Search Results for: blog the ultimate christmas cookie

Coconut Candy Cane Cookies and Mega Chocolate Delights

It’s the eighth of December… how’s your Christmas cookie baking coming along? My sister-in-law just called to tell me that her kitchen resembles Mrs. Field’s, but not in a good way. The countdown to Christmas is on and if you haven’t already chosen the sweet treats you plan to lovingly prepare for family and friends, then you’ve come to the right place. I’m about to share two of my all-time favorite Christmas cookie recipes. The first recipe for Coconut Candy Cane Cookies was voted best holiday treat at the TV station I used to work at. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the … Continue reading →

The Ultimate Travel Destination for Little Girls

Well… that is if your favorite little female is into American Girl dolls. And judging by the doll manufacturer’s stats there are a ton of little girls who love these life-like and expensive (they typically sell for about $90 each) creations–my daughter included. According to Mattel (which makes the American Girl dolls), more than 13 million American Girl dolls have been sold in the United States alone. What’s more, 3 million doll lovers have traveled thousands of miles to visit American Girl Place shops in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and smaller American Girl Boutique and Bistro’s in Atlanta and … Continue reading →

Rocky Road Mud Cookies

Consider me a fan of anything that includes both milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Putting both into any type of dessert always yields a more richer and more complex flavor. In fact, here’s a little tip: if you add both semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips to your chocolate chip cookies. . .they’ll be doubly delicious. Just add half of each (as opposed to double the amount of chocolate called for.) In any case, these are a great snack to warm up your home on a cold winter’s day. I’m fairly sure I heard them calling for hot chocolate when … Continue reading →

A Very Red Christmas Velvet Cake

Nothing says Christmas like a festively decorated dessert that features the traditional colors of the season. If you are like me and are tired of making (and eating) the same red and green Christmas cookies this next recipe might get you back in the holiday spirit. It’s a take off on the traditional southern favorite red velvet cake. The recipe for the cake is untouched save for the festive green frosting that borders the deliciously moist red interior. You could stick with the traditional white frosting, but I enjoy hearing the oohs and ahhs from my family members as I … Continue reading →

Christmas Morning Brunch Bake and Cranberry Eggnog Muffin Tops

One of our family’s favorite holiday traditions is hosting a big brunch on Christmas morning. It’s the one of the few days when my mom allows others to help her in the kitchen. Preparing this holiday meal has always been a way we spend quality time together and when you’re surrounded by comfort food everyone seems to be in a great mood. The following recipes are ones that we’ve been making for years. And the best part is you can prepare it in advance, which means you won’t be slaving away in the kitchen while the rest of the family … Continue reading →

Have a Merry Choco-Christmas

How much is too much? Is it possible to have too much chocolate? My sister-in-law certainly doesn’t think so. With less than two days until Christmas she is in her kitchen whipping up her famous chocolate macadamia nut clusters. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that if I see one more Christmas cookie I may just run in the opposite direction. But, that’s just because I spent the last three weeks churning out more than 300 cookies to give to friends and neighbors. (Did I mention I sampled a few dozen along the way?) My sister-in-law is by … Continue reading →

Cookies for Breakfast

Come on… admit it… you’ve done it once in your life… downed a few cookies during the first meal of the day. Eggs, bacon… and cookies. No? It’s not exactly the breakfast of champions, but what about bacon and eggs in your cookies? I’m not kidding. I’ve baked more cookies this month alone than I have all year and every person I’ve seen on a regular basis knows this as they have been forced to hear me lament about my kitchen failures, and likewise rejoice (and share) in my cooking successes. Last week when I was kvetching about being up … Continue reading →

Spiced Up Christmas Cookies

In a previous blog I mentioned that everyday spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, contain tiny amounts of vitamins, minerals and potent antioxidants that can help reduce heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Since then I have been trying to find additional seasonal recipes, which feature beneficial spices. Valorie has been kind enough to allow me to share the litany of Christmas cookie recipes I’ve experimented with (or enjoyed via others) this holiday season. The following cookies were included in a Christmas tin I just received from a former colleague of mine. It took me a couple of days but … Continue reading →

Have a Very Minty Christmas

My 3-year-old daughter has been on a mint kick since tasting her very first chocolate mint Drumstick in August. So when it came time to pick out the cookies she wanted to take home from our friend’s holiday party last Saturday she made a beeline for the chocolate mint cookies. The bite sized morsels are not overwhelmingly minty. Rather, the chocolate presence gives it a familiar taste similar to those popular Girl Scout Thin Mints cookies, only the texture is different and these cookies are topped with “snow” (powdered sugar). Another of my daughter’s favorites was a hit with all … Continue reading →

Low-Fat Christmas Cookies

Christmas cookies are the perfect way to end a festive meal, but after Saturday’s cookie-a-thon I really don’t have the desire to consume anymore of the sweet morsels until next year. I also don’t have the desire to get on a scale (and don’t plan to) until well after the holidays are over. If you are reluctant to undertake holiday baking because you are concerned that you will inhale the fruits of your labor before they make it to their final destinations I offer you the following recipes. They prove there’s no reason to eliminate Christmas cookies from the holiday … Continue reading →