Holiday Wassail and Mulled Wine

Watkins Traditional Cider Brew

Hot spiced apple cider is one of our favorite holiday drinks. This blend of whole spices is perfect for cider or mulled wine, and adds a delightful holiday ambience as simmering potpourri.

You can find Cider Brew under Holiday Gifts and Entertaining - 2006 at my Watkins online catalog http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Happy Holidays! Enjoy these recipes!

Holiday Wassail

3 cups apple juice or cider
3 cups cranberry juice cocktail
1 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Watkins Cider Brew

Pour liquid ingredients and brown sugar into a large saucepan or crock pot. Place remaining ingredients in a coffee filter or cheese cloth tied with a piece of string and add to the pan or crockpot. Place over medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Mulled Wine

1 tablespoon Watkins Cider Brew
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1 orange, sliced
1 1/2 cups dry red wine

Place Cider Brew in metal tea boil or small piece of cheesecloth tied with a string. Place in a large kettle with brown sugar, water, juices, and orange slices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in wine and heat but do not boil.

Christmas Gifts For Children and For Our Troops Overseas

Christmas is a time of giving and sharing with others less fortunate or in need. There are many people where you live who won't have a Christmas dinner or presents without your help.

If you'd like to help other needy children and support our troops visit these web sites for information.

Operation Christmas Child at Samaritan's Purse provides Christmas gifts to children all over the world.

If you'd like to support our troops visit Operation Shoebox which sends shoeboxes of goodies to military personnel deployed overseas.

A testimonial from Lilly about Watkins Organic Cleaner

I'm always thrilled to hear from one of my online friends. Here is a testimonial from a satisfied Watkins shopper. Lilly earned a $10 Watkins gift certificate for purchasing $100 worth of Watkins products in one year. You can earn a gift certificate too! Her order of $75 or more was also shipped free.

"We are painting our kitchen today. We have some vinyl molding we are removing and thought of replacing until I scraped off most of the glue then used some Watkins Organic Cleaner on it to remove any residue to find that it also removed 99.9% of the glue. That's pretty darn good if you ask me. Now, instead of replacing it, we are going to reglue it and reuse it. It cleaned up nicely with a shine thanks to Watkins Organic Cleaner.

Thank you. By the way, now my husband wants a gallon of the Watkins Organic Cleaner of his own so I'm going to order it next week on your website using my $10 gc."

Lilly, thanks for sharing your experience using Watkins Organic Cleaner.

Purchase this product at my Watkins Online Catalog

Pumpkin Swirl Bread

I baked this pumpkin bread a few days ago and it is absolutely the best pumpkin bread I have ever tasted. It has just the right amount of spices and the sour cream and cream cheese swirl makes it moist and delicious. This recipe bakes two large loaves. Slice one loaf for you and your family to enjoy. Freeze the other for the holidays or give to a friend or relative. Be sure to attach the recipe.

This recipe will definitely go into my "Family Favorites" cookbook, an accumulation of recipes I use over and over again.

Sour cream and cream cheese combine for a delightful white swirl in this pumpkin bread.

Filling Ingredients

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 egg

Bread Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon Watkins Ground Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Watkins Ground Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Watkins Ground Nutmeg

2 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

4 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (9x5-inch) loaf pans. Set aside.

Combine all filling ingredients in small bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg in small bowl.

Combine 2 2/3 cups sugar, oil, water, pumpkin and 4 eggs in large bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until smooth. Continue beating, gradually adding flour mixture and scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Spoon 1/4 (about 2 cups) pumpkin batter into each prepared loaf pan. Carefully spread half of filling mixture over batter in each pan; top each pan evenly with remaining pumpkin batter. Pull knife or spatula through batter and filling to create swirl effect.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely. Makes two 9x5 inch loaves.

Nutrition Facts (1 serving)
Calories: 300, Fat: 14g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 190mg, Carbohydrates: 41g, Dietary Fiber: 1g, Protein: 4g

Purchase the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg at Watkins Online While you are there look at our complete line of products for your pantry, for your medicine chest, and for your home.

Unadvertised Menthol Camphor Ointment Special (US Only)

Buy one Menthol-Camphor Ointment tin and get one limited edition Menthol-Camphor Ointment in the gym-friendly plastic jar for just $4.99!

06612 Menthol-Camphor Ointment 3.53 oz. jar (U.S. Only)
Menthol-Camphor Ointment (Medicated Ointment in Canada) in the 117 g/4 1/8 oz. tin is already specially priced during October and November Promotions. But while supplies last, customers and Associates in the U.S. who purchase the Menthol-Camphor tin can also purchase the 3.53 oz. Menthol-Camphor, gym-friendly plastic jar for just $4.99 US—$3.00 off the suggested retail price!

02358 Menthol-Camphor Ointment 4 1/8 oz. tin (U.S. Only)
Regularly $8.99 US
October and November price: $7.99 US

06612 Menthol-Camphor Ointment 3.53 oz. jar (U.S. Only)
Regularly $7.99 US
Just $4.99 US with purchase of 02358 Menthol-Camphor Ointment
Limited Quantities

32358 Medicated Ointment 117 g/4 1/8 oz tin (Canada Only)
Regularly $10.99 CDN
October and November price: $8.99 CDN

Tips for Holiday Baking and Freezing

You don’t always have time to bake elaborate desserts during the holiday rush. But what if I told you that some scrumptious sweets can be made ahead and frozen; and no one would ever be able to taste or see the difference? Yum

Of course there's no time better than the holidays to have homemade sweets on hand—no time busier, either. But, happily, lots of sweets can be baked early, stowed in the freezer, and pulled out at party time, their taste, texture, good looks, and power to delight completely intact. Here's how to get it right—plus a few no-fail recipes for bake-and-freeze desserts.

Begin with butter
Pound cakes, tight-grained loaf cakes, sturdy Bundts, brownies, cookies—all the butter-based sweets—freeze best.

Freeze pies raw
Fruit pies make fine freezables, but you should get them into the freezer right after they're assembled. Then, pull out and bake.

Don't freeze creams
Meringues, puddings, custards, creams, mousses, and whips don't freeze well—some break down, some weep, and they all lose their lovely textures in the defrosting process.

Cool first, freeze second
A sweet isn't really finished until it's cooled—cooling is what sets the texture and gives the flavors time to blend.

Pack it airtight
Oxygen is what causes freezer burn. There are fancy freezer containers on the market, but old-school twist-tied plastic bags or plastic wrap is most effective. Because the seal should be snug, draw together the top of the bag, then suck out as much air as possible before shutting it tight with a twist tie.

Label everything
Put the name of your goody on the bag (mystery cakes are as frustrating as mystery meat), and mark the date that you made it.

Defrost slowly
It's best to put the frozen dessert—still in its wrapping—in the refrigerator to defrost overnight, then bring it to room temperature before serving. If you're in a rush, go directly from freezer to counter. Never defrost frozen desserts in the microwave. That's a sure-fire way to cook or melt them.

Exerpted from Hot Freezables By Dorie Greenspan

Dorie Greenspan is an award-winning cookbook author. Her latest, Baking: From My Home to Yours, will be published by Houghton Mifflin in November.

Two New Products - Roasted Turkey Gourmet Gravy Mix and Watkins Sampler

Two New Watkins Products Available November 1

Roasted Turkey Gourmet Gravy Mix (01173) $7.99

There’s nothing like Grandma’s homemade gravy over mashed potatoes. Inspired by Grandma Watkins’ original recipe, our new Roasted Turkey Gourmet Gravy Mix makes it simple to enjoy this comforting favorite everyday; just add water, simmer and taste. Savor the rich, made-from-scratch flavor, just like being in Grandma’s kitchen!

Watkins Sampler (10530) $18.99

Eight reasons to try some of our most popular products, all packaged in a sturdy reusable logo bag and ready for travel or gift giving.

Watkins Sampler Contains:

• Aloe and Green Tea Hand and Body Lotion 1 fl oz.29 mL
  
• Vanilla Hand and Body Lotion 1 fl oz/ 29 mL
  
• Peppermint Foot Cream 1 fl oz/ 29 mL
  
• Mango Shea Butter .70 oz/ 20 g
  
• Lemon Cream Shea Butter .70 oz/ 20 g
  
• All-Natural Lavender Hand and Cuticle Salve .25 oz/ 7 g
  
• All-Natural Lemon Hand and Cuticle Salve .25 oz/ 7 g
  
• All-Natural Lemon Body Oil 1 fl oz/ 29 mL
  

Shop my Watkins Store for these and other monthly specials.