I posted this on Erin's blog on Monday, but I want to share it with all my readers too! For those of you who are still looking for quick, easy, and most importantly, DELICIOUS dessert recipes for this weekend, here is a simple Christmas recipe from me to YOU! Hope you are having a restful and joy-filled week! * * * * * I've recently found myself bothered by the fact that Christmas can be such a stressful time when it's meant to be a simple and joyful time where we celebrate a God who would come to earth to live WITH us and FOR us. I like the decorations, the traditions, the parties and the gifts, but sometimes it feels like all the STUFF gets in the way of Christmas. I want to worship Jesus during this time, tell others about him, and love on my friends and family, not take endless trips to Target. Next year I have a goal. It's a little far-fetched, but I'm really going to strive for it. Are you ready? My goal is to have all my gifts purchased and my Christmas letters ready to mail BEFORE Thanksgiving so that I can enjoy the Christmas season without drowning in an ocean of consumerism. Does that sound crazy? Maybe. But the first week of December is a crazy time for me with grad school {I am getting my PhD in English and I study how women are writing online - LOVE IT!}, and when school is finally done for the semester, I just want to relax and enjoy the season. So I am hoping to radically change my Christmas next year. Prepare little by little throughout the fall and really indulge in the JOY of the season come December. On the search for a JOY-filled Christmas!!! But there is one thing I can't really do in advance and that is BAKE up some Christmas goodness. I mean, I guess I could freeze dough and stuff like that, but there is nothing like fresh dough, fresh cake, and fresh cookies right out of the oven. So this season, I've been trying to find delicious holiday recipes that you can whip up in a flash for the various events throughout the season. I know some women like to say that they slaved all day in the kitchen, but I like to say I whipped this thing up in 30 minutes! Bam! So today I'd like to share with you a little recipe I invented last week. We took it to dinner with friends and it was a major hit! Eggnog Cupcakes{with cream cheese spice frosting} What you need for the cupcakes:A box of yellow or white cake mix1 cup eggnog2 eggs1/3 cup vegetable oil1/4 tsp. nutmeg1/2 tsp. Cinnamon Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all of the above ingredients in a bowl (most cake mixes call for 3 eggs, but only use 2 since there is egg in the nog of course!}. Pour into a cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers. I did mini-cupcakes, but you can do big ones or an actual cake too. Bake according to the instructions on the box. I think it took about 20 minutes for mini cupcakes. Remove from oven. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then move to a cooling rack. What you need for the frosting:8 oz. cream cheese {I used whipped cream cheese topping}2 cups powdered sugar1/2 c. butter {1 stick - barely softened!}1 tsp. vanilla2 dashes cinnamon1 dash of nutmeg Add cream cheese, powdered sugar, and butter to bowl. Begin mixing. Pause to scrape side of bowl and add vanilla and spices. Continue mixing until frosting is firm and fluffy. Frost cupcakes when they are cool. Enjoy! Pin It *The eggnog flavor on these is very faint, so even if you don't like eggnog, you will probably still like these cupcakes!* *Here are two other EASY holiday recipes - pumpkin dump cake and pumpkin spice cookies!* Merry Christmas!Jen {Linking to: Whipperberry, Southern Lovely, and House of Hepworths, and It's Overflowing! } ... Read more
Easiest Cookies EVER!
Sorry, I'm still in a pumpkin mood. Maybe some of you reserve your pumpkin intake to October/November, but not me. As long as the Pumpkin Spice Latte is on the menu at Starbucks, I am also consuming pumpkin at home. Pumpkin and I are friends from the first day of fall until the new year. That's just the way it is. Are you ready for another super fab and easy holiday recipe, so you can spend this week relaxing and hanging out with family instead of slaving away in the kitchen? Okay, well here it is. The absolute easiest pumpkin cookies EVER... Pumpkin Spice Cookies {with brown sugar frosting} What you need: 1 package spice cake mix 15oz can of pumpkin 1/4 cup oil {optional} Chocolate chips {optional} Preheat oven to 350 degrees. That's seriously IT! Can you believe it? You don't even really need the oil, but I added it just because I didn't believe that cake mix and pumpkin would turn into cookies {but I'm pretty sure they do...} 1. Mix spice cake and pumpkin together until smooth. The oil can help with this if you decide to add it. 2. Add chocolate chips if you want. I did half with chocolate, half plain. 3. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet. 4. Bake at 350 for 8-15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. I think mine needed 10-12 minutes. These cookies are delish alone, especially with chocolate chips inside, but if you feel like it was was just TOO easy to make these, feel free to add some brown sugar frosting... Brown Sugar Frosting What you need: 3 tbsp butter {melted}1/2 cup brown sugar4 tbsp milk3/4 tsp vanilla extract1 cup powdered sugar (add more if it's not thick enough) 1. Combine melted butter, brown sugar, and milk in a small saucepan, stirring continuously. 2. Boil for 2 minutes. 3. Cool (an ice water bath makes it cool quickly). 4. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until smooth. I followed the frosting recipe from NS Pottery, but mine turned out way different that hers. Her frosting was thin and white, mine was thick and light brown. I think this has to do with the fact that I was too impatient to do an ice bath, so I just stuck my whole pan in the freezer and left it there a little too long. I had to slightly heat the frosting back up again. However, it turned out tasting like the top of a maple doughnut, which the husband LOVED, so we actually recommend the freezer method/mistake! Pin It *Here is another easy holiday recipe!* Merry Christmas! Jen *Linking up with Centsational Girl's Cookie Party!* ... Read more
Hello Christmas!
Hello Monday! Well, the papers are graded. The final grades are submitted. Now I am just easing into two weeks of absolute freedom while I celebrate Jesus and His birth {This is a lie. I have no true Christmas break, because I am working on a huge application for school and then I have to write my syllabus for next semester. Class starts on January 5th this year, which is way earlier than years past. This means no truly relaxing break for me, but it still means Jesus and gingerbread and gift-giving and no reading for class and no teaching for a few weeks, so I'll take it!}. Also, starting this evening our house will be graced with visitors every single day of break until I start school again next month. I am slightly overwhelmed but mostly excited by this. So.... Hello mom and dad. Hello brother and sister. Hello mother-in-law. Hello best friend, Kristin. Hello air mattresses on the floor. Hello cooking Christmas dinner. Hello lots of love in our house. Here are all the amazing people who will be visiting us these next few weeks! And just because... may I tell you some things I'm loving during this Christmas season??? Our Christmas tree. I decorated it all by myself... Parenthood. Yes, please. My Lauren Conrad skinny cords. In fact, I love them so much that I put another pair {in gray} on hold in Seattle {because they are out of my size in AZ} and my sweet mother went to pick them up for me. They will be in my hands tonight and on my bod tomorrow! DownEast Basics. Just discovered their brick and mortar stores around Phoenix. In love. The little bulletin board I designed to display our Christmas cards and all the pretty faces of our loved ones. Catching up on all my Real Simple magazines from the fall. My newly spray painted gold and silver pine cones. My new color coded shelf. Not going alphabetical was a huge stretch for this English major, but I love the result despite my slight anxiety over the lack of order! :) Getting ready to use my new Erin Condren planner in 2012! What are you saying hello to this Christmas season??? xoxo, Jen ... Read more
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