Pack your gift mixes in an attractive cone

Most of us have probably received one or two of those gifts in a jar: cookie, soup or casserole mixes contained in glass jars in attractive layers.

This week’s Craft Corner focuses on a variation of the jar presentation, using disposable cake decorating bags.

We saw the idea in a craft magazine and thought it would be a good one to pass along to Craft Corner readers for the holiday season.

You can purchase the recipes and instructions, created by Jackie Gannaway, from www.cookbookcupboard.com.

There are six booklets in all ($3.95 each): “Cookie Cones,” “Sweet Treat Cones,” “Soup Mix Cones,” “Dip Mix Cones,” “Bread &Muffin Mix Cones” and “Cocoa Cones,” each containing a wide variety of recipes.

You can also order a larger cookbook, “Make Your Own Cones,” for $17.95, which contains all of the recipes in the six booklets. The large book is available at www.makeyourowncones.com, and the Web site also has photographs of decorated cones. (The booklets do not have photos, so checking out the Web site is a good idea.)

To make gift cones, you’ll need to purchase a box of disposable cake decorating bags, available in most craft stores with the cake decorating supplies. Wilton’s bags are an excellent choice, but be sure to buy the 12- or 24-count packages only, as Gannaway says that the super-count bags are of inferior quality and not appropriate for this purpose.

For our samples, we selected three of Gannaway’s original recipes: “Wild Rice Soup Mix in a Cone,” “Dill Biscuit Mix in a Cone” and “Red Velvet Cookie Mix in a Cone.”

The ingredients for all three recipes are available at any grocery store.

For the soup cone, you’ll layer (in order) 1 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning, 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules, 1 tablespoon parsley flakes, half the seasonings from a package of wild rice mix (be sure to mix the seasonings well), half the rice from a package of wild rice mix and cup long grain white rice (not instant).

To make the biscuit cone, layer (in order) teaspoon sugar, teaspoon dried dill weed, teaspoon all purpose herb seasoning blend, 2 teaspoons dried parsley and 1 cups biscuit mix.

And for the cookie cone, you’ll need 1 teaspoon red sugar, 2 tablespoons chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons milk chocolate chips (we substituted tiny M&Ms to add a bit of color) and 1 cup red velvet cake mix.

When the ingredients are layered into the cones, use a twisty tie to secure the top, then cover the tie with decorative ribbon and add holiday-themed embellishments as desired.

Finally, add either a copy of the instructions for making the soup, biscuits and cookies, or write out a festive recipe card by hand and attach to the cone decoration.

The instructions are as follows:

Wild rice soup mix in a cone

Bring 5 cups water to a boil, add cone mix, stir well with whisk, bring back to boil, reduce heat, simmer 30 minutes, turn off heat, let stand (covered) 15 minutes and serve immediately. Makes 5 servings.

Dill biscuit mix in a cone

Empty cone mix into medium mixing bowl, blend well, add cup milk, mix well, drop dough by large spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 8 biscuits.

Red velvet cookie mix in a cone

Empty cone mix into medium mixing bowl, blend well, add 1 egg white and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, mix well, drop dough by spoonfuls 3 inches apart onto sprayed baking sheet, bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, cool for 2 to 3 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling. Makes 10 to 12 cookies.

Gift suggestion: Make up a couple of complementary cones (such as soup and biscuits or cookies and cocoa) and include them in a personalized decorative basket with the recipe booklets, unique bowls or mugs, linen or pretty paper napkins, and other related items that strike your fancy.

Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com