Christmas Eve Pasta

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This flavorful and delicious Christmas Eve Pasta has become a holiday tradition in our house. 
It can feed a crowd, and the sauce can be made ahead, making it the perfect holiday dish!

Over the years our Christmas Eve traditions have mostly stayed the same, but I like to change our menu up from time to time. For years we enjoyed appetizers that night after returning from mass. My mom and I would make a huge spread of both hot and cold appetizers and we'd all sit and enjoy our feast while watching Christmas movies. Although I still love doing that, recently this Christmas Eve Pasta has become a new favorite tradition. The homemade sauce, filled with pancetta, Italian sausage, peppers and onions, can be made ahead of time so there isn't much to do when you're ready to eat. Just cook up a batch of fresh pasta and you're ready to go!

Foodie Friends Friday...Christmas Cookie Exchange Party!

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An InLinkz Link-up

Cherry Pecan Fudge with Sea Salt

I'm so excited to be participating in A Crafty Christmas party along with a great group of bloggers, hosted by Nap-Time Creations. We will be sharing some amazing recipes and crafts over the next few weeks, plus a huge giveaway! You can enter the giveaway here, and be sure to visit Nap-Time Creations here to discover what all of us bloggers are sharing!

I love making homemade gifts for the holidays. Especially edible gifts! For years I've been making peppermint bark, but this year I decided to try some new treats. I've got a few new bark recipes to try, but I also plan to make different types of Christmas cookies and fudge. This Cherry Pecan Fudge with Sea Salt is my first creation!

Holiday Fruit Cookies

It's hard to believe Christmas is just 12 days away! I still have shopping to do and all the presents to wrap, but I'm not stressing about it. Not yet anyway.

Somehow, like every other year, I will get it done. It may be finished late on Christmas Eve, but by golly it will get done.

Right now I'm too focused on baking yummy things in my kitchen. I'm obsessed with Christmas cookies, fudge, cake, and anything else I can get my hands on! My intent is to bake all of these goodies and then pack them up and give to family and friends. 

That's my intention. Right now I'm eating everything. I think I need an intervention.

Anyway, let's talk cookies. I was going through some of my grandma's old recipes and came across one for a holiday fruitcake. It suddenly struck me that I wanted to try and make a fruitcake like cookie. Only better than a fruitcake. Thanks Grandma for the inspiration! This cookie is amazing, if I do say so myself. And oh so easy too.

I've ate 5 of them today, but who's counting?

I'm also entering these Holiday Fruit Cookies in the Creative Holiday Recipe Contest hosted by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and Cookies and Cups! Wish me luck!

Ingredients:
1 cup softened butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans
2 cups chopped pitted dates
2 cups candied cherries, each cut in half

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the buttermilk.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, a cup at a time, until well blended.

With a wooden spoon, add the pecans, candied cherries and dates and mix until combined.

Chill the dough for one hour. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drop tablespoons of dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until browned on the edges. Centers will still be slightly soft. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Bon Appetit!

Mint Chocolate M&M and Peppermint Cookies

With Christmas right around the corner I'm super excited to start making my Christmas goodies! Cookies, fudge, peppermint bark...I love it all and especially love giving it to my friends and family as gifts. Several of my fellow bloggers have been posting tons of awesome holiday recipes, many that I plan to try. 

One of my favorite bloggers, Maria, over at Two Peas and Their Pod is a baking genius! I recently purchased her Cookie Cravings cookbook, along with the Holiday edition, and I'm hooked. I literally cannot wait to try each and every one of her recipes!

Last week she posted a recipe for White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies and I just knew I had to have them. My recipe is just slightly tweaked as I swapped out a couple of the candy ingredients. You can find her original recipe in the link above, and below is my version:

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

1 cup Mint Chocolate M&M's

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugars together in a stand mixer until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Stir in the white chocolate chips, baking chips and M&M's with a wooden spoon.

Using a cookie scoop, drop scoopfuls of dough on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Bon Appetit!