, provided it is small enough to fit inside the hole! I went with fairly neutral coloured things (apart from the one filled with hundreds and thousands), but you could go crazy filling them with different coloured sand, glitter, sprinkles, bits of cut up paper, whatever you want! I found that dried flowers looked AMAZING. Next year I might go for dried flowers, and other baubles with glitter inside. Another great thing is that when you are done and would like to change your theme, you just empty them out and fill them up again! 

Go crazy with the things which you put inside! Just bear in mind that they can get a little heavy if you fill them too full, so either hold back a little on things like beans and rice, or make sure that they are on really supportive branches. 

A few things that I filled my baubles with: 

• Peppercorns (black and pink)

• Dried flowers (bachelor buttons, daisies, jasmine)

• Whole cloves

• Tapioca pearls

• Allspice balls

• Cinnamon sticks

• Rice (black rice, glutinous rice, white rice)

• Chilli flakes

• Sprinkles

• Dried beans

• Cardamom pods

• Star Anise

• Cacao Nibs

• Dried Lavender

• Sesame seeds (white and black)

We went for a fairly minimal tree this year, it also has a garland made from felt balls which I threaded onto some string using a sharp needle (We both aren't big tinsel fans so this works perfectly), some really small LED lights on a copper wire, and some amazing mushroom ornaments which my friend Aron from Facture goods made for me! 

Obsessed! Excited for next year already.

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A note on salt and oven temperature

It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.

All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.

Using the double / triple function in the recipe card

You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!

Tools and equipment

For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.

Why is this recipe in grams?

I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!

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