Created by Soul: It's almost over...

This year went by crazy fast! I had great plans to post ~~lost~~ a lot (I should proof read before I hit "publish"!) this month but I was a big time failure. {{head hung low}} First I got sick with a bad cold/flu/whatever the day after my last post. In bed for 4 days feeling miserable. It totally put my Christmas decorating, DIY'g, and gift buying to a complete stop. I finally felt almost 100% the following week to catch up on work stuff and Christmas shopping. I guess that's what happens when you procrastinate! I am happy to report it all got done in time and I managed to bake some goodies for Christmas.

I spent most of Christmas Eve at my guy's family's house and then on to my brother's for midnight opening of gifts. These are the baked goods I made to take to both houses....

All recipes (except for my cinnamon brownies) are courtesy of Picky Palate. Basically what happened was that I had no idea what I was going to bake this year (I always like to try something new). Lucky for me the amazing Jenny of Picky Palate decided to do a recap of her favorite holiday recipes. I made Kiss Pies and Brownie Covered Oreos. I also used the cookie base from her Peppermint Patty Surprise Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars (I made these for "girls night in", which had to be postponed for the following week due to my being to sick to stand let alone drive anywhere, anyway, they all said they were delicious!) but instead of putting Peppermint Patties in the center I added "dulce de leche" (which is a thickened syrup made out of sweetened caramelized milk. The one I used is called "Cajeta Quemada"...same deal but a bit thicker. ) as I figured I had enough mintiness (it's a word...just don't look it up) in the other treats. I received rave reviews for the Cookie Bars and Kiss Pies (and I always get a "high five" for the brownies -- can't go wrong with brownies and when you add some cinnamon to them...yeah, basically the yummy factor goes through the roof...unless you don't like cinnamon, which is weird but maybe you're allergic...hey, it can happen...so just omit it...no biggie).

Here's another photo...