Happy Christmas Eve Day everyone! I can’t believe this year is almost over! I haven’t had a lot of time to dedicate to the blog lately (school, work, work, school) but I took a little time off last week and was able to get in some baking!
Here, in no particular order, are this year’s Christmas cookies! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and a Happy New Year! See you in 2017!
Yup, I said spirits. Cause who couldn’t use a little nip after climbing up and down a ladder putting up your Christmas lights for the second time in a week because after you put them up the first time one of the strings died and you didn’t have a replacement string that matched so you had to go out to buy all new lights and then take the first set down so you could put the new strings up… Ho ho ho.
So after I did all that I put together some simple gifts with a boozy twist. First up – some presents for my annual Christmas lunch with a group of friends. I found these adorable towels and glasses at The Christmas Tree Shops.
Add a ready-to-drink mini margarita bottle and you have fun, festive gift for under $10!
Next up – something that would make a perfect gift for a group of coworkers! I found a box set containing 12 different hot cocoa mixes at Big Lots for $10. Then I headed over to the liquor store and picked out an airplane bottle of liquor to go with each flavor of cocoa.
It was so much fun coming up with different flavor combinations! Cinnamon cocoa meet honey whiskey; gingerbread makes a perfect pair with Baileys Irish Cream… There are a ton of possibilities! Play your cards right with the booze selections and you can knock out a dozen gifts for less than $5 per person! Your friends at work will thank you when they are sipping on a spiked hot cocoa after a long day of last minute Christmas shopping.
Do you give Christmas gifts to coworkers? I’d love to hear some of your ideas!
I just delivered this adorable set of cookies to a coworker who is doing a “Baby’s First Christmas” theme this year to celebrate her grandson. I really enjoyed making the little onesie cookies. 
And since this is a baby themed post, here is me with Santa when I was a wee one. So precious…
We are just coming off of a seemingly endless stretch of 90+ degree days here in NJ. It’s been a hot, humid and VERY rainy summer so far – a lot more like the tropics than the Mid-Atlantic. The weather has been more conducive to loafing around on the couch in the A/C watching old Law & Order: SVU episodes on Netflix than it has been to baking. Who wants to turn on an oven inside when it FEELS like an oven outside? Not this girl.
Luckily things have finally cooled down a bit, just in time for me to bake some cupcakes for our Christmas in July celebration at work today!
I was having a hard time getting in the spirit of things and deciding on a flavor so I did a little poll on my Facebook page. I had quite a few good suggestions: eggnog, gingerbread, red velvet. I was leaning towards eggnog until someone mentioned peppermint. Mint is not only Christmasy, it’s also cool and refreshing – perfect for hot weather!
I was inspired by these Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes from easybaked but I knew I wanted to add a splash of booze to my cupcakes – they are for a holiday party after all 😉
Spiked Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
24 cooled chocolate cupcakes, prepared in the manner of your choice (I used Pillsbury Devil’s Food cake mix)
To make the frosting:
Heat 1/2 cup of milk, half & half or heavy cream either on the stove top or in the microwave. Dissolve one packet of instant hot chocolate mix in the milk and let cool.
In a stand mixer combine:
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup shortening
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons peppermint schnapps
10 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cooled hot chocolate
The bowl for my mixer isn’t that big, so I started off with 5 cups of the confectioners sugar, mixed that with all the other ingredients and then added the other 5 cups of confectioners sugar.
Frost cooled cupcakes then add mini marshmallows (I used mini chocolate ones) and a peppermint candy for garnish.
Did anyone else celebrate Christmas in July this year? Only 152 days until the real deal!!
Today I got a little break from the pre-Christmas running around madness. Presents are all wrapped, cookies are baked, make-ahead mashed potatoes for Christmas Eve dinner are made…ahead. What better way to enjoy some downtime than with a cocktail?
This drink was inspired by those chocolate covered marshmallow and caramel santas that you can buy at the drugstore this time of year. I love those things!
While I was whipping this up, I thought of a Christmas song called The 12 Daze of Christmas by Fay McKay. It’s not something they ever play on the radio – I’m not even sure how I ever heard it in the first place – but they should, because it’s freaking hilarious.
So if you too could use a little drink and some music to unwind this evening, play that and make this:
Chocolate Caramallow Cocktail
1 oz Pinnacle Marshmallow Vodka
2 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
splash of half & half
ice
caramel sundae syrup, chocolate syrup and marshmallows for garnish (optional)
Combine marhsmallow vodka, chocolate liqueur, half & half, and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake until frosty. Drizzle caramel sundae syrup inside martini glass, then pour in drink. Garnish with marshmallows and chocolate syrup.
I’ve been doing quite a bit of Christmas-y stuff the past week. First, I put together gift tins full of goodies for my coworkers. I made chocolate covered Oreos (Double Stuff, of course), cute little candy cane striped cups full of Christmas gummies, personalized stocking cookies, and a treat I found on Pinterest – Cinnamon Sugar White Chocolate Pretzels (or what I now refer to as Christmas Crack – it’s THAT good)!
I also went with a bunch of friends to see the Holiday Pops show. Before the concert we had lunch at Max Brenner, where I had this lovely concoction:
This wasn’t the first time I got to have this drink, called Satisfaction Guaranteed, and it was every bit as good as I remembered!
After lunch we headed over to the Kimmel Center to see Peter Nero and the Philly Pops!
Once the show was over, we wandered around the city quite a bit. We went to Love Park to check out the Christmas Village and the tree at City Hall (which was not actually at City Hall this year due to some construction mess).
All the walking made us hungry again and we ended up a my favorite restaurant, Jones, where I had some excellent baked mac and cheese.
The next night I baked cookies with this candy cane sugar cookie dough made by Pillsbury. I found it with the refrigerated doughs. I dipped some of the cookies in melted dark chocolate, and drizzled the chocolate on others. I also made some chocolate covered marshmallows and put it all together on a tray to take to work.
The cookies were really good, so I went looking for another package of the dough at the grocery store this morning but couldn’t find any. 😦 Bah humbug!
Last but not least, I headed over to Christmas Madness Central with my brother to take some pictures.
I could hear their electric meters whirring from across the street, and I swear as you round the corner onto the street where these two houses are the air actually feels warmer. I wonder if they can been seen from outer space…
So there’s a sample of what’s been keeping me busy the past few days! Since the world didn’t end this morning I’ll probably be baking some more cookies today! Hope everyone is enjoying all the fun this time of year has to offer!
Just two weeks before Christmas, and all through my blog
No cocktail has been shaken, not even some nog!
My mixer sits there all alone and forgotten;
The eggs in my fridge are probably rotten.
My sifter lies nestled so snug in its drawer;
I need to bake cupcakes so I can post more!
My presence on WordPress has been rather lacking.
There’s just so much to do – I need to get cracking!
Time has passed quickly since the first of December –
I have so much to do that it’s hard to remember!
I have plans for cupcakes in holiday flavors,
And goodies that hopefully my friends will savor.
But I still have shopping and wrapping to do,
And if it stops raining I need to put up my lights, too! (Seriously Mother Nature – I thought it was supposed to be 60 and sunny on Saturday?!)
After that there’s an order of cookies to bake;
Maybe then I’ll come up with a cocktail to make.
Until I return with new photos to share,
I wrote you this poem so my blog is not bare!
Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I’ll be back soon – I promise!
Shake Bake and Party 