My Christmas was wonderful, I got those lovely bowls in the picture above from my sister. I love them!

I can't wait to start the new year with new recipes, and a brand new commitment, a new years resolution of sorts. I'm going to be participating in project 365 starting January 1st. I'm excited and nervous, and hoping that blogging about it will keep me from quitting early on, haha! I can't wait to see how my year evolves.

I should have some brand new exciting recipes up soon, I can't wait to share them with you! Happy New Year, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2: 10-11

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas!

Have you waited to the last minute to get Christmas presents? I thought that might be the case. But don’t worry! These three recipes are perfect for christmas gifts. I threw all of this together in a couple of hours. Easy! Plus, everyone knows food is a way better gift than an ugly sweater or one of those pre-made hot chocolate gift sets. You know the ones I’m talking about, with the mugs and cheap cocoa? I swear I get one of those things every year!



First, Espresso Toffee Shortbread. These are super delicious, the espresso flavor is really strong, so if you don’t like that, cut it down a bit, maybe to 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Espresso Toffee Shortbread
Makes about 4 dozen
from here, make those too!

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup toffee bits
1 tablespoon espresso powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Add vanilla, toffee, espresso powder and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter beating at a low speed until blended.

Form dough into 2 logs, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter; wrap in parchment, and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 3 days).

Preheat oven to 350.

If frozen, let the logs stand at room temp for 10 minutes. Remove parchment. Slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and space about 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until pale golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.



Second, Peppermint bark! I LOVE peppermint and chocolate together. This is so, so easy. Perfect for the chocolate lover on your list.

Peppermint Bark
From Savory Sweet Life


1 bag of chocolate chips (any kind you like)
1 bag of white chocolate chips
24 mini candy canes, crushed *do not crush using a food processor – place candy canes in a zip lock bag and use a hammer to crush into small pieces


Line the bottom of a 9×13 pan with parchment paper. Pour (brown) chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave chocolate chips in increments of 30 seconds stirring the chips each time until chocolate chips have completed melted and mixture is smooth. Spread melted chocolate as evenly as possibly into lined pan. Place pan into freezer for 20 minutes. Repeat the same melting process with the white chips. While chocolate is still smooth, stir in half of the crushed candy cane mixture. Allow the white chocolate to slightly cool for a minute. Remove pan from freezer and spread white chocolate/crushed candy canes mixture on top of the chocolate layer. Spread white chocolate as quickly as possible. Top off with remaining crushed candy cane and gently pat down with the back of a spatula. Return pan to freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from freezer and gently lift the whole mixture from the pan with a butter knife. You should now have a solid sheet of peppermint bark. Remove parchment paper and break into pieces. Store any left over bark in a ziplock bag and place in the freezer. Enjoy!





Lastly, my favorite, Spiced Maple Glazed Pecans. These are SO GOOD. Sweet, but not too sweet, salty, and a little spicy. Give these to everyone!

Spiced Maple Glazed Pecans
from Martha Stewart

1 pound unsalted pecans
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Spread nut mixture in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat. Bake, stirring frequently, until browned, 12 to 15 minutes; let cool. Pecans can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up one week.


Merry Christmas!

Inspiration.

Today I’m coming to you with a different kind of post, in the spirit of end of the year type lists. I’ve pulled together some of my favorite things; etsy shops, inspirations and blogs. Sadly, I can’t include everything I love, this post would be far too long! So without further ado, here’s a few things I think you should check out...



1. Ice Milk Aprons by Ashley Leckey
These aprons are absolutely beautiful, simple and understated. There’s something so charming about them, with names like “rolling pin oatmeal” and “pecan orchard pleasantries”.



2. Handmade Pottery by Whitney Smith
When I found Whitney Smith’s beautiful etsy shop the other day I had to tweet about it immediately. Her pottery is stunning. She makes everything from cute little cupcake stands to big lotus nesting bowls. I want one of everything!



3. Simply Photo by Jennifer Causey
I am endlessly inspired by Jennifer Causey. Her breakfast blog, Simply Breakfast is one of my favorites. You can purchase her beautiful photos at her etsy shop here.



4. Herriot Grace
Handmade wooden spoons, bowls & other beautiful things. I was smitten with this shop as soon as I found it. You can also check out Nikole’s beautiful blog here.

