October 2: Boo Meringues

 Make no bones about it (ha!), these Boo Meringues are sure to please
Skeleton bowl from Yankee Candle Store

I'm continuing the ghost theme today, but this time for dessert!

These cookies were the sixth treat I ever made when I started this festive endeavor in 2013. Yet they remain one of the most popular treats to date, so I thought I'd bring them back this year. Because I think I'm hilarious, I've renamed them Boo Meringues in honor of their return.

They're easy to grab when you need a sweets fix, and light enough not to feel guilty when you see your kids sneaking them when they think you aren't looking. (Or when you snag one or two for yourself whilst resealing the container the kids didn't close in their not-so-stealthy pilfering.) Also? They're a fun topper for a cup of hot cocoa.

* * * * *

Boo Meringue Cookies
With a flavor similar to a marshmallow, these light and airy, slightly crispy, poppable treats will definitely please every ghoul in your house. Recipe adapted from Taste of Home, Meringue Bones Recipe, online.

Yield: mine made 12 bones & 36 little ghosts

Active Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 90 minutes, plus several hours to cool

Note: Any type of grease or water can ruin a meringue. It's important to use clean, dry bowls and utensils. Metal or glass is recommended since plastic can hold residual oils.

Photos: (Top) First batch; too sticky (Bottom) Second batch; perfect texture

Ingredients

2 large egg whites, room temperature (leave them out at least 30 minutes prior to using)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup superfine sugar (If you can't find any at your market, you can make your own by placing regular granulated sugar in a food processor for about 30 seconds)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (most recipes specify clear-colored extract to keep those ghosts bright white, but I wasn't about to buy clear stuff just for one recipe. Using the regular, brownish vanilla extract is fine. Your ghosts will still be white, just not quite as vibrant.)
miniature chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. If desired, fit a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch plain tip; if you don't have tips, you can simply cut a small hole in the corner of your pastry bag.  

If you don't have real pastry bags, don't stress. You can make your own out of a 1-gallon freezer zipper bag (the regular non-freezer variety are not as sturdy. They work in a pinch, but sometimes the seam rips open; I've had better success with the freezer variety.) Simply cut off the zipper part to make the bag easier to maneuver; snip one of the corners with kitchen shears to the depth of your piping tip; fit in your piping tip per normal methods; load in meringue; twist the bag at the top so nothing escapes while you pipe. Congrats! You've just MacGyvered a pastry bag! (& I've just MacGyvered a new verb...)

2. In a small mixing bowl, use a handheld mixer to beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla on medium speed until soft peaks form. (For me, this took about 2 minutes. Also, I HIGHLY recommend using a handheld electric mixer rather than a stand mixer. I used the stand mixer on the blobbier batch and I so preferred the control I had with the handheld. In addition, the beaters were closer to the egg whites which helped things happen more quickly.)

3. Add the sugar, a little at a time, continuing to beat on high until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. (This took about 7 minutes when I did it.)

Several meringue recipes I consulted indicated that the sugar must dissolve in order for the meringue to be ready to use. Therefore, once those stiff peaks form, rub some of the meringue between your thumb and index finger. If it's smooth, it's ready. If it's gritty, keep beating.

4. Gently transfer meringue to the pastry bag. Hold the bag upright and pipe 2-inch high mounds of meringue onto the sheet. (To make a bone shape, pipe meringue into 3 inch log shapes, then pipe two circles each at the top and bottom of the log.)

5. If desired, carefully place 2 mini chocolate chips in place as ghost eyes and a third under it in place as a mouth.

6. Bake meringues for 75-90 minutes, or until dry and crisp to the touch, and easily separate from the parchment. Turn off the oven, slightly open the oven door, and leave the meringues in the oven for several hours to finish drying.

7. Store at room temperature in air tight container for 7-10 days.

October 1: Boo Stew

Clockwise from left:  Boo Stew; bat salt & pepper shakers, TJ Maxx; witchy place mats, Target

I am kicking off the first day of this month of tricks and treats with an adorable meal that's so easy to make it practically cooks itself! 

I don't know what it's like where you live, but the nip is back in the air today (yay!) AND it's overcast--oh wait, now it's raining. Well, either way, it's the perfect type of day for a slow-cooker meal. (See? I told you it practically cooks itself. hahaha!)

I found this recipe in the copy of Taste of Home Holiday Halloween magazine I bought way back in, oh wow, August 2010. I know, I know. That's forever ago. But I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of that one. (Including, I might add, the recipe for THE BEST Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting I made in 2010 for my former colleagues that happened to win our department's Cupcake Wars competition. Boo-ya! They're on my calendar to make again later this month so stay tuned!)

Anyway, since it's unlikely you're like me and stockpile old periodicals, I'll let you in on a tip: you can likely find some of the recipes I'm using this year in the seasonal options on sale now. I've found the annual versions of the themed mags tend to have a lot of overlap in content from year to year. They are not exact duplicates by any means, but certain recipes seem to show up every time they're published, so there's a good chance you can will find some oldies and goodies in print. However, for your convenience, I'll post the recipes (well, my adaptations of the recipes) here for your convenience.

