Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake

Merry Christmas everyone!  As if this time of year isn't busy enough, things have been totally hectic around here.  Add a bad stomach virus to the mix, and you've got complete chaos!

Fortunately I'm feeling much better, which is great now that many of the festivities are in full swing.  We had this beauty for dessert yesterday - easy enough to make when you're not up to lots of kitchen time, but still very, very delicious.  Top it with some hot fudge and you've got a great holiday treat.

Need a last minute dessert for today or tomorrow?  Give this a shot - you won't be disappointed.

Merry Christmas to all! :)

Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake
from Friends Food Family

1 1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup crushed candy canes (I used a food processor)
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
broken candy canes
hot fudge topping (optional, but highly recommended!)

Spray a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray.  Combine cookie crumbs with sugar and butter and press into pan.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Add condensed milk and beat until combined.  Stir in crushed candy canes, then fold in whipped cream.

Pour into prepared pan, cover and freeze for at least 6 hours.  Garnish with broken candy canes and top with hot fudge.

Eggnog Cookies

I'm starting to get excited for Christmas.

Oh, who am I kidding.  I'm excited for the COOKIES!  I mean, really, how could you NOT be excited about these?

Exactly.

Trust me when I say - you need to make these!  You can whip up a batch in no time.  Do it today...and TRY to save them until Christmas.  I dare you.


Eggnog Cookies
from Allrecipes

1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1/4 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder and nutmeg.  Set aside.  Cream sugar and butter until light.  Add eggnog, vanilla and yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth.  Add flour mixture and beat on low until just combined - do not overmix.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets about an inch apart.  Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg.  Bake 20-22 minutes or until bottoms turn light brown.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Merry Christmas to all!

It's been a VERY tiring 2 days but we had a lot of fun...hope you all had a wonderful holiday too.  I will update more tomorrow - until then, here's a glimpse of what our Christmas Eve looked like.  Those of you familiar with the Feast of Seven Fishes will recognize a few of these :)  Buon Natale!

Bella the Baker

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Sugar Cookie Workshop at Trader Joe's the other day for 99 cents (have I mentioned how much I loooove TJs?) so I picked up two boxes.  The perfect afternoon project for Bella and me!  What 2 year old wouldn't love that?!?!

Needless to say, she lost interest after cutting 3 cookies.  Okay, no big deal.  I finish up.  The cookies come out out the oven and I have to tell her a dozen times that we can't decorate them until they're cool.  Distract by turning on Dora Christmas.  Crisis averted.

Almost an hour later, we're ready to go.  We sit at the table, I ice three cookies, and put them on a plate for her.  I hand her the Christmas colored sprinkles, not really bothering to check the size of the holes on top.  Yeah, it's obvious what happens next...

Rookie move, Mommy!  Oh well.  They still tasted good :)

You can never have too many cookies.

I used to do all the Christmas cookie baking myself.  Then I got smart and recruited my sister last year.  I don't think she enjoys it as much as I do (her hangover this time around may have had something to do with it), but we still have a good time.  We even got my nieces involved this year...soon Bella will be right along side us, too.

These, along with the Hidden Kisses (which absolutely deserved its own post), complete our repertoire this year.  Last year I think we made 10 different kinds so we did cut back a bit  - still just as many cookies though, of course :)

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
from Recipezaar

Sparkling Butter Toffee Cookies

from RecipeGirl

Mint Oreo Cookies

from Jamie Cooks It Up

***we crushed candy canes and rolled the cookies in them...a little something extra to make them even more special :)

Thumbprint Cookies

***see recipe below***

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Cooks Recipes

***some have white chocolate chips added in, others have butterscotch chips

Sparkly Cinnamon Coins 

from Food & Wine
(The dough is in the fridge...once I bake them I'll add a picture)

Tomorrow is our last Mommy & Me Preschool Class before the holidays, so I packed up some goodies for both of Bella's teachers.

How adorable are these containers?  Gotta love Christmas Tree Shops.

Thumbprint Cookies 
from Allrecipes

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup jam (any flavor you like)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.  Separate egg, reserving egg white. Cream butter or margarine, sugar, and egg yolk.

Add vanilla, flour and salt, Mix well.  Shape dough into balls. Roll in egg white, then walnuts. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes.

Remove cookies from oven. With thumb, dent each cookie. Put jelly or preserves in each thumbprint. Bake for another 8 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

The best Christmas cookie ever!

There are lots of things that remind people of Christmas...colorful flashing lights, Santa, crowded malls, reindeer, wreaths, etc.  In our family, many of our holiday memories revolve around food.  For us, it plays an important role when it comes to tradition.

One of the things I remember most from Christmases when I was a kid was my Aunt Maria's Hidden Kisses...aka the BEST cookies ever.  She used to bring them to my parents' house every Christmas Eve in a big shirt box.  The day she handed me the recipe and said, "it's your job now- have fun!" I was honored, and very excited.  It's definitely one of the best traditions we have for the holidays!

For you Christmas cookie snobs out there, a warning - these aren't the prettiest.  But they taste amazing...and really, isn't that what matters?  Keep your beautiful, average tasting cookies for yourself...I'll pass.

There are other recipes out there for these (I tried a few) and believe me, NOTHING comes close to hers.  This can easily be doubled or tripled...and SHOULD be!  Trust me, they're that good :)

Aunt Maria, we miss having you here on Christmas Eve!

Hidden Kisses
from Aunt Maria

Approximately 70 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped
4 sticks softened salted butter (not TOO soft)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Confectioners sugar

Beat butter, granulated sugar and vanilla in large bowl until fluffy.  Add flour and walnuts and mix until well blended.  Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Using about one tablespoon for each cookie, shape dough around each chocolate kiss.  Roll in hand to make a ball and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set but not browned on top.  Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet and place on wire rack.  When completely cooled, sprinkle generously with confectioners sugar.

Linked to: uTry.it Culinary Smackdown Cookie Battle -  hosted by Amy
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