Christmas Posts

25Dec
3

Reindeer Cake Balls

Merry Christmas everyone!

I’d heard about cake balls from Bakerella’s blog a while ago, but always assumed they were just that: balls of cake. Big whoop, I thought. Then, my amazingly talented friend Jen made some cake balls.

I know I’ve said simply “wow” for a lot of things, but wow.

Possibly the most amazingly perfect things I’ve ever tasted. If there was a cake ball diet, I’d be on it. I’d buy stock in cake balls if they were publicly traded. If it wasn’t a terrible idea, I’d name my firstborn Cake Ball.

The secret is that the frosting is INSIDE the cake ball, mixed with the cake. I know, right?! Genius.

I tried making reindeer cake pops (à la Bakerella), but their little heads were too top-heavy and I couldn’t keep them on the pops. Maybe next time.

Turned out pretty cute, yeah?

Reindeer Cake Balls

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Treats and tagged with , , , ,
05Dec
1

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

December is here, which means it’s almost time for Christmas cookies! I’m planning on taking a whole Sunday in the next week or so and just baking  a few different kinds of cookies. I love doing some traditional Christmas cookies (sugar cookies, gingerbread people) and then experimenting with some new ones (last year I tried my hand at Linzer tarts). Still trying to finalize this year’s cookie list.

My most favorite cookies to make at Christmastime are peanut blossoms. You know, peanut butter cookies with a Hershey’s kiss pressed into the center. I’ve been making them for years and they’re always the first cookie to disappear.

This year, I decided to try something a little different: mini Reese’s peanut butter cups instead of kisses. And wow. Wow.

Wow.

These are absolutely amazing. I baked the cookies in a mini muffin tin, since the peanut butter cups are a little taller than the kisses.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , , , , ,
29Aug
0

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Despite last week’s creativity, this week I’m going with a classic: red velvet cake. I’m rather embarrassed to admit that I didn’t realize that red velvet is really just chocolate cake with red food dye :-/ But it’s delicious!

Red velvet cake always reminds me of the holidays when my great aunt would bring an aaaaaa-mazing red velvet cake to Christmas dinner. It’s such a comfort food! The rich texture, the treacly-sweet frosting…so good. Even though it’s summer (just barely anymore!), red velvet cake instantly brings me back.

This is my second attempt, and everyone has their own version of the red velvet cupcake. Although, I want to vent about something that I encountered a lot while looking for recipes: people bitching about the red food dye. They wanted something “natural” and “healthier”. Dude…you’re making cupcakes. They’re not exactly beacons of health.

Anyway, let’s ooh and ahh over cupcakes. I made these with cream cheese frosting, and I’ve found it absolutely necessary to mix in the cream cheese while it’s cold (not softened like many recipes call for). Warm cream cheese is runny and gross, so keep it cold!

This recipe is mildly adapted from Joy the Baker’s website, who got it from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cupcakes and tagged with , , ,
22Dec
4

Christmas Cookies Galore!

Finally, the Christmas cookie post! And let me tell you, this literally took me ALL day. Not that I’m complaining, it was well worth it.

I baked cookies with my mom every Christmas when I was younger, and it’s something that I try to continue today. Even though I miss spending afternoons in the kitchen with her, elbow-deep in dough and covered in flour, keeping the tradition alive makes me feel like a kid again. It’s when I really start feeling like it’s Christmas!

While traditionally, my mom and I would make classic cookie press cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies, I decided to venture a little outside of my comfort zone. Having a pretty strong German heritage, I’d always wanted to try making Linzer tarts. I’d never really had them as a kid, but they are a quintessential Christmas cookie. Since they are pretty Old World-y, I didn’t think I’d get too many takers, but they actually turned out to be the most popular cookie!

Along with the Linzers, I’d decided pretty early on that I wanted to make peanut blossoms (from a recipe I’ve been using for years), sugar cookies, and gingerbread people (they’re not gingerbread MEN, for god’s sake).

Christmas Cookies

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , , , , ,
13Dec
3

Snickerdoodles

Ok, I know I usually only bake on Fridays, but today is snowy, I’m wrapping Christmas presents, and the mood just struck. Since it’s so close to the holidays, I decided on Snickerdoodles, a perennial Christmas favorite.

No, they have nothing to do with Snickers or doodles or even Snick for that matter. Though I’m sure you could watch Snick while eating them. Snickerdoodles remind me of Old World German women baking in the dead of winter (you can read alllllll about the history of Snickerdoodles here).

This is another Magnolia recipe…surprise! No but really, while Snickerdoodles are hard to mess up, anything from Magnolia is guaranteed to be perfect. This is my second favorite cookie recipe from Magnolia (I will post my very favorite at some point…they are OMGZ so good).

Snickerdoodles

Keep reading and get the recipe…

Posted by Suzy in Cookies and tagged with , , ,