Food Loves Writing: Shanna’s writing will make you laugh and make you cry, she’s incredibly talented. She’s also a genuinely nice person, and I’m glad to have met her.

Sprouted Kitchen: There’s so much I could say about Sara’s blog! The photos are absolutely beautiful, the writing is so down to earth and all her recipes look terrific, everything I’ve tried has come out perfectly!

Seven Spoons: Tara is one of my favorite writers, she transports you with her beautiful words, plus, she’s an amazing photographer. Her photos are simple and rustic, I love everything about them.

Mae Bird: Amanda is a very talented photographer. She recently got back from an inspiring trip to Bangladesh, where she met fair trade artisans, it was great to read about her travels and the people she met. Her blog is definitely one to check out.


This list doesn’t even put a dent in my list of favorite things. There are so many other inspiring blogs & etsy shops that I love. I hope to do more posts like this in the future!

Tell me, what do you find inspiring? I love finding new things!

Chocolate Cake & a Guest Post at The Kitchn.

I have a guest post up on The Kitchn today! Head over there to read all about my latest cake disaster. It was just ridiculous!

Cranberry Orange Shortbread

I’m finally back from no oven land! It’s tough being without your oven when you use it most every day. I wish that upon no one!

I’ve had these craisins sitting around in my cupboard for ages, today I finally put them to good use, shortbread! I love shortbread because you can flavor it any way you like, this combination is one of my favorites, cranberry and orange. I was originally going to do scones with the same flavors, but choose these instead in the interest of working through my cookie issues.



I’ve never made these slice and bake kind before, I’d always avoided them for some reason. No idea why, they were so easy. I made up the dough last night and baked them this morning, they came out wonderfully. Put them on your christmas cookie bake list, these beauties will be sent out in christmas packages later today.



Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Add vanilla, almond extract, orange zest and dried cranberries and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter beating at a low speed until blended.

Form dough into 2 logs, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter; wrap in parchment, and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 3 days).

Preheat oven to 350.

If frozen, let the logs stand at room temp for 10 minutes. Remove parchment. Slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and space about 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until pale golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

The winner of my cookie scoop giveaway is Kyrie of are so happy. I hope you get lots of use out of it, making cookies with your adorable daughters!

It was so much fun to read all your favorite cookies, there were so many oatmeal entries! I have to agree, I love any kind of oatmeal cookies. Several of you asked if I’d made the New York Times cookie, I haven’t, that’s one of the recipes I printed out and didn’t get to, I’m going to try it after the new year though, I’ve heard it’s excellent.

I was hoping to have other goodies to post this week, but sadly my oven is on the fritz. I’m not sure what’s wrong with it, it’s just not heating properly. So until I get that fixed, no new recipes. Terribly sad.

So, until then I’ll just show you other things! Like these adorable spoons and plate that I just got from Anthropologie.





The spoons are small and lovely, the green shade on the plate is so perfect. I can’t wait to use it for a slice of cake or pie.

Also, It snowed the other day, and it was beautiful. It was an early snow for Georgia, and although it melted it no time, it was a delight.





I love how snow completely changes the landscape, covering the barren branches in glimmering crystals, like the prettiest christmas tree you’ve ever seen. It certainly makes the winter months more bearable.

I do believe that's all I've got to babble about. Tell me, how's your day been?

Even more chocolate chip cookies! Plus a giveaway!

The other day, I decided to try and find the perfect chocolate chip cookies. I know I just posted some last month, but I figured I could find a recipe better than my favorite. I started out ambitiously, printing out 5 recipes to try. The first recipe was a Martha Stewart one, which I just didn’t care for at all. It was just sort of bland, I didn’t even take pictures of them!



The second was a recipe from Alice of Savory Sweet Life. I’m sort of in love with it. They grow on you, getting better as they cool. They are crisp, and the perfect mix of salty and sweet, I absolutely loved the sea salt in them. The first batch I made I used my small cookie scoop, the second I used my big 3 tablespoon scoop, and they were even better, more textured, crisp on the edges and softer in the center. So make them big!



The third was from Ashley of Not Without Salt. They are your quintessential chocolate chip cookies. The texture is exactly what you expect, but with an added crunch from the turbinado sugar, and they are delicious. It’s an excellent cookie. I wish I could have used chocolate chunks, like Ashley recommends, but sadly I only had chips. I bet they would have been even better!

