Teacake Bake Shop

This little bake shop is my dream come true...



Thanks friend for taking me there!
It's amazing to have someone support my passion! :)

Alone at last...

Finally, the requisite trips home for the holidays are over and done with...
and while I didn't bake much NEW stuff this holiday season, I sure baked a lot of the "classics"!

Peanut Butter Brownies
Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Choco-PB-Crispy-Marshmallow Brownies (the biggest hit this season)
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing
"Crack" Goldfish
Thumbprint Cookies

Hope everyone had a happy Christmas!

the annual family holiday party

My urban family often gets together regularly for food shenanigans... usually going out for a meal together. But always around the holidays, we try and do something more "cozy" and "homespun". This year was no different... while I have little photographic proof of our fun times this time around... we all still had a blast.

We (the girls), of course, made TONS of food.
Homemade guac, reindeer cookies, braised ribs, yummy greens(I forgot what it was), mashed potatoes, bacon fudge, seafood crostini thing , prosciutto-feta pinwheels , peanut butter kiss cookies, "crack goldfishes", marshmallow crispy brownie bites, bacon wrapped lil' smokies, eggnog!

Very rarely do I get a chance to make much party food... so I have had this recipe bookmarked FOREVER. It's really simple and quick. And gives me a reason to bust out the crock pot.

Bacon Wrapped Lil' Smokies from justJENN recipes

it's cold outside!

It's getting REALLY tough to just not curl up under the blankets 24/7 as the cold starts to creep into "sunny" socal. True, its not nearly as cold as it gets in other parts of the country/world. But for someone like me... this is no bueno. I can't find enough layers to put on!

I did get a chance to do some baking though... after all, the oven is a nice big heat source.
So, from Michelle's blog Brown Eyed Baker... I made her Empire Cookies to ring in the holiday season!

These were a lot easier to make than I imagined. Must have been my fear of rolling out dough.
But these rolled out and cut no prob!
I love the versatility of these cookies too... this time around I used good ol' strawberry jam. But next time I can use whatever I want! And I can also color the icing any color to fit any occasion!