Food

When I think about the holidays, cranberries are definitely a flavor that comes to mind. I’m always looking for new Italian cookie recipes, so when I found the orange cranberry biscotti recipe I knew I wanted to give it a try. If you’ve never made biscotti, you need to try! It is seriously one of the easiest types of cookies to make. Plus, its so perfect this time of year to serve with a hot toddy, coffee, tea or hot cocoa.

Especially every holiday season, I love to make Italian-inspired dishes. I’ve made several Italian cookies in the past, so I searched for a new one for this year. These Sicilian S cookies are the perfect cookie to enjoy with your coffee or tea. They are crunchy, sweet, but not too sweet, and you can dress them up with a glaze and sprinkles, or keep them plain. If it’s not super obvious, the S stands for Sicily.

One of my favorite flavors is the lemon lime combination. I absolutely love the tart flavor. It’s even better if it’s sweet and tart, which is why these lemon lime cookie bars are one of my new favorite recipes. The best part is that this is literally such a simple recipe. Even if you’re not much of a baker, I’m sure these will turn out perfectly for you.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving pie? I like sweet potato, pumpkin, and apple too. But honestly, I do love pecan pie. I love how sweet it is and I love the texture combinations. I’ve made homemade pecan pie a few times, but never tried bite-sized ones or muffin-tin-sized ones. I decided to try both this past week. The mini-sized ones in the muffin-tin were the winners in my family. The normal muffin-tin-sized ones were my favorite for serving guests because they are so much prettier than the tiny ones. Either way, these mini pecan pies are so good and literally bite-sized.

If you know me well, you know I love peanut butter. Did you know it’s National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month? We get a whole month. So in honor of that, I decided to try making the ultimate peanut butter rice Krispie treats. Although I didn’t think I could ever top my beloved Special K bars, I have to say, these treats are really great too. I personally adore the chocolate peanut butter combination. But, if you’re not as much of a chocolate lover, then I think this recipe is for you.

Do you like pesto? If so, I have a really easy homemade basil walnut pesto recipe that I love to serve with store-bought gnocchi. This is such an easy meal to make any night of the week and I just love pesto gnocchi. I have made homemade gnocchi in the past, but it is very time-consuming. However, making fresh basil pesto is actually really easy to do. It’s the perfect way to make an easy meal that still tastes super fresh.

Bruschetta is one of my favorite appetizers. It’s so easy to make, and such a perfect appetizer or even a quick lunch. I recently made this bruschetta Caprese and it was a huge hit. Given how much everyone liked it, I thought I’d try again. I had a lot of extra mushrooms in the house, so I thought I’d try a mushroom bruschetta.

Do you have a favorite holiday side? My family loves it all, but sweet potatoes are always served at our holiday gatherings. This year, we wanted to try something new, so I made these roasted sweet potato stacks. They are a prettier way to serve sweet potatoes, and I personally think even tastier. These turned out even better than I expected because they are pretty and delicious.

One of my all-time favorite Italian appetizers is a simple, yet classic Caprese. I absolutely love fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. It is such a simple combination, but pure perfection. I didn’t think it could get better, and then it did. This bruschetta Caprese is even better than the all-time classic.