I know I’ve been lax with blogging lately. I’ve had quite a bit (not holiday related) going on that’s been taking a lot of time. Good stuff, but just very time consuming.
Now I’m in full holiday mode. This weekend I’m in Texas with Abby and grandson Jackson. On today’s agenda is making clove-and-cinnamon scented orange pomanders and also baking gumdrop muffins. I remember making an orange pomander for my grandmother DeElda Gunderson when I was a little girl. I think that was the only time I ever made one until two years ago. I knew when I made one for Grandma that my mom thought it would be something from my heart that my ill grandmother could/would enjoy. It transcended the generations.
I was introduced to the gumdrop muffins at a P.E.O. meeting hosted over 25 years ago by Nancy Martin of Rolfe. She let me take some muffins home. My daughters fell in love with them and I’ve made them every year since.
This post is a copy of my post from two years ago. That is the year Jackson and I first made orange pomanders, with my dad making them with us. Three generations of hands. That was my dad’s last Christmas but we are keeping the tradition alive. Also, Jackson and I have made gumdrop muffins together I think every December (except maybe his first December?) of his little life.
If you want to have a pomander ready for Christmas Day giving, it would be good to make it now. It might even be a little late to have it ready for Christmas, because it needs to have time to dry out. However, if you 1) place it loosely in some tissue paper 2) in some sort of paper bag so air can circulate around it 3) in a fairly dark (I think?) and dry environment, it should be mostly dried by Christmas. Even if it isn’t, you can still give it, telling the recipient to give it a little longer before taking it out of the bag permanently.
A link to a video with pomander directions and also the gumdrop recipe are below.
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Nancy Martin’s Gumdrop Muffin recipe is 99% for certain being posted by the end of tomorrow. [It is now posted. See the update below.]
- UPDATE: One of Santa’s elves came through with the typed (instead of Nancy’s with my chicken scratches on it) version of the Gumdrop Muffin recipe. Here is the Gumdrop Muffin recipe!
Some pomanders are simply made with just these ingredients and a ribbon. To watch how to make a pomander with these ingredients and a ribbon (or without a ribbon), scroll down to the "click here" link for a video demonstration. (Be sure to notice that you'll need whole cloves as opposed to ground cloves.)
Also, are you looking for the perfect gift for a child to give to an elderly person who doesn’t really need anything? Or, actually, for the perfect item for anyone to give to anyone?
How about an orange pomander? Basically an orange pomander is an orange with whole cloves pushed into it. It is used as an air freshener because it smells really, really, really good. If you google “orange pomander” you’ll find many sets of directions for making one. Some directions call for a preservative called orris or sandalwood oil. Others use just an orange, whole cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon…and a ribbon.
I remember making a pomander for my grandmother when I was little. (I’m almost positive I didn’t use orris or sandalwood oil.) I was so proud to give it to her because I made it all by myself (and because it smelled so good).
Click here for a less-than-3-minute video of a young girl demonstrating how to make an orange pomander.
If you do google, you’ll find that some directions are for a “quick” making of a pomander that could be given right away. Some versions are for a pomander that isn’t given until after three or four weeks of drying. Either way, it is a gift from the heart, inexpensive, and smells so refreshing.
(Click here to go to this blog’s home page.)
Marion Gunderson Art (and the Farmer's Daughter) 
December 18, 2011 at 6:38 am |
Yum, gumdrop muffins. I’m thinking they must be as good as your M&M cookies?
I remember making orange pomanders – and my fingers hurting from pushing in the cloves – but in the end so proud of my accomplishment and having a nice gift for someone special.