Easy Christmas Goodies

I made these delicious treats for the Boat Parade back home in Naples, California. I wanted to bake something that went with the Christmas theme, but was still easy and simple to make. I made white chocolate covered Oreos with crushed candy cane topping and pretzel rods covered in semi-sweet chocolate or white chocolate, topped with M&Ms or sprinkles. 


For the Oreos I melted the white chocolate (about 8 oz) over low heat in a double broiler, then dipped the Oreos in the melted chocolate and placed on a metal sheet with parchment paper. Topping these with crushed candy cane ads a little something extra while still looking so pretty. 


For the pretzel rods I dipped them in either melted white chocolate (another 8 oz) or semi-sweet chocolate (8 oz). Make sure you melt bakers chocolate, not chocolate chips because these have added stabilizers! You can add whatever topping you like - crushed M&Ms, sprinkles, crushed mint M&Ms, crushed Oreos, crushed candy cane, crushed up candy bars (like Butterfinger or Kit Kat... yum!), or drizzle white or semi-sweet chocolate. Whatever you like! 


Enjoy!


xoxo, A

Holiday Gift Guide Under $50

1. Small Sweet Treats - Anthropologie $20

2. Kitchen Art Prints Set of 3 - Etsy $38

3. Homegrown Monogram Mug - Anthropologie $8

4. Vintage Kitchen Canisters - Etsy $24

5. Scanpan Spectrum Knife Set - Chalet $39

6. Willow Herb Muffin Pan - Anthropologie $36

7. Willow Herb Rolling Pin - Anthropologie $18

8. Heart Measuring Spoons - Pot and Pantry $48

9. Silicone Ball Whisk - Pot and Pantry $20

10. Voluspa Japonica Candle Tin - Anthropologie $18

xoxo, A

An Adorable Holiday Gift

Over the weekend, one of my sisters, Sarah, came across this very cute idea for holiday gifts: putting all dry ingredients of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies into a large glass jar to give away as easy and simple holiday gifts. I thought this was the cutest idea ever so me, Sarah and other sister, Maddie, joined in and helped her.

Each layer represents a different dry ingredient; from the bottom of the jar to the top: granulated sugar, light brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt, then the oats and finally, the chocolate chips.


You can use this gift idea for any type of cookie recipe, even for cupcake recipes! Just layer all the dry ingredients and pack each layer down to make it look neat and organized. Finish the closed jar off with some ribbon or colored raffia - don’t forget to add a tag with the directions of how to bake your goodies! 

Making these gifts got me so excited for the Christmas season!

xoxo, A

Peppermint Bark

Peppermint bark is the epitome of the holiday season, perfect for a snack on a cold wintery day… or anytime you are craving it. Which for me, is becoming increasingly often… Anyway, while I was back home with my family I decided to make peppermint bark since it’s easy and painless and tastes wonderful. Peppermint is definitely coming back into action early this year. It’s “the new pumpkin” in my apartment and, well, that says A LOT.  

Here is the recipe:


12 oz dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao)
12 oz white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli white chocolate)
About 7-8 candy canes

1. Start melting the dark chocolate over a double broiler or simply a glass bowl over boiled water. Start on low heat, you do not want to seize the chocolate (this happens a lot back at home…)
2. While the dark chocolate continues to melt, line a cookie sheet with foil. When the chocolate is finished, pour it over the foil covered cookie sheet. The shape doesn’t matter too much, but try to smooth it out into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Place in refrigerator to cool.
3. Next, place the candy canes into a food processor and pulse a couple times until small chunks of candy cane are still visible.  Separate the fine powder/small chunks from the chunkiest parts of the candy cane into 2 bowls.
4. Start melting the white chocolate over very low heat. White chocolate requires the lowest heat (about 80 degrees) to melt out of milk chocolate and dark chocolate, so be very careful not to burn it. When it is completely melted, quickly stir in the fine powder/small chunks of candy cane. Pour over dark chocolate and spread with a spatula.
5. Sprinkle the larger chunks of candy cane that you put aside over the sheet of bark. Let sit in the refrigerator to cool. Serve by breaking the bark by hand into different sized pieces, or however you’d like. 

And there you go! Deliciously sweet and minty peppermint bark - always a classic for the holidays. Make this peppermint bark and I guarantee it will disappear by the end of the day… just like mine did.

xoxo, A