I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas; Santa brought you what you wanted and you ate all the delicious things. I’ve been holding my Christmas present for the last 9 months now so I definitely indulged this holiday on all things delicious. I wanted to share my 3 favorite eats from the season. Just because it’s not December 25th doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them all year long too.
Caprese Wreath: I saw this recipe on the Food Network’s The Kitchen and my Italian heart melted. Deliciousness mixes with art- I knew i had to make for our Christmas Eve dinner. The ingredients were easy to source and didn’t require a trip to a fancy Italian market. The baking time was quick. But most importantly, the finish was scrumptious. You can find the recipe here. I recommend getting a baguette the day of, use Costco’s Pesto sauce and top each piece with fresh basil. Don’t fill up on these apps too much - it was hard to make sure I left room for actual dinner. In fact, I’m craving this dish right now.
Stephanie’s Sugar Cookies: Jose and I have been watching Christmas Cookie Challenge and Holiday Baking Championship like our lives depended on it. We were so inspired by the techniques and flair that we decided to have our own bake-off. One Saturday morning we woke up and watched a quick Youtube video on icing and felt most inspired by this recipe by Stephanie from the This Is Bingham Blog. Not only were her cookies perfect, but her tips on royal icing was mind blowing. After a quick trip to Hobby Lobby for Merengue Powder and food colors we spent the afternoon at Jose’s parent’s house putting our skills to work. We look forward to practicing it again and again for all the holidays: Valentine’s Day, Easter, summertime, fall events and more.
Cranberry Orange Muffins: I got a Costco size bag of cranberries for a mocktail recipe and found myself wondering what to do with the remaining 6 cups of cranberries. I didn’t use them all yet, but I did whip up a double batch of Cranberry Orange Muffins. The key to these muffins is the first 5 min you bake on a higher heat, the, the remaining 13 min you turn the temp down. Also, not mentioned the the recipe, is sprinkling them with powdered sugar on top- this help sweeten up the tartness from the cranberries and looks like it came out of a magazine. You can get the recipe for the muffins here.
If you had any recipes you tried this year and loved, please share them. I love getting in the the kitchen and trying out new things. I am so happy my third trimester was not like my first- I am craving all the delicious foods, inspired to cook everyday and I know my baby and husband are enjoying it too. I should start paying it forward and sharing my dishes more so when the baby comes I get homemade dishes right back to us for the nights we can’t find the time to even warm up a hotpocket.
XoXo
Britt