Food & Drink

So how was your holiday?

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Ours was pretty sweet. Hee.

No, really. It was quiet, relaxing and rather lovely. I come from an itty-bitty family (just me and my mom) and Scott’s family is spread all over the country. So our celebrations are pretty small and low-key.

I was a little more inclined to bake this year now that I’m more comfortable with the gluten-free flours and methods. Although some of these, such as the chocolaty delights you see below, are just naturally gluten-free – and naturally sinful.

These Faux-Rango Mints were AWESOME. I’ve had a few Frangos in my time (five years in Chicago) and this was an excellent reproduction. Devin crushed the candy canes and sprinkled them on top so I could dip them quickly before the chocolate hardened.

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Had to insert  a couple of pics of my kiddo, who helped with the baking, but was basically so wired about the holiday that it was hard to get him to sit still for long.

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The biggest surprise of the baking adventures were these cookies. Snowy Lemon Cookies. I made them for Dev because he’s crazy about lemons. I’m a chocolate girl and can’t really relate to the lemony love, but when I took a bite of one of these, I was smitten. So. Good. Make them. I command you.

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This was another lemony recipe that sounded up his alley, although I’m not tickled with how they turned out. I’ve probably eaten maybe one lemon square in my life so I’m not familiar with the texture, but these were kind of gloppy. You basically had to eat them with a fork. And once the kiddo grabbed his fork, he announced that they were delicious. Way too lemony for me, though. Potently lemon. Pucker-up lemon.

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That wasn’t the only Rice Krispies recipe we tackled. Dev’s plan for Santa (in whom he still seems to believe, even though just a couple of years ago he seemed to be doubting the whole shebang) was to serve up Rice Krispies trees. Decorated with neon-green icing and cinnamon candies. And because he imagined that Santa might be a bit famished after all that sleigh-driving, he left him three. Between these and the lemon cookies – oh, and let’s face it, the mints – I was riding a sugar high for a couple of days. In the spirit of the holiday, of course!

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