After that one, my quest for perfection was waning a bit, so the last 2 recipes will have to wait a while. Both of these recipes are so, so good, and it’s really hard to pick a favorite. You should really make both, as they are quite different, but equally good, and much better than my former favorite. I’m making them again tomorrow to send off in the mail, I hope the recipient enjoys!


To encourage you to make some for yourself, today I’m giving away the Oxo 3T Cookie Scoop. It makes big, uniform sized balls of dough so all of your cookies cook perfectly and at the same speed. I love it!



What to do to enter:
Enter once by leaving a comment on this post telling me what your favorite kind of cookie is and a way to contact you if you don't have a blog.

Enter a second time by twittering about the giveaway to @honeyandjam AND leaving a ANOTHER comment on this post.

Enter another time by posting about this giveaway on your blog AND leaving ANOTHER comment on this post.

No entries after 10 pm EST this Thursday, December 10th.

I’ll select one winner through random.org Friday.





Alice’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx. 45-48 cookies using a sm-med 2tbl. cookie scoop
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour
1 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt *please do not use table salt, the sea salt gives the cookies a nice flavor and hints of texture. If you must use table salt, use 1/2 tsp.
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups/16 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 5 minutes on medium speed on a K-5). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!


Ashley’s Chocolate Chip Cookie
8 oz. 2 sticks butter
2 oz 1/4 cup white sugar
2 oz 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
12 oz 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1/4 oz 2 tsp vanilla
1 lb. 3 1/2 cup All Purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb. chocolate (use the best quality chocolate you can afford. With a serrated knife cut chocolate chunks roughly 1/2 inch)
Cream the butter and the sugars until light. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the chocolate.
If you so choose, and I do recommend that you do, sprinkle a very fine dusting of good quality sea salt. Fleur de Sel or Murray River Pink Salt are my recommendations.
Bake at 360* for 12 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.

I’ve been thinking a lot about traditions and family lately. This always comes to mind during the holiday season. You see, I don’t have a lot of extended family. It’s just my parents, siblings and I. I’ve never had big family dinners to go to, Christmas time isn’t filled with traveling and visiting. I’ve never woken up on Christmas morning to my grandmothers signature breakfast, or made my great aunts famous sugar cookies. I don’t have recipe books filled with page after tattered page of age old family recipes, passed down through the generations.

Sometimes I wish I did. I think, wouldn’t it be great to sit around a table, surrounded by grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins? It would, of course, but that’s just not the hand I was dealt in life.

I was given an amazing, loving family though. I was placed here on purpose. I live in this house full of laughter and singing. Our Christmas mornings are small and happy, filled with smiles and thanks. We make our own traditions, like our silly gingerbread houses, handmade ornaments and my brothers goofy santa hat, and although they aren’t decades old, they mean something to us. And that’s what matters, right? So, although there’s a part of me that longs for a huge extended family and the traditions that come with that, I remind myself that it’s what you do have that counts, and I’m beyond blessed.

Apple Streusel Bars

I’m a bit of a procrastinator. Actually, more than a bit. I like to put things off, tell myself I’ll get them done later. I put off doing the dishes until there isn’t a clean fork in the house. I don’t wash my car until you can hardly tell what color it is.



Because of this little personality quirk (that’s the nice way to put it?) of mine, I’ve put off making these apple streusel bars till the first day of December, instead of back when apples where in season locally. Geesh!



I’m glad I finally got around to making them though, because they are delightful. The bottom tastes almost like short bread, and the apple topping is perfectly gooey. They are simple to throw together too, just pat out the dough, cup up some apples and you’re done! They are a bit of a hot mess coming out of the pan, crumbly and messy, but that’s partly because I can never wait until it’s completely cooled to take it out of the pan. Not a procrastinator there!

Now, let’s hope I can get some gingerbread made before Christmas.



Apple Streusel Bars
from Our Best Bites


Pastry:
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. real butter, softened
1 egg, beaten

Apple Filling:
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 c. (about 3 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples (I used gala)

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
About 3 Tbsp. milk (whole milk is best)
1/2 tsp. almond extract


To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 350 and set aside.

To prepare apple filling, combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon and toss with apples.

Spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

When finished, allow to cool.

To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Spoon glaze on top of bars. (I like to glaze them when they’re still a little warm, so the topping isn’t bright white.)