Brand New Cape Cod Christmas Ornaments

 Just in time for the Christmas Season, our 2022 order of Cape Cod Christmas Ornaments has just arrrived and I cannot wait to share them with you!  As you'll soon see, we've curated a whimsical collection of Cape Cod inspired ornaments for you to decorate and share with those you love.  Take a moment or two and peruse these adorable new Cape ornaments!

The first new ornament is the sweetest shell wreath.  It's made of resin, so it's durable, yet it's detailed in a delicate manner.  The wreath itself is incredibly detailed to look like driftwood, and the shells and starfish are softly glittered and painted with the palest beach-inspired hues.  I have a very good feeling this ornament will not stick around very long, so don't wait, buy it now!

This lovely lady has been here before, but she disappeared for a while.  After many pleas for her return, our beautiful Ceramic Mermaid Ornament has taken her rightful place at the bow of our Cape Cod Christmas Ornament ship!  We can't guarantee how long she will reside with us, so if you feel a spark for this gorgeous Cape Cod mermaid, click the button and capture her before she swims away again.

This is my favorite new Cape Cod Ornament this year!  Look at the detail on this Pearl + Oyster Christmas Ornament.  It's really a spectacular piece and looks so striking on the tree.  If you or someone you know loves oysters or follows the wisdom, "the world is your oyster", this fabulous Cape Cod Oyster Ornament will not disappoint.

If boho style is your jam, may I suggest this fanciful and fun Driftwood + Sea Glass Ornament.   You need not worry that it may be too fragile, because it's made from resin, yet remarkably realistic looking.  This is truly a unique Cape Cod ornament for your tree, yet you could hang it anywhere for a little Cape Cod sea glass boho moment.  It measures only about 6, including the hanging string, so it's perfect for hanging from your rear-view mirror.  

Who doesn't love turtles?  Especially crafty looking turtles that look like they were made from a scallop shell and sea glass.  This petite Cape Cod Turtle Ornament is definitely going on my tree this year.  It's the perfect combination of colors, textures and subject matter for a coastal-themed Christmas, or any time of year for that matter!

So many people lost their minds over this sweetly tinkling Starfish + Sea Glass mini Wind Chime ornament this year that we had to include in this Cape Cod Christmas Ornament round up.  It is so lovely and the sound it makes is so joyful, you'll want to keep it out year round.  One of the first beach ornaments to sell out, make sure you order this today so you don't miss out!

We're always adding new items to our webstore, so be sure to check it out!  Have a wonderful Christmas!

-The LaBelle's

 

Cape Cod Potato Chip Bark Recipe

Potato Chips Drowning in Chocolate

Cape Cod Potato Chip Bark popped into my head on the way home from work one cold, dark rainy Cape Cod evening.  (What is it about shorter days and dropping temperatures that makes me crave chocolatey confections?)  The night before I was inspired to make Cape Cod S'mores Bark and I knew from the reception it had received that a sequel was in order.  But how do you top S'mores Bark?  And that's when it hit me, chocolate covered potato chips!

Love at First Bite

I first tasted chocolate covered potato chips about 10 years ago at a food show Joe and I attended.  The two of us had to be asked to leave the booth.  Never before had we experienced such an unearthly combination of salty and sweet.  And we had to be careful not to experience it again too soon.  The fact that potato chips aren't allowed in our house 362 days a year didn't give me pause as I headed on towards our neighborhood grocery store for the only chips worthy of what I was planning, our island's very own Cape Cod Potato Chips.

Just 2 ingredients, a half sheet pan, and a piece of parchment paper

If you've never made chocolate bark before, the most dangerous part to consider is how is easy it is to make, because you may start making bark morning, noon, and night.  Once you've decided on your potato chips, choose your favorite chocolate for melting.  After indulging in milk chocolate in our S'mores bark the night before, I decided our potato chips would be complemented by a luscious dark chocolate.  I happened to have Dark Chocolate Candy Melts on hand which are perfect for making bark because they are ideally suited to melting.  You can use chocolate bars or chips, too.  In fact, chocolate bars are super for making bark.  If you use chocolate chips, you may want to add a little shortening to make it smoother.

