Christmas Cookies

Today is all about Christmas cookies! Last year I devoted one Saturday in December to a marathon cookie baking session while we had Christmas movies playing in the background. It was glorious. Our previously mentioned December travels mean that this weekend is my one shot at cookie baking, and I plan to take advantage of it. Last year I got a little carried away and became a bit of a cookie pusher, trying to force cookies on unsuspecting family, friends, and coworkers. So I'm going to try to cut back this year, and halve recipes where I can.  The three cookie recipes that I will DEFINITELY be making this weekend:

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (Iowa Girl Eats)

I stick with the classic peanut butter instead of her suggested use of cookie butter. These are M's favorite cookies and I will definitely NOT halve this recipe. These little guys are so, so good.

Christmas Cherries (Pioneer Woman)

 Ummm...yeah, I might double this recipe. These are my faaaaaavorite Christmas cookies. They are addictive. The citrus flavor is so refreshing, it almost makes you forget about the amount of butter involved. Also those little candied cherries remind me of the garnish my mom used to put on her homemade cream cheese braids, so there's a good deal of childhood nostalgia going for these.

Fruitcake Cookies (Ina Garten)

There are two types of people in the world: people who like fruitcake and people who don't. I fall into the former category. But I think even fruitcake detractors could be swayed by these cookies. A few of these cookies with a cup of vanilla-cinnamon tea after dinner and I am in heaven. This recipe makes a ton of cookies, but it's an easy recipe to halve. You could also make the full recipe and just freeze one of the logs instead of baking it, which is what I did last year.

Those are our three traditional Christmas cookies (or as traditional as something can be after only 4 years of being a household). I like to try new recipes every year to audition new members of our exclusive cookie club. Last year I made pepparkakor and honestly? The dough was better than the cookies. The cookies were actually delicious, but they were kind of overshadowed by all of the other offerings. I also made Dinner: A Love Story's Mexican chocolate cookies (the recipe is in her first cookbook). I overbaked them but they were still awesome, especially with a cup of hot chocolate. That said, not sure they really felt like Christmas cookies to me. So here are the newbies I want to try this year:

Christmas Sugar Cookies (Jenny Steffens Hobick)

Like many people, I grew up making cut-out cookies with my mom and sister for Christmas. We had so much fun decorating them and picking out the prettiest ones to leave for Santa. I am terrified to make them as an adult, mainly because I'm a perfectionist and I'm pretty certain that since my cookie decorating skills haven't advanced much since the 3rd grade, I'm going to be wildly disappointed in the outcome.

Pignoli Cookies (Anne Burrell)

I am a sucker for anything with pine nuts and since M is half-Italian, this seems like a fun nod to his heritage.

Buckeyes (Southern Living)

We made these every year growing up and I've just never made them as an adult. No hang-ups about them the way I do with cookies...I've just never done it. I don't know why; they're actually REALLY easy to  make. Maybe this will be the year!

Bourbon Balls (Garden and Gun)

I mean...chocolate + cookies + bourbon. I usually make hot cocoa mix and/or cheese straws to give as gifts to friends and coworkers and I feel like I can make room in the line-up for these babies. YUM.

 

Five on Friday: Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I am so looking forward to celebrating with my family next week and getting to meet our new niece and nephew. I haven't been home since March and I know this is going to be an extra emotional visit for us because it will be the last holiday we celebrate in the house I grew up in. (I got kind of weepy just typing that out.) And since we won't be spending Christmas with my family, we're having a little family Christmas celebration the night before Thanksgiving. My mom even bought a fake tree so that we can help decorate :)

1. Isn't this the most stunning Thanksgiving centerpiece you've ever seen? I would be tempted to add in a few pheasant feathers, but wow. I can't stop looking at it. And it looks like it would be pretty easy to assemble, which is a bonus because I do not have a gift for floral arrangements.

2. When we do Thanksgiving with my family, the libations menu typically consists of beer, wine, and maybe a batch of our wedding cocktails (which, admittedly are the perfect festive fall beverage). The Kitchn posted this recipe for a pitcher of Amber Rush cocktails last week and it just looks so fun! I love the way the star anise looks floating in the pitcher and the combination of rye, citrus, and spiced honey syrup (with the suggested addition of a little ginger beer) sounds pretty spot on.

3. As a rule, I don't think the Thanksgiving menu should be messed with. This meal is not the time to trot out newfangled recipes. It is all about the humble classics. With that said, I am making something a little bit different for dessert this year. There will still be pumpkin and apple pies (duh) and I got my pecan pie fix at our Worksgiving celebration yesterday (pictured above), but I'm trying out a recipe for Buche de Thanksgiving. I typically make a Buche de Noel log for Christmas every year and when I saw this recipe in my 'Cold Weather Cooking' cookbook, I knew I had to try it. Pumpkin cake + cream cheese and toffee filling? Hello, yes please! I'll be sure to snap some pictures and if it's any good, I'll share the recipe. (I've looked everywhere online for it with no luck.)

 

4. I am in love with the idea of hosting Thanksgiving one day. It's one of those things that I dreamed of as a little girl (is that weird?) and I feel like I still won't really be a grown-up until I've hosted a Thanksgiving of my very own. While our current situation doesn't make that likely to happen anytime soon, I can still dream. Right now those dreams pretty much take the form of setting the table (again, probably weird). I have a thing for china and serveware and my current dream table setting includes this pheasant gravy boat, the turkey platter that goes with my beloved Spode Woodland china, and these rustic glam servers.

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5. Stuffing or dressing? This is a hot debate in our house. I come from a family of people who are decidedly dressing only. My grandmama makes the most amazing dressing from old biscuits, rolls, and Saltine crackers. I cannot wait to dig in next week! M's family is dedicated to stuffing. (M does make an exception for oyster dressing.) I'm normally not very squirmish when it comes to food, but I am completely scared of and grossed out by stuffing and absolutely will not touch it. So what side of the aisle do you fall on?

Five on Friday

1. I know I already shared this on Instagram, but it's too great not to share here too. My mom works for Orvis and a few weeks ago they received the following email:

 

We are being visited this week by a friendly mallard duck, who has been greeting associates at the entrance all morning.

 

A wild bird expert I contacted told me he is fine, has recently molted (lost his flying feathers) and is probably seeking a quiet place to hang out away  from the pond while his feathers grow back.  He is harmless and will probably waddle away when he gets hungry or thirsty.

 

The bird expert I spoke with said we should not feed the duck.  Not only are the foods we have here not particularly good for the duck…if we feed him, he might get confused and decide this is a good place for him to stay. 

 

That said, please don’t feed the duck, watch your step around the entrance to the building, and be extra careful driving in the HR parking lot.  We don’t want to hurt or confuse our duck friend as he resolves his own unique and personal issues!

 

On Wednesday, I received the following text from my mother:

Apparently he also now quacks when greeted. I know they are still working with the wildlife expert to make sure their little friend is A-OK, but I can't help but anthropomorphize here and think the little guy looks like he would like to come inside and join the folks in Finance. I'm quite jealous; I really wish we had an office duck at my workplace!

 

 

2. Forget everything I said about not being into dressing up for Halloween. Next year I'm going as Ina. Now I just need to convince M to go as a bottle of "good" vanilla or olive oil or Jeffrey. (Thanks to Food & Femininity for the inspiration!)

 

3. I love, love, LOVE the idea of giving this necklace to a new mama or a recently married friend. I happen to have some engaged friends and some pregnant friends, so ladies, please act surprised when you receive this from me :) M, this would make a wonderful gift for your wife (hint, hint, wink, wink).

 

4. I'm an aunt! My sister-in-law gave birth to the most beautiful twins early yesterday morning. I am counting down the days until I get to meet my adorable niece and nephew!!!!!

 

5. Truth. 

 

 

 

 

 

Five on Friday

Happy Halloween! This week has been exhausting, so I'll be playing the part of grumpy witch tonight. Instead of dressing up and/or handing out candy tonight, I plan to be curled up on the couch in my PJs eating take-out sushi with the porch lights turned off. Good thing there aren't a lot of kids or teenagers in our neighborhood, or I might be waking up to a house covered in eggs tomorrow...

1. Great article on the inimitable Wes Anderson. #hatersgonnahate

2. Will be picking Halloween M&M's on clearance this weekend and making this popcorn-marshmallow-candy confection immediately.

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3. I love the way these turkey pheasant and magnolia wreaths look. The perfect wreath for this time of year.

4. I wrote about army coats and military parkas, so Elements of Style and Habitually Chic wrote about army coats and military parkas. You guys, I am obviously a MAY-JAH (that's "major" in Victoria Beckham speak) trendsetter. Word to the wise, I got that Gap coat and it runs HUGE.

5. My laptop is officially dead. We've had a good run these last 7.5 years, but it is dead and the kind folks at Apple informed me that my old Macbook is considered "vintage", which means they no longer make the parts to repair it. That sounds a bit like a rip-off to me, but whatever. My needs are pretty simple when it comes to a replacement: I want something that I can run Microsoft Office on for those rare occasions when I bring work home. I don't want a tablet (I think). Mainly I use it for blogging, online shopping, social media stalking, uploading pictures, and watching the occasional movie. I'm leaning towards the adorably small 11-in Macbook Air. I am not tech-savvy in the slightest bit. I just want something that works and that I can tote around with reasonable ease. What say you, interwebs? What do you have? Do you like it? Do you have it? What do I need that will meet my basic needs and not have me shelling out $$$ for fancy things that I will never use or understand?

Five on Friday

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1. An unfortunate kitchen incident yesterday AM resulted in the untimely death of my beloved slow cooker. As I slooooooowly move through the stages of grief, I need to replace this baby ASAP since we are entering prime soup/stew weather. I need recommendations! I know I can just buy another one of these, but since we have to buy a new one anyways, I'd like to upgrade to a programmable one. I am leaning towards either this oneor this one. I'm leaning towards the Hamilton Beach, because that's what I had and I know the quality will be good. I am not interested in the Rolls-Royce of crock pots (I'm looking at you, All-Clad) and ones with too many bells and whistles kind of terrify me. If you have a stripped down programmable one you love, do share!

 

2. I have finally come to accept the fact that I am just not a Halloween person. I love fall and all that it entails, but Halloween is just kind of snooze city for me. I have zero interest in decorating for Halloween outside of a glittery raven I bought at Michael's a few years ago (and with a Baltimore-born husband, the raven typically hangs around until the end of football season). I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so other than the excuse to buy harvest-color wrapper mini Reese cups, the candy doesn't excite me. I love the idea of dressing up in costume in theory, but the actual execution just seems exhausting. Honestly, I think the only part of Halloween that I'm into is the nonstop loop of Hocus Pocus and It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on TV.

  

3. We haven't seen a movie in an actual movie theatre in over a year. We have not set foot in a single movie theatre since we moved to Vermont. I could not tell you the last movie that either of us wanted to see badly enough to actually go to a theatre. My 16-year old self is shaking her head in disappointment right now. I used to LOVE to go to the movies, but now there are just so many other ways I would like to spend a date night. That said, we will ABSOLUTELY be seeing Unbroken in theatres. I cried when Louis Zamperini died this summer. It is one of my all-time favorite books. If you haven't read it yet, start now and give yourself time to finish it before the movie comes out.

 

 

4. Any day now (but hopefully not for another week or two), I will be an auntie! My sister-in-law is due with twins, one boy and one girl. Obviously Aunt Sarah has already made sure the D and M both have a Sophie...can't have my niece and nephew go without THE baby toy. I want to get them something when they're born and I am kind of dying over these little Baltimore onesies. So perfect! Mom readers, what gifts did you really appreciate for your newborn (or what gifts did you wish you could take back)?  

 

 

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5. A recent examination of my wardrobe alerted me to the fact that I am down to one pair of sweatpants. I have owned said sweatpants since the 8th grade. I'm not really sure how I let the situation get to this point...what on earth was I wearing around the house all of last winter? I'm working on adding all 3 of the above pairs to my closet ASAP. The first two would be strictly around the house wear, but I feel like the Nike pair have the potential for cute weekend errand wear.

 

That's all for this week. I have a very glamorous weekend of house cleaning and closet switching planned. Thrilling. Hope your weekend plans are more exciting!

Five on Friday

1. OMG YES. The morning after our wedding we invited people to join us for brunch at one of my favorite restaurants in my hometown, Thelma's Chicken and Waffles. Last year when we spent a weekend in Montreal, we noticed that Southern food was kind of trendy there (weird, right?) and went to a little hipster dive for brunch that served us cheese grits, beignets, and, you guessed it, chicken and waffles. A former colleague and I have bonded over a shared love of chicken and waffles and spent a not-insignificant amount of time debating the merits of the Lay's Chicken and Waffles-flavored potato chip.

All of this is to say, I freaking LOVE chicken and waffles and will be making this cake at some point. Would it be weird to bake my own 30th birthday cake? Because this is the perfect birthday cake. Can you imagine it using Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets?!? Oh. Em. Gee. Next level deliciousness.

2. It's the time of year to start thinking about Christmas cards! Or at least it is for me anyways. And of course my annual goal of having somebody take a picture of us and the dogs to use for the card remains unaccomplished. I know there's still time, but we're going on 3 years of marriage and this has yet to be done. I'm doubtful. Anyhoo the past few years I have used LivingSocial or Groupon to purchase our cards. Or more accurately, I've purchased deals through them to get our cards. While I do love all the pretty paper happening over at Minted, I do not love all the $$$ they require for something that, at best, will be on someone's fridge for 3 weeks. The first year we did this, I got a Shutterfly deal, so it was a company I was familiar with and I had no hesitations about the quality or customer service. Last year I bought a Groupon to a company I had never heard of and I was a bit nervous, but our cards turned out great! The company was super nice and easy to work with.

 

This week, LivingSocial is running another deal. It's another company I haven't heard of or worked with, but a.) using the EXTRA10 promo code got my purchase of 70 cards down to about 37 cents a card and b.) the company has some seriously cute card offerings. I'm willing to take the risk. If you're willing to take the gamble as well, would you pretty please use my link so I can maybe get my cards for free? And then share the love with your peeps and get some free cards for yourself!

3. Pure Barre is coming to Burlington! I realize we're about 5 years late to this party, but I'm so excited to start classes when it opens in November. Any Pure Barre fans out there? Tell me how it has magically transformed you into a Victoria's Secret model so I can justify the price + early AM wake-up calls.

4. The most perfect scene from a walk with the dogs this week. Vermont fall is awesome. Sometimes it is very surreal to me that we actually live here. (Remind me of this feeling of awe and gratitude in 3 months when it's below zero out.)

5. Has anyone ever bought/used one of these molded loaf pans? I'm normally not a fan of kitchen things that can only be used to make one thing specific to a season or holiday, as storage space is at a premium in our teeny tiny kitchen. But pumpkin bread is one of my favorite fall treats to make and I've wanted one of these pans for years. A friend gave me a Williams-Sonoma gift certificate for my birthday and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger, but if they are a total pain in the ass to use (i.e. no amount of greasing and flouring gets the bread to come out looking like it's supposed to), I could still be talked out of it...

Five on Friday

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1. I had big plans last Sunday for doing some fall decorating at our place, but ended up spending the day watching a 7 hour marathon of 'The Killing' and nursing a painful hangover. That little project has been moved to this weekend and I'm kind of leaning towards a white vibe. White mums (although I am majorly digging the dahlias here) in the window box planter and white pumpkins flanking the door. I will probably chicken out at the last minute and stick with the more traditional autumnal palette. Martha makes this look tres chic, but I'm afraid it will just look tres boring and uninspired.



2.  We are just few hours away from Quebec City and I am DYING to stay at the Hôtel de Glace. There's something very James Bond-meets-Dr. Zhivago chic about ice hotels. They just seem so cool (har dee har har).

3.  I once read an interview with Ina Garten where she mentioned her favorite cookbooks and immediately added them to my never-ending Amazon wishlist. I am a bit of a cookbook collector (my husband would probably use the term 'hoarder') so I'm always curious to see what is on other people's shelves. My sister-in-law gave me this particular tome for my birthday this year and it is delightful. As the weather has started to get cooler here, I've been cozying up with it on the couch the past few evenings. I have yet to cook anything from it, but Sarah Chase's tone is kind of hilarious. She's endearing and quirky, but also a bit of a snob. Somehow it just works, like she's one of those friends who is a bit ridiculous and you roll your eyes at, but love anyways because they're just so genuine and darn likeable. Also, I can see why Ina is a fan. Girlfriend is not afraid of butter and cream.

4. I bought all of the materials necessary to try my hand (again with the puns) at galaxy nails this weekend. I am thinking this is going to be a disaster of epic proportions.

5. Totally reasonable to spend $800 on this guy, right? I mean, he is just so charming and fun, I'm sure Sallie Mae won't mind if we skip a month of payments to buy an impractical, yet adorable home accessory.

Five on Friday

I realized that most of these posts are really more like 5 random thoughts on Friday than they are 5 favorite things.  Last week, two of the things were things I actually dislike, so it seems that Friday Favorites is a misnomer. We're sticking with Five on Friday from now on.

1. No explanation needed.

 

2. It's supposed to be gross and rainy all day tomorrow, which I'm secretly excited about. I have a TON of stuff I need to do around the house that I've been putting off because it's been so glorious to be out in the fall sunshine the past few weekends. I'm feeling a major closet purge coming on. Actually, just a major life/home purge in general. We have moved every year for the past 4 years, so I've had to do a purge regularly. This year no move (three cheers for that!), so I am feeling the itch to donate, trash, and organize all of our junk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Speaking of gorgeous fall weather, these are some pictures from our street I took on Wednesday. We've started to hit peak foliage in some parts of the state. Vermont is absolutely unreal in the fall!

 

4. I made homemade apple butter last weekend using this recipe. The only change I made was instead of using a teaspoon of nutmeg, I used a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, and a 1/4 teaspoon of cloves. Some of the reviews said that they thought it was too sweet, but I thought this was one of the best batches of apple butter I've ever made. I say that as someone who does NOT have a sweet tooth. I used a variety of apples (McIntosh, Paula Red, Gala, and Granny Smith). We've been enjoying this on muffins and breakfast sandwiches all week.

 

5. Postseason baseball fever has officially hit our house. Let's go O's!