Category Archives: Baking

Spiked Margarita Sugar Cookies

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It’s Wednesday today and that means we have just a few days before the weekend. I’m looking forward to it because Cinco de Mayo is coming up this Sunday! How will you be celebrating? There’s supposed to be 70 degree temps this week in the NW, so we’ll take full advantage of the holiday and the sunshine, with an afternoon outdoors and a margarita or two. Margaritas just happen to be one of my favorite summer drinks and with the upcoming arrival of the holiday, I thought of a fun way to transform this refreshing beverage into treat form. Oh yes, I’ve taken my favorite sugar cookie recipe and jazzed it up with some fresh lime juice, sea salt and a dash of Patron. I also made the cookies using a dairy free butter, which was not the greatest idea because I ended up eating more of these cookies than I probably should have. They really are that good!

If you plan to attend a Cinco de Mayo celebration, or host one this Sunday, make these cookies to share with your guests or fellow party goers. They are festive, fun and will be enjoyed by all!

spiked margarita sugar cookies

Margarita Sugar Cookies

The addition of the lime zest, sea salt, fresh squeezed lime juice give these cookies a bright and refreshing taste, similar to that of a margarita. These cookies are strictly for adults, although you could very easily make them virgin by omitting the tequila. 

Ingredients/Supplies

3/4 cups vegan butter (or regular butter if you choose)

3/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice

zest from 1 large lime

1 large egg whipped

2 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or silicone liner.

Blend together butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.

Crack egg in a separate bowl and whip.

Pour fresh squeezed lime juice into whipped egg.

Pour egg mixture and zest from one lime into butter and sugar mixture.

Mix on medium until fully incorporated.

Sift together flour and sea salt and pour into egg and butter mixture in thirds.

Continue to mix until dough forms.

Remove dough from mixer and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Once dough has chilled, remove from fridge.

Flour a clean surface and rolling pin.

Roll dough until about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut dough into shapes using a festive cookie cutter.

Bake in the oven, making sure not to overcook. They only need 5-7 minutes.

Place on a rack to cool.

Decorate with Spiked Margarita Icing and festive sprinkles.

Spiked Margarita Icing

The cookie icing/glaze is tart and refreshing, with lime and tequila notes that are reminiscent of your favorite margarita. 

Ingredients/Supplies

1 Cup Powder Sugar

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

2+ teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice

1-2+ teaspoons of good quality tequila

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Green food coloring

Icing container or ziplock

Festive sprinkles

Instructions

If you plan to outline and then flood your cookies with icing you’ll want to follow these directions.

Mix powdered sugar, corn syrup, lime juice and tequila in a bowl and stir together until fully incorporated.

You’ll want the consistency to be about as thick as toothpaste for the outlining of your cookies.

If it’s not thick enough, add a little more powdered sugar or if it’s too thick you can add more lime juice or tequila to taste.

Once desired consistency is reached, spoon your icing into the Icing container or ziplock and pipe and outline your cookies.

Allow to dry.

Next you’ll want to thin your icing out by adding more liquid. Add your choice of tequila, or lime juice until it’s the consistency of a glaze.

Divide your cookie glaze into two separate bowls. You’ll want to leave half the icing white, and add a drop of green food coloring to the other.

Spoon your white icing glaze into the corner of a ziplock bag. Snip the corner and flood the stems of your margarita glass cookies in white glaze. Evenly distribute the glaze to all desired areas of the cookie by spreading with a butter knife or icing spatula.

Repeat these steps with the green icing for the upper portion of the margarita glass until cookie is fully covered in icing.

For a decorative touch you can add white icing for a rim, rock sugar or sprinkles to look like salt, or any other design of your choice.

The icing glaze dries rather quick. Set aside for 30 minutes and they’re ready to enjoy!

Spiked Margarita Cookie Cutters

See, now you can drink your margaritas and eat them too!

If you are looking for a margartia cookie cutter or other fun styles, head on over to my Etsy shop to check them out.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Check back soon for more posh.

xo

Sugar Cookie Recipe Source: Average Betty

French Macarons

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If ever there were a treat to represent posh, the macaron would be it. I just obsess over them! Not only for their delicious taste and texture, but also for the array of gorgeous hues they are available in. I seriously can’t think of a prettier dessert to serve for a special occasion and since my baby girls Spring in Paris themed 1st Birthday is coming up in a months time, adding them to the menu seemed like a no-brainer.

As a result, I have been attempting to get on my French Macaron A-game, but let me tell you the process hasn’t been pretty…or edible for that matter. Let’s just say, I quickly discovered that these chic little cookie gems are a lot easier to eat than they are to make.

Honestly speaking, It would probably make more sense to just purchase the macarons for my daughter’s 1st bday, but since I love a good challenge, attempting to make them homemade seems much more satisfying. Luckily I can report that after three inedible attempts at homemade macarons, I was able to make a batch this past Monday that came out of the oven sporting feet and shiny caps. Oh If only you could have seen the excitement on my face!! Nowhere near perfection but a huge improvement from the first ones I made. I even took a photo via Instagram for you to see!

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The recipe I used came from howtocookthat.net which seriously features the best tutorial I have ever come across. Instead of attempting to share the full recipe here, I highly recommend following the link to the site below, as it features an instructional video, trouble-shooting and US measurement conversions, perfect for the macaron challenged like myself.

Easy French Macarons

Here is the dairy free buttercream recipe that I used to fill my macarons as well as some additional troubleshooting tips based on my own experience making these. I went dairy free because as most of you know my baby has an allergy to it and I have since removed it from my diet. If you are not dairy free, you can always just use regular butter for this recipe.

Dairy Free Apricot Strawberry Buttercream

1 stick Vegan buttery sticks softened

2 tablespoons strawberry preserves

2 tablespoons apricot preserves

1/4 cup powder sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla.

Instructions

Place all ingredients into mixer and blend until incorporated.
Spoon into ziplock bag
Pipe between macaron shells, either a little..or a lot, based on your preference.

You can also add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter buttercream. I don’t care as much for overly sweet things and since the shells are already really sweet, I toned down the recipe.

Troubleshooting Tips

Whip your egg whites until dry. It took 12 minutes on speed 8 in my stand mixer.Use parchment paper instead of a silicone mat.

Make sure you are properly folding your batter as opposed to stirring it.

For consistent round shells, be sure to use an icing tip.

Watch the temp of your oven. I have gas heat so turning mine down to 295 degrees Fahrenheit worked well for me.

Don’t place your macarons too close to the heat source of your oven. I doubled up my pans and placed them on a higher shelf for a better result.

I wish you luck at making homemade macarons. If they turn out the first time for you…well then I’m completely jealous! If not, try again. Third time was a charm for me and I have since been enjoying a few every morning this week with my favorite lavender rooibos tea. Perfection. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to test out this recipe a few more times before my baby’s 1st birthday. I know I could use the extra practice.

If you like what you see, you can follow me on Instagram by clicking here, or by following the icon.

More ‘Spring in Paris’ related ideas and inspiration on the way soon!! Happy Friday to you all!

xo

Game Day Cupcakes

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Superbowl Sunday is a week away and even though neither of the teams I was rooting for made it (Seahawks…sigh) I’m still looking forward to tuning in and enjoying a good game and some good food. How many of you plan to serve beer at your Superbowl party? Well after having such success with the Mini Champagne Cupcakes for NYE, I thought of an alternative way to serve beer at your Superbowl celebration…in the form of a cupcake. This probably doesn’t sound very appetizing to those of you who dislike beer but if you had one of these cupcakes in front of you perhaps you’d be intrigued enough to try it. I actually really enjoyed the cupcake myself and this is coming from a girl who doesn’t drink beer. My hubby however, that’s a different story. Like most men he loves beer which is where I got the inspiration to make the cupcake in the first place.

So since this cupcake is inspired by my hubby, it’s only right to make them using one of his favorite brands of beer (Blue Moon) along with a twist of orange since Blue Moon tastes best that way. The combination results in a sweet cake with hints of hops and caramel, brightened up by the notes of orange in the frosting and pulled together by the dark chocolate garnish. Touchdown!!

The recipe is also soy and dairy free (with the exception of the white chocolate laces on the football garnish.)

Game Day Cupcakes

Game Day Cupcakes

Ingredients/Supplies

12 cupcake liners
12 cupcake wrappers in your choice of color (a posh way to dress up a basic cupcake)
Muffin tin

1 1/2 Cup All purpose flour

1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut spread, vegan butter (or regular butter)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 egg whites

1 cup of your favorite beer

Orange zest from 1 orange (optional)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350

Place liners in your  muffin tin pan.

Zest entire orange and reserving half for frosting.

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat coconut spread and both sugars in a mixing bowl until fluffy.

Add vanilla and orange zest and beat in egg whites.

Mix in dry mixture and beer in thirds alternating each time.

Teaspoon batter into liners and bake for roughly 12 to 15 minutes until a toothpick comes put clean.

Allow cupcakes to fully cool.

Cupcake recipe adapted from: 20 Something Cupcakes

Vegan Buttercream Frosting

1 Cup Vegan Butter softened (I use Earth Balance brand. You can use regular butter if you choose.)

2 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Remaining orange zest

2 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice

Festive sprinkles.

Instructions
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together vegan butter and sugar on low-speed until fully incorporated (approximately 3 minutes.)

Add in orange zest and orange juice and mix until blended.

Place in ziplock or pastry bag.

Use right away or keep chilled in fridge until ready to frost cupcakes.

Once cupcakes are frosted decorate each with festive sprinkles and a cute football garnish (recipe follows.)

Lastly, add the cupcake wrappers.

Dark Chocolate Football Garnish

Ingredients/Supplies

1 bar of soy and dairy free dark chocolate

1 cube of bakers white chocolate (for laces)

2 sandwich sized ziplock bags

parchment paper.

Instructions

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place dark chocolate in a heat proof bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals or place over a a double boiler until fully melted.

Allow five minutes to cool and spoon into ziplock bag.

Snip corner of bag and pipe 3 inch ovals (footballs) onto parchment paper.

Fill ovals by drizzling chocolate in a back-and forth motion to complete the design as seen below, making sure that the interior chocolate drizzle connects to the outer edges of the footballs.

Place in fridge to cool for 30 minutes.

When chocolate ovals are completely chilled, melt white chocolate in the same fashion as mentioned above.

Spoon melted chocolate into 2nd ziplock and snip the end of the bag.

Add a half-inch vertical line of white chocolate to the center of the footballs followed by 3 horizontal lines across the vertical line to create the laces.

Place back in the fridge until completely chilled.

Garnish the tops of your game day cupcakes.

keep chilled until ready to serve.

Game Day Cupcakes

My favorite part of making these game day delights was prepping the football garnishes and of course dressing each cupcake up with pretty wrapping. The wrappers not only add a posh factor and nice finishing touch, but they tend to hide the fact that I’m not the greatest at piping frosting onto cupcakes (working on that.) The color blue you ask? Well I chose it with the Seahawks in mind but perhaps that worked against me? Either way, please don’t expect me to root for the 49ers…that would just be wrong.

Ravens all day!

Looking for more Superbowl party ideas? Click here for inspiration.

Remember to check back soon for more from posh.

xo

Mini Champagne Cupcakes

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2012 is coming to a close and as it does, I take the time today to reflect and be grateful. What a posh year it has been, full of special moments like my first year of blogging, the welcoming of my 2nd daughter, sweet milestones, delicious treats, new friends and fabulous celebrations.

And as I think back and bid farewell, I do so with a toast in the form of a mini cupcake! A champagne cupcake with champagne swiss meringue buttercream that is.

If you love bubbly like I do you will truly enjoy this cupcake because the champagne flavor really comes through, plus the buttercream is light and fluffy and not too sweet to make this a festive treat for any special celebration.

champagne cupcakes

Mini Champagne Cupcakes

Ingredients/Supplies

24 mini cupcake liners
Mini cupcake pan

3/4 Cup All purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (or coconut spread)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 and a half egg whites
1/2 cup favorite champagne
Lemon zest from 1/2 a lemon (optional)

(this recipe makes just enough for 24 mini cupcakes, simply double the ingredients for full size cupcakes.)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350
Place liners in your mini muffin tin pan.
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until fluffy.
Add vanilla and beat in egg white.
Beat in dry mixture and champagne in thirds alternating each time (start and finish with dry mixture).

Teaspoon batter into liners and bake for roughly 10 minutes until a toothpick comes put clean.

Champagne Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I used to be afraid of this icing but discovered that its easier to make than expected. It takes making it to realize this. Now I use it every time I need bake a cake or cupcakes.The meringue is the probably the most difficult part, but well worth the difficulty! The final result is dreamy and delish!!

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) cut into tablespoons or vegan butter
A few tablespoons of champagne to taste.

Instructions
Whisk egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a double boiler until sugar has completely dissolved. (Rub between your fingers until mixture is free of grit.)
Once mixture has reached 120 degrees, Transfer egg and sugar mixture into bowl of stand mixer making sure no condensation from the double boiler gets into the egg whites (can stop your meringue from forming.)
Whip eggs with whisk attachment until soft peaks form. (about 12 minutes)
Switch to paddle attachment and mix in butter one tablespoon at a time.
Mix past the curdled looking stage, until light and fluffy.
Add your champagne 1 tablespoon at a time. (I used 3 tablespoons for a delicate flavor.)

Once cupcakes have fully cooled, pipe or spread the buttercream on top.

Decorate with festive sprinkles and enjoy.

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Now I raise a glass…or a cupcake rather to my followers and readers. Those who have commented and enjoyed my posts enough to like and share throughout the year. I truly appreciate each and every one of you and wish you all the very best in 2013.

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Have a safe and posh new years celebration.

Cheers!!!

Cupcake Recipe Adapted from: 20 something cupcakes.
Frosting Recipe adapted from Food Network.

Pink Peppermint Bark

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When I think of colors to associate with posh…pink comes to mind. And when I think of Christmas and my favorite holiday treats, peppermint & chocolate top the list. Put them together and what do you get? A sweet holiday goodie that’s delish, pretty, and for your convenience very simple to make. Honestly, all you need is a microwave or pot of boiling water to melt the chocolate, and then a pan to cool it on. No special baking skills necessary. In fact, if you have little ones you could request their help too. My 3 year old daughter truly enjoyed assisting me today. She unwrapped all the kisses by herself and added the finishing sprinkles…or posh dust as we like to call it.

And after the bark was chilled and ready to eat…(currently vegan so only a tiny nibble) I discovered that they have quite a similar taste quality to those Pepperidge Farms Meltaway Mints that I’ve loved since I was a child. And later when I photographed them, they started to remind me of those Mother’s pink and white circus cookies I use to eat when I was young. Random, but interesting nonetheless. The holiday season has a way of doing that…bringing back memories from my childhood, which have somehow transformed into new traditions that I share with my husband and children today.

Pink peppermint bark - holiday

Pink Peppermint Bark

Ingredients/Supplies

6 oz quality white chocolate (I use Bakers brand) (1st layer)

1 bag of Candy Cane holiday hershey kisses (2nd layer)

Festive sprinkles

parchment paper

pink peppermint bark - holiday

Directions

Place parchment paper in an 8×8 square pan and set aside.

Unwrap white chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Place bowl over a pot of boiling water, (or you can microwave in 30 second intervals stirring each time until melted.)

Meanwhile, unwrap entire bag of candy cane hershey kisses and place in a separate heatproof bowl.

Once white chocolate has melted, pour into 8×8 inch pan and immediately place in the fridge (layer 1). Allow to cool for 15 minutes or until almost set.

While white chocolate is cooling, place the bowl of hershey kisses over the double boiler and stir until melted. (This is when you’ll see the hershey’s transform from red and white to a gorgeous and posh pink.)

Remove chilled white chocolate from fridge and pour pink chocolate evenly over white chocolate layer.

Dust with festive sprinkles (I used holiday non-pariels)

Immediately place back in the fridge until fully set (about 1 hour.)

Once chilled place bark on a cutting board and cut into pieces.

Keep cool until ready to serve.

peppermint bark ingredients

Now you can be selfish and keep these all to yourself, or you can spread the holiday posh and give them away like I am. They make a great last minute holiday gift.

pink peppermint bark - holiday

Either way, enjoy and remember to check back soon for another dose of holiday posh.

I also made some grasshopper bark from the Brown Eyed Baker which I’m packaging up and gifting to family and friends. It is incredible! Click here to make it now.

Holiday-gram

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It has been an extremely busy week here at home and with Christmas only 9 days away there is still plenty left to accomplish. Luckily my oldest daughter is done with preschool and dance class until the new year so I’ll have more time coming up to finish my list of holiday to dos. By the time I get it all done, Christmas will be over, but I love this time of year nonetheless. My oldest daughter is now 3 and this seems to be the first year that she truly understands the holiday. Just seeing her face light up makes all this busyness completely worth it and since this is my 7 month old’s first Christmas this is certainly a special year for us.

Last week we focused on getting our home holiday ready. Picking out the perfect tree which involved us going to a local tree farm and cutting down our own. This is a long loved family tradition my hubby and I started even before our girls were born. We also decorated our home with old and new Christmas decorations, got shopping out of the way, holiday cards addressed and ready for mailing, homemade goodies prepped and ready for gifting…is this starting to sound like a Christmas song to you, or is it just me? Well speaking of songs, having my favorite holiday music playing in the background is the perfect way to get me in the Christmas spirit, especially when listening to my old vinyl. But my highlight of the week by far had to be the matinee viewing of the nutcracker with my oldest daughter. Some much needed Mommy/daughter time, plus a stunning and mesmerizing performance that was the perfect finish to our hectic holiday week, with Instagram there to capture it all.

Instagram-holiday

I have more Christmas posts coming soon, including a few simple and last minute recipes like the grasshopper bark seen above. Be sure to check back in for your dose of holiday posh.

p.s. click on the camera icon to follow me on instagram.

xo

White Chocolate Peppermint Spoons

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Chocolate and peppermint are delicious alone, but when paired together they remind me of Christmas. Cool and creamy, with endless holiday baking possibilities, and a must add to my list of favorite things.

Not only endless baking possibilities, but endless gifting possibilities as well. Like these mouth-watering and festive chocolate spoons I made yesterday, drawing inspiration from a bag of White Chocolate Peppermint M&Ms that was sitting in my pantry. Have you tried them yet? Well let me just say this. If I didn’t have dietary limitations right now I would probably eat the entire bag, but I do, so instead I guess I’ll just save them for gifting and enjoy a cup of vegan peppermint hot cocoa. Not quite the same, but sufficient for now. As a matter of fact these sweet spoons would be delicious in hot cocoa, or coffee, or any other warm holiday beverage, that is if they last that long.

White chocolate peppermint spoons

Supplies/Ingredients

12 wooden spoons

1 box quality white chocolate (I use bakers)

Peppermint oil

1/2 cup White Chocolate Peppermint M&Ms crushed (or regular star bright peppermints if you can’t find M&Ms)

parchment paper

2 ziplock bags

Bakers twine, gift tags and cello bags

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Instructions

Lay wooden spoons on top of a tray covered with parchment paper. Set aside.

Unwrap white chocolate and melt in a double boiler, or microwave for 30 second intervals.

While chocolate is melting, place M&Ms in a ziplock bag and crush coarsely. Set aside.

Once white chocolate is completely melted, stir in 6 to 8 drops of peppermint oil.

Spoon white chocolate peppermint mixture onto each wood spoon a little below the edge, being certain not to overflow.(Place something under the handle of the spoons so the chocolate can cool without dripping off. I used a plate turned upside down.)

Sprinkle with crushed M&Ms and place in fridge to cool for 1 hour.

Once cool add any excess melted white chocolate to corner of ziplock bag. Snip off the tip and drizzle over the top of each spoon. (optional)

Place back in fridge for another 30 minutes to harden.

package, wrap and decorate poshly and gift them to your loved ones…

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or just enjoy them for yourself.

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Check back later this week for more favorite holiday gifts, goodies crafts and inspiration.

xo

Red Velvet Hot Cocoa + Cream Cheese Frosting Marshmallows

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I have a holiday recipe to share with you that’s inspired by two of my favorite treats. Hot cocoa, and red velvet. Earlier this year I combined the two to create a decadent and delicious cocoa mix perfect for sipping and gifting. And since its been a top rated search topic on Posh Little Designs in the last few months I thought it would be a good time to revisit the old recipe and add a new twist in the form of a cream cheese frosting marshmallow. This is truly a match made in holiday heaven!

Red velvet hot cocoa mix

Red Velvet Hot Cocoa Mix

The secret to this cocoa is the addition of the red velvet cake mix. It adds the richness and red coloring that red velvet cake is so famously known for.

Ingredients~

3/4 Cup Dry Milk Powder

1/4 Cup + 2 tablespoons Natural Unsweetened Hershey’s Bakers Powder

1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 Cup Red Velvet Cake Mix (I prefer a quality all natural brand such as Barefoot Contessa)

1 Pint size Mason Jar.

Directions~

Measure each ingredient and layer in mason jar.

Seal and decorate for a holiday gift your friends and family will love.

Notes~

Add an instruction tag to each jar of hot cocoa mix.

For preparation: dump entire jar of hot cocoa into a bowl and mix well.

Add 1/4 cup of blended mix to mug and top with 1 cup boiling water.

For a richer hot cocoa add boiling milk instead of water.

Top with homemade cream cheese frosting marshmallows (recipe follows).

Red Velvet Hot Cocoa

Cream Cheese frosting Marshmallows

The cream cheese adds a subtle tang that will remind you of the frosting on a red velvet cake.

3/4 cup of water divided

3 (.25 ounce) packages unflavored gelatin

3 oz light cream cheese softened

2 cups white sugar

1 dash of vanilla extract

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions~

Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with plastic wrap that’s sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spray additional piece of plastic wrap to cover the top and set aside.

Place 1/2 cup of water in the bowl of an electric mixer and add gelatin to water to soak.

While gelatin is soaking add remaining 1/4 cup water, and white sugar to sauce pan. Bring mixture to boil over medium heat for 1 minute. Add in softened cream cheese stirring until completely dissolved.

Pour hot sugar and cream cheese mixture into gelatin and beat on high using a whisk attachment. Beat for 12 minutes until mix is fluffy and forms stiff peaks. Add in dash of vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Pour mixture into baking dish using a greased spatula to smooth top. Cover marshmallow mixture with remaining prepared plastic wrap, pressing down lightly to seal.

Allow to rest for 4 hours, or overnight.

When marshmallows have set, mix together cornstarch and powdered sugar in a dish. Using greased knife, or cookie cutter to cut the marshmallows and then dredge lightly in the cornstarch mixture.

If packaging the marshmallows for gifts be certain that they are stored in an airtight container. Keep time is 2 weeks.

Red Velvet Hot Cocoa

Check back soon for more posh inspiration, plus holiday gift ideas and recipes.

xoxo

This concept and recipe was seen first on Posh Little Designs. All images are photographed and owned property of Posh Little Designs.

Holiday Spiced Cranberry Cider

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This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our home and even though it was a busy day with many hours spent in the kitchen, I am always grateful for the opportunity to cook a memorable meal for my family. The recipes that I use are a combination of old and new favorites, some of my own and many that my mom cooked with when I was young. Now that I have children, one of my goals is to continue the old traditions while also starting new ones. This Spiced Cranberry Cider is part of the new recipe tradition we’ve started in our home and hopefully one that you will start too. It’s prepared in a crock-pot so it simmers for hours, filling your home with an aroma of the holidays. And the cran/apple duo…both tart and sweet, will remind you of comfort on a Fall/Winter Afternoon.

Drizzle in some caramel for a treat your children will love, or spike with a shot of spiced rum or butterscotch schnapps for an adult version that your guests are sure to enjoy. The combination was certainly a favorite in our home yesterday!

Holiday Spiced Cranberry Cider

Ingredients

8 packets spiced Apple Cider (Alpine)

6 Cups water

4-5 cups Cranberry Juice Cocktail

1 cup orange juice

4-5 Cinnamon Sticks (plus more for garnish)

4 whole cloves

1/2 an orange sliced into segments.

Cinnamon Sugar Rim

1/2 cup cinnamon

1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Pour all liquid ingredients into crockpot.

Stir in packets of cider mix until dissolved.

Add in cinnamon sticks and cloves.

Cover with lid and cook on high until simmering.

Reduce heat to low and keep covered until ready to serve.

Line rim of mugs in orange segments and dip into cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Ladle Cranberry Cider into mug.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick and orange slice or top with caramel and/or your favorite spirits.

Comfort in a glass!!

posh little tip

Double the recipe and make in large quantities for Fall and Winter celebrations.

A tradition from my home to yours.

Happy Holidays!

Raspberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

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I have a delicious cookie recipe to share so I’ll keep this post short and sweet….very sweet! Key words. Fresh raspberries. White Chocolate. Macadamia nuts. Combination – heavenly!!
I used my all time favorite Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from the incredibly inspiring Brown Eyed Baker, but tweaked the ingredients to make up this drool worthy version…as if it wasn’t already.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients/Supplies

2 cups + 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups of coconut spread (or 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter) melted and cooled until warm

(coconut spread is optional. I used it to decrease the amount of dairy in the recipe so I could enjoy one of these cookies myself)

1 cup of packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips (add more if you’d like)

3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

18 fresh raspberries (one for each cookie, rinsed and patted dry).

Parchment paper

Directions

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 325.

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In an electric mixer, blend together warm melted coconut spread and both sugars until blended. Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla until combined.

Add dry ingredients to the coconut sugar and egg mixture and beat on low until combined. Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

Spoon large ice-cream scoop sized portions of cookie dough onto baking sheet, 2 1/2 inches apart.

Push one raspberry deep into the center of the cookie dough, being certain to fold the dough over the top of the raspberry so none of the fruit is exposed.

Bake in the oven approximately 15 – 18 minutes until edges start to crisp. The center should still be soft.

Leave the cookies on the baking sheets to cool and then remove with a spatula.

I used the fresh raspberries that I picked up from Pike Place Market last week. Have a look at the soft gooey raspberry filled center.

Unfortunately with my dietary limitations I could only treat myself to one, but between my husband and daughter they still didn’t last long in our house. When you make them you’ll understand why.

Happy Baking!

source: recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker