Baking Up Holiday Magic
 Victoria Chasmar www.charmedincompany.com
 
When is a cookie more than a cookie? When you incorporate color energy and food symbolism of course! There is nothing like the aroma of fresh baked goods filling the environment during the holidays. Take your holiday baking and gift giving to the next step this season.
The holidays have always been a special time where people go out of their way in many ways, especially in the preparation of certain holiday foods. This post will be on Cookie Magic, using traditional holiday cookie dough to give that special someone extra holiday money/love/help, etc. Included are some basic cookies recipes, which will not only delight the pallet and tantalize the taste buds but also have special meaning in their shapes and decorations.
Gingerbread Men & Women are some of the common images that come to mind during the holidays. What makes them special is almost everyone can help in their creation, adding their positive energies and creativity. The following are recipes for ginger cookies and sugar cookies; some suggested icing colors, their mystical meanings, and the best time to make them to add a little extra sentiment in their creation. Feel Free to improvise; you may wish to say something as you are creating your cookies such as “ With each turn, I do mix, successful thoughts and loveliness”.
PREPARATION SUGGESTIONS:
While mixing the dough it is important to keep your thoughts positive and think about the people who will be enjoying them. This will empower your dough with warm and loving vibrations.
COOKIE SHAPES AND THEIR MEANINGS:
PEOPLE FORMS (Gingerbread Men & Women) – These will represent the person you are giving the cookie to, so you may wish to personalize him/her. You can add specific features or clothing or put a decoration in the ear to represent an earring, etc. You may also wish to be selective about the kinds of adornments to add to this cookie. For example, you can put in yellow M&M’s for the eyes so that they see things in a bright and creative way or use green icing for the jacket to enrobe them with love and balance. If you give them as gifts or add them to a gift, you may wish to place a little note inside with some of the special wishes you have added to this cookie (for example, I made the shoes brown for healing earth energy and give you that practical edge, etc). If you are sending them to distant relatives you may wish to make some to represent your family, so you are there in cookie form for the holidays or have members of the family create one to represent themselves to send. The possibilities are endless! Express yourself & create, the magic is in the intent, so even the littlest cookie maker can do it.
HEART- Love in all of its aspects. Healing, Drawing, Keeping, Enhancing, etc. This is a nice one to add a jelly to the middle of and hang in your window to increase loving vibrations, or place on a special gift. Use some red and pink icing and line the outer edge with spicy red-hot candies for extra passion! Make the heart a different color depending on your needs. (Example use yellow to uplift - green to balance/heal, etc)
BELL- a bell is a good symbol for protection from negativity. Bells also represent communication, group gatherings, and social activities.
STAR- Use a star for a wish or to represent a goal you wish to achieve. This one should be decorated for one specific wish; it is not a good idea to put two wishes on one star, as it will weaken the energy. Visualization and focus are very important when you are decorating. After you have made your wish and visualized it, eat your cookie and see it happening to you.
CAT- a cat is a symbol of good luck. You may wish to make your cat in a specific color or create a special cookie to represent your cat, or other pets. For example, a Green Cat for Luck in Work, A Red for Love, etc. Use the color guide below and visualize your intent while making it.
ANGEL- Angels symbolize peace, protection, love, and faith. Send, give, or make yourself an angel of good fortune, love, or health depending on the colors you use to create him/her.
 
COLOR MEANINGS:
You can use color when icing your cookies or you can choose an item such as a gumdrop, or silver candy, to represent the color energy. If you are making sugar cookies you can separate the dough and color to it so that different parts will have extra meaning and stronger color vibrations, be creative, this is only a guide.
RED – Love, Passion, Action
ORANGE – Positive Change, Joy/Pleasure
YELLOW – Uplifting, Creativity, Knowledge
GREEN- Health, Progress, Balance, Money
BLUE- Peace, Health, Communication, Truth
PURPLE – Psychic, Stress Relieving, Dreams
SILVER – High Spiritual, Enhancing
 
GINGER COOKIES:
½ cup Margarine                     1 tsp. Salt
½ cup Butter                           1 tsp. Baking soda
1 cup Sugar                             2 tsp. Ginger
2/3 cup Hot coffee                  1 tsp. Cloves
2/3 cup Molasses (dark)          1 tsp. Cinnamon
5 cups Flour
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together margarine and butter with sugar. Add hot coffee to molasses, and then add it to creamed mixture. Sift together dry ingredients and add gradually to liquid mixture. Chill thoroughly in refrigerator. Roll out dough on lightly floured countertop 1/8 inch thick. Cut in desired shape, decorate and bake for 17 minutes. Decorate with icing. This will make approx 168 cookies that are 2” in diameter.
 
COOKIE ICING:
Color the icing using the color meanings as a guide to enhance your cookies energy.
2 cups powdered confectioners’ sugar            1 tbl. Melted butter
3-4 tbl. Cream                                                 1 tsp. pure Vanilla extract.
 
SUGAR COOKIES:
Sugar Cookies are also a great way to work up some holiday magic. These cookies can easily be formed in many different shapes. Separate the dough and color it with food coloring to enhance the desired energy, use the list of color meanings as a guide.
½ cup butter                            1 cup sour cream
½ cup margarine                      5 cups flour
1 cup sugar                              2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs, beaten                         1 ¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract       1 tsp. baking soda
Cream together margarine, butter, and sugar. Add beaten eggs and vanilla to sour cream. Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with the liquid mixture to the shortening and sugar mixture. Chill in refrigerator. Take small amount out at a time (separate and add food colorings if desired), and roll on floured counter ¼” thick. Cut into desired shapes & decorate. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Decorate with icing.  Makes 100  2 ½ “ cookies.
If you are giving you cookies as a gift you may wish to give a person several shapes. A person or several people, a good luck cat, bells for protection, hearts for love, a star for a wish, etc. That way each gift you give not only has your personal thoughts and energy with them but also is unique to the person receiving them. What better way to say you are special then taking the time out to create a bunch of homemade cookies with warm wishes baked inside of them? Charmed in Company wishes everyone a wonderful, happy, and healthy holiday season. Bon Appetite!

The shoppe is filled with unique gifts and stocking stuffers. Come in an find the perfect gift :-)