I cannot believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow. Where does the time go? I’m not gonna lie…I’m pretty darn excited. The copious amounts of delicious food, gift exchanges, and the celebration of family and friends is what I love most about this time of year. (more…)
Two weeks ago I ventured to New York City with my best friend Denise for a quick 4-day vacation. NYC is by far my favourite city in the entire world. The hustle and bustle, lights, and delicious restaurants and bakeries on every corner is what I love most about the city. But after this latest trip, I have a whole new reason. On my last night in NYC, Denise and I ventured to Rockefeller Centre to see the infamous Christmas tree all lit up. Well, to make a long story short, it wasn’t lit up (apparently they turn it off at 10:30pm to conserve energy). I’m not going to lie – I was very disappointed. Mainly because I had been there for 3 nights already and this was my last opportunity to see the tree lit up before we departed the next day. While I was pouting and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to make the most of the evening and take some photos of my surroundings.
As I was taking the photo above of 30 Rock, I heard a very familiar (and male) voice. I turn around to see my boyfriend, whom I thought was back at home in Winnipeg, standing there in the middle of Rockefeller Centre with a bakery box in hand. After the initial shock of seeing him wore off, he tells me to open the box.
A proposal to rival all proposals. I was speechless but had enough strength to say “Yes”. And how could I not – besides it being the most amazing proposal ever, those red velvet cupcakes were the most delicious I have ever tasted – thanks to Tribeca Treats!
In honour of the holiday season, and the most important day of my life thus far, I wanted to bake and share a recipe that I love this time of year. These Egg Nog Cupcakes are dense, moist and sweet. Also, how can you possibly say no to egg nog buttercream icing?! Even if you aren’t a true egg nog fan, you will enjoy these.
I love fruit desserts. Apple, strawberry, raspberry – you name it.
But pineapple? I was a little skeptical.
As you can tell, this recipe is old. It apparently was my Grandmother’s. The image above reaffirms why I needed to create this blog, as this is Claudia’s recipe. Handwritten, worn and slightly yellow. Splash some water on this puppy and it’s a goner.
My Grandmother apparently made this dessert a lot more than Claudia did while I was growing up. Prior to this blog posting, I argued with Claudia that I never tried this tasty dessert before. She vehemently disagreed. When we received a request to make this treat for Christmas, it was then that I fell in love with this delightful slice. Try it and you will too!
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The holidays would not be complete without making and decorating Sugar Cookies. As you can tell from the image above, I decorate cookies like a 5 year old. Actually, a 5 year old could probably do a lot better. I still draw stick figures for people. I didn’t do very well in art class.
Claudia received this recipe from a coworker (Stacey) a few years ago. It’s very simple and makes great tasting cookies. We prefer thicker, chewier Sugar Cookies. But you can easily roll this dough out to make thinner, crispier cookies.
I can always tell when the holidays are upon us. My evenings become jam-packed and I spend my Sunday’s in the kitchen with Claudia. I’m talking 6 hours this past Sunday! It was pretty fun. My feet were killing me by the end of it though. I honestly don’t know how Claudia can stand in the kitchen for hours on end making dozens upon dozens of perogies at a time. She’s Superwoman. Somebody buy her a cape!
Last Christmas we ended up featuring a lot of the holiday baking items I enjoyed growing up. Today’s blog is no exception. These cookies are my Dad’s favourite – and for very good reason. They literally melt in your mouth. Literally. This is no joke people. They are the softest, most delicate shortbread cookie I have ever tried. And they are delicious and super, super simple to make.
For as long as I can remember, Date Squares (aka Matrimonial Cake) were always on Claudia’s Christmas baking list. I’ll admit that when I was younger I didn’t fancy them too much and chose holiday desserts on the table that had a lot more chocolate on them. But as I get older (and wiser of course) I have grown to absolutely love them. The buttery crumbly layers and the sweet date filling makes this the perfect recipe for your own holiday baking list.