Eggnog Mini Bundts with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

Oh Eggnog, how I do not love you in a glass, but in a cupcake you will not last. 

Boy oh boy these sure did not last long in my house. Like I mentioned I'm not a huge fan of eggnog but as a flavor enhancer in baked goods, it is quite tasty. It gives it just the right amount of creamy sweetness and a touch of holiday spice from the nutmeg. Add on the maple cinnamon glaze and you have a serious sweet treat. I decided to make these to bring with us for Christmas Eve dessert at my husband's Dad's house, but I made sure to keep some at home just for us. Just as good as they are as a dessert, they are just as yummy warmed up for breakfast. Thats how I enjoyed a few of these bad boys. I also think these would make a perfect base for a cupcake, just throw on some frosting instead of the glaze (if frosting is what defines a cupcake anyway).

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for this week's "Outta the Box" linky party to share your desserts.

Eggnog Mini Bundts with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

Warm Welcome to 2012

It's almost a new year, a time for new beginnings, new milestones, new bars to set for yourself and finding ways to exceed them. I've laid out a few goals and promises that I've made to myself and a few that I'm making to this blog and all my followers. I promise to be uber creative this year and post feverishly and frequently. This blog is going on 6 months old in January and I'm more than happy to say that it seems to be well received. From the comments you guys have been leaving me, to the amount of pins my posts have been getting, it lets me know that I'm not alone in enjoying my blog. And that makes my overjoyed!

I have a very full and exciting year coming up. An abundance of weddings and all the parties that go along with them, a surprise vacation to Texas in a few weeks (a huge THANKS to my amazing husband), plans to visit the beautiful state of Wyoming, concerts, supporting my husband in his 5k (cause we all no I don't run for fun), the list goes on...but I promise to take you guys all along for the ride. I mean whats the point of this whole blog if I don't share with you all the wonderful and exciting things that are happening in my life?! Don't worry, I won't go crazy and tell you every time Eva takes a bath or if my car breaks down or if I get cavity, but I will share with you beautiful places I visit and great meals I make along the way. I hope you'll continue to follow along with my bittersweet life in the upcoming year. God willing it will be an amazing one for you and for me!

Happy New Year and God Bless.
Jackie

Risotto Primavera

Ever have one of those days where you don't want to eat meat, you want to try to be as healthy as possible, you have a ton of veggies in your refrigerator that are on their way to the garbage if you don't eat them, and you need to think of a decent meal to feed your family? This happens to me about once a week. Well this recipe is a perfect way to get what you want on those type of days. This meal fills the void in so many ways; in your belly, at your table, in your daily food triangle.  It's creamy without using cream, it's salty without using salt, and it's even better the next day.  

Risotto Primavera 

Kahlua Coffee Rounds

New Years Eve is all about having fun, enjoying the company your with and having a few cocktails. Well why not add a little liqueur to your desserts and keep the party going! These scrumptious Kahlua Coffee Rounds are more soft then crunchy, giving them a lightness that is sure to become a crowd pleaser and the best part, they are no bake! They are the perfect bite sized treat to pop in your mouth as you watch the ball drop. They are infused with Kahlua and espresso, the marriage of two powerful flavors, giving these little guys an extra punch. 

Outta the Box: Holiday Ideas

Ok I know it's Monday and my linky parties are supposed to begin on Sundays. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me this one time as it was a pretty big holiday yesterday. Speaking of that, Happy Holidays! This weeks party is all about "Outta the Box" Holiday Ideas. Share anything and everything you created for this years holiday festivities.

I hope you thoroughly enjoyed this Holiday Season. I know I sure did, but I am ready to relax after all the baking, wrapping, and crafting I've done over the past month. I did want to share with you my homemade gift tags. They are really easy and inexpensive to make. They can be changed up to work with any special occasion where you might need a gift tag. 

Coconut Shortbread with Candied Limes

This is a new Christmas cookie I came up with. We, being my family and I, haven't had a coconut cookie  in our holiday repertoire yet and I wanted to add one. So I racked my brain for flavors that went with coconut and I thought limes. I had seen a recipe for candied lemons and I decided, why not do the same with the limes. The tartness of the limes compliments the sweetness of the coconuts making it a perfect combination. I think this will definitely become a traditional Christmas cookie at our house!

Chocolate Dipped Espresso Stars

I love coffee, I also love coffee flavored foods so I decided that I wanted to make some sort of coffee cookie this Christmas. This recipe is a short bread cookie, flavored with instant espresso to give it a real rich, fragrant coffee flavor. It's not super sweet all by itself, thats why I decided to dip them in semi-sweet chocolate; to play up the sweet factor and add some visual interest. This cookie is great with a tall glass of milk or if your feeling adventurous maybe some Baileys...mmmm. 

Cupcake Elves

So a few posts back I showed you how I made Cupcake Stuffed Christmas Tree Cones. Well on the same day I also made Cupcake Elves. They are similar to the Trees except instead of being stuffed with cupcakes they sit on top of cupcakes. The cupcakes eventually become the elf's face and the cone, it's hat.  These are great fun to make too and are super cute. I also am excited to share the cupcake recipe that I used. It's from cupcakeproject.com's "The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake" and it really is exactly like it's name. The batter is super light and fluffy, the cupcakes don't become miss colored (if you don't burn them) and they are simple to make. You must try this recipe, I promise you won't be disappointed. Stef is a cupcake genius! 

Gold Scavengers Wreath

Natural decorations are great for so many different reasons. They bring a natural beauty to your home, they are usually free if you collect everything yourself, and they can last for years if stored and cared for correctly. Again keeping along with my money saving efforts I decided to go natural with any new Christmas decor I'm adding to my collection this year. I wanted a wreath to hang over the mirror in my dining room so I decided I was going to use cinnamon sticks to create something beautiful and fragrant. But as I was telling my close friend at work, she enthusiastically informed me that she has been collecting components from the outdoors for years but has never found the time to make anything with them. She graciously gave some to me and it completely transformed my thought process. The pieces she gave me are some of the most beautiful items I have ever seen come from nature. 

Outta the Box: Breakfast Creations

It's Sunday! Share with us your "Outta the Box" Breakfast Creations.

It's 5'oclock somewhere right? So why not Bourbon for breakfast? Well maybe just some bourbon in your syrup to add a little fun to your morning. This was an experimental dish that came out just divine. I had an apple that was on its way out and a bottle of bourbon that was down to it's last shot, so I figured why not be creative and see what I come up with. So thats what I did and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the result. This is a recipe I will definitely make again, and I have learned the powers of what bourbon does to food; it makes it bittersweet!

Cinnamon Wheat Pancakes with Bourbon Apple Syrup

Food Fight

So by now you all know Ducki. You've come to love Eva and Ducki's little friendship. Lately however that friendship has turned more into a spiteful, jealous dual. Ducki is a stealth one. He has mastered the art of sneaking in the door at the last second, many times unbeknownst to us. He darts right to Eva's food dish, plops down and begins munching away. 

Cupcake Filled Christmas Tree Cones

It's the perfect time of year for baking. The heat of the oven warms your home, the smell of sweet baked goods fills the air and you can be as creative as your mind lets you. I wanted to make something that shouted Christmas cheer. This recipe is super simple to make and it's really quite fun. This would be a great dessert to make with the kids! They will love decorating the tree and then eating it!! 

Outta the Box #1: Christmas Cookie Recipes

I am so excited to announce my first Link Party! I plan on hosting a link party every Sunday and depending on how my week goes, the topic of the party will change, but the creativeness will not.  

This week is Outta the Recipe Box: Christmas Cookies. 

Share your favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes with us. Rules for this link party are below.  

Christmas Diva

It's a Christmas miracle! Eva sat still when I took my camera out and started clicking away! Honestly I think she wanted her photo taken. She pretty much set up the entire shoot. She's the one who begged to be put up on the green chair that sat perfectly in front of the Christmas tree. She's the one who kept making the most adorable faces, begging to be captured on film (or an SD card).

A Season for Reflecting

They say that this is the season for giving, which it very much is, but it is also a time of reflection. In our house hold decorating the Christmas tree is a look back at the year that's passed; where we've been, what we've done, how we've used our time. See we have a collection in our family, one that grows year after year, vacation after vacation, Christmas after Christmas. Our ornaments create a timeline, a collage, a memory tree of our lives. Instead of collecting magnets or paperweights or key chains from all the places we visit in a year, we collect ornaments. It's an idea we borrowed from dear friends of ours whose 12 foot tree is filled with so many ornaments that you can't even see the branches. But no matter which ornament you pick out on their tree, there is a story and a memory behind it no doubt. We collect other ornaments as well, ones that are significant to us, maybe a favorite movie character or a favorite sports team, but each one means something to us. Each one we remove from the storage box triggers memories that are stored away till Christmas comes around every year. It's a great way to really reflect on the year passed and to be grateful for all the wonderful memories that you share with your family.

Cranberry Apple Kuchen

Finally we get to dessert. Sorry I am skipping sides but I really didn't make any for Thanksgiving other then Rub-All-Over-Your-Body Cornbread Stuffing, but I didn't take any pictures. If you want that recipe, and you do want the recipe because it's name is really a great description of just how good it is, you can find it here. Now back to dessert. My personal favorite part of any meal. I new I wanted to make a cake or pie using seasonal fruits. I stumbled upon this recipe for Cranberry Apple Kuchen from the French Laundry Cookbook. It sounded so delicious and easy, I had to make it. Kuchen said like Kuk-en, is a German cake, a deliciously moist and and tasty cake.