Winter Holiday Cookies

This past holiday season, my go-to contribution was cookies.  Gingerbread with chocolate chip cookies, Middle Eastern spice chocolate chip with cranberries cookies, peanut butter with white chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal with butterscotch chip cookies... batch after batch.

I know it sounds like I made a lot of elaborate cookies, but they were all incredibly easy because of the shortcuts I took.  All of the cookies were from mixes I bought on sale at Target.  At holiday time, they have a great assortment of flavors: gingerbread, molasses, oatmeal, peanut butter, sugar, snickerdoodle - and of course chocolate chip - and all under $2 each.  To add a creative twist to a regular mix, I like to include things like dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, crystalized ginger, butterscotch chips and blended spice mixes. 

One of my favorite cookies I like to make is from a standard chocolate cookie mix (my favorite is not an inexpensive one from Target, I hate to say.)  I add 1.5 teaspoons of this fantastic spice blend from a wonderful local farm, made from warm winter spices like cinnamon, cloves, alspice and rosebuds - yum!  It adds a festive, spicy undertone to a classic cookie.

Try some of your own flavor combinations.  There are so many things - dried fruit, nuts, candy chips - you can add to a standard cookie mix to jazz it up into something yumtastic!

Spiced chocolate chip cookies - YUM!

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year, faithful followers - if there are any of you out there.  Another year has passed and here we are with new resolutions, perhaps, and hope for a bright year ahead. 

I've already posted nine new items in my shop!  I'm venturing out with some new designs - and may try some new types of items this year.  Take a look...

pair of snack plates - grey & orchid with white flower design

soy bowl with crazy dots design in orchid & kelly green

set of coasters in ocean bubble design

set of 3 soy bowls - use for spices, salts, tea lights, kitchen or desk organization

pair of ice cream bowls in deep turquoise with swirly design

  I hope you like!  They were really fun to make.  I'm looking forward to sharing more new items with you soon.

In other news, I decorated my Christmas tree this year with all of my own ornaments.  I was quite pleased with how it looked...

 I was also quite pleased with some delicious appetizers made from fig jelly and manchego cheese - YUM!

 Now I'm officially hungry and ready for my afternoon snack!