Heather Baird's Blog, page 67

Gift This! Easy Orange Spice Turkish Delight

I've always associated Turkish delight with the snowy landscape of Narnia (remember the White Witch cake I made in 2011?). I long for some snowfall outside my own window, but it looks like our Christmas Day forecast is for 70 degree weather. That's okay. Even if I can't have a white Christmas, I can still have a bit of winter magic in my candy dish,
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Gift This! Eggnog Bread

It's hard to believe we're just a few days away from Christmas. I hope everyone is soaking in every last little bit of happy this season has to offer. Around here that means sniffing cut pine wreaths at the market, wrangling the pugs into Christmas pajamas and incorporating eggnog in as many sweet things as possible.
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Gift This! Pink Squirrel Cocktail Inspired Cupcakes

I love pink glittery Christmas decor, and it seems to be showing up in my baked goods, too! This cupcake is inspired by the retro 'Pink Squirrel' cocktail. The drink is a bit like a milkshake served in a martini glass (yes please) and it's flavored with crème de noyaux (almond liquor) and crème de cocoa.
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Gift This! Gumdrop Cookies

I hosted my first cookie swap more than five years ago, and the thing I remember most about it was the happy feeling I had perusing all those cookies. Cookies of all shapes and flavors were sprawled on every surface area in my dining room. I couldn't tell you what games we played or even who all the guests were (ha!) but I do remember it was the first time I'd ever encountered gumdrop cookies - mostly because my first thought was that gumdrops had no business being in cookies.
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Gift This! Glittering Pretzel Wands

I've been making these salty-sweet pretzel sticks for years. Now that I think about it, I've been making them for more than a decade! When I worked an office job years go I remember placing a huge tray of these in our break room. About two hours later they were all gone - all except the stick-ends of a few pretzels. Someone had eaten the candy-covered part and left the remaining pretzel sticks on the candy tray - who does that?!  (So funny!)
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Gift This! Fruit and Nut Candy Cups

If you've been keeping up with my Christmas recipe advent, then you may be thinking to yourself "cranberries and pistachios -  again ?!". Yep. I can't quit them, it's true. There's something especially wonderful about tart dried cranberries in smooth white chocolate.
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Gift This! Easy Cranberry Orange Stollen (No Yeast!)

The stollen I enjoy each holiday season is not homemade. It's an import from Germany that's filled with raisins and marzipan, and because of its long trek it can also be described as - dry. I've come to love the flavor of this bread and count its virtues instead of its imperfections, however, I felt like I was missing out on something. This year I wanted to taste fresh stollen.

I was fully on board to make the traditional version which requires yeast and all the time constraints that come with it - until I found a recipe for 'Easiest' stollen from King Arthur Flour. I read the instructions twice through and returned my bag of SAF Red to the refrigerator.
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Gift This! Mini Gingerbread Bundt Cakes

These little cakes remind me of delicious cinnamon-sugared doughnut muffins, except they taste like gingerbread - which makes them even cozier in my opinion. They are scrumptiously poppable, and they've served us well as a quick breakfast on many a December morning.
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Gift This! Peppermint Mocha Bark

My husband is particular about his daily brew, so he buys coffee beans freshly roasted and occasionally we have a handful left over - not enough for a cup, but too many to toss. I decided to save up these leftover beans for a baking project. I'm definitely a sucker for coffee and chocolate together, and that's how this recipe came to be.
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Gift This! 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Marshmallow Candy

Say hello to my new favorite candy. I can't believe it took me so long to try it - and talk about easy! I'm not even sure it qualifies as a recipe. Peanut butter and chocolate are melted together, and then mini marshmallows are folded in to the mix. It's a little like rocky road, but softer and without the rocky part (no nuts!). It's smooth and creamy and the marshmallows give it a bouncy quality that makes it totally addictive.
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