It's the most wonderful time of the year...for treats!!

One of the reasons that I love the holiday season so much, is that I get to eat and make delicious, festive treats! This past week I have been a busy little baker. Well, I guess I should actually say Candymaker, as baking and making candy are two very different ball games. This year I decided that I wanted to do Christmas goodies, and get this, I actually did it! Woo-hoo!! I have always wanted to try making peppermint bark, and I found the most scrumptious recipe on Epicurious.com. It turned out so good. I also made some sugar cookies, made with the most delicious recipe ever. They are seriously the softess, yummiest sugar cookies I have ever had. However, I have decided that in years to come, I probably won't do the cookies for Christmas goodies again. I think I will stick with the candy. A little too much work for not very many cookies, and after I finished decorating one batch, I was "done" with the cookies. Last but not least, I decided to try my hand at the English Toffee that my mom makes every year. They all turned out so yummy, and I will definitely keep the two candies as holiday goody traditions!

Another one of my new favorite holiday treats (although you could really have it any time of year) is Frozen Hot Chocolate. So yummy! It is a lighter dessert item, that is very easy to keep within a reasonable portion size! I have made this several times already this season, (I thought of you every time Ellen; so glad you're home, I've missed you!) and they were scrumptious every time!

So since I have been so busy in the kitchen, I am sorry to say that Asher has been slightly neglected. Although I have been pretty good about only doing it when Asher is napping or in bed for the night, there was one morning when I really wanted to get my cookies decorated and make another batch of toffee, so I just let Asher do whatever for a couple of hours, and this was the result:

Asher went through his normal morning routine of taking all the tupperware out of the drawers, and taking the dish towels from the cupboard, and then proceeded to go through the trash (not as gross as it sounds), go under the sink, get into the hutch drawers and cupboards, all while still wearing his PJs!! You gotta love it! While it drove me a little insane, I just told myself I would deal with it after I was done! These pictures actually don't really do it justice, but trust me, it was not a pretty sight! But he sure was a happy little guy!

Go to my Chocolate Kitchen blog to see recipes and pictures and tips!!