The day before Christmas

Twenty-four hours to Christmas. My kids are a tad anxious. Me, I'm enjoying some relaxation this year, as we're keeping things rather low-key. I did get edits yesterday that left me more than a tad anxious, but I'm not letting myself dwell on them.

Instead, I'll dwell on the sweet perfection of this holiday picture...

Candy cane rice krispie treats

So yesterday was spent doing a lot of baking in preparation for an evening spent with friends. One of the things my daughter and I made were candy cane rice krispie treats. Some of you might turn your nose up at the idea, but trust me on this one. If you like rice krispie treats and candy cane flavors even a little, you'll LOVE this.

I've seen variations of this online, but I've modified the recipe over time to get it the way my family likes it.

INGREDIENTS
1 13 oz box of Rice Krispies (or similar style cereal)
1 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup crushed candy canes
40 candy cane Kisses
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 tbsp vegetable (or canola) oil
3 tbsp crushed candy canes

DIRECTIONS
1. Unwrap all the Kisses. Microwave for 30 seconds to get them to a melty stage. It's okay to have smallish lumps.
2. Melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and melt together.
3. Stir marshmallow mixture into cereal.
4. Add melted Kisses and crushed candy canes.
5. Press into greased 9x13 pan. Refrigerate until set.
6. Over double boiler, melt white chocolate.
7. Add vegetable oil and stir until smooth.
8. Frost uncut Rice Krispie treats with white chocolate.
9. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over frosting.
10. Refrigerate until frosting is firm. Cut into squares at this point.

For the booklover

I'm in the throes of Christmas planning, and I thought I had all my gift shopping done when NPR ran a piece this morning on eye-catching reads for the book lover on your list.

Guess who's going to Barnes & Noble this morning?

New holiday ideas

I'm starting to gather together new ideas for the holidays, both Thanksgiving and Christmas. All right, maybe this is something I should've started sooner, but considering how stressful this year has been, I figure I've got some leeway.

It was sparked by a post I saw on my Facebook feed for a new kind of caramel apple. See?

I am totally in love with this idea. They just hollow out the apple, pour melted caramel in, then slice them up when they're cooled. Yum!

The next thing that made me smile was this simple ornament:

It's a melted snowman! Isn't that adorable? Instructions for how to do it are here, but you know, I highly recommend taking a look around her blog. It's got some absolutely wonderful crafting ideas.

The holidays are a-coming

Halloween is past, which means we're in my favorite two months of the year. I'm one of those Christmas nuts. I love everything about it. You can expect cookie recipes, gushing about food, and general ho-ho-ho-ness over the next eight weeks or so.

To launch it all, I blogged yesterday at Romance Cooks. It's a recipe for Cranberry Sauce Cake, one of my favorites. Go check it out, and while you're there, take a look at all the other great recipes that have been posted this year!