Melt over a double boiler

Before you get melting, it's important to prepare your potato chips.  I poured out about 1/3 of the bag for crushing into small pieces.  Use cellophane or a baggie to keep your hands from getting greasy.  Also make sure you have a sheet pan lined with parchment paper waiting in the wings.  I found that a quarter sized sheet pan (9" x 13") was the perfect size for this recipe.

Now you're ready to start melting.  I like melting my chocolate using a double boiler made from a stainless steel bowl sitting on top of a simmering pot.  It's more hands-on than using a microwave and there's less mystery or risk of wrecking the chocolate.  Plus, I love stirring and inhaling chocolate.  Once your chocolate is melted, mix in your crushed potato chips and thoroughly coat them.

Then spread the coated chocolate-potato chip mixture into your parchment-lined sheet pan.  At this point I decided I wanted to add another layer of chocolate because I planned on sprinkling more chips on top and it looked like they needed a little more to sink into.  So it was back to the double boiler with another cup of chocolate melts.

Spread your next layer of chocolate and then sprinkle with more crushed chips.  Push the chip-chips into your top layer, then head for the refrigerator.  In less than 1/2 and hour, your bark is ready to break apart into servings.  I chose to slice my bark into small pieces so that I could put them in little cups to give out to customers during our Christmas Open House.

You can leave your bark in an air-tight container for several days, but most likely it won't last that long!  For a printable, easy-to-follow recipe click HERE.

Cape Cod Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Lobster-Men Cookies 

Tired of the same-old, ho-hum gingerbread boy Christmas cookies?

We decided to have a little fun this year and spice things up with our Cape Cod-inspired Lobster-Men Gingerbread Cookies.

The recipe is easy and our Lobster Cookie Cutter will turn any frown up-side-down...And they are so yummy they're hard to put down! You could also use one of our other great seaside cookie cutters.  We have the classic Scallop Shell Cookie Cutter, the Whale Cookie Cutter, the Dolphin Cookie Cutter, and many more adorable coastal and nautical cookie cutters.

Get into the Cape Cod Christmas spirit, and gather your sheet pans, parchment paper, cooling racks, and coastal cookie cutters together and let's start making some Cape Cod Gingerbread Cookies!

Gather together Sugar, Eggs, Flour, Salt, Nutmeg, Shortening, Molasses, Baking Soda, Allspice (or Cloves), Ginger, and Cinnamon.

We found a tip we liked in the current issue of Martha.  She suggests forming your dough into a flat disk for easy storage (one atop another) and we found it fit perfectly on a small pizza pan.  Just slide it in the fridge for a few hours to make it cold for rolling out.

 

I have one word for you: PARCHMENT!  Making cookies without parchment paper is a total waste of energy.  Do the bottoms of your cookies sometimes burn?  Use parchment and they won't.  Have trouble sliding your cookies off the cookies sheet?  You won't if you use parchment.  Another cookie essential is a commercial-grade Sheet Pan.  This pan is ideal because it won't warp and will keep your cookies nice and flat for easier decorating later on.

We also have found that rolling out your dough directly on to Parchment Paper makes for fewer casualties when transferring cut-out cookies to the pan.  Just peel away the extra dough around your cut cookies then lift the paper onto the Sheet Pan.  It's a beautiful thing.

This lobster catch is all wrapped up and sitting on our Cape Cod Christmas Tree awaiting the arrival of a hungry guest in need of Christmas cheer.

Cape Cod Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

Click here to print recipe

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 325°

2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Shortening
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Molasses
4 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Allspice
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg

Directions

1. Cream together Sugar and Shortening.
2. Add 2 Eggs and 1/2 Cup Molasses.
3. Sift together Flour, Baking Soda, and Spices.
4. Add to Sugar Mixture.
5. Form dough into a flat disk for easy storage.
6. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for several hours.
7. Roll dough out onto Parchment Paper, about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.
8. Cut out with Lobster Cookie Cutter and peel away extra dough.
9. Lift parchment and slide on to Sheet Pan.
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

For Icing

1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar

1 T Milk

Combine Confectioner's Sugar and Milk.  Spoon into pastry bag with a thin piping tip.  Outline cookies and have fun!