Merry Christmas 2010!

Hope you all are enjoying your family, friends, and good food!

I have one last festive cookie to share for the Christmas season.

Cinnamon Candy Cane Cookies

48 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup red-hot candies, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Red food coloring, optional
• 2 tablespoons coarse sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half. Mix red-hots and cinnamon into one half; tint with food coloring if desired.
• Shape 1-1/2 teaspoons plain dough into a 4-1/2-in. rope. Shape 1-1/2 teaspoons red dough into a 4-1/2-in. rope. On an ungreased baking sheet, place ropes side by side; press together lightly and twist. Curve top of each cookie down to form handle of cane. Repeat with remaining plain and red dough, placing 2 in. apart on baking sheets. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Bake at 375° for 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 4 dozen.

Come Down to Candy Cane Lane

--My holiday photo contest is extended until December 20th, so keep sending your pictures to apinchandadash@live.com to win the Secret Santa gift!--

Ok, so I may be overdosing on candy canes this year—my tree is a prime example, but hey, I only think, eat, and talk about them during December!

December already?! I honestly wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t for Jack Frost moving in on us in this last week—10 F temps, my trunk frozen shut, and bringing out the Columbia jacket—it’s December, no doubt. But, in just 26 days I am headed to Orlando for my grandma and I’s annual winter getaway trip. I haven’t been to Orlando in 3 years, so I am excited. Any tips on what to do or see? And any blogger’s in the area January 1-7th? If you are a meet up would be fun!

Now onto the main show..as you know I am not one to use store bought mixes and love making things from scratch, but I realized not everyone has the time to whip stuff up from scratch during this busy season, so I will be featuring some pre-made mix recipes too!

Candy Cane Cake

Makes: 12 servings

**Warning: Make sure you grease your tube pan VERY well**

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
• Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box (I subbed unsweetened applesauce for oil)
• 1/2
  teaspoon red food color
• 1/2
  teaspoon peppermint extract
• Icing: 1 c powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp milk or water, 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Topping: Crushed candy canes, if desired

Directions:

1.Heat oven to 325°F. Generously grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan. Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour about 2 cups batter into pan. Into small bowl, pour about 3/4 cup batter; stir in food color and peppermint extract. Carefully pour pink batter over white batter in pan. Carefully pour remaining white batter over pink batter.

2.Bake as directed on box or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack or heatproof serving plate; remove pan. Cool cake completely, about 1 hour.

3.In small bowl, mix icing ingredients. If necessary, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until smooth and spreadable. Spread icing over cake. Sprinkle top with crushed candy. Store loosely covered.

 

Have a wonderful winter weekend!

25 Days Of Christmas

Thanksgiving is over + back to school= not cool

Ok, I have no choice, and I love college..it’s just that after 9 days off, can you expect me to hop out of bed and be on my way? I swear, if I didn’t always have a yummy breakfast calling my name, I would probably oversleep on a regular basis. Are you back to the regular work/school week?

So if you didn’t know, I love the holiday spirit! So in lieu of my obsession admiration for all things red and green, the blog is celebrating 25 days of Christmas.  How you ask? Christmas recipes, a contest with a fun gift, holiday tips and prep plans, cookie round up, homemade gifts, etc.

First up..

Contest time!

What you win: A package filled with all sorts of goodies—and yes, most of it is food, but surprises are always better, don’t ya think?

How to enter: Between December 1st-December 10th, email me (apinchandadash@live.com) a picture of your Christmas tree this year, or if you for some reason don’t have one, send a picture of your favorite thing this time of year, winter related or holiday. All pictures must be original ones that you take. And please link back to this if you wouldn’t mind, because Christmas is all about spreading good cheer!!

Now time to share my Christmas display! I was so excited to finally decorate my own place. Last year decorating the dorms was fun, but I wanted a Christmas tree and all the works! I feel like I am in some sort of Christmas fairy land now—I swear it makes doing my homework easier :-P

By the way, everything is candy-cane due to the fact that I love the real candy-cane story. Read it here!

-Wreath on my door-

-C’mon in!-

-I like to call it Christmas corner-

-Here’s to hoping Santa will fill at least one stocking!-

-“O Christmas Treeeeee”-

-Close-up of all the candy cane fun!-

-My favorite ornament this year-

-Light up candy canes are much more fun-

-Build-a-Bear holiday style!-

And now switching gears to reverse, if you still have leftover turkey from Thanksgiving—which by the way you should only use four days after the holiday for safety reasons according to this—so I used up the last chunk for this Tex Mex inspired recipe!

Tex Mex Turkey Wraps

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1  large wrap
• 1/2 c shredded turkey meat
• 1/4 c golden corn
• 1/4 c black beans, rinsed
• 1/4 c FF shredded cheddar cheese
• handful of spinach
• Hot sauce and/or salsa and sour cream

Directions:

• Place wrap on plate and layer with spinach, turkey, corn, and beans.
• Sprinkle cheese evenly across the top and top cheese with desired condiments.
• To roll fold in two sides until they meet in the center. Fold the bottom of the tortilla to the center over the filling, and continue rolling.
• Heat in microwave or toaster oven until warm.

“Goodbye turkey, and helloooo Christmas cookies!”