Candy Cane Blossom Cookies

It's that time of year for gift-giving. My two kids are in school now so I had to think of some gift ideas for their teachers. I know I could have taken the easy way-out and just joined in with the group gift but I fancied doing something a little more creative - something that showed a little effort at least. I have been inspired by so many lovely gift ideas from Pinterest and holiday magazines that I thought that now I have a legitimate excuse to make something cute! I got myself some Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses which I only got acquainted with last year and vowed to myself then that come Christmas 2013 I would make something with it.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

You can never have enough Christmas cookies. My kids love cookies so occasionally I indulge them by making a batch of choco chip cookies that they truly love. I was about to bake another set of cookies when I thought of adding some Christmas colors to them - still chocolate cookies but with specks of red and green. Thankfully, it's the time of year when holiday M&Ms are aplenty so I grabbed a pack from the store for baking and for nibbling, too. To double the chocolate goodness I added a bar of Ghirardelli dark chocolate which I coarsely chopped and lovingly folded into the cookie batter. The result is a luxurious and truly scrumptious Double Chocolate Chip Holiday Cookies. Crisp on the edges, soft and chewy in the middle, full of chocolate goodness that practically melts on your mouth - see below for proof....need I say more? Please enjoy in moderation. :-)

12 Cakes of December - Recipe Round Up

It's Friday the 13th....and I feel sad and it's not because it's the "Friday the 13th" but because our 12 Cakes of December feature has officially ended. I didn't want to miss any of these delicious cakes so I decided to make a round-up of all these fantastic recipes. These could come in handy not only for Christmas Day but for the rest of the year, especially when you have an upcoming special occasion and you need to make a cake that's not only eye-catching but truly delectable, too. So without further ado, here are the links and photos for the 12 Cakes of December. Please enjoy!

Apple and Pomegranate Upside Down Cake

It's the season for baking and I simply cannot resist making another holiday cake! I have this tried and tested recipe for Upside Down Cake that I have made many times over with various fruits and they always come out great. Last year, I made the Cranberry Upside Down Cake which not only looks gorgeous it's also truly scrumptious. I thought for a change that I will experiment with Apples - however that would feel more like an autumn cake rather than a Christmas one. To add in the festive red color of Christmas, I decided to sprinkle/dot the base of the cake with pomegranate seeds - after all - pomegranates are quintessential winter fruits that appear on our groceries just before the Christmas season.

No Bake White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake

Last summer, I made a luxurious White Chocolate Cheesecake that I paired with fresh Raspberries. It's been an instant hit not only at our house but in the blog too as it is one of our most popular recipes. That was inspired by a cake we once tasted at a friend's house in England. Hubby fell in-love with it (being a huge chocolate and cheesecake fan!) and urged me to make a version of the same. That gave birth to the summer fresh raspberry version. When our friend Amy, blogger at Crumbs In My Mustachio invited me to join her and other bloggers for the 12 Cakes of December feature project, I readily said yes because in my mind I knew I had to make a winter version of this delicious summer cheesecake.