It’s a Latin American favorite that the western world has embraced as its own. Dulce de Leche, a thick and sugary caramel-like sauce made by slowly heating sweet milk, has found its way into just about every dessert and beverage we love. Here is a rich and delicious cupcake made with homemade Dulce de Leche that’s incorporated in the batter as well as the frosting. Enjoy!
large eggs
Christmas Cake
It’s a scrumptious sight to behold! This week I’m sharing with you a Christmas cake bedecked on the outside and hiding a swirl of surprise color inside! It looks like you’ve slaved over it for hours, but really, all you need to make it happen is one box of cake mix, some white icing, food coloring and sprinkles! This is what I call a gorgeous plate of holiday happiness, and it couldn’t be easier to create! Treat your family and friends to this wonderful bit of holiday cheer with a nice spot of tea or a luscious cup of cappuccino!
Watch my How to video for The Christmas Cake here!
Christmas Cookies
What makes this the most wonderful time of the year? Well, besides, glad tidings, family and the holiday spirit, it’s gotta be Christmas Cookies! Here are two of my favorites!
Watch my How To Video for Christmas Cookies here!
Swig Sugar Cookies
If you don’t want another cookie addiction, then maybe you’ll want to bypass this week’s column. If, however, you want to jump on America’s latest cookie craze, then you’ve come to the right place! Swig cookies, with their scrumptious pink frosting and craggy edges, are somewhere between a soft sugar cookie and shortbread, and they have certainly won our hearts! (To date, there are about 41 million search results for Swig Cookies on Pinterest. I’d say we are obsessed with these sweet treats!) The Swig cookie originated in Saint George, Utah in 2010 at the Swig Drive-by Drink Shop. Known for their signature frosty drinks and sweets, Swig has now expanded to multiple locations in Utah and several other states. The minute I heard about them I employed “The Niece Factor.” That’s when I make a big batch of cookies and drive them over to my nieces and wait for their response. With these Swig Cookies I got a text about 20 minutes later (before I even got home!) that the entire batch has been devoured. That’s good enough for me! I think you’re going to like these cookies. They’re fun to make and may even be worthy of a spot on your holiday cookie exchange platter this year.
Sheepherder’s Breakfast for Dinner
Sometimes there’s nothing like breakfast for dinner. Once in a while, it just hits the spot. When I came across a recipe for Sheepherder’s Breakfast in the cookbook Taste of Home’s Contest Winning Annual Recipes for 2006, it brought back my “breakfast for dinner” memories of powering through college homework late into the night at the University of Nevada, Reno. Sometimes before the all-night cramming sessions, a group of us would head to Gardnerville–about an hour south of Reno–to fortify ourselves at a Basque restaurant on a meal of baked eggs, chorizo and potatoes. It was very similar to the Taste of Home award winning recipe except that the Basque dish was baked in the oven in a cast iron skillet and Basque chorizo (or sometimes cured ham) replaced the bacon. It was soulful and comforting and satisfying and filling. Could you ask for anything more if you’re hungering for hearty meal? Sheepherder’s Breakfast, with all of its variations, is a popular dish here in the Southwest, too. Of course, fresh roasted or canned chiles are often added to a skillet dish like this one. Now with so many popular varieties of bacon on the market like peppered bacon, apple wood smoked bacon and the thicker sliced slab type, this variation on the Sheepherder’s Breakfast for Dinner will be tastier than ever morning or night. If you choose breakfast in bed for Dad, this might just be the perfectly delicious kick start to Father’s Day!
Decorated Stocking Cookie
I received the cutest cookie bouquet this week, and it got me thinking about making a few of my own arrangements for Valentine’s Day. So what makes the perfect cookie for decorating? How about the icing? How can we make our own decorated cookies look like the pro’s? Well, it takes the right cookie dough recipe, the perfect royal icing and a few tips to get you off and running. After Valentine’s Day, this recipe will be great for Easter, Christmas or just because! For a step by step tutorial, I’ve included the link to my video!
Watch my How to Video for Decorated Cookies here!