Reading Time: 4 minutesSong of the Deep! Aren’t you excited?!? Yeah, I… what? What the heck is Song of the Deep?? It’s… it’s a game! Yeah! Ok, I know, Song of the Deep is not really on everyone’s radar, but I’ve been insanely intrigued since I first heard …Read More….
Reading Time: 9 minutesThis post is going to be about Ghostbusters! With the 30th anniversary behind us and the new movie out now, I figured I’d dedicate a post to my original four idols. My heroes in beige, who cursed and drank and smoked on screen. Man, those …Read More….
This is going to be an update. No recipes, no food, just bringing you up to speed on la vida and what’s been going on.
Bit of a warning up front: This is probably going to be a little long winded. Maybe if I feel like it I’ll put a TL;DR at the bottom. I have a lot to say. I mean, a lot’s been going on. And I’ve never been one to summarize, not even if I tried. So it’s probably best to just embrace my inability to stfu.
Speaking of which, I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this. How to come back to this whole blogging thing. Do I just burst in to your screen like I’m cherry flavored and pretend I haven’t been gone for 7 months? Do I explain everything and apologize profusely because I know you’ve been missing me oh so dearly? Ok, I know, there’s a very good chance you don’t care about me and have already closed the page when I said there’s no food in this post. Let’s be honest here. Time is money. You have things to do, I’m sure. Who am I to ask you to read details about my life? Heck, there’s a fairly good chance that if it were me on the other side of that screen, I would have skimmed past all this and gone straight for the TL;DR that may or may not be at the end. But I can’t assume such things for everyone. I guess I do owe some sort of explanation for my absence here to the few that do care enough to read about it (hi mom).
Ever since my last post I’ve been rather meh on the whole food blogging thing. I guess I’ve been that way for a while, keeping with the whole honesty thing. Looking back, it seems like all I’ve been posting about is Wilton stuff. As you may know they were a huge part of my blog for the past two years. Sadly, they decided to switch around the way their blogging program works, so you won’t be seeing nearly as many posts on their behalf. I’m not mad or anything. Well, kind of sad, but it’s the way the cookie crumbles, as they say. I look forward to whatever they continue to do since I still love their stuff. Maybe in the future we’ll work together again. I’ll keep everyone updated in that case. But if you’re curious, go check out all the posts I’ve done for them over the years.
Of course, Wilton and I taking different roads wasn’t the only thing that left my blog in a dry spell. The fact that I’ve been fairly busy lately hasn’t helped either. Well, right NOW I’m not particularly busy, but for the last few months it’s been a chaotic shit storm of various proportions. Sitting on the top of the list – and the main focus of this post – is one that I am oh, so happy to finally get in writing here:
WE MOVED!
If you haven’t been following my socials anywhere (those spiffy new icons you see in the top right corner of your screen), allow me fill you in.
In the beginning of January, we decided to put the house back on the market. Since the last time we took it off we wanted to stay for a bit more. We wanted to fix up stuff around the house and give everything another shot. But as the months went on we felt like we were just wasting time. New construction was going up down the street and our confidence in Seb’s school wasn’t making us feel any better about him going there. So we put it on the market with a different realtor and hoped for the best. Sure enough, a month and a half later we were under contract. It was an investor looking to fix it up and rent it out. Since there was no real rush and he was paying cash, we did a little negotiating and dropped down from what we were asking for. It was a nice chunk of change we came down from, but honestly, it was probably the most realistic price we were going to sell for, plus we needed out, so everybody wins. We asked for a month to find a place since that wasn’t figured out yet. And it was a stressful few weeks, lemme tell ya, but we found a spot right smack in the middle of Orlando, FL. We were trying for more north because there was cheaper options, but I guess fate wanted to put us here. So far it’s working out great too. We’re in the middle of everything and anything we’ll ever need or want, and the absolute best part is Seb’s school is freaking AWESOME! He left North Carolina and didn’t look back once.
Speaking of which. Let me get into that.
