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Festive peppermint candy bowls

Make a super cute Christmas dish using nothing but peppermint candies! It’s a fun and easy craft for kids to help with, and a unique way for adults to serve candy, ice cream, or other goodies to guests. I like serving ice cream in these bowls because the bowl really will impart a delicious minty flavor. Top with chocolate sauce, sprinkle or M&M’s for a tasty treat. Tip: Use spearmints for a fun, festive green bowl, or mix up the two! Mints melt, but not so much that the colors will run, so you can get creative with this! What’s the difference between peppermint and spearmint? Festive peppermint candy bowls What you’ll need 19 Peppermint Starlights, unwrapped (19 mints per bowl) Silicon baking mat (or parchment paper) Baking sheet A small bowl, preferably glass (about 4-5 inches across the top) Directions Preheat oven to 300ºF. Line baking sheet with…

Sugar frosted cranberries

‘Tis the season for sparkles! These cranberries are so festive decked out in their sugar-coated crunchy goodness. They’re like little edible jewels. They’re the perfect sparkling garnish to a just about any holiday dish. Try them skewered on top of a glass of champagne, or place them on top of your holiday apple pie. But you’ll enjoy them all on their own, too! If you’re thinking that cranberries are too tart to snack on, you would ordinarily be right. But that classic cranberry mouth-pucker is made palatable with a short soak in some simple syrup. The cranberries retain their tartness, but they’re sweet and crunchy all at the same time. You’re basically left with fancy Sour Patch Kids for adults. Set a bowl of these out over the holidays, and you’ll start a new family holiday must-have recipe. Sugar frosted cranberries Makes 12 ounces of berries Ingredients 1/2 cup water…

5 gifts the ‘crunchy mama’ would totally love

Crunchy. Granola. Earth Mama. These labels aren’t usually insults, rather, they evoke an image of someone who does things a little less conventionally for the health of his or her family. Sometimes people who get labeled as “crunchy” don’t even think of themselves that way! They’re just living their best life. Whether it’s an obsession with organic groceries (and hand creams, and clothes, and diapers, etc.) or a chicken coop in their backyard, they’re down to live life the most wholesome way they know how—and that’s by DIY with many of their own foods right at home. Shopping for someone in the crunchy camp can be difficult if you don’t know their personal rulebook. But you can bet they’ll actually use—and actually appreciate—any one of these great 5 DIY in the kitchen gadgets below. 1. Buttercup Homemade Butter Maker ($12.99) Just add fresh cream to the Buttercup Butter Maker by Chef’n,…

Spreadable Christmas tree-shaped butter sculptures are here for the holidays

The presents are wrapped, the tree is lit, and the cookies are decorated. With all that work behind you, there’s just one thing left to go—the table setting. And what better way to add holiday cheer than with a dish of Christmas tree-shaped butter. Produced by Keller’s Creamery (the makers of the popular turkey-shaped butter), the 4-ounce Christmas tree butter sculpture stands all on its own, with four spreadable evergreen tree branch layers cascading over a sturdy base. The beautiful butter is bound to get your guests’ attention. With the equivalent of about eight tablespoons of butter, there’s plenty for everyone at your holiday bash to spread on their rolls, melt atop their green beans, or add to their cornbread casserole. Looking for a little butter tree of your own? Keller’s Creamery has a store locator with a complete list of locations selling the Christmas butter tree. The website doesn’t…

Cranberry baked brie pull-apart bread bowl appetizer

If you’re looking for an appetizer to share, cranberry brie an easy go to combo — that’s because it’s insanely delicious! Creamy, melted brie smothered in rich, tart cranberry sauce can turn any holiday event into something special. Bring this cranberry brie bowl to any party and watch it disappear. To serve the best recipe you possibly can, make sure you scoop up a quality bread bowl. A rustic loaf from a bakery, or at the very least your grocer’s bakery, should do the trick. Also, opt for triple cream brie if you can find it. It melts more consistently and stays creamy without separating. And for the cranberries, only a whole cranberry sauce will really work. Ocean Spray, and a few other brands, carry whole cranberry sauce in a can, so you don’t have to make your own—unless you want to! If you love this recipe, you’ll also love…

Grocery stores open on Christmas Day 2019

In a perfect world, you’ve had plenty of time to plan your holiday menu, you’ve been able to shop for all the ingredients, and you know exactly how many people are coming to dinner. Then there’s real life. If your platter of Christmas cookies go crashing to the floor, you realize the morning-of you forget to pick up your holiday ham, or you didn’t account on your cousin bringing his new girlfriend… and his roommate, don’t stress. Pull off a little Christmas miracle and head to one of these convenience or grocery stores on Christmas Day. These stores will have open hours on December 25, 2019 to help you turn your holiday mishaps back into magic. Most grocery stores are closed entirely for Christmas Day, so we’ve included convenience stores on this list, as well, to give you more options. Whether it’s wine, eggnog, candy, or canned corn, you just…

Easy homemade peppermint patties

Peppermints are always a huge hit this time of year. There’s just something about that cool, zingy flavor that screams winter. This year, let these delicious treats freshen up your holiday dessert table. If you like York Peppermint Patties, you’ll love this homemade version even more. You can customize them to your liking, which is always a plus;  add a little or a lot of peppermint or even spearmint: dip them in dark, milk, or white chocolate: add sprinkles: dye them red and green—whatever sounds good to you! This dough is seriously easy to whip up. It’s just four simple ingredients. These homemade peppermint patties are a great idea for parties, sprucing up cookie trays, or as a last-minute entry into your holiday cookie swap. Or package them up in pretty bags or mason jars and present them as gifts. Note: The instructions will make dozens of little peppermint patties,…

The Best Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

In the holiday wonderland of hundreds of types of Christmas cookies, how does one cookie stand apart? It must be one rich, decadent, and fudgy cookie! These Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are seriously the best! They taste just like a brownie only better. They’re lightly crunchy on the outside, yet irresistibly chewy in the center. You’re about to find a new holiday favorite. Tips for baking the Best Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature. Don’t skip Step 4 (chilling the dough). Dough is super sticky and needs to chill or else it will be too difficult to work with. Chilling also helps create thicker cookies with a fudgy flavor. If they’re too warm when they go into the oven, they’ll spread out too thin. Remember to adjust the baking time to your oven. 10-12 minutes is a suggestion. If you bake too long, they’ll lose…

The most popular Christmas candies by state

American loves candy. That much is clear. And the fanciful, food-filled Christmas season only seems to add to our obsession. Christmas candy sales hit about $1.9 billion last in 2017 and they’re projected to reach a full $2 billion in 2019, according to the National Confectionary Association. Whether it’s chocolate candies decorating baked goods or candy canes dangling on trees (or grossing out your friends), it all adds up. But where you live might persuade your purchasing habits. Candystore.com released an interactive map revealing the results of their candy research: the top three most popular Christmas candies in each state. The online bulk candy distributor calculated more than 32,000 responses nationwide. And you just might be surprised by your state. Source: CandyStore.com. So what’s the most popular candy nationwide? Candy canes, of course. Whether they’re used as decoration, stirring hot chocolate, or crushed up atop cookies, candy canes make an…

50+ restaurants offering holiday gift card specials and bonuses 2019

Whether it’s for your hard-to-buy-for father or your cousin obsessed with California Pizza Kitchen, most of us have a reason to buy a few gift cards this holiday season. But why walk away with just one gift card when you can also score a bonus for yourself? Here are a list of restaurant chains offering bonuses, deals, and specials so that when you buy a gift for them, you get a gift for you, too. Applebee’s Purchase $50 in gift cards and day now through December 31, 2019, and receive a $10 bonus card to use before March 1, 2020. Bahama Breeze Buy $50 worth of gift cards and get $20 in bonus cards free. Bonus cards valid January 2 through March 31, 2020, excluding February 14, 2020. Benihana Get a $10 bonus card with a $50 gift card purchased in the month of December. Bonus card can be used…