Happy Sweets-mas!

                                              Here is my display, my display, my display…

                                 That I put out on Christmas Day, Christmas Day, Christmas Day…

Everyone is waiting for my coo-kies…Everyone is shouting “Come on Liz, PLEASE!”  But they can keep on waitin’ on me, waitin’ on me, waitin’ on me!

Sorry, I had to! I’ve been dying for a reason to make my own spin on that song!

For those of you Real Housewives Fans, especially you Jersey ones…I know you get the Melissa Gorga reference ;)…that song really gets stuck in your head, doesn’t it?

But getting back to the important part - the desserts!  I love baking at Christmas time – trying new recipes, and of course making the tried and true family recipes that have been around for a long time in my family.   

As many of you know, I’m trying to take my passion for baking “on the road” so to speak.  I want to start my own dessert catering business on the side. (I know, I know...when will my busy mom-wife-teacher-tutor-housekeeper self find the time? I will MAKE the time! If Bethenny Frankel can do it all, so can I!)

I was so excited to “cater” my first dessert buffet.  My supportive, sweets-loving sister enlisted my talents for our Christmas celebration at her house. Christmas at my sister's house is always a big deal...it's like "My big fat-italian-irish-armenian holiday"...lots of people, lots of food, and always a lot of desserts. So this was my moment to shine.

I prepped for weeks.  Tweaking recipes, buying ingredients, planning the displays, and double checking everything. I wanted this to be perfect.

I really wanted to prove to everyone (and myself) that I could do this – balance the busy life that I currently have, with this new dream that I want to fulfill.

I am happy to say that all my sweets were well received by all.  The big hits of the night were...well, EVERYTHING! Here are some photos of the sweets I prepared for Christmas:

                                                                           Pizelles

                                                               Almond-Anise Biscotti

                                                        Chocolate-Toffee-Walnut Biscotti

                                                   Butterscotch-White Chocolate Biscotti

                                   Traditional Date Nut Bars & Chocolate-Coconut-Date Nut Bars

                                   Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars & Peanut Butter Pecan Pie Bars

                      Chocolate-Walnut-Butterscotch Bars & Toffee-Macadamia-Butterscotch Bars

                                                         Rice Krispie Pops & Cake Pops

The cake pops were the talk of the night! It was my first time making them, so I was thrilled that they came out so well and that they tasted amazing too!

I was SO happy that everyone loved the variety of desserts that I'd prepared and that I was able to pull this off.  (Patting myself on the back right now...haha.) I can do this and darn it, I will! (Make sure all you loyal Westchester and Fairfield County readers tