DIY Winter Pillowcases

One of the best things about Pinterest is that you are able to get your hand on how-to guides instantly. This was especially nice for me as my future in-laws gifted me a wonderful sewing machine for Christmas! I wanted to start the machine (and me) off with something simple, a set of pillowcases was the easy pick. I went to Pinterest for a how to and the below step by step video showed up. Exactly what I needed! She made the tutorial clear on the burrito method, which was a new way of making a pillowcase for me. Needless to say, my confidence in this sewing machine is now ready to take on more projects!

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5th Day of Cookie – Eggnog Butterscotch Stained Glass Cookies

I love when I get to go on a learning adventure about something that has happened in history. Whether it’s a large sequence of events or in this case the history of eggnog. This research project I stumbled upon on accident. I was looking up questions for a virtual Christmas trivia game for my team at work and “Where did eggnog originate?” was a suggestion. Of course, a history enthusiast will always fact check so I began digging. It’s the truth! I had no idea how old the traditional drink was though.

It originated during the medieval times as a hot wintertime drink for the aristocracy. The famous name evidently came from two words – grog, another word for rum, and noggins, a word for the small wooden mugs that it was served in. We have to go back to that wintertime drink again. Eggnog was served hot for most of its existence! Who knew? It wasn’t until around 1960 that it became a cold, non-alcoholic drink that we see at grocery stores today. Forbes has a great article on the history of eggnog, including a bit about The Eggnog Riot of 1826 (it’s true, it’s a thing that happened in the US). It definitely convinced me to make my own homemade eggnog soon, maybe George Washington’s (He loved eggnog and had his own recipe)!

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Football Family Wreath

Happy Super Bowl LIII Everyone! Super Bowl Sunday is right up there with the traditional national holidays for our family. We are ALWAYS together eating way too much food and yelling at the TV (I’m sure they can hear us if we are loud enough). Last year my team became the Super Bowl Champions, FLY EAGLES FLY! This year none of our family’s teams made it to the big game. Instead, we are hoping for a great game with some amazing plays. We all have different teams in the NFL but luckily we agree on two College teams. The G & O are colored for The University of Utah and Notre Dame. The T,E,A, and M are for Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, and Denver Broncos.football-wreath.jpg Continue reading “Football Family Wreath”

Sweethearts Wreath

Walking down the aisles of a store from January to mid-February is a bombardment of Valentines gifts, colors, and candies. Tucked away in the aisle is also a piece of nostalgia… Sweethearts. The chalky hard candies with phrases from “Call Me” to “Be Mine” (or the newer additions like “Text Me”) bring back sweet childhood memories.

The candies have evolved quite a bit from the original form. The Smithsonian describes that the candy maker Necco created a version of the current treat when the company started in 1847. It started out as a scalloped shell with a paper fortune in the middle. The red writing was added 14 years later in 1861 by the founder’s brother who invented a machine that could press red vegetable dye into the candy. The shape went through many different forms before settling into its heart shaped delight in the early 1900’s. Even though they have made adjustments to the phrases and flavors, Sweethearts still hold a sentimental place in my Valentines memories.sweethearts_wreath Continue reading “Sweethearts Wreath”

Cinnamon Roll Cookie Makeover

My ideal morning is waking up to a hot cup of coffee and a warm cinnamon roll. To add a new spin, these are cinnamon roll cookies that taste delicious dunked in a hot cup of coffee (tried and true!). It’s okay to have cookies for breakfast if it’s these right? One of the components to this cookie that might make it taste the most like the sweet bread is the addition of yeast to the dough mixture. It’s been a busy day of Christmas activities, so we made the dough and rolled them before throwing the logs into the refrigerator and heading off to lunch and then the Nutcracker ballet. Once we got home we sliced and baked these fun treats.

4th Day Before Christmas – Cinnamon Roll Cookies

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Cinnamon Chips + Cookies = A Perfect Pair

Has anyone ever heard of Cinnamon Chips before? I have not so this discovery is revolutionary! This cookie combines cinnamon chips and one of the most underused spices in baking (in my opinion), Cardamom. The combination of the two adds new flavor and depth to the normal snickerdoodle cookie dough recipe. Cardomom adds an additional spicy component and accentuates cinnamon when used. Is there a baking chip you have found that was amazing to you?

5th Day Before Christmas – Cinnamon Chip Chai-Spiced Snickerdoodles

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Gingerbread Love

Whoever created gingerbread is a genius! Thankfully for everyone on this blog, my other passion is history so I went on a quick research adventure to learn more about the spiced treat (While of course snacking on some gingerbread of my own). Although ginger originates in Asia, most of the credit to today’s popularized “gingerbread” flavors seems to be by the Europeans in the middle ages. Elizabeth I is mostly credited with decorating cookies into “gingerbread men” after having some made that resembled guests. Even better, George Washington’s mother, served gingerbread to the Marquis de Lafayette and the confection was passed down for generations in the family (I recently finished Washington by Ron Chernow so this fact made me quite excited to learn).

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It’s a Pie! It’s a Cookie! It’s a Pie Cookie!

There are so many different pies that we make at Thanksgiving! Pumpkin, Apple, but my favorite is Pecan Pie. Cold Pecan Pie is my after Thanksgiving snack, and what I have when I take a break decorating the Christmas tree. But wait, it’s not Thanksgiving, it’s almost Christmas! What are we doing talking about pies then? Well, the cookie on the 7th day before Christmas we are making pecan pie thumbprint cookies.

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Minty Fresh Christmas Cookies

It’s 8 days before Christmas and my dreams are in cookies. After this recipe, tonight I hope to drift off to powdered sugar capped mountains filled with giant versions of these peppermint cookies. My dad loves candy canes, but more specifically his favorite are the green and red striped peppermint ones. He says they aren’t ripe until they have both the green and red stripes (I think it might be his favorite too because they look extra festive with both bold colors). In my dreamy candy world, you can be sure that ripe candy canes grow everywhere like weeds.

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Nutty for Christmas Cookies

It’s the 9th day before Christmas and this is one of the ones I was looking forward to the most. Peanut butter is one of my all-time favorite flavors (perfect for anytime of the year!). I’m a day late on getting this post up and it might happen more than this once. Life always gets a little crazy, in a good way, around Christmas for me. Balancing life already and the addition of cookie making daily can be a challenge but it’s also one of the most rewarding additions to my life this time of year. Cookie making is a comfort to me. It’s a warm hug of traditions and a way of focusing on the joys of sugar instead of stress.

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