Can you believe how close Christmas is? The bad thing about having a late Thanksgiving is that you don’t have as much time to prepare for Christmas. I start my shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (all done online, I work for a deals website DUH!) and usually I’m finished by now. Note that I said usually. For some reason this year I haven’t found exactly the right gift for a few people on my list. I started to wonder if maybe it was because I moved away and lost touch with a few people. Then I realized that wasn’t it at all. I was over thinking everything and just needed to relax and think about what I know about each person. Every name on my list now has an idea next to it or is crossed off and I am not stressed about finishing. Don’t stress about the holidays. It will take all the fun out of them and this is the time of year you should be having fun. Go out for festive martinis, get dolled up and wear bright red lipstick while you wrap presents with a glass of wine. That’s what you should be doing in December, not fretting over the small stuff.
If you ARE stressing about the holidays, (who am I kidding, I know we all still are) take a second and bake something. I know it sounds like I’m adding something to your to-do list, but really take a minute and bake something. I don’t care if you go to the store and get pre-made cookie dough in a roll and slap some on a sheet pan, in fact, I’m all for that! There is nothing better than smelling something baking and peeking into the oven to see if it’s done yet. Oh wait, there is something better. Eating it!
Here’s a recipe I made when I was feeling a little bit frazzled this past week. Plus, I get to serve them at my wine club, so it was actually another thing checked off my to-do list AND a stress reliever.
Eggnog Sugar Cookie Bites Recipe:
1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 Tablespoons butter – room temperature
6 Tablespoons sugar
1/8 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon eggnog
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Eggnog Frosting Recipe:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons butter – room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-3 Tablespoons eggnog
Pre-heat your oven to 375-degrees and grease a 8×8 square baking dish.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or using a stand mixer, cream together your butter and granulated sugar for about 30 seconds on medium speed.
Next, add your powdered sugar and beat on medium for another minute, until it’s light yellow and fluffy.
With your mixer on low, mix in an egg, the vanilla and the eggnog.
Once everything is combined, keeping your mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time until everything is incorporated into a dough.
Spread the dough evenly in your greased baking dish. I used my hands because it was easiest. It helps to spray your hands with oil, too.
Bake 12-14 minutes at 375-degrees, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool completely. And I mean COMPLETELY. I let mine sit over night. Don’t ever frost anything before it’s completely cool. Besides this getting you put on the naughty list, the frosting will be a sticky mess and you’ll be mad at yourself. Trust me.
To make the frosting, add 3 Tablespoons room temperature butter to a mixer (or bowl with hand mixer) and cream together on medium low with 1 cup powdered sugar.
When the sugar and butter are creamed together, add your vanilla extract and mix until combined. Now, you’ll add eggnog one Tablespoon at a time until your frosting is the right consistency. I ended up using 2 Tablespoons and you’ll probably use between 1-3.
Frost your cool cookie bars with the eggnog frosting and then dust the top with nutmeg.
I cut them into squares that were really about 1/4 of the size I wanted to because I had to share them. You don’t have to do this, you could eat it with a fork or cut them into 4-inch squares and go to town. Whatever floats your boat!
If you’re still stressed and are just not a baker, do ONE thing this week that makes you think “Hey, it’s the holidays! I’m happy!” Promise?
