Holiday Reads and Treats: Recipe Edition
Welcome to another blog collab with Jenny (@Princessreadsalot) and Christina (@sushirainbow)! Now that Halloween is over, I bet lots of you are slowly getting ready for the holiday season. I had lots of fun brainstorming holiday recipes to go with the holiday-themed books we chose and that Jenny and Christina reviewed. You can check out their blog post with the books and holiday treat pairings here. Now get ready to experience a sugar high just from reading about these recipes 😜 (Note: Click on the title of each treat to take you to the link for the recipe.)
Deez nuts were delicious. In all seriousness, I would totally make these every year as a holiday snack. We had unsalted mixed nuts instead of just pecans and walnuts so I just used those. I didn’t have coconut oil, coconut sugar, or maple syrup, so instead I used olive oil, brown sugar, and honey. The recipe says you can just mix the nuts and seasoning on the pan, but I mixed everything in a bowl so I could evenly mix everything without making a mess. I mixed the dry seasonings before adding the honey so I could make sure the dry stuff was distributed evenly among the nuts and not super clumpy. Then you just bake the nuts, drizzle on more honey, mix them, and enjoy 😁 You can always adjust how sweet you want these to be by reducing the amount of honey and brown sugar too.
If you love peppermint and chewy cookies, this recipe is for you! I didn’t put as many chocolate chips as the recipe called for because it would have been a tad bit too sweet, even for me. I used dark chocolate chips, but you can use whichever type of chocolate chips you like, except maybe white chocolate. Actually, I’m curious what that would taste like now and may have to bake another batch 🤔 I also accidentally added more peppermint extract than the recipe called for, but it still tasted delicious. I highly recommend making these cookies and possibly leaving them out for Santa…or yourself…whoever gets there first 😂
Holy moly I majorly failed at this recipe, but at least it still tasted really yummy! I have to admit, I definitely should have followed the recipe more precisely and probably shouldn’t have cut out all the extra gelatin 😂 First I used strawberry and lime jello instead of cherry and lime, but that turned out delicious so you can use either one. Now, moving on to the catastrophe. The recipe tells you to make each jello packet with an extra pouch of Knox’s gelatin. I didn’t do this and just followed the recipe of how to make the jello from the box. It wasn’t until I was trying to set the jello, did I realize that the extra gelatin was probably there to make the jello set faster and stronger. I put the first layer of jello into the freezer and it took about 30 minutes to “set.” I’m using quotation marks here because I thought it was set and then I poured in the next layer and the jello broke into little pieces so the two layers ended up mixing together. I just overly messed up. When I set all the layers overnight, I thought it was fine and set. Boy was I wrong! I flipped the jello onto a plate so I could decorate it and take a picture, but the bottom jello layer was super weak and wobbly and the top jello layer slid off completely. This is a super delicious recipe, but please follow the recipe EXACTLY when you make it 😅
I love milkshakes because they are so easy to make. However, they are a pain in the butt to decorate and have the decorations hold long enough for a pic 😅 First of all, I don’t have vanilla ice cream in my freezer except in the form of chocolate and nut-covered Häagen-Dazs bars. I removed the chocolate layer and used the vanilla ice cream inside for the milkshake. I added milk, ice, and a tiny half teaspoon of peppermint extract. Then I blended it together until smooth. I had already made some sugar syrup before, so I just poured some into two bowls and mixed each with red and green food colouring. I drizzled some of each colour syrup onto the inside of the glass. Then I poured in the milkshake, topped it with whipped cream and holiday M&Ms, and frantically tried to take a pic of it before everything deflated and the syrups ran together. Oh yea, and I stuck a candy cane in there to make it look more festive. I totally succeeded…right?
Y’all this recipe turned out SO WELL. I highly recommend making this because it tastes like peppermint heaven and the cupcakes are delicious. I used to think red velvet cupcakes were red because they were made with beets, but boy was I wrong. My friend asked how I got the colour of the cupcakes so red and was surprised when I said “food colouring,” because apparently the red colour is caused by a chemical reaction between cocoa powder and vinegar and buttermilk? Here’s a link if you want to read more. Unlike the other recipes, I basically followed this one exactly and it turned out great. I may have accidentally poured a bit extra vinegar in there, but you couldn’t taste it so that worked out well. I had a lot of icing leftover from this, so I ended up using a piping bag and stuffing the cupcakes with some icing too. Also I used my Magic Bullet to pulverize the candy canes. If you love red velvet, please try making this because it’s so yummy and you’ll eat all 12 cupcakes by yourself.
Made by Jenny (@Princessreadsalot)
I am going to include my recipe below, but I think you should actually follow this recipe. Hers seemed to turn out a lot better, and my dough fell off of my marshmallows.
Ingredients:
Vegetable or canola oil
Marshmallows
½ cup milk
1 ¼ cups complete pancake mix (I used pancake mix that only required water.)
Chocolate syrup
Peppermint Crunch Sprinkles
Directions:
1- Heat oil in a deep pan. If you prefer to use a more shallow pan, that will work and you will just have to fry one side at a time.
2- Combine milk and pancake mix to form a batter. This should be slightly thicker than typical pancake batter. If not, add a bit more of the dry mix.
3- Coat marshmallows with the batter, being sure to cover all sides.
4- Drop your batter-coated marshmallow in the hot oil. If the oil is deep enough to fully submerge the marshmallow, simply wait about 20-30 seconds (depending on the heat) until the marshmallow is golden – don’t let it burn! If your oil does not cover the entire marshmallow, turn to fry each side. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
5- Drizzle chocolate syrup and sprinkle with peppermint crunch sprinkles and serve warm.
7. Star-Shaped Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting (Or any canned frosting)
Peppermint Crunch Sprinkles
Directions:
1- In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes (stars) with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3- Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.
4- Frost cookies and sprinkle with peppermint crunch sprinkles.
Click here for a link of how to make it from scratch. This is a classic holiday treat that most people enjoy making. Because it’s easier, we usually just buy a kit from the grocery store so I’d recommend that, but if you feel particularly creative, then you can try making your own—plus you can pick all your favorite candy to put decorate it with. Or you could buy the kit and just get your own candy. Either way have fun 😁
Aaaaand that’s a wrap on all the holiday goodies we made this season! What recipe from our list do you think you’ll try? Also, what’s your favorite holiday treat? Do you have a favorite one from your childhood or something that you make every year? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to check out the blog post with the book pairings for each treat over at Sushirainbow’s blog. Here is the link!
I ho-ho-hope you have a wonderful sugar-filled holiday season 😊
