Blogmas Day Four: Christmas Cookies

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Blogmas Day Four! Today is all about Christmas cookies, I love baking during the holidays, so I thought I would share with you some recipes that are guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit and are just plain delicious.

The first cookie we have is Chocolate Cherry Cookies. I love chocolate covered cherries and these cookies remind me of those, so yummy. And this recipe makes about 30 cookies.

What You Need:

  • 1/2 cup of softened butter
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 cup of brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup of cocoa
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons of maraschino cherry juice
  • 30-36 jarred maraschino cherries
  • 1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tablespoon of maraschino cherry juice

What You Do:

  • The first thing you do is preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Then cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar. Once that’s mixed add in the eggs one at a time and make sure that’s well combined.
  • In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Then take that mixture and add it into the butter mixture 1/2 a cup at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl  as needed. After that is well combined add in the vanilla and 2 teaspoons of maraschino cherry juice and mix well.
  • Take the bowl from the mixer and pop it in the fridge for about 30 minutes so the dough can chill.
  • Once the dough is ready to be rolled, butter your hands so it doesn’t stick. Then roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Using your thumb make an indentation in the center of the cookies and place a maraschino cherry in the middle.
  • Bake cookies for 10 minutes.
  • To create the drizzle on top melt the semi sweet chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk together on low. Once it’s melted add 1 teaspoon of maraschino cherry juice and mix that together with a spoon.
  • Once the cookies are cooled drizzle that mixture over the cookies.
  • Serve and enjoy! And if you don’t want to serve these immediately, they do freeze well.

The next cookie we have is Peppermint Shortbread Cookie. These are super easy to make and I love shortbread, so it’s a win-win. And this recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

What You Need:

  • 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups of sugar
  • 1 cup of cold butter, cubed
  • 1 1/4 cups of Andes peppermint crunch chips
  • 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract, although if you wanted a more subtle peppermint flavor you could use vanilla or almond
  • Red food coloring, this is optional
  • Sugar to coat the cookies before baking for an extra crunch, this is also optional

What You Do:

  • In a large bowl combine the flour and the sugar. And using a pastry blender, cut in the butter. Because this is shortbread, you’re looking for a very fine crumb.
  • Then stir in the extract, Andes peppermint crunch chips and the red food coloring.
  • Using your hands knead the dough until it forms a ball, then shape it into a log about two inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for two hours.
  • Once the dough is chilled and ready to come out, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • Cut slices of the dough about 1/4 inch thick and place on the cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are set.
  • Once out of the oven, let the cookies cool for a few minutes before moving to the cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Serve and enjoy! And if you don’t want to serve right away, these will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

The second to last cookie we have is Eggnog Snickerdoodles. These are super easy to make and so good. And this recipe makes about 48 cookies.

What You Need:

  • 4 cups of flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • 1 cup of butter
  • 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
  • 1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar, you can use light or dark
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of Eggnog
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and if you want an extra punch you can use rum extract
  • For the topping: 6 tablespoons of sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of nutmeg
  • For the glaze: 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup of Eggnog, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

What You Do:

  • In a bowl medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and cream of tartar, then set that aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream together the eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. To that add the eggs, eggnog and vanilla/rum extract. Mix until well combined. Then add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
  • You can either cover the bowl in plastic wrap or remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap, but either way, place the dough in the fridge for at least an hour.
  • Once the dough is out of the fridge, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Take the dough and form it into 1 inch balls and roll them in the sugar and nutmeg mixture. Then place them on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
  • Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes. Once they’re out of the oven let them sit on the cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes to cool before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • For the glaze, add the powdered sugar, eggnog and nutmeg together in a bowl and stir until well combined. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies and allow it to set up.
  • Serve and enjoy!

The last cookie we have is a cookie my mom always makes during the holidays, so I love it a little bit extra and it’s Ghiradelli Chocolate Peppermint Chunk Cookies and this recipes makes about 2 dozen cookies.

What You Need:

  • 1 cup of Ghiradelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 6 tablespoons of softened butter
  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 bag of Ghiradelli Peppermint Chunks

What You Do:

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Take the 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips and melt them in the microwave in 30 second increments. Once melted, set aside to cool.
  • In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and mix.
  • In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time. To that mixture add the melted chocolate and the vanilla extract and mix until well combine.
  • Add in the dry ingredients and mix, then add in the peppermint chunks and make sure they’re well distributed.
  • This calls for the dough to be scooped into balls that are 1.5 tablespoons and in the couple times I’ve made these cookies, I only measured it for the first couple cookies and then just went from there, but it comes out to enough cookies each time. And then place them about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
  • Bake for 9 minutes and they should be soft and fudgy.
  • Once cooled, serve and enjoy!

That about wraps it up for this post, if you guys have any Christmas cookie recipes that you love, let me know. You can never have too many cookie recipes.

Until next time, have fun baking and enjoy your cookies :).

-K

2017 Christmas Cookie Post:

https://atomic-temporary-54204526.wpcomstaging.com/2017/12/18/blogmas-day-17-christmas-cookies/

My Links:

Twitter: @KSagerson

Instagram: Kyra Sage

Poshmark: KyraSage18

Pinterest: Kyra Sage

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April favorites

Hi everyone,

Since we are in the first week of May, I thought that this would be a good time to talk about my April favorites. I have quite the random mix, so enjoy :). The first thing I want to talk about is beauty. My first product is from the e.l.f. blush palette in Light. Lately I’ve been going for a more bronzed look and the bronzer in this palette is one of my favorites. It’s not too orange or too dark for my face and it gives me the look that I want. And I actually quite like the blush that is right below it. It has little gold flecks in it, gives a nice glow and it’s not too pink. It’s got a nice reddish tone to it.

AF1

My next beauty favorite is from Hard Candy and it’s three of their All Glossed Up lip stains. I know that I’ve talked about these previously, but this last month I really liked them a lot. The dark pink and nudey brown I’ve used more so they’ve taken on kind of a weird shape. But I just started to use the peachy one. I’m not gonna lie, when I first swatched it I was hesitant because it looked quite orange, But I was pleasantly surprised when I put it on to find out that that wasn’t the case. It has a nice peach tone and goes with pretty much any look as do the other two. And I think my next purchase from Hard Candy will be the matte lip stains.

AF2

My second to last beauty favorite is a simple one. And it is the vanilla Softlips lip balm. I’ve been using Softlips for years and they are my favorite lip balm. I’ve tried different ones, but the vanilla is my favorite. What I’ve been using it for more recently is after I take off all of my makeup and go through my nightly routine, right before I go to bed I’ll put it on. And I’ve actually been seeing a difference. I use a lot of different lip products and this really has kept and probably put some moisture back in my lips. And this particular one is SPF 20 which is an added bonus.

AF3

My last beauty favorite is actually hair care and it’s my shampoo and conditioner. They are from Paul Mitchell and it’s the Awapuhi Shampoo and The Detangler conditioner and they are some of the original products. I’ve tried a lot of different shampoos and conditioners and I’ve found that for me these work the best. I dye my hair blonde and that can be slightly damaging for the hair, but these keep it silky and smooth. I also have quite thick hair so the detangling conditioner is a dream for me. Plus they smell amazing.

AF4

Moving on to food, I have one favorite and it’s the Kashi Honey Almond Flax chewy granola bar. I know that I’ve mentioned this bar before, but it really is my favorite and when I’m feeling snacky this is what I’ve been going for and I would recommend it.

AF5

My next couple things are accessories. The first is a watch. I bought this watch at Kohl’s during an after Christmas sale and was wearing it a little bit. But more recently I’ve been wearing it a lot. It’s rose gold which I love and it has a grey leather band. I also really like the size of the face. It’s not too big, but it’s also not dainty like a lot of women’s watches can be. It goes with practically everything and I’m just so in love with it.

AF6

The next thing is kind of an accessory, but it’s more practical. And that is this knife. I carry a knife probably everyday and have for years. Why I carried this one a lot in April is because of the size. It’s nice and small which was perfect because we had the hottest April in 30 years so I was wearing shorts most days and my shorts have really small pockets. I’m not sure the name of this knife but it’s from Precision Point.

AF7

My next favorite is the book that I’m currently reading. And that is Beyond Band of Brothers; The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters by Major Dick Winters, Commander, Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and Colonel Cole C. Kingseed. I’m two thirds of the way through with this book and I’m absolutely loving it. If any of you watched the HBO series Band of Brothers then you know about the Easy Company and Major Winters. And how amazing he was. From parachuting into France on D-Day to taking over command of Easy Company Major Winters was a great leader. I said the other day that I wished I could go back in time and meet him and I truly mean it.

AF8

My next couple of favorites are two racing series. IMSA and Indy Car. I grew up watching all kinds of racing, you guys know that drag racing is my favorite, but I found that I’ve been enjoying these two more than in years past. Of course I have my favorite teams and guys that I root for but it’s always competitive and exciting to watch. Especially this season with the rivalry between the Corvette’s and the Porsche’s in the GTLM class in IMSA being so intense.

AF10

AF11

 

AF12

My last favorite is the Seattle Mariners. I’m from Washington so the Mariners are my team and I could not be more proud and happy with how this season is going so far. As I’m writing this they have won their last six series, including sweeping the Oakland Athletics yesterday. They are in first place in the AL West and won today in their opening game in a four game series with the Houston Astros. For the first time in a long time I feel like they are playing as a team. Pitching is good offense is good and defense is good. We’re getting production from the whole lineup and it’s really exciting.

I think that’s about it for this favorites. I had more than I originally thought and I probably won’t do another one for a few months. If you guys had any of the same favorites let me know and if not, I would love to know what you guys have been loving :).

Until next time, have a great May and enjoy your favorites :).

-K

Twitter: @KSagerson

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