Holiday Treats

Hey everyone!! I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying your Holiday season. Just wanted to give y'all a quick update on the goings on here in Cary, NC!

So far for my break I've either been running errands, baking, or watching my baby cousin Lukas.

By far my favorite part of the holidays is baking with my mama. Although, she's been really busy and i've been baking a lot of the stuff on my own, it's all thanks to my mama who taught me everything I know about the kitchen and cooking and baking. Sure following a recipe will give you good results, but knowing the little tricks and additions make all the difference.

While i was still at school, my friend Melissa and I made truffles for presents. It was the first time I tried making them. It was really fun and boy were they good!!

I started this season at home by making peppermint chocolate ice cream cake for my birthday...and yes the chocolate layers are made from scratch not a box! We've have had this cake for the last 5 birthdays and we LOVE it. It definitely gives us motivation to finish our finals. On every card or note mama sends us has the message "peppermint birthday cake when you get home."

The next thing we made was buckeyes. They are a holiday must in our household. The peanut butter chocolate combination is to die for. Of course we make them for football season, but during the holidays it is a great treat. They are pretty easy to make. Plus we trade some of those with our neighbors for some new years cookies!!

Yesterday morning, I made my Chocolate Mint Cookies. I've been making these for a few years. We usually use the mints that come in pink and green and yellow, but we could not find them this year. Instead we found some white mint chips with green and red little round sprinkles and some other chocolate peppermint things. You make the chocolate dough and roll it into balls (similar to buckeyes so I'm a master at rolling them) and bake them. Right when they come out you put the mint in them and the mint melts into the chocolate and when it cools it hardens and makes a wonderful treat.

Just a few minutes ago, I made "Tire patch fudge". While that's not its real name, I don't know what it is, and neither does my mama. When her sister, my aunt, made it when she was younger, my grandpa walked in and said it looked like a patch of tire and the name stuck. The fudge has always been my favorite thing to make.

In the next day or so, we are gonna make sugar cookie dough and cut out all kinds of shapes. We will decorate them on Christmas Eve, which always gets interesting.

I hope you all have a wonderful and Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy baking and cooking with your families as much as I love it with mine.