The original title of today's fare is "Beef Stew with Ghoulish Mashed Potatoes." However, I've officially renamed it "Boo Stew." That's way cuter, plus it rhymes. And since it's my blog, I can do what I want. Naturally, you're welcome to call it whatever you like.

(I suppose you are also welcome to think the mound of potatoes looks more like a melted snowman and less like a ghost. But if that's the case, think how easily this one can be adapted for a winter-themed meal. Throw a carrot in that little guy's nose and call it dinner! In that case, though, call it Boo Hoo Stew.)

 * * * * *

Boo Stew
A classic beef stew with a dollop of ghostly mash on top! Adapted from Taste of Home Holiday Halloween, August 2010.

Servings: 6 
Active prep time: about 20 minutes
Slow cook time: about 9 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients 

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes and sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper
1 pound fresh baby carrots, halved
3 parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups beef broth
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (if you don't prefer the taste of cloves, feel free to cut it back to 1/4 tsp or eliminate altogether)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 1/3 pounds potatoes, (about 3 large), peeled and cubed
2/3 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
6 Tablespoons butter, cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons water

Directions

1. In a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker, combine the first 10 ingredients. Cover and cook on Low for 8-9 hours, or until the beef and veggies are tender. (I set mine to 9 hours and the texture of everything in the stew was perfect.)

2. Approximately 30 minutes before serving, place cut potatoes in a large pot and cover with about an inch of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then cover and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes or until tender. (Mine took the full 20 minutes.) Drain. Return potatoes to pan and mash, stirring in butter, sour cream, and salt. Once smooth, set aside.

3. Set aside 12 peas for garnish (2 each for 6 servings). Add remaining peas to slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine flour and water, whisking until smooth. Stir into stew. Cover and cook on High for 5-10 minutes, or until stew is thickened and peas are warmed through.

4. Divide stew among 6 bowls. Spoon mashed potatoes into a large resealable plastic bag; cut a 1-2 inch hole in one corner. Squeeze bag gently in a circular motion to pipe mashed potato ghost mounds in center of stew portions; insert peas as eyes for each ghost.

**Note: The original recipe also called for 1 pound fresh mushrooms, halved. My family doesn't care much for mushrooms so I left them out. If your family likes them, you should add them with the rest of the ingredients in Step 1.**

October Tricks and Treats: An Introduction

My husband loves Halloween. Loves it. He's the guy who can never wait until October 1st to decorate the house with pumpkins, witches, bats, spiders, and skeletons; who wants to plan an annual Halloween bash replete with monster-themed cocktails, Halloween music mixes, and a costume contest; who can't wait to settle in for a scary-movie marathon; who yearns to buy a graveyard full of creepy animatronic zombies for the front lawn.

And then there's me. Just kinda eh about the whole sha-bang. I don't mind some decorations--it's nice to be festive. But a party? Not interested. I'll sit through a screening of The Exorcist (his pick for scariest movie ever made) but I'd much rather watch The Skeleton Key and then go to bed. As for the animatronics, I finally came around a couple years ago and gave the go-ahead for a talking witch, but only because she recites lines from Macbeth.

"Round about the caldron go; / In the poison'd entrails throw. ... / Swelter'd venom sleeping got, / Boil thou first i' the charmed pot! / Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and caldron bubble." Also, we call the witch Hecate, and named her cat Graymalkin. And I used a Sharpie to write those lines in the book she's holding since, disappointingly, it comes a blank page. WHAT? Missed opportunity, manufacturers!

Does that make me sound like a wet blanket? I'm not. I just happen to love different things, non-Halloween things. I love autumn. I love crisp air, leaves changing color, picking apples and pumpkins, wearing sweaters, wrapping chilled hands around mugs of steaming deliciousness, cuddling with my husband in front of a fire, lighting fall-scented candles, switching to vanilla-scented body lotions, celebrating my November birthday. Those are the things that put a smile on my face.

And our kids? Not surprisingly, they love it ALL. Especially Halloween. Really, though, what's not to like about Halloween if you're a kid? "Wait, I get to leave the house wearing whatever I want? I get to pretend to be someone or something else? People will...give me CANDY? Yes! Count me in!"

In 2013, on a whim, I resolved to actively try liking Halloween more. I mean, is there any reason witches and spiders can't have a place ON a steaming mug of deliciousness? Surely not. I decided to contribute to the festivities in my house in a way that also made it sort of exciting for me. What resulted was a month-long countdown, of sorts, to Halloween, wherein the girls and I would cook or bake or craft something either Halloween- or autumn-themed each day. When I started on October 1st, I didn't think long-term, didn't know I'd end up doing something each day. It just sort of happened. And, living in the age of Facebook, I snapped pictures of our creations and posted them there.

It wasn't elaborate stuff in most cases. Some days the girls and I painted little $1 crafts from A.C. Moore, or I'd leave them glue and leaves and a big sheet of brown paper to decorate as they wished. Other days I cut their sandwiches in the shape of bats or pumpkins. One day I forgot about it so I quickly sliced up a piece of American cheese and arranged it on a plate in the shape of a spider's web and fashioned black olives into spiders.

On days I had more time, I found fun recipes in magazines or online and made ghost meringue cookies or pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (those were FABULOUS!) Some endeavors were a big hit-- green candy melt-dipped peanut butter cookies decorated to look like "monster toes" and "acorns" made from Nutter Butter bites and Hershey's Kisses, par example-- and others were big misses -- the perhaps aptly-named "boo beverages" of orange sherbet, banana, and orange juice, for instance.

I hadn't planned on making the practice an annual thing, but last year my daughters started asking me in late-September what sorts of surprises I was planning for October. I didn't want to disappoint them, and remembered the fun we'd had the previous year, so I decided to go for it.

Interestingly, surprisingly, it wasn't just my family who enjoyed it: several of my Facebook friends told me they looked forward to my posts, enjoyed seeing what daily things I came up with. A couple people were inspired to make some of the treats with their own kids. Some people sent me links to projects or recipes they thought I might like to try. The daily posts connected me to people I care about in a way I hadn't even anticipated.

This year, my third, I've decided to bring that spirit to my blog. Here, I can share not just the picture of the finished products, but also the recipes and directions when appropriate. As I indicated, in most cases, I don't come up with the recipes or directions. I find them in magazines, on Pinterest, on blogs, through friends. As I post, I'll always credit my source, but they will all be in one handy place for your reference and mine, here on the 'ol bloggy blog.

Some of my favorite go-to inspiration sources and some new goodies I bought to cook up my themed fun in style
Pictured (clockwise from left): Taste of Home Special Editions 2013 Ultimate Halloween; Taste of Home Holiday Halloween August 2010; 

Better Homes & Gardens Best of Halloween Tricks & Treats, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Spider Spatula, HomeGoods; Halloween apron, Kohls

So I hope you will join me this coming month as I enjoy autumn and count down to Halloween, a holiday, it turns out, I DO like.

New and Improved? Well, New Anyway

It's a new season (yesterday was the first official day of autumn, after all) and I'm starting to feel better (from 2 back-to-back illnesses - first, bronchitis, and this past week, adenovirus) so I thought it might be time to get the ol' blog out of mothballs, so to speak. (Speaking of moth balls: seriously, are they not among THE most heinous odors out there? The cabin in the mountains we visited this summer had some in there and every time I got within a yard of that area I gagged.)

Anyhoo, I determined my blog looked old and tired so I gave it a makeover. I fiddled around with some of the settings and templates and font options (am I the only one who thinks font options are the bees knees? And yes, I just said "bees knees" and meant it. I think this is a term we should bring back. I charge you to use it in conversation today.) and voila! "New" blog. (If only it were this easy in real life to have a snappy new look in thirty short minutes. Alas.)

I was highly tempted to use the cool handwriting font I selected for the date (it's called Homemade Apples or some such--as I'm sure is the intent with such a name, I can picture it lovingly scrawled on a jar of homemade preserves with a wholesome, red swatch of gingham fabric on top tied off with a ribbon) as the main font for the body of the text. That way, the whole affair looked more like a hand-written journal than an electronic posting. Sadly, that's not conducive for easy-reading, so I selected a nice serif font and compromised by having the jammy font for my date. I chose books for my background because, hello, books! 'Nuff said.

Speaking of books, here's two I've read recently that I'd recommend:

1. Mariana by Susanna Kearsley -- I loved everything about this novel. The descriptions were beautiful and, particularly as I've visited many of the settings within the novel, I could vividly experience them anew as I read. The characters were well-drawn, and the premise was transporting. The heroine, Julia, feels drawn to an old manor house and, on a whim, decides to move there. Once she does, she is transported between her own life and Mariana's life, and she discovers why she felt so connected to this landscape and the people in it.

2. All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior -- This is a fascinating non-fiction selection that outlines the ways in which parenting affects parents. Rather than telling parents how to parent, it explores the shifting roles of parents over the last century and how, with those changing roles, the entire experience of parenthood has changed. The mixture of anecdotes from real-life case studies interspersed with researched facts and statistics made for a compelling read.


Other new things in my life:

1. A new home office space. *This summer we did a little three-way switcharoobee wherein the former office slash guest room became my older daughter's bedroom (including the full-sized bed that was in there), her former bedroom became my younger daughter's bedroom (graduating her to a twin-sized bed), and my younger daughter's former bedroom became my new office (retiring the toddler bed altogether and moving in my three glorious bookshelves filled with books!) There is no longer any designated guest room space which, really, is no big deal because we rarely had anyone make use of that space in all the years it existed. The person who used it most was my mother-in-law, but, in classic grandparent fashion, she always ends up letting the girls sleep with her anyway, so I figured when she comes to visit, we can skip the pretenses and just set her right up in the bed with my daughter.  As with all things, the process seemed easier in theory than in practice, but over the course of several weeks and several gallons of paint, the transformation has been completed and every lady in this home is happy with her new space.

2. A new laptop. *My old one died. I received the dreaded fatal error message, the one warning me that failure was imminent and if I didn't back up immediately I risked losing everything on there. Pretty much the scariest message one can get on one's computer (with the exception, I suppose, of getting no message as it's already too late to receive a warning; thus, I count myself fortunate in the scheme of things.) As it were, we had time to do a full system back up and shop around for a good replacement for my needs. I had Windows 8 for 2 miserable weeks before upgrading to Windows 10. Another big whew for THAT! 

3. Two new additions to our family. *No, not people. As if! Kittens! We're adopting two in a couple weeks when they're big enough to be adopted. Right now, they're being fostered by lovely people who do this all the time for abandoned pets. Isn't that wonderful? I've never been a cat owner before (though my husband has) so I don't know what to expect, but we're all excited. Pictures and official introductions to follow, no doubt.

That's all for today. I have some exciting things planned for October, so I hope you'll check back in throughout the month for those. In the meantime, enjoy the bloggy face lift.

Poem in Your Pocket Day 2015

Today is April 30th. The last day of April. It also happens to be this year's date for Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day celebrations!

I can't believe April is over already.

I'll be honest: this month sort of got away from me. It feels like just few days ago that I was making birthday treats for my  youngest daughter whose birthday is at the end of March. I had only a vague awareness that we'd moved into April. Some friends posted daily poems to celebrate Poetry Month. My lovely Poetry Month poster came in the mail. (Thank you, poets.org!) I was introduced to the moving poems of Mary Oliver. On the periphery of my consciousness, then, I knew this day was coming. Yet the reminder email that popped up in my inbox last night was like a cold glass of water in my face. Crap! Tomorrow is Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day? Already???

Still, last year I made that nifty pocket pouch and I'd saved a Word document of appropriate poems to print out, so even though I was doing things kind of impromptu, I had the proper tools set up for a good showing today.

BUT I wasn't sure my first grader would want to do it this year. See, several months back she made an announcement to the effect of, "I think I may not want to do poetry day this year." (Fairly unequivocal, right?) At the time, I worked hard to make my voice sound neutral as I responded, "Oh? Why not?" Of course I had my hunches. She's in first grade, so that refreshing carefree quality younger kids possess is starting to evaporate, and in its place is the too-prevalent quality of not wanting to be "different." Few people seem to know that this day exists-- no doubt it ranks somewhere above "National Zipper Day"* but probably below "National Pancake Day" (if only the Academy of American Poets had as much reach as International House of Pancakes...) so it's hardly mainstream and, as such, draws some stares when someone is, you know, handing out poems like they're gifts. It turns out my suspicions were correct. I didn't push it with her because, for one thing, the best way to ensure she'd never want to do it again would have been to insist she do it. More importantly, though, I don't want it to be something she feels she has to do; I want it to be something she loves to do. So if she doesn't want to hand out poems, I'm certainly not going to make her do it.

Yesterday, after I read the email reminder, I mentioned at dinner, "Guess what? Tomorrow is the last day of April. And it's Poem in Your Pocket Day." My daughter immediately perked up and said, "Poem day? Yay!" I said, "Oh, I didn't make the poems. Do you want to give them out this year? " She did, indeed. So I set about to printing and scrolling the poems and filled the pocket. When I gave it to her this morning, she was excited and tried out several ways to wear the bag-- like a purse? like a cross-body satchel? holding the loop?--and even changed her shirt to better match the pink pocket bag. And off she went to school with the poems. (Though my husband reported that her excitement seemed to flag a bit when he dropped her off. It seems she tried to cover the pocket with her Frozen school bag in an effort to hide it. So this may well end up being the last year she makes the trek to school with poems.)

This year I selected an assortment of funny poems mostly by children's poets covering kid-friendly topics (like having a bad day, dealing with messy rooms, being stung by a bee, and even one about farting!). I also left a few more mature ones with universal themes (about nature and equality) in the rotation from last year's batch. When I made the selections, I picked things kids could read themselves and understand. I consider this a good opportunity to turn kids on to poetry so by the time they start formally studying it in school, they'll "like" poetry and will be more open to learning about it, reading it, and writing their own.

Here's the lineup:

"Invitation" by Shel Silverstein
"Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
"Messy Room" by Shel Silverstein
"Hug O' War" by Shel Silverstein
"Today I Had a Rotten Day" by Kenn Nesbitt
"Favorite Words" by Kenn Nesbitt
"The Average Hippopotamus" by Jack Prelutsky
"I Dream a World" by Langston Hughes
"April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes
"Eletelephony" by Laura Elizabeth Richards
"I Made a Noise This Morning" by Jack Prelutsky
"Today" by Billy Collins
"Kitty Caught a Caterpillar" by Jack Prelutsky

As for me? This year I'll be venturing out with a Mary Oliver poem in my pocket.