When we had our house built in North Carolina, we thought that was going to be it. We were excited about everything from the amazing house to the great view in our backyard despite our Sarlacc Pit (huge thanks to Matt for the awesome re-imagining of our backyard!). We didn’t think we were going anywhere else for a long time. Sure enough, things changed. We found ourselves wasting away up there, far from family and friends and the things that we knew. So when we finally picked up and left, it was the very definition of bittersweet. We knew we were leaving for the right reasons. We knew Seb needed a new school, we knew him and his brother needed more regular interactions with family throughout their childhood, and we knew our parents weren’t getting any younger. But, we also knew we were leaving behind a beautiful home that we chose and had built just for us. We were leaving a nice, quiet neighborhood where we felt safe and secure (unless you count the evil HOA that loomed over our lives like the Galactic Empire). It was something that was hard to do, but again, we knew it was for the right reasons.
We had a month to pack and get out before everything was signed over. The entire process from when we were negotiating to the time we drove off into the sunset was so fast it was ridiculous. There were a few weeks we were in this limbo of not being able to find a place, and knowing we were on a time table. That was probably the most stressful part of the whole situation. But luckily, something came up and we were able to secure it. After that, it was only a matter of getting everything packed and out. If we’re talking percentages, I’d say I packed proooooooooobably about 4% of the boxes while the wife packed the rest. HEY! It’s not my fault. I can’t just dump drawers into a box and tape it up. But anyway.
We hired truck packers. Movers? Whatever they’re called. We hired muscle to get the trucks loaded and unloaded. Let me explain something to you: If you’re ever in the situation where you’re moving, and you have a crapload of stuff. Hire help to load and unload the trucks. Best money ever spent. Of course, we have a ton of stuff. We needed 2 of the biggest trucks they had. Apparently, spending 4+ years in a 4 bedroom house kinda turns you into a hoarder of sorts. So yeah, with boxes overflowing the house and some of the heaviest furniture built by man, the movers were an easy decision.
So where are we? We sold, found a place, packed.. last thing left to do is get it loaded and say goodbye. Here’s where stuff gets real.
I swear, I was good. Ask my wife. During the entire process, from the very beginning when we decided to put the house back on the market, I was a cold and heartless bastard with no remorse for any memories or good times had within those walls. I kept my eye on the prize and knew that we were making the right choice. I’ve gone over it time and time again in my head, listing the reasons to go against the reasons to stay. And never did staying EVER make any sense.
So. The trucks are packed. All the vehicles are ready to roll out. I go to do my final walk through of the house. That’s when I see it.
On the top of the staircase, right at the entryway to Sebastian’s room, just sitting there where it’s been for the past 3 years, was this sticker. Yeah, it’s just a sticker, whatever, right? No, not right. That sticker was home. The house was the walls, the roof, the fixtures, the plumbing… But that sticker.. It signified more than anything that can be constructed. It was placed there by the tiny fingers of a child who was the prince of his castle. Was he supposed to put it there? Heck no, we weren’t thrilled. But walking by it every day for the years we lived there, it kind just grew on us. We knew Seb put it there because he felt comfortable. It was right there in front of his room so why not leave it there? That was his domain, his territory. And it was a sticker, it’s not like he was pouring concrete. But seeing that damn Bowser sticker there, looking at me, knowing it was going to be the last time.. That’s when it hit me. Everything. And it hit me hard. Like a magic school bus from space, entering the atmosphere at 17,000 mph, and making a beeline right to my chest.
I swear, I was good. Until I saw the sticker. Then… Niagra Falls.
It reminded me of so much, you know? The good. The bad. The excitement of moving in. Bringing Lucas home for the first time. Seb running around inside before unpacking the trucks. That one time there was like 10 family members in the loft and the gate opened and 15 month old Lucas was running for the stairs and I was the only one that ran for him and I slid, caught him, and rammed my knee into the corner of the wall. I couldn’t walk right for a month. But you know what? In that moment, looking at that sticker, I forgave the house for almost breaking my knee cap. I walked over to the window in the loft and looked out at our backyard, admiring the trees and the way they surrounded our fortress on top of our mountain. It was a great home. A great area. And it’s going to make someone very happy one day.
I know. I’ve been going on for a while on this, but you know what? I could go on even longer. I could talk for hours about that tiny sticker. What it meant to me. What flashed through my head when I saw it. How I tried to take it off but it had been there so long it wouldn’t have been recognizable. But I’ll stop now. I won’t get into how the wife found me trying to physically hug this inch wide sticker, or how she didn’t blame me because she was already in tears. Like I’m sure she’s in tears now, counting down the minutes till she’s done reading so she could come and punch me for reminding her of that day. Then we’ll hug, I’ll tell her how I cried writing it all, and she’d feel bad, but not too bad because she’ll punch me again. C’est la vie.
Moving foward.
We parked our asses smack in the middle of Orlando. It’s a really nice neighborhood. Funny enough, we were scoping this area back when we were first first first looking for a home, way back when, before kids and before marriage and everything major in our lives. If we would’ve bought back then it would’ve probably been close to $100,000 cheaper than now. But who knows the path that would’ve set us on. Anyway, about 5 minutes down the street just so happens to be the Barnes & Noble where the wife and I first met. So yeah, there’s a lot of history here for us. And I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t happy. I mean, yeah, the house leaves something to be desired (I’ll get into that in another post), the internet here is somewhere between the towel section in Target and complimentary in-flight Wi-fi, and we had to cram our 4 bedroom castle into a 3 bedroom cottage. But… I’m happy. Well, not about the internet, that angers me on a daily basis. But here we are, 4 months after moving, and I still have to remind myself, “oh yeah, we’re Floridians again.” It’s a great feeling, to be honest. It’s like we came home, as dumb as that sounds. Or as awesome as it sounds if you’re Han Solo.
We get to raise our kids where the wife and I matured. They get to go to AWESOME schools. When we’re bored, we could do crazy shit like go to theme parks or drive 30 minutes to the beach. Seriously, to put it in perspective, I haven’t worn socks since we moved. 4 months. 4 months, and counting since my feet have been free from their cotton constraints. About 2 months after moving we got a picture from my sister in-law back in North Carolina and she had snow in her yard. Yeah, sorry, no, I’m good. If anyone needs me, I’ll be over here working on my farmer’s tan.
It’s crazy how things work out sometimes, you know? Like these boxes on the curb after we unpacked. They look like regular boxes right? Well if you look closer, you’ll see a paw print. First of all, know I didn’t arrange anything. I saw it after putting them out and I couldn’t believe it. That paw print just sticking out like a sore thumb. Like a Bowser sticker on a banister. I grabbed my camera and took a picture because it was a great feeling to see it. What the hell is the big deal? Well that box was the very first box we packed. Very very first. Back to the first time we had the house on the market and were wanting to move. The paw print was because the kids were crazy into Blue’s Clues and I was having fun with them. That box sat there for months because no one was biting on the house (damn Sarlacc pit). The box that signified our wanting to change our lives just sat on the floor collecting dust. After we took the house off the market I put the box in the closet and that’s where it sat until we finally put the house back up and eventually sold. But seeing that box was like coming full circle. It’s so crazy. How things work out. As if everything had fallen into place just the way it was supposed to. The box there, saying goodbye. I know, I’m a dork. But dammit, I’m sentimental.
So I think that about catches you up with the craziest thing to happen to us since my last post. Now, onto a very important question that I’ve only recently began pondering:
Where does all this leave my blog?
I really wish I knew a straight answer. I want to continue blogging. Getting something going and posting it and seeing it run out into the wild, open fields of the internet has really been a joy. There’s still so much I want to post about and experiment with. There is a problem though. As I learned with National Doughnut Day a few weeks ago (month ago?), I realized how unfriendly my kitchen is for pictures. If there’s one thing I miss about the old house, it’s the natural light that came into the kitchen. It made things so ridiculously easy to look good. So now I wonder how it’ll work. Not getting good pictures will surely put a damper in my desire to.. get… good pictures. But of course, I don’t always have to post so many in depth shots of the whole cooking process. I dunno, we’ll see how it goes. Maybe I’ll have to adapt and just get 4 or 5 good shots instead of 10. Or 15. 25. Geeze, my posts have a ridiculous amount of pictures in them.
