Friday Favorites for the Holidays (4th Edition)

Hello hello, and welcome to my last Friday Favorites before Christmas! And yes, I realize it's Wednesday, not Friday... I wrote this post last night and since it was all ready to go, I thought I'd share it sooner than later in case you want to use any of the ideas I have for you here.

Since Christmas is only a few days away at this point, I was debating what to include in this edition since hopefully you've got most of your homemade treats made and all your gifts purchased and wrapped... What could be left? Hmmm.

Maybe you need a few ideas for simple, tasty appetizers? How about an easy item to include in your Christmas morning breakfast or brunch? I've gathered a few such ideas for you and have shared them below. Oh, and at the very end of this post I have shared a few holiday cocktails that look miiiighty tasty so be sure to read all the way to the bottom. ;)

Appetizer Ideas!

Beer Cheese Dip from TidyMom

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I actually shared this recipe a while back in an older edition of my Friday Favorites. I still haven't made it but I still want to! It only requires four simple ingredients: cream cheese, beer, shredded cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing mix. It's not really on the healthy side but it sure does look delicious!!

Mini Apps on a Stick from Pillsbury

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These are adorable! Pillsbury has tons of great ideas for different flavor combinations to make with these "apps on a stick" - smoked salmon with dill, caprese, turkey club, and dried fig and mascarpone to name a few. And each one contains only four ingredients!

Crescent Wrapped Brie

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This is definitely one of my all-time favorite appetizer recipes. Love this!

Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

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Another favorite appetizer of mine! Simple and soooo yummy.

Breakfast/Brunch Ideas!

Well, for a little shameless self promotion, I suggest you check out my very own Barbershop Recipe Index and scroll to the breads/muffins/scones section. You may find a few tasty ideas there. ;) Another non-bread idea would be my overnight egg casserole. Judging by the name, you can probably tell that this recipe is able to be made ahead the night before. Anything that means less fuss and time on Christmas morning is always a plus!

I came upon this fabulous looking recipe for banana and candied walnut muffins from Kitchen Confidante on Pinterest this week. YUM!

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Or maybe a baked oatmeal? This recipe from Our Best Bites looks awesome!

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It calls for very simple ingredients that you'll likely already have on hand. Minimizing last minute trips to the grocery store means a lot this time of year!

Now, if you're looking for a more decadent brunch recipe, maybe you could try this baked french toast casserole with maple syrup from Paula Deen. This gets an average of 5 stars after close to 2000 ratings online - crazy! Something tells me this recipe is tasty. ;)

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And lastly...

Holiday Beverage Ideas!

I recently re-discovered that I actually like eggnog, so I was looking up eggnog "adult" beverage recipes. I came across this yummy looking eggnog martini and really want to try it! I actually have the liqueurs on hand that it calls for (vanilla vodka and amaretto) so I am pretty sure I have no excuse not to make this!

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Or how about this spiked apple pie? It's apple juice or apple cider with rum and cinnamon. Sounds deelicious to me! And it's served warm too. Perfect for the winter!

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If you're a fan of the bubbly, this cocktail looks delightful! It's simply cranberries and champagne.

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And finally, it wouldn't be the holiday season in my book without a peppermint-flavored cocktail. This peppermint patty cocktail looks perfect! It's milk, hot chocolate mix, peppermint schnapps, and whipped cream. Helloooo YUM!

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And on a completely different note, my recipe for pretzel M & M cake mix cookies was featured on Boston.com's virtual cookie swap this week! Check out cookie #14 there and you may recognize the recipe. ;)

If you're celebrating Christmas, good luck with your final preparations these last few days! And if you're celebrating Hanukkah, Happy Hanukkah!

Pumpkin Waffles

Warning. I'm back on the pumpkin kick! Well, let's be honest. I never really went off it... I've still been creating yummy treats with my beloved pumpkin all along. I've just taken a break for a couple posts from sharing the recipes with you.

I made these pumpkin waffles a few weeks ago and thought they were super yummy. They take a little extra time to make, but if you've got the time, they're totally worth it!! The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, a wonderful food blog that I've mentioned before. I'm posting the original ingredients below, although when I made these, I halved the recipe. I think that half the recipe made about 10 or so waffles for me?

Ingredients:

-2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you could easily do half AP and half whole wheat here)

-1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

-2 and 1/4 tsp. baking powder

-1 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. salt

-2 tsp. cinnamon

-1 tsp. ginger

-1/4 tsp. cloves

-4 lage eggs, separated

-2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

-1 cup canned pumpkin

-6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

Preheat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Separate eggs. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and melted butter until smooth. In a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold a soft peak (like in the second picture below). Fold them into the waffle batter until just combined, Brush waffle iron lightly with vegetable oil or spray it with cooking spray. Spoon batter into iron, spreading it quickly, and cook until done (however long that is for your particular waffle maker!). I used around 3/4 to one cup of batter for every two waffles. If desired, keep waffles warm in a 250 degree oven while you cook the remaining batter.

The Saturday morning that I made these, I actually ate mine with both butter AND maple syrup (the real stuff, of course). For some reason I was in the mood for both tasty toppings. Obviously you can enjoy them however you would like to. :) And there's a chance I ate the leftover ones cold.... And there's also a chance that they were delicious cold. Just sayin'!

Pumpkin Pancakes

PUMPKIN! I've been cooking or baking with it at least a couple times a week thus far this fall...and you can bet that I'll continue making many yummy pumpkin dishes. I just can't get enough! This past weekend I actually had time on Saturday morning to make a slightly more time consuming breakfast, so I took advantage of that time and made these delicious pumpkin pancakes. They were super easy and even more delicious than they were easy! Bottom line = they're a must try. :)

The recipe is from Sunset magazine, and I found it online from myrecipes.com. The site actually provides a recipe for ginger butter but I did not make that. It sounds great though!

Ingredients:

-1 cup all-purpose flour (I used half AP and half whole wheat)

-2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

-1/2 tsp. ground ginger

-1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1 large egg

-3/4 cup milk (I used 1%)

-3/4 cup canned pumpkin

-1/4 cup yogurt (I did not add this; I only had greek yogurt on hand and didn't want to open a container of it to use for this recipe, so I just didn't add it - worked out totally fine!)

-2 Tbsp. butter, melted (I did not add the butter either!)

Instructions:

In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients from the flour through the salt. In another bowl, mix together the egg, milk, pumpkin, yogurt, and melted butter. Stir together the wet and dry ingredients until they're just combined.

Over medium heat, coat a skillet with butter and place batter on pan in 1/4 to 1/3 cup portions. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until pancakes are browned. Flip and cook the other side, about 2 to 3 more minutes. As you're continuing to cook the remaining batter, transfer the done pancakes to a baking dish and keep warm in the oven (at around 200 degrees). Serve with butter, maple syrup, or toppings of your choice! For me, this made about 12 pancakes that were probably 3 inches or so in diameter.

For a fun side, I sliced some orchard fresh apples and "dressed" them with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon!

Pumpkin pancake perfection.

:)

Strawberry Banana Quinoa Breakfast Cereal

Quinoa cereal? Yes! I've heard about folks making quinoa for breakfast and have been wanting to try it... My most recent issue of Whole Living magazine inspired me to do so since it included a tasty looking quinoa cereal recipe.

What a delicious breakfast! It was one of those dishes that you taste and realize it's reeeeally yummy, and then you start to eat it fairly quickly because it's so yummy, all the while thinking that you probably shouldn't be eating that quickly, yet you keep taking bites as if someone's about to come take it away from you... And then finally, when the bowl is two-thirds of the way gone, you slow down for just a minute or two...and then gobble up the rest. Well, maybe that doesn't happen to you. But that's what happened to me with this delicious bowl of strawberry banana quinoa breakfast cereal.

So, how do you make this cereal? Here you go!

Bring 1 and 1/2 cups of milk (I used 1%) to a boil in a saucepan on the stove, and add in 1/2 cup of quinoa (I used white quinoa). Cook until all the liquid is absorbed (about 14 minutes). Remove from heat and mix in your fruits of choice (the magazine suggested raspberries and bananas). I added about 1/3 cup of strawberries (mine were fresh ones that I had frozen and then thawed, so they were a bit liquid-y), and about 1/4 cup of sliced banana. I also sprinkled a generous dash of cinnamon on top (I love me my cinnamon!!), and a slight drizzle of maple syrup (pure VT maple syrup - it's gotta be the real stuff, friends!). Mix everything together, and enjoy!!

I love how the strawberry juice made it a pretty pink color!

I hope you try this for a unique twist on a healthy breakfast. You'll be glad you did!

Baked Blueberry Cake Donuts

Mmmm, blueberries. I love when spring rolls around and berries start to be in season. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries... In the food blog world, I start to see all sorts of "berry good" ;-) recipes on other blogs come spring.

Blueberries were on sale last week so I bough a bunch of them! I considered making blueberry muffins, but those sounded a little boring to me. Don't get me wrong; I love a good blueberry muffin, but I really wanted to try something different. For Christmas, my sister had given me a donut pan that I still had not used as of last week. Although I've bookmarked several donut recipes over the past few months, I hadn't gotten around to making any yet! So, that time finally arrived. I found a great recipe for baked blueberry donuts and I was on my way!

The recipe is from the blog, "Eat Good 4 Life." I adapted it slightly though because I did not have the whole wheat pastry flour called for in the recipe. Apparently pastry flour makes a baked good have a lighter texture. I decided to substitute all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour for the pastry flour, and the donuts still turned out great in my opinion. If you have pastry flour though, go ahead and use it!

Ingredients:

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-1 cup white whole wheat flour

-1/2 cup sugar

-2 eggs

-1 to 1 and 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

-1 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1 cup low-fat milk (I used 1%)

-2 Tbsp. olive oil

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/2 tsp cinnamon

For the sugar coating:

-3 Tbsp. melted butter

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray donut pan with cooking spray. In a bowl, mix the eggs, milk, sugar, olive oil, vanilla, and cinnamon. Add flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk until combined. Carefully fold in blueberries (I coated my blueberries in a little bit of flour to keep them from sinking in the batter). Fill each donut hole about 2/3 - 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan and cooling completely on a cooling rack. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. In another bowl, place the melted butter. Dip each donut in the melted butter, followed by the cinnamon sugar.

Makes 12 donuts.

I love the different "pattern" of blueberries in each donut.

Butter, cinnamon, and sugar will make just about anything better. :)

Despite not using pastry flour, I thought these donuts were still pretty light and fluffy; they definitely had a cake-like texture to them. The blueberries were plump and juicy and just plain delicious. I would totally make this recipe again! I do think, however, that they tasted best when eaten the same day (or one day later). After a couple days, they lost some of their light, fluffy texture. They were still darn right tasty though.

It was fun trying something different with these blueberry donuts. Trying this recipe has inspired me to try more donut recipes (sooner than later!). Do you have any donut flavors or recipes you'd like to see me try? :)