1st Day of Cookie – Glazed Cider Cookies

On December 24, 2020December 23, 2020 By take2createIn Christmas, cookies, HolidaysLeave a comment

There’s a special chill to the air around Christmas for me, almost like the cold winter air is mixed with holiday spirit making it crisper and somehow more welcoming against my bare face. This Christmas might be a little different in how it is celebrated but the Christmas chill is a comfort this year to me. So while I snuggle under a blanket writing this with a half-eaten glazed cider cookie next to me, I hope you all feel the warmth of the holiday season like a hot cup of spiced cider as well.

Merry Christmas Eve!

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4th Day of Cookie – Carrot Spice Thumbprint Cookies

On December 21, 2020December 21, 2020 By take2createIn Christmas, cookies, HolidaysLeave a comment

While my mom and I are adamant about chocolate cakes on our birthday (and really all things chocolate), my dad and brother have always preferred carrot cake. I remember the first year I made my brother a carrot cake for his birthday all by myself. I was so proud, it was probably more than a little rough on appearance and I likely made the cream cheese icing too sweet because that’s what I thought frosting should be at 12. His birthday is the day after Christmas so making this cookie to celebrate the 4^th day before Christmas reminds me of how far I have come in my baking skills from that very first carrot cake for him.

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6th Day of Cookie – Pecan Pie Bars

On December 19, 2020December 19, 2020 By take2createIn Christmas, cookies, Holidays, Seasonal, Thanksgiving3 Comments

My favorite pie during the holidays is easily a pecan pie. A cold slice of homemade pecan pie is the best leftover from Thanksgiving, am I right? I’ve even thought about asking for pecan pie for my birthday in April! This little bar is packed with all the ooey gooey crunchy pecan pie tastes and textures. If you are a fan of pumpkin pan like my family and I, you should definitely give this one a go!

Is pecan pie your favorite? What is your favorite around the holidays?

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7th Day of Cookie – Chocolate Amaretti

On December 18, 2020 By take2createIn Christmas, cookies, HolidaysLeave a comment

I’ve come to love marzipan after I tried a slice of cake with it at a famous local bakery near my house. I have had it before in desserts however, it was normally overpowered by whatever flavor it was with. This sweet slice of cake had the marzipan as the star and it has since become a favorite of mine. Between my new found love of marzipan and my Italian heritage, this Chocolate Amaretti cookie seemed like the perfect 8th day of Christmas cookie.

This cookie used a food processor and only took 5 ingredients to make! Super fun, easy, and they are delicious! We did make them a little big larger than tablespoonfuls, the cookie scoop used was 1 ½ tablespoons. I preferred these to be larger than the normal cookie and would highly recommend trying it as well.

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Cinnamon Roll Cookie Makeover

On December 22, 2018December 22, 2018 By take2createIn Christmas, Food, Holidays, WinterLeave a comment

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

Cinnamon Roll Cookies.jpg Continue reading “Cinnamon Roll Cookie Makeover” →

Cinnamon Chips + Cookies = A Perfect Pair

On December 22, 2018December 22, 2018 By take2createIn Christmas, Food, Holidays, WinterLeave a comment

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

Cinnamon Chip Snickerdoodles.jpg Continue reading “Cinnamon Chips + Cookies = A Perfect Pair” →

Gingerbread Love

On December 20, 2018December 20, 2018 By take2createIn Christmas, Food, Holidays, WinterLeave a comment

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).

6th Day Before Christmas – Gingerbread Spritz Continue reading “Gingerbread Love” →

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

On December 19, 2018 By take2createIn Christmas, Food, Holidays, WinterLeave a comment

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 7^th day before Christmas we are making pecan pie thumbprint cookies.

7^th Day Before Christmas – Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies Continue reading “It’s a Pie! It’s a Cookie! It’s a Pie Cookie!” →

Minty Fresh Christmas Cookies

On December 18, 2018December 18, 2018 By take2createIn Christmas, Food, Holidays, WinterLeave a comment

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.

8^th day before Christmas – Peppermint Snowballs Continue reading “Minty Fresh Christmas Cookies” →

Nutty for Christmas Cookies

On December 18, 2018December 18, 2018 By take2createIn Christmas, Food, Holidays, WinterLeave a comment

It’s the 9^th 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.

9^th Day before Christmas – Frosted Peanut Cookies Continue reading “Nutty for Christmas Cookies” →