The Journey

by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save.

I wish you well as you go about your own journey today. May you enjoy your experiences and (hopefully) celebrate the poetry in your own life.


*FYI: When I typed National Zipper Day in my post, I didn't know at that moment if any such day existed, though it seemed like one of those funny things that would exist. A trusty google search revealed that not only does it exist, but it was just yesterday, April 29th. What a funny coincidence!

Sweets and Treats for the Holidays-- Part 2: A Baking Binge

I went a little crazy this year with my holiday baking. 

The almost-full spread of my holiday baking binge

Growing up, my mom always baked delicious Christmas cookies to share around the holidays: chocolate chip, noel balls, thimble cookies, spritz, sugar rollouts, and pizzelles (anise AND chocolate!) I still have especially fond memories of the pizzelles--the smell of them baking; the look of them laid out all over our butcher block kitchen table; the curve of my mom's back as she poured batter onto the press, lifted the lid to check their doneness, and used the stained spatula to take them off; the snowfall of powdered sugar dusting them when they cooled (sometimes I even got to help with that part!); the first bite...mmm.

Boxes of Christmas cookies leaving our kitchen were a part of Christmas, just as much as a Christmas tree.

When I moved out, I took her recipes with me and made and shared my own batches of most of the same varieties I enjoyed growing up. (Not pizzelles, though; I don't have a pizzelle maker. Sadly, she doesn't make those anymore, either. I haven't had a pizzelle in I don't know how long. But I digress...)

Although I've added other cookies to my baking repertoire, I've always made the core types. While tasty, it has started to feel like I was in a bit of a cookie rut. After all, there's so many kinds of cookies out there (I have the magazine clippings to prove it!)--what if I could happen upon some new favorites? What if I could spread some of those new favorites around to others, making an even more exciting holiday baking season?

Luckily, I discovered a wonderful baking blog early in 2014. I mentioned it in my last post, too, since the recipe I used for the Candy Cane Kiss cookies was found there. Do yourself a favor and visit  Sally's Baking Addiction. Sally is a great blogger. She's consistent, has fun & tasty recipes, is available to her readers, and has mastered the art of beautiful food photography! I bought her cookbook in the summer and have enjoyed making the recipes with my daughters. Of course, I couldn't keep up with all the recipes I wanted to try, so I bookmarked them (with real post its, or, virtually, on Pinterest, the greatest time suck in the world!) to revisit later.

What better time for that than this Christmas?

Visions of cookies danced in my head and in early December I was struck with another idea: what if I made themed boxes of cookies and let recipients pick the box that most appealed to them instead of making a one-size-fits-all box like usual?

Although some people I shared the concept with seemed dubious, the more I thought about it, the more excited I was to try it. I started to imagine people opening their boxes and offering trades to other box-holders: "Hey, I'll trade you some peppermint bark for an oatmeal raisin cookie!" (What? I have an active imagination.) It was thrilling in its strange way.

I decided to go for it. If it worked, yay, and if it didn't...well, at least I wouldn't wonder later if I should have tried it. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? It's cookies, after all!

It turns out I had no trouble choosing the ones that would make up this year's offerings. Not one of my staple cookie recipes, though, make the cut. With the exception of two cookies I made for the first time earlier in 2014, and two candy classics (caramel corn and pretzels), I chose a lineup of recipes I'd never made before.

Because I was making some seventeen (17) varieties of cookies and candy treats, I couldn't follow my normal schedule of spending just one marathon day baking; this year, I had to spread it out over the course of a week. I started with candy treats because they stay freshest longest-- especially refrigerated--and tackled cookies later in the week. The bulk of the baking still took place on a single weekend day, but it was a lot more manageable because I'd already finished several varieties by that time.

That night, I boxed up the cookies, used Glad Press & Seal wrap to individually wrap cookies with strong flavor profiles so they wouldn't ruin other nearby cookies (the only thing more disgusting than a peppermint cookie next to a peanut butter cookie is an Everything bagel next to, well, any other flavor bagel...), and made cute labels for each box so people knew what they were choosing. The next day--a few days before Christmas-- I hand-delivered the boxes at their maximum freshness.

While recipients did not engage in the cookie trading of my imagination run amok, they did, in fact, have a wonderful time choosing their box themes. Success!

Later that day and in the days that followed, I received a flurry of texts, emails, and phone calls excitedly telling me which cookies people liked best in their boxes. I'd started a dialogue about cookies!

Hurrah!

*** 

Here's the breakdown of each box. In case you'd like to try making some of these goodies, I've linked the treat to its original recipe whenever possible; just click on the treat name. I also included pictures of my treats and notes about each one.

