Homemade Eggnog & Peppermint Bark {Holiday Recipe Club}

Holiday Recipe Club

Welcome to another installment for the Holiday Recipe Club! This time we all were required to use peppermint, eggnog or gingerbread. Interested in joining the Holiday Recipe Club? Contact me here!

This post was particularly challenging for me.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with any one of the flavors required.

My first thought was gingerbread scones or gingerbread cupcakes. I even got as far as putting them on my to do list!

But for some reason I never got around to making anything… Then I stumbled upon this gorgeous post on Simple Bites, written by Elizabeth from Guilty Kitchen.

Labelled eggnog  Homemade Eggnog & Peppermint Bark {Holiday Recipe Club}

Homemade eggnog sounded amazing. I have had the stuff you can buy at the store (which I totally love!) but this would be a whole new adventure.

And for no reason needed, I added booze. I highly recommend you do too! 

After I made, photographed, and consumed the eggnog I decided to add something else to my Holiday Recipe Club post.

That amazing idea was peppermint bark. If you know anything about the holidays you know peppermint bark is the ultimate holiday item.

peppermint bark 1 Homemade Eggnog & Peppermint Bark {Holiday Recipe Club}But it is so easy to make – now you can avoid the treacherous mall! Homemade peppermint bark makes a great gift for neighbors, teachers and even the UPS man (he did bring you all those cookies and presents, after all).

On to the eats….

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Cinnamon Cranberry Muffins {Holiday Recipe Club}

Cinnamon Cranberry Muffins

This is my second posting day for the Holiday Recipe Club. For this round of recipes everyone was required to use cranberries, pecans, or vanilla. Interested in joining? Contact me here!

I have been looking forward to posting this recipe for a few weeks. I am a big fan of fresh cranberries and try to use them often during the holiday season.

Muffins seemed like an ideal choice because I had to make these before I left for holiday break.

Things like muffins, cookies and bread tend to do better in travel!

A few weeks ago – for some reason – I decided to buy a jumbo muffin pan. (As if I don’t already have my tiny apartment stuffed to capacity…) I hadn’t had a chance to use it yet and thought this would be the perfect time.

Picnik collage1 Cinnamon Cranberry Muffins {Holiday Recipe Club}

Due to the extra large size of the muffin tins the cranberries were able to spread throughout the muffins and not overwhelm any one part.

I was able to taste cinnamon and cranberry in every bite and they smelled so good.

The dark brown color was pretty with the bright red spots of cranberry. And to make my muffins extra fun I used some left over pear butter in place of the oil.

When I first imagined these muffins coming out of the oven I saw huge buttery crumbs sitting on top.

I unfortunately forgot to make the crumbs before putting my muffins in the oven (ahem) but they were fabulous with out the extra topping.

Plain muffin Horizontal Cinnamon Cranberry Muffins {Holiday Recipe Club}

Not a huge fan of cranberries? Try chopping them up before mixing into the flour!

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Almond Joy Cupcakes

unwrapped on upside down coaster

As you know, I love coconut.

I can not think of a reason as to why someone wouldn’t like coconut. You can have it at anytime of the day! Besides the flesh, you can find coconut milk, oil, water, cream, pastries, and candy.

One of the better known coconut candies is the almond joy. An almond joy consists of a sticky sweet coconut mixture, with an almond placed on top, and then the whole thing is covered in chocolate.

I love both almond joys, and mounds. Something about the coconut and chocolate together is irresistible.

I thought about how to recreate this delectable candy… I wanted to make a cupcake that was like an almond joy, but not as sweet. And I didn’t want this to be a wimpy cupcake, I wanted something big and full of flavor. I decided to go with an almond cupcake.

top view huge cupcake Almond Joy Cupcakes

Side note: I’ve been on a bit of an almond kick ever since I made the frosting for the pink velvet cheesecake.

And for the frosting, chocolate of course! But, I added a little coconut extract to boost the almond joy factor.

Since Valentine’s Day is coming up, I decided to use some pretty flower cupcake wrappers that I picked up at The Wal. My boyfriend, said they make the cupcakes taste better. I also made some mini cupcakes, and I used the same cupcake wrappers as the ones in the BFB Giveaway! They are so adorable!! [Read more...]

How to Make a Gingerbread House: Part 1

the kit

This is the first  part of my 3 part series on how to make a gingerbread house. Subscribe to my RSS feed to follow up on the rest of the series!

I recently received one of my Christmas presents early! It was a stand mixer from my aunt Lizzy. I am so excited to have a new mixing option, I was worried my hand mixer wasn’t going to last much longer. Thanks Lizzy!

With the mixer came every single attachment, a sushi roller, a pasta machine, a sausage maker…random things here and there, and a Pampered Chef Gingerbread House ceramic cookie mold. I was immediately intrigued by the gingerbread house kit.

the recipe How to Make a Gingerbread House: Part 1

I remember making gingerbread houses when I was younger. Frosting and candy seemed endless. What could be better?

But the gingerbread houses I remember making were the pre-made type from a kit, not homemade ones. My aunt said I had used it when I was a wee one, but I have no memory of it.

molasses pour How to Make a Gingerbread House: Part 1

When I found out my boyfriend had never made a gingerbread house before (not even the ones from the kit!) I decided to make one asap.

The Pampered Chef Gingerbread House kit came with a recipe to make gingerbread, so that’s the one I used. I’m glad I did, I got a ton of compliments on how tasty the actual gingerbread was. I was happy to hear it wasn’t all about the candy and frosting!

finished baking How to Make a Gingerbread House: Part 1

The great thing about this gingerbread is that it’s super easy.

The recipe makes plenty for the amount needed for the cookie mold, so you could probably make an army of gingerbread men with this recipe! The gingerbread kept very well and didn’t dry out, even after 2 days of sitting out and being partially eaten. [Read more...]

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