Once this is out and published I’ll try and keep the ball rolling. Don’t be surprised if I post randomness from time to time or if food posts aren’t frequent. I’m sure living here in Florida again will inspire me in new ways. Focusing on refreshing dishes rather than hearty soups. Because seriously, it’s effing hot.
But again, it’s been hard to find a rhythm again. Getting in the kitchen and taking time for pictures and plating and such. Maybe I could get in full swing again once Seb’s summer vacation is over and it’s less chaotic around here. But for now, I have a few posts that I’ve never published, and a few ideas for posts that I’d like to put out. So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. If you are here for the food and nothing else, then forgive me as you hit unsubscribe. If you don’t mind me blabbering about my opinions on things, talking about food in general, reviewing dorky stuff like LEGO sets and such, then I hope you enjoy whatever I’m doing. We’re happy passholders to the theme parks now! So that means no more vacation posts about us coming to Florida for the 329th time, but I really wouldn’t mind reviewing restaurants on theme park properties or just talking about them in general since they’ll be a huge part of our weekly endeavors now.
And don’t forget! I’m also a co-host of a very awesome gaming podcast (I might be slightly bias)! For the first half of the show, we talk games. What’s going on in the news, what we’re playing, all that jazz. And the second half is more personal as we discuss our week and the various adventures we’ve encountered in life. If you think you’d be into it, go ahead and subscribe!
So that be that. I feel like a new chapter has started in our lives and I’m just now writing it down. I’ve heard a few times that we’re crazy and are brave to take our kids and turn our worlds upside down to start over somewhere new. Look… If you’re not happy where you are and you feel like there’s a bigger, better world beyond the horizon, why are you going to sit there and watch the sun rising and setting everyday just imagining of something better? It wasn’t easy to do what we did. It was hard af to make the decision, sign papers, pack, move, and get comfortable. Especially after being settled in an amazing home for 5 years that was ours. Nothing about picking up our lives was easy. But once it was done… Man. It’s hard to think back and recall what we were doing with our lives before. It’s like we’re in a brand new world living a new life. The kids are happy, both with the fun they’re having and with seeing their grandparents a lot more. And we’re happy knowing life feels like it’s moving forward as oppose to being at a complete standstill.
So to all those out there who feel like something’s missing. Who feel like they could be doing better. Don’t sit still. Don’t feel trapped like we did. Get up, and figure out what you need to do to get on the track you want to be on. It’s not going to be easy. But in the end, whatever pain or sacrifice you would’ve made would be worth it.
Until the next post…
Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. ~ Walt Disney
OH YEAH!
TL;DR
Eh, I changed my mind. Go read everything, ya lazy bum.
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe day is finally here! Uncharted 4 is now roaming free in the world and everyone is going insane! I haven’t even gotten to the second chapter yet but I’m right there with the hype. I know, I know. Everyone is busy playing it so …Read More….
Reading Time: 6 minutesThis has been an issue with me for a long time now, it seems. I’m happy I sat to read this article by Rich McCormick because it echos everything I’ve felt about recently released games and my curse of wanting to enjoy them so much. …Read More….
Unboxing time!
Been a while since I’ve done this, hasn’t it? I remember posting unboxings on the old EZMU blog every other month it seemed. Anywho, let’s get to this awesomeness!
Twilight Princess HD is finally among us. And so far, from the hour or so I put into it (feels like 3 hours with that freaking tutorial), I have to say that I am insanely excited to continue on. It looks pretty amazing! Yeah, there’s a lot of grumbles around the internet about it not looking as HD as people were expecting, but seriously, what the heck do people want?! I’m sure I’ll hit spots where it’s not the greatest, but being able to play this again on a current gen console and experience it without motion controls (thank you, N!), there’s really nothing we should be complaining about.
I love that so many people (mostly the younger generation) will have an opportunity to play this gem. There’s so many amazing adventures you can relive in the Zelda franchise these days on the Wii U and 3DS that it makes me incredibly giddy to have them at arm’s reach to play at a moment’s notice. I’m jealous of all those who get to experience all these titles for the first time, but on the other hand, I’m so happy for them.
But enough about that, let’s get to the goods: the Wolf Link amiibo!
It’s even more gorgeous in person than it is in pictures. I remember seeing it when it was announced and going straight gaga for it. Yeah, it was embarrassing, but c’mon, look at it!The detail is so deep, it’s glorious to admire.
Everything from the fur on Wolf Link to Midna’s helmet.. thing, to the base. Just. Amazing.
I went with Gamestop because they had a free sound selection CD to go with the game when you pre-ordered. They refer to it as a sound selection, but with 20 tracks on it, I’d go ahead and refer to it as a soundtrack. I absolutely love getting things like this for free when you pre-order something. Music is a huge part of any Zelda game and it’s something I know I’ll look back at in a decade and be happy I have it.
So that’s that for the game itself, but that’s not the only thing I picked up! I was lucky enough to get in on a sale Gamestop.com had around Christmas time where they had the Collector’s Edition Guide on sale for $20. Of course, collector’s edition + Zelda strategy guide = no brainer, so I jumped on it.
I adored the CE guide for Majora’s Mask 3D. And comparing it to that one, I still have to favor it. It seemed like more detail went into it. It felt different. The front and back covers felt like a softer material, as if the hard cover wasn’t as hard as a normal hard cover. There was beautiful art as soon as you opened the book.
Now, I’m not saying the Twilight Princess guide is lackluster. It’s definitely worth what I paid and I will get a huge use out of it. A beautiful hardcover guide with the Royal Crest on it is an automatic win. I was just expecting a little more after the Majora’s Mask guide.
All these CE guides have special pack-ins. This one had a cloth map of Hyrule.
Now, I know I said it feels clothy in the video, but thinking about it, I would say it feels more silky than clothy. I would compare it heavily to one of those eyeglass cloths that come packed in with eyeglass cases, you know? Very light material.
While it’s a thousand times better than paper, I wouldn’t have minded more on the cloth side. STILL, it’s a cool addition to have! The details are cool, like all the information and markings being written in Hylian.
Plus I get a kick out of imagining that’s Cinderella’s Castle in the middle. Sue me, it’s the simple things.
Though, after really looking at it, I can’t help but compare it to the map from the intro sequence Game of Thrones. So much so that I can’t stop humming the song every time I look at it. I even made a video of zooming around the map and turning the camera around and all that dorky stuff, but I’m too lazy to put the magic together with the song and stuff, so I’ll just let your imagination run wild about how that would have came out.
I really wasn’t going to make some drawn out post with detailed pictures and such. I was just going to write up a small blurb about the book and game and be done. But that would’ve been an injustice. The magnificence of the amiibo, with the beauty of the book had to be shown. Twilight Princess was a huge game when it came out. It signified the end of one era for Nintendo, and the beginning of another. It helped get the Wii into the hands and homes of dedicated gamers and it totally helped that the game itself could walk the walk. I look forward to playing through it again, but more importantly, I look forward to my kids having yet another amazing Zelda title to experience on an HD console once they can appreciate it.
…And develop the patience to sit through the opening tutorial. Because, damn.
Reading Time: 4 minutesIt’s been a long time since I felt inspired to write something on a whim. Usually my blogging has consisted of days of planning, editing dozens of food pictures, making sure at least 3 planets are aligned, it’s been a lot more complicated than it …Read More….
Reading Time: 4 minutesHere’s a confession: I’m not a mobile gamer. I don’t have anything against the genre. I don’t sit here and think I’m a real gamer and people who play mobile games are below me or anything like that. I just don’t have time in my …Read More….
If there’s one thing you gotta love about Christmas time, it’s the joy you get to share with loved ones. Nah, who am I kidding, it’s the cookies. You love the cookies. It’s ok, don’t be ashamed, you could admit it. Trust me, you will not be judged. I am the last person who will tell you you’re wrong for loving a cookie more than a family member. Truuuuuuuuust me, I don’t give a spritz. But that’s a whole other post for a whole other blog. Let’s stick with the cookies, yeah?
I’m gonna be sticking with cookies, along with whatever else I could make because I just got this bad boy!
See, a few months ago, the wife was making something. And when she was done and cleaning the mixer, something happened.. a mild earthquake, a freak gust of wind caused by a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon, I dunno, I forget.. But the mixer tipped over and landed on my favorite cutting board. You’ve seen my cutting board, I’m sure. It was a nice dark wood, smooth, healed quickly, very photogenic. I used to spend hours waxing that board… Used a mixture of beeswax and mineral oil, because that’s what my board liked. You always have to do what your board likes, guys. Keep it happy. Yeah, I used to leave the wax sitting on it for days so it got nice and coated and it soaked into the wood. Then I’d polish it off like my name was Mr. Miyagi.
Notice all my past tense here. That’s because on this day, because of that crazy earthquake or damn butterfly, my favorite cutting board died.
I know, I’m sorry. I hate to burden you on this joyous holiday with such a saddening story. But the mixer tipped over, and the undying craftsmanship of KitchenAid was just too much for my cutting board to endure.
But! In one last act of heroic bravery, my board mustered up enough strength to also paralyze my mixer! Oh, it was amazing. I was upstairs when it happened, but I knew a clash of titans must have occurred because lightning struck the house and I felt a disturbance in the Force. That’s when I went downstairs and the wife told me about the earthquake with the butterfly or whatever the heck she said when she was waving away the settling dust.
Point is! My board was cracked in half, and my 25+ year old KitchenAid mixer couldn’t shut off. The power button was bent in the on position so the only way to turn it off was to unplug it. On top of that, it sounded the way a car sounds when it’s trying to crank. Like it rotating and creaming butter was becoming too much of a chore for it.
So0o0o here we are. The wife felt bad and wanted to replace it. We got an amazing sale at Kohl’s! After rebates and Kohl’s Cash the mixer ended up being like $165. Not too shabby for this beast of a thing, lemme tell ya! Maybe I’ll actually put it to good use and get some blog posts going again.
I know, I’ve been really bad with keeping up with posting lately. I’m not really going crazy in the kitchen whipping up something new every week the way I used to. With the 2 year old being a 2 year old, he’s really giving me a run for my money in the house. And if I’m not cleaning up after him, I’m trying to maintain the peace between him and his brother. It could get crazy around here but it’s nothing I’ll ever trade. No, I don’t have time to blog or bake like I used to, but I’ll find time eventually.
I say all that because every year, I always want to go crazy and do like a Christmas Cookie Lollapalooza or something where I post a bunch of different cookie recipes leading up to Christmas. But there never seems to be any time. So that’s what lead me to do this….
See, Wilton was awesome enough to send me the Cookie Pro Ultra II. And even though I remember my mom pumping spritz cookies out like a machine when I was a kid with a similar Wilton cookie press (which she still has!), I, myself, have never used one. And in my planning, I got a little carried away and accidentally tried to make my dreams of Christmas Cookie Lollapalooza come true in one post. But you know what? We’re rolling with it!
So here we go!
ONE cookie press!
ONE recipe!
THREE cookies!
One. Post. Only!
Put your children to bed because things are going to get ca-raaaaaaaaaaaazzzzy!
Spritz Cookies
3.5 cups – Flour
1 teaspoon – Baking Powder
1.5 cups – Butter (3 sticks), softened
1 each – Egg
2 tablespoons – MilkVariant I
2 tablespoons – Peppermint Extract
17 drops – Red, Wilton Color Right SystemVanilla Candy Drizzles Bag, or something similar
Variant II
2 teaspoons – Salted Caramel, Treatology Flavor System
15 drops – Yellow, Wilton Color Right System
4 drops – Blue, Wilton Color Right System2 cups – Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa Candy Melts
Garnish – Turbinado SugarVariant III
2 tablespoons – Gingerbread ExtractGalze
1.5 cups – Powdered Sugar
3 tablespoons – Milk
7 drops – Yellow, Wilton Color Right System
2 drops – Brown, Wilton Color Right System
1 drop – Red, Wilton Color Right System
8 drops – Warm Cinnamon Graham, Treatology Flavor SystemDecorations – Sprinkles, colored sugar, whatever lights your tree
Notes:
Alright so let’s get the conveyor belt goin’.
And seriously, that’s it for the dough. It’s done. You see! Doing 3 or 4 different types of cookies at one time doesn’t seem so crazy anymore, does it?! All you have to do is rinse and repeat for however many variants you’re doing. What I did was I made the dough, pressed them out and baked them before I ever started another batch. It worked out pretty well and didn’t feel like a drag since getting through the batch was pretty quick.
So what’s next? Get your press ready!
If you’re using this one or one similar, it’s pretty straight forward. You have the handle, the tube, and the bottom where you put the disc for the different shapes.
The awesome Beth Somers over at Wilton did this handy video a few years ago in case you’re wondering how to work a cookie press. I suggess checking it out if you’re curious!
And you could set them up right next to each other since they won’t rise much. If your tray is big enough, you could pump out a batch in no time at all.
There’s no wrong way to do this. These are the way I decorated these cookies. If you want to use something else or a different glaze or a different candy melt, then be my guest. What did I use? Let’s see from easiest to “most difficult”.
For the peppermint cookies –
I used a new product called Candy Drizzles.
It’s basically cutting out the middle man of putting melted candy melts into a bag to drizzle it. So yeah, it’s complete genius. Just put it in the microwave and follow the directions. Once it’s ready, cut a little opening and drizzle away!
The only thing I realized is you have to work a little fast. By the time I was done drizzling, the sugar was bouncing off the candy because it had already dried. Granted, I had a bunch of cookies to drizzle, but still. The next batch was done right and I was able to hit the fresh drizzle with red and green sugars.
For the Salted Caramel cookies –
It’s nice and simple. I just dipped half the cookie in melted Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa candy melts.
I didn’t want to hide the shape of the Christmas tree cookie, so I dipped the back half. I then sprinkled with turbinado sugar which added a nice hint to the caramel flavor.
For future reference though, if you’re doing this cookie in particular, be sure to hit it with some sort of sugar or sprinkle before baking. They look rather plain even dipped in chocolate. You could tell I didn’t plan ahead on this one. You live and you learn!
For Gingerbread cookies –
I wanted to utilize the Warm Cinnamon Graham flavor in the Treatology Flavor System here. So best thing to do is make a glaze. Just get all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk it up.
If you have the Color Right System and want to make a different color, then go nuts. I went with this color because I wanted something different that could still be festive.
When the glaze is ready, just drop the cookie face down and then lift it up from the dipped side with something. Hold it on the edges and let the excess glaze drip off and then put on a rack to dry.
But hit it with colored sugars or sprinkles before it does. Don’t be afraid to use cinnamon or freshly grated nutmeg either!
And that’s it! Those are your 3 cookies you could create with one recipe. Very slight altercations that can produce 3 very different types of cookies. Absolutely perfect for Christmas!
Speaking of Christmas, I hope you have a very merry one. May you find peace and happiness in your life if you haven’t, and may you enjoy and cherish it if you have.
Until next year, adios!
If you’re looking for another idea, check out Marilyn over at Sweets to Impress. She made some awesome looking Dipped Spritz Christmas Cookies!
Or this Simple Spritz Christmas Cookie recipe from Karyn at the Pint Sized Baker!
