Thursday 21 January 2016

Christmas baking in review AKA my favorite things!



The Christmas season is over, and it’s time to get back to the daily grind.  As reluctant as some of us may be to get back to being more aware of our bodies and the extra pounds we have put on over the holiday season, change is going to come!  So while you are trying to keep true to your New Year’s resolutions, I would like to share with you some of my Christmas season highlights.

This year was really busy for me and quite hectic.  There was way too much baking to be done and not enough time to do it in.  Don’t get me wrong, I love baking, but I also love sleep and unfortunately I didn’t divide my time properly which led to me baking more then sleeping.  But needless to say, I am better rested now then in December.  My body finally had enough and I got sick on New Year’s Eve and had to take a couple of days off work to recuperate.  Definitely not my way of ringing in the New Year, but what can you do?

I am determined to make this year count, focus on my passions, important moments that are sometimes taken for granted and get back to basics with food and health!  I am procrastinating a little bit I admit, but I have a plan in mind and am hoping to stick with it and take the good with the bad.

So as I mentioned earlier, I bake a lot at Christmas.  There are a few go to recipes that I love to make each year and I also like trying a new one to add to the collection. This year I finally found an awesome recipe for pie crust, and I have to say hands down this is fool proof and it turns out great every time!  I am very grateful to Sharon Hartling for sharing this with me. J  The crust is crispy, the recipe is easy and it’s husband approved!








I had a Christmas party to go to and was asked to bring a sweet treat, so of course I wanted to impress and show off a bit.  I was looking for a conversation peace but my go to treat to bring is usually cake.  Everyone loves cake, and there were going to be a lot of women at this event.  So I picked up our local Halifax “The Coast” and they had a really great pamphlet inside with Christmas treats and drinks to entertain your family and friends. On the front of the pamphlet they had a beautiful cake, and it was love and first site!  I perused through and at the back was this beautiful cake from “The Old Apothecary”, which is a local down town bakery.  Well long story short… the cake was a hit and everyone loved it so much that there was not a single piece left.  I will admit I didn’t add the cranberries as I had wanted to; I was stupid and didn’t soak them the night before.  Next year though I will definitely be more prepared.








The final recipe I’ll share with you has been my all-time favorite for 3 years running, and I only make these during Christmas time.  I usually make two batches each year, which is a lot of work, but this year I only had time for one.  I love gingerbread men, but I found a recipe for a soft gingerbread men cookie and it was way better than any other I have tried. I prefer a soft cookie over a crumbly hard one, with the exception of Oreo’s.  I didn’t take a picture of these cookies but below you can find the website for “Krissy’s Creations” who is a pretty good baker and I have had a few good eats from her site.


So these are a few of my favorite go-to recipes for Christmas, if you have any you would like to share, leave me a message in the comments section below J

Stay sweet and enjoy life!
Kyra xox


Links to some of the recipes shared above: