Christmas Baking and Results

Paul, Emma, The Tornado, and Eleanor demonstrating how challenging it is to take a picture of 4 people at the same time

Christmas 2015 is in the books and I am tired!  We've got a few more things to do in addition to the Tornado's birthday but the bulk of everything is done!  Since the work is done I thought I'd share a few of the things I tried out this year.

First off is this cheesecake from Plain Chicken.  She calls it The Best Homemade Cheesecake and it so is.  It's got a light fluffy texture but all the creaminess I want from cheesecake.  I normally like a topping but this needs nothing.  So good!

Then I tried to fancy up regular cream cheese mints with this recipe for Chocolate Covered Mints Patties from Mom on Timeout and had mixed results.  I really liked the flavor but I had some trouble dunking the cool mint into the warm chocolate.  Because I had made mine relatively thin I ended up just drizzling the chocolate on top which ended up looking pretty.  Next time I think I'm make the patties thicker.

Then I pulled out my candy thermometer for the first time ever and made Buttermilk Pecan Pralines from Mom on Timeout.  They were so good!  They came together easily and even with my zero experience with candy making I didn't' have any trouble though I do think I stirred it about a minute too long at the end.

And finally, a Smoky Bacon Cheddar Cheese Ball from the Recipe Critic to much on before dinner on Christmas Eve.  My family does not care for almonds so I rolled it in cheese and chopped up bacon and it got rave reviews.  I also made 2 smallish cheese balls out of the recipe instead of one regular sized one.  There wasn't much left!

And on a non-foodie note, I discoveredAnthologyCandles on Etsy.  She does candles inspired by books, movies, music and they're amazing.  I ordered four - 3 for gifts and 1 for me and they all smelled absolutely amazing.  I ordered Avonlea Afternoon for myself and it burns beautifully and smells like the Raspberry Cordial that got Anne in so much trouble with an underlying note of baked good yumminess.  I had ordered Wardrobe Into Narnia as a gift and it was so hard to give it up as it smelled amazing.  I've ordered bookish candles from FrostBeard which is a little better known and I actually like these better and found the shipping was way faster.  I can't wait to order more!

I'm linking up with Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads