I did it. I finally lived the dream. Well, sort of. I made a Christmas dessert table for my ward Christmas party this year. It's not the prettiest, and there are a ton of things that I would have changed now that I've done it (like having a backdrop that actually is long enough to not have a gap above the table), but I did it. And everyone loved it. That's the important part right? The picture quality isn't the best because all I had was my phone, but I did have some fun using instagram to make them a little cuter!
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| The whole thing! Please ignore the fact that the hot chocolate rice krispies are sitting in ziplocs... I didn't want them to dry out prior to being served. |
And here is what was on it, minus a close up of the cranberry chocolate cookies, and the hot chocolate rice krispies. The cookies were made from my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, found here. All I did was add craisins and Christmas M&Ms instead of chocolate chips. And you can find the rice krispie recipe here. Which reminds me, I promised my room mate who was unable to attend her very own batch. I should get those made before Christmas.
If you are a fan of egg nog, you NEED to make these. Trust me. Life changing experience. I didn't actually expect them to be as popular as they were as most people I know do not like egg nog. However, there were none of these babies left! I even had a friend tell me she had dreams about them after. : ) And as always, I owe my crazy searching through what pictures look good on google to finding them! Get the recipe here and go make them. Right now. Do it. I'll wait. And yes. I did leave out the alcohol. : )
I have many friends who have discovered Pinterest recently. And so I had to check it out. I have yet to join, and doubt that I will, but because of it, I found these adorable cookies! Seriously, could they be any cuter? The trickiest part with these was getting the antlers to stay up! My Mom helped me out and she and I were racing against time as we quickly tried to assemble them before they were too cooled down! If you want to make these, go here... The peanut butter cookie held it's shape really well. You could probably use your favorite cookie recipe, but again, the shape of the cookie makes all the difference!
White Hot Chocolate anyone? Funny story. Almost burnt down my parents brand new home making these. Broilers and marshmallows. Fun. So my tip for these... WATCH them. Even though I was we still had some pretty big flames in the oven. Nothing like a small oven fire to wake you up on a Saturday morning! This is one of the super easy recipes as it just requires doctoring a box mix. Good ol' Betty Crocker. You can find the recipe on the Betty Crocker website.
Who doesn't love Chocolate? Who doesn't love peppermint? Put them together and voila! I cheated here too. I used a chocolate fudge box mix, but the icing was homemade. And sweet! I didn't use as much powdered sugar as the recipe called for. As well, I would probably reduce the peppermint I added. They were potent! However, I love the smell of peppermint and the taste, so it wasn't bad for me! And could those candy cane sprinkles (peppermint flavored!) be any cuter? Icing recipe is located here.
What is Christmas without some gingerbread? Now, I'm not the biggest fan of gingerbread but it is classic Christmas. And in cupcake form, it had to be done. Again, super easy. Using a spice cake box mix and doctoring it a little. Add some brown sugar icing, cute gingerbread men sprinkles, and voila! I used candy cups as the liners for these and one of my favorite moments of the night was watching a friend stab it with a fork trying to get into it. I will say they are tricky to get into. I recommend having a pair of scissors handy!
Cranberries. I love cranberries. So tarts it is! Martha Stewart came through on these babies. Again, I cheated a little using ready made tenderflake crusts instead of making my own. These were also a crowd pleaser. Absolutely none remained. Had a few people mention that they were their favorite thing from the table. If you want to give them a try, go on over to the Martha Stewart website.
Let me tell you a sad story. I went to Oregon to visit my Aunt. I was on a mission to find peppermint sticks. And we did. Cute little ones that are a soft peppermint so they melt better in your mouth than a regular candy cane. I purchased roughly 75 of these little guys. Packaged them carefully in my suitcase using bubble wrap and soft items. I arrive home. I open my suitcase. TSA went through my bag. I only have 40 left intact. Sad. But I wanted to do them still anyway, so I did! Easiest thing ever. Melt some chocolate. Dip. Allow to sit for 30 seconds or until chocolate starts to set. Sprinkle with cute snowflake or holly sprinkles. (well any Christmas sprinkle will do) Done.
Remember how I said gingerbread isn't my favorite? I think I was reminded as to why. They are a pain to make. Maybe I just haven't found the right recipe. Which is why I'm not sharing this one with you. If anyone has a hassle free gingerbread cookie recipe that doesn't make rock hard cookies... Please share! This recipe did make a softer gingerbread, which I prefer if I'm going to make them, but way to much work. It was kind of funny watching my Dad roll out dough and carefully cut each snowflake. I sure do love my parents and the help they provided!
And last... another Pinterest find. Two things I'd change. I'd cook them for less time, and I wouldn't move them to the cooling racks as quickly. As you can see, it caused the kisses to get a little deformed. But these were super easy and super cute. Find them here.
So there you have it my first official dessert table. If you need one for anything let me know! I'm more than willing to practice my skills!
Merry Christmas!
