christmas bake-off part four:

So about those cupcakes.

There were far too many of them. They were given to co-workers, security guards, secretaries, home groupers, and homeless men, but contrary to the "Who has leftover cake?!" notion, well, I had leftover cake.

So our Christmas treat will be peppermint cake pops. I thought they were quite easy to make until I remembered that the cake and frosting had been finished several days prior and mixed into ball-able dough yesterday.

The resulting treat is satisfyingly cute and super rich, with a fun minty crunch of the candy cane at the end.

Find instructions here. I saw no need for the edible wax, used buttercream frosting, and homemade chocolate cake. If you're going through the trouble to make these, why not bake your own cake?

And there was enough chocolate left over to make a little Christmas eve treat for after our special meal--

Frozen chocolate covered bananas.

Merry Christmas to all!

christmas bake-off part three:

A repeat of the Thanksgiving challah for work Christmas pot-luck.

christmas bake-off part two:

It all started with one little cupcake. Cute, right? Not scary at all.
A dark chocolate peppermint cupcake with vanilla buttercream and crumbled candy canes on top. Even used a nice recipe from the sadly defunct Gourmet as a tribute (with added peppermint extract).
But then, they started to multiply-- tiny, minty warriors.

All the while, I feel ashamed. Will I be overtaken by a monster of my own creation?

But I regained control and paired them off, two by two.

One hundred and twenty-six tiny cupcakes later, they became the perfect army of happy homemade Christmas joy.

christmas bake-off part one:

Dark chocolate-dipped peppermint meringues.

A quick dip in super dark chocolate surprised with a nice contrast to the super-sweet melty peppermint meringues. I was inspired by this Martha Stewart recipe, but totally baffled about how to present a sandwich cookie that is pointy on both ends (other than on... is that chicken wire in her picture?).
Highly recommended as a simple, light cookie alternative. And it is-wait for it- gluten free!
Leftovers can be crumbled to top ice cream sundaes or hot chocolate, too.

gingerbread houses are hard.

Leave it to my good friend Marissa to host a gingerbread house-building event! Little did we know cookie and frosting construction would be so challenging. I have a new-found respect for all of the parents (and teachers) who endeavor to make these structures with small children. Crumbling cookies and frosting avalanches followed by an inevitable sugar crash must be quite a chore...

After much experimentation and several glasses of wine, we did manage to build solid cookie homes without the use of Gorilla Glue.

Following are not the most amazing photos, but they are really an adequate representation of the event:

So it began, just a simple home. Spray icing, some trees, a spice drop roof, peppermint doors--


And then, the dinosaurs attacked!


My partner-in-crime's wintery pterodactyl home.

The finished products, side by side; a tiny community rooted in high fructose corn syrup and multi-colored sprinkles.

And somehow secure enough to survive the car ride home. And now, my home is twice as decorated for Christmas as it was yesterday morning.

sweet christmas inspiration

Partridge in a Pear Tree, In Gingerbread

from Not Martha

Pretty Sugar Cookies

from Brookie's Cookies

Peppermint Bark

from Vanilla Garlic via The One in Pink

Eggnog Creme Brulee

from Citrus and Candy

Cranberry Sorbet

from Annie's Eats

A Twist on Spritz

from Hungry Cravings

Fruitcake?

from Food for Poems

Boozy Spiced Cider

from Savory Sweet Life

Holiday Brew Beer Floats

from Caroline on Crack at Bottlerock Downtown LA

Any Christmas sweet traditions you'd like to share? Or new trends to try?