Keep Calm and BAKE ON!

One thing you should know about me is that I love to bake! I love to try different cookie recipes and decorate my creations. I have a few new things I'm going to be trying out here in the next month or so.

First of all, I am hosting my 2nd Christmas Cookie Exchange! I tried a new cookie recipe last year (Red Velvet Shortbread cookies) and am going to make a new one again this year. I have two recipes I want to try and in the next few weeks (with a short break because my husband is going to be leaving for school and he sneaks cookies as soon as I get them out of the oven is my taste tester) to decide which one to take to the cookie exchange. Choice number one is Alfajores (Argentine Caramel Sandwich cookies).

photo from Better Homes and Gardens

Choice number two is Cinnamon-Sugar Roll cookies.

photo from Better Homes and Gardens

How delicious do those look? I can't wait to try them out!

Now, I've made many batches of cake pops and have even decorated my daughter's 2nd birthday cakes (two regular cakes and two mini cakes). I LOVE making cake pops and the cakes were generally very fun to make (though I honestly did get frustrated at times since it was my first time). I also really admire all the cookies Bridget makes over at Bake at 350. I have finally decided to try out decorating cookies with royal icing! Yeah, I'm sure I'll get frustrated at times since I really have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm excited to try it out. Maybe I'll find a new passion! Then again, if I fall in love with it, I'll be making cake pops and decorated sugar cookies for every get together I go to. Not that anyone has ever complained that I bring cake pops wherever I go. ;) Anyway, since Thanksgiving is a week away, this weekend I will be making these cute treats.

photo from Bake at 350.

Well, I'll be trying to make them, at least. :) Like I always say, even if they don't turn out cute, they'll still be yummy!

Stay tuned because I will definitely be posting how everything turns out. First up... the adorable turkey cookies!

Cookie Exchange

I can't believe it is Christmas Eve already! I am so excited. Baby Girl was 3 months old last Christmas so she didn't really know what was going on. She doesn't know what Christmas means or anything yet, either, but she knows she loves all the lights and she'll be able to open her presents herself and all that fun stuff. I can't wait for her and hubby to open their presents tonight after dinner, hot chocolate, and a reading of The Night Before Christmas. *sigh* I love Christmas!

Today I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of the cookie exchange I hosted this past Saturday. Well, technically the pictures are just of the goodies because I forgot our camera in the diaper bag that hubby kept with him since he watched Baby Girl, but that's okay. :) I had never even been to one before, but I really wanted to make sure there was one on island this year.

I ordered some gingerbread boy and girl themed decorations from Oriental Trading. They were super cute! I made some hot chocolate in the crock pot and some reindeer cake pops for dessert.

A couple of people volunteered to bring some hors d'oeurves and punch to help out, which was wonderful! It took a little bit of stress off and saved me a little bit of money! There were 10 of us that came and everyone brought such delicious cookies!


I made little recipe books with the recipes of the cookies people brought (at least those that people emailed me beforehand) for everyone to take home with them so they can make their favorites from the party.


It was really simple. I just printed them out with a cute little Christmas tree graphic in the corner, trimmed them down, punched a hole in the corner, and tied a ribbon to keep it together.

Oh, and of course I had some Christmas music playing in the background! :)

It was really SO much fun and I already know I want to do it again next year! Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies

I mentioned changing up a recipe a little bit for Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies in my National Cookie Day post. When I made them with the original recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, they were delicious, but hubby wasn't crazy about the cocoa aftertaste. It was better once the white chocolate went on, but I decided to play around with it a little. So instead of 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, I put 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa and 1 Tbsp. hot chocolate mix. DELICIOUS!!! It tastes like the first batch I made but without the aftertaste. Hubby said they were perfect. Trust me, the original recipe is wonderful, but this just suits our tastes even more. Here is the recipe with my twist:

Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies

You will need:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  
• 1 Tablespoon hot chocolate powder mix
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, cut up
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• 3 ounces white chocolate (with cocoa butter), coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons shortening
• Finely chopped nuts, sprinkles, or nonpareils (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, hot chocolate powder, and salt. Add butter and red food coloring. Combine (by hand or food processor) until it resembles fine crumbs. Mix/process until mixture just forms a ball.

2. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough lightly until nearly smooth. Roll or pat dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured 1-1/2-inch round cutter, cut out dough. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press scraps together and reroll.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes (20 worked perfect for me) or until centers are set. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

4. In a heavy small saucepan, melt white chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly (honestly, I didn't add the shortening). Dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate. If desired, sprinkle with nuts or sprinkles. Let stand on waxed paper until set. Makes about 24 cookies.

Please don't mind the not-so-great dipping technique I used. I was short on white chocolate and had to maneuver the cookies around instead of just dipping. :) And I have decided that these are going to be the cookies I take to the Christmas Cookie Exchange I am hosting soon. I hope everyone likes them!!

Perfectly Timed Giveaway

Remember the cookie exchange I talked about starting? Well, looks like quite a decent sized group wants to participate! Too cool! And today I heard of a wonderful giveaway consisting of a cookie exchange hostess package from Wilton. How perfect would that be? Head on over and visit Amanda to enter, too!

Christmas Cookie Exchange

Hubby got a fabulous new schedule and got to come home for lunch today. While at work he had checked for packages (the base we are on, you have certain times you can pick up your packages) and the apron I had ordered came in! YAY!


I ordered it from Flirty Aprons and absolutely love it! I can't wait to bake my first batch of cookies in it! I have already planned on making leftover Halloween candy cookies. I am going to use some cookies and cream candy (the same kind that I used for this cake), chop them up, and use them in place of chocolate chips.

That (among other things) got me thinking of Christmas. Which got me thinking of hosting a Christmas cookie exchange! How fun! I want to plan it out now so I can get invites out and order a few decorations (living in GTMO, you have to order things pretty far in advance to make sure it gets here on time... just in case). I know I have some wonderful readers and was curious if you have any ideas for a fabulous cookie exchange.

One idea I found is to hand out a Christmas necklace (just a cute, cheap little thing) to each guest as they arrive. If you mention the word "cookie," you give the person who calls you out your necklace. The person with the most necklaces at the end of the party gets a prize! I'm thinking a cookie cookbook and a whisk or something. If you have any ideas, have had a cookie exchange yourself, or would like to share your favorite Christmas cookie recipe, I would love to hear from you!