Snowball Pecan Cookies {Mexican Wedding Cookies}

I think this is it!  The last Christmas recipe.  Well, there may be a few more, but they are recipes that are appropriate year-round so they don't really count, right? 

I love Mexican wedding cookies.  Or Russian teacakes.  Or whatever their Italian name is.  The point is that they're crumbly, and sweet, and nutty, and I always figured they were hard to make. 

Turns out they're super simple and are so much better homemade.  These are easily the best Snowballs/Mexican wedding cookies/Russian teacakes/Italian wedding cookies I've ever had.

(If these cookies had a personality it's pretty obvious they would be Schitzophrenic.)

My only complain is fingerprints get left in their pretty white powder pretty easily.  I solve this problem by eating all the ones with unsightly prints.

Read More

Peppermint Herringbone Brownies

Winter is the time of year I get incredibly frustrated with blogging and usually disappear for awhile.  It's ten degrees outside.  There's no light.  All of my pictures come out dark and grainy.  And it's really annoying to work hard on something and have the pictures not do them justice.

Apparently I need to start my Christmas baking in August or something and take all my pictures then. Although personally I'd prefer to take the easy way out and move somewhere habitable.

Forgive me for the terrible picture, but just know that these herringbone brownies are gorgeous in real life.  Gor. Geous.

Also delicious.  

Read More

Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider Granita

Okay... only 17 days late.  Here is the dessert I made for New Years Eve this year.  100% kid friendly and only two ingredients.  Plus, it looks fancy.


It's not.  It's basically a slushie.


Don't tell anyone.

Read More

Pink Peppermint Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches

These little peppermint Oreo ice cream sandwiches were my favorite new creation of the Christmas season.  They are SO good. 

Chocolatey.  Pepperminty.  Cool, creamy, and delicious.  

Plus they're bite-sized little babies, so obviously they're low-cal...

Right?

Read More

Peppermint Pretzel Candy Bark

Last year I found some really cute Reindeer candy corn bark over at Your Homebased Mom.  I decided to do a peppermint version since I already had white chocolate peppermint M&M's, peppermint marshmallows, and Peppermint Jojo's from Trader Joes.

Literally as I'm making my version I noticed a picture on her sidebar...

SERIOUSLY??


Right down to the Jojo's.

It's hilarious how people share brainwaves sometimes.

This bark was so yummy.  The pretzels really make it unique and keep it from being too crazy sweet.  Also, its super easy so it's a great thing to whip up last minute when you remember people you haven't given Christmas treats to yet...

Read More

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

It feels odd to post all these Christmas treats in January, but I decided it made no sense to save them until next year.  (By which time I probably would have lost the pictures or accidentally deleted the posts.)  This last December was CRAZY for us.  I think I was sick 21 of the 31 days of the month, and amidst Christmas preparations, going on vacation, and baking up treats for our friends, I literally had no time to get these recipes posted.  I hope you don't mind me going back into Christmas mode for awhile, but I promise Valentine's treats are coming soon!  

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  Thanks for sharing some of your time with me this year!

These dark chocolate cupcakes are filled with peppermint whipped cream and topped with peppermint marshmallow buttercream, and peppermint candy pieces.

Read More

Terry's Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Early last month I developed a cookie recipe based on my favorite Christmas treat, Terry's chocolate oranges.  Right before Christmas I decided a cupcake version needed to happen as well.

These were scrumptious & had the perfect combination of chocolate and orange.

Nom. Nom.

Now i really want a chocolate orange.

Read More

Chocolate-dipped Toffee Pretzels

These are one of my favorite treats to make at Christmas time.  You can drizzle them with red, white, and green candy melts, or top them with anything from toffee bits to crushed Oreo.  

Delish!

Read More

White Chocolate Peppermint Oreos

The knife block set we got for our wedding conveniently came with a whacker.  You know, one of those long rods that you use to whack things like candy canes or Oreos to crush them?

Okay, so it turns out the "whacker" is actually a knife sharpener.  Yes, I just figured that out today.

Who knew?

Everyone needs a good whacker in their knife set.  Otherwise you couldn't make these babies.

Read More

Chewy Hot Fudge Sauce {& Peppermint Hot Fudge}

I've read that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

In actuality, I think the definition of insanity is realizing you're brushing your teeth in the stainless steel kitchen sink and you have no idea how you got there or why you're even brushing your teeth.

Apparently, the holidays are quite literally making me crazy. 

This obviously has nothing to do with fudge sauce, except maybe chocolate is a good cure for the crazies?


This sauce turns chewy on cold ice cream so it is "hot fudge" in the traditional sense of the word.  None of this chocolate syrup nonsense. I literally tried 5 recipes last month looking for the homemade hot fudge to share with you.  This is it!  Just in time to gift to neighbors for the holidays.

For an extra special treat, try the peppermint version.

Read More