The Nut-Lovers Box

As Leon Carr wrote in his jingle for Mounds/Almond Joy candies, "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't." In this box, I wanted to appeal to those people who feel like nuts. (haha!) Each cookie or treat features nuts, including pecans, almonds, walnuts, peanuts (well, peanut butter), and pistachios. Needless to say, people went "nuts" for these! 

Butter Pecan Cookie  These were one of my personal favorites from this year. I love pecans and these cookies pack a delicious burst of nutty deliciousness into each bite. They reminded me a little of a chip-less version of my mom's chocolate chip cookies recipe (we put ground pecans in ours) only with larger chunks of toasted pecans. I'll definitely make these again.

Butter Pecan Cookies with chunks of toasted pecans on my beautiful wedding china

Reese’s Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookie These are delicious! My mom, who doesn't even like peanut butter cookies, loves them. The dough is incredibly easy to work with, too. Sally's recipe calls for the small Reese's cups (the individually wrapped ones I show in the photo) but I make an assortment of "smaller" cookies used with that size candy and huge cookies that nest a full-sized Reese's cup within it. That massive cookie is a dessert in itself, and packs a huge punch in the calorie department, but this is a holiday treat so why not? I added a thick drizzle of melted Nestle's Chocolate-Peanut Butter Chips on top of mine. This is a recipe I tried a couple months back and, because it was such a winner, knew I had to include within the holiday boxes. I doubled the recipe so I could get more.

Reese's Peanut Butter Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies- I cut into the one on top so you can see the surprise inside!

Chocolate-Walnut Thumbprint with Cherry Preserves Cookie I found these in Good Housekeeping magazine and thought they looked tasty. Since I usually make a more standard butter thimble cookie, I liked this twist on the old classic. Not only did my Aunt Sherry say they were her favorite cookie from her box, she said they were the best Christmas cookies she ate this year!

Pretty little maids all in a row...

Up close and personal with preserves.

Oatmeal Raisin with Walnut Cookie  I made a version of oatmeal raisin cookies last year, but the recipe I used had way too much sugar; they were cloyingly sweet. This year I tried Sally's recipe and she hit on the perfect amount of sugar. I split this batch of cookies in two, including walnuts in half the batter (to be included in my nut-lover box) and leaving the walnuts out of the other half (to be included in another box).

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti  These cookies made their way into two boxes, too, by virtue of their nutty batter and utter coffee-pairing deliciousness. They were a winner in both boxes, and a cookie I was able to make during the week because they're crunchy to begin with. I left a few plain on the outside to offer a twist. Next time, I may add some dried cherries to the dough for extra interest.

Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti-- coffee's best friend

White Chocolate Swirl Bark   I didn't link to a recipe for this one because it's a treat I found in the Sally's Baking Addiction cookbook. No worries, though, because it was super simple to make, consisting of melting bricks of white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate, spreading the chocolates onto a silicone-lined pan (do yourself a favor and splurge on some Silpat mats! I received two for Christmas last year and I LOVE them!), swirling them with the edge of a knife, topping with pistachios and craisins, then popping the pan into the fridge to set. After about twenty minutes, take it out, break it into pieces (or cut it if you prefer the uniformity), and enjoy! This stuff was my Aunt Donna's favorite.

Pistachio and craisin-topped white & semi-sweet swirled chocolate

                          The Breakfast Blend Box

For this box, I kept breakfast in my mind. I wanted to create an assortment of cookies that either would pair well with one's morning cuppa, or that borrowed breakfast-y flavors or ingredients. What a delicious way to start the day!

Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti   This cookie makes a second appearance here because it begs to be enjoyed with a steaming mug of something.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie   Here's another repeat from the other box. In this version, though, I left out the nuts. Still, in either form, what's more breakfast-y than a bowl of oatmeal? Perfect for a cookie! (And bonus: When they start to turn toward the stale-phase and become more crunchy than chewy, they aren't half bad broken atop some vanilla ice cream.)

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookie   I was, perhaps, the least enthused over this cookie. It did, in fact, taste like banana-walnut bread which is why it was a nice addition to this themed box, but it was also consistently the last man standing on the trays. Sorry, Martha, but I probably wouldn't make these again.

Bananas, walnuts, and semi-sweet chunks - breakfast in a cookie

Chai Spiced Snickerdoodle Cookie  From the moment I first saw these cookies posted at the end of October, I knew I must make them. In fact, the idea of this twist on a classic was part of my inspiration for the breakfast box. I adore cardamom; it's such a delicious, warm spice. I put it in my homemade granola as a matter of course, and it's the "spice" part of last year's Starbucks Vanilla Spice Latte which I copied at home. Chai tea warms you from the inside and I knew this cookie needed to go in this breakfast box. Chai paired with chai? Yes, please! Note: The recipe calls for making a homemade vanilla frosting. I had planned on making it but by the time I'd finished baking all the cookies I was spent. I iced about half of the yield with some store-bought stuff, and left the other half plain. My Aunt Joy raved over these cookies and told me she preferred the iced ones. I bet she'll like them even more when I budget time to make the icing as per the recipe!

Plain or iced, chai spiced snickerdoodles are twice as nice!

Gingerbread Cookie  The happiest, cutest cookie there is. Everyone should start the day with a smile. I found this recipe and made it because my older daughter loves gingerbread. They cookies are tasty to eat but even more fun to decorate (the whole family got in on the action--we had an Eagles quarterback, a Princess Leia, and a one-eyed zombie among these more classic types) and the dough is easy to work with.

One big, happy, gingerbread family

The Candy Shoppe Treat Box

The original concept for this box was going to be chocolate lovers. But I had so many recipes for candy-based cookies that weren't necessarily chocolate-based that I revised my concept. This box was super popular, containing more of the most-raved-over recipes of the season than any other box. 

Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookie  These cookies... oh my! Hands down, the most successful cookie of the season. My husband's new favorite cookie, and my new favorite chocolate varietal. My Aunt Holly and brother both loved them, asking more than once, "Do you have any more of those salty chocolate ones with the caramel inside?" That caramel inside is a Rolo candy and the salt on top is Fleur de Sel. As it were, I didn't have more because the yield for the cookies wasn't that high. Although I can't say the dough was easy to work with (it was sticky and required additional refrigeration even beyond what the recipe called for), the taste more than made up for the extra work. This cookie is going into the rotation-- next year, I'll double it so everyone can enjoy seconds!

Salty and sweet, chocolate with a caramel surprise in the center!

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookie  I made these back in March when I sent them to school for my daughter's birthday (they're nut-free!); the teacher raved over them. I like them because they are a fun twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie, and they offer lots of options for customizing. When I made them before, I used a mix of white chocolate and semi-sweet chips and classic Oreo cookies. This Christmas, though, I used all semi-sweet chips and Birthday Cake Oreos (since the dough has actual cake mix in it, I was trying to really play up that birthday cake flavor). The bright rainbow sprinkles and visible chunks of Oreo help these cookies stand out and were among the first grabbed off my holiday trays, especially by my young cousins and my niece.

What's not to love in these happy candy-and cookie-packed cookies?

Reese’s Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookie   Yes, these again. I put them in the nut box for the peanut butter, but if I was forced to choose only one home for them, this box would be it. The Reese's cup surprise center makes these cookies a fan favorite. I prefer them with the full-sized cup in the center, but that's a lot of cookie; if you go that route and make a single-batch of cookie dough as per the recipe, the yield is 11 large cookies and 1 small cookie. Remember to increase cook time for the larger cookies. 

Candy Cane Kiss Cookie  I did an entire post on these cookies because I received a free sample of the Candy Cane Kisses from Influenster. I can't overstate how popular these were, especially among the kids. I would have made a second batch but my daughter ate all my leftover Kisses! I'm planning to make them again soon, though, with some blue and white sprinkles (for winter) and Cookies and Cream Kisses on top.

Fun and festive for the holiday season with just a Kiss of mint

Peppermint Bark Candy  Honestly, it just looked so pretty I wanted to try it. Who doesn't like a little mint treat, especially around the holidays? Bark is so simple to make. The hardest part of the process is waiting the 15-20 minute set-time for each layer before getting to taste it!

Peppermint Bark

Candy Cane Swirl Fudge   I'm not doing this fudge justice with this photo, but I forgot to take a close up picture of the fudge by itself; the one I'm including here is a zoomed-in shot from the full spread shown in the very first photo of this post. I made this fudge specifically to share with the baristas at Starbucks (it was gone before I finished my latte!) and the staffers at my gym. The leftovers (pictured) I added to some of the candy shoppe treat boxes in the bottom layer with the rest of the peppermint treats.

Candy Cane Swirl Fudge

White Chocolate Swirl Bark    It's candy, so I put some in this box, too.

Extra Treats  

I made a few other treats that were weren't included within the three themed treat boxes. Some of them were stand-alone gifts, and some of them supplemented other items, whether purchased or homemade. 

Caramel Popcorn   I love this Kraft recipe, and I use the individually wrapped Kraft caramels and air-popped popcorn (which I have my husband pop for me) to make it. Sometimes I add the peanuts and sometimes I don't. This year, I didn't add them in either of the two batches I made (one each for my dad and my father-in-law.) Coincidentally, on Christmas Eve my brother presented my dad a tub of caramel corn which he'd bought at a specialty popcorn shop at the mall. We couldn't resist conducting a blind caramel corn taste test. Of the six people who participated, everyone voted my homemade corn better, citing the caramel flavor as more pleasantly prominent, whereas the specialty shop's popcorn had a saltier, more buttered-popcorn flavor. Homemade wins the day!

Caramel popcorn - what could be sweeter?

Triple Chocolate & Caramel Covered Pretzels  This is my own "recipe" which consists of plenty of melting and pouring but involves no actual cooking. I use Snyder pretzels, Kraft caramels (melted), and three types of candy melts (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white vanilla). I lay my pretzels on two large unlined baking sheets in a single layer and pour melted candy on top of them in turn. I always start with milk chocolate, then move to dark chocolate, then to the white. As the candy melts cool on the pretzels, things harden, so I try to stir it around on the pan a bit so both sides get some coating (not that it matters too much). Then I pour the melted caramel on top. I like it to glob a little. Once everything sets, it can be broken up into chunks. This stuff is addictive and people always ask for more. I give it in its own container.

Chocolate Caramel Coated Pretzels

Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops    I took inspiration from the delightful Starbucks Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop and tried to cook up my own version. (It turns out the real Starbucks "brownie" pops aren't brownies at all but are chocolate cake with butter cream. Go figure.) I went with real brownies for mine, but used a boxed brownie mix in my Baby Cakes machine (makes perfect balls!) to make things easy on myself. Then I melted white candy melts which I flavored with some peppermint flavoring. I dipped each ball into the melty goodness and sprinkled with ground candy canes. I bagged these up in festive holiday treat bags and included them as gifts for teachers and babysitters alongside gift cards where appropriate. My girls loved grabbing them as snacks, too.

Bite sized treats

The plain brownie bite balls underneath and the pops on top

***

That's it. Seventeen varieties of sweet treats selected, baked, packed, photographed, and shared with love. 

It was lots of work (and TONS of butter-- over 16 sticks! Wowsa!) but trying so many new recipes and getting such positive feedback was wonderful.  It was gratifying spreading holiday cheer with these food gifts as people genuinely seemed to enjoy what they received. 

A fresh batch of treats breathed new life into the staid (but wonderful) tradition of holiday baking. The result of little changes was novel and personal and oh so sweet. 

Now that you've seen it all: which box would YOU have chosen? Let me know in the comments!

Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays 

and a delicious 2015! 

                         

Sweets & Treats for the Holidays-- Part 1: Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Happy holidays!

What a delicious season it has been so far, and it's not even Christmas yet!

I've spent the past week in my kitchen baking up a ton of treats to share with family, friends, teachers, and clerks at my favorite local businesses.

I kicked off my annual holiday baking season with these delightful Candy Cane Kiss cookies. The nice folks at Influenster sent me a VoxBox which contained Hershey Kisses Candy Cane Kisses. See?

Hershey's Kisses: Candy Cane seasonal variety. #MERRYKISSMAS

Pretty cool, huh? The only thing better than festive holiday Kisses is FREE festive holiday Kisses*. I couldn't wait to try them.

My girls were eager to rip into the bag immediately. I figured trying a couple for testing purposes would be reasonable, so we dug in and started tasting. This seasonal variety is mint flavored with characteristic candy cane stripes, and for added fun, little crunchy candy bits inside (you can see the flecks of red speckling the Kisses in my picture). The girls loved them and didn't want to stop at just one a piece, but I knew I wanted to make something delicious with them so we had just one more (what? it's the holidays, after all!) and then I set about to find the perfect recipe. For me, that's usually a cookie.

As usual, I wasn't disappointed when I checked in with my favorite sweets food blogger friend Sally at Sally's Baking Addiction (www.sallysbakingaddiction.com). Sure enough, she had a recipe using the Candy Cane Kisses (two, in fact, but I went with the classic sugar cookie recipe.) For the actual recipe, head on over to her blog and check it out. But I can tell you this: it couldn't have been easier.

I made the sugar cookie dough, rolled it into 1-tablespoon-sized balls, rolled those balls into my favorite festive sprinkles, then baked. When they were out of the oven, I let them rest on the pan for five minutes before popping a Candy Cane Kiss in the middle of each one and racing to get them in the freezer (full disclosure: my freezer is full at the moment, so I put mine in the fridge instead.) The point is: get them to a cooler climate STAT because those little Kisses start to melt their minty goodness onto your cookie. While it doesn't change the taste, it does change the appearance.

Once they're set, you have a festive-looking, soft and sweet sugar cookie with the crown of mint on top. My daughters loved them. My niece loved them. Everyone who tasted them loved them! And they were so simple.

Here's what they looked like when they were done (as you can see, next time I'm going to have to make it to the fridge a tad faster. Haha.)

Candy Cane Kiss cookies

I've seen some other uses for the Kisses, too, like as a topper for cupcakes and pies. Or, quite frankly, you can just eat them plain. They're that good.

Bottom line: this was a fun seasonal treat and one that I'll certainly make it a point to buy in the future. This cookie deserves a spot in the Christmas cookie line-up and was a fantastic starting point for my holiday baking adventures.

I'll share the full line-up of my treats in my next post. But until then, this is a good one to get you started. Happy baking!



*Disclosure: I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. However, all the opinions expressed herein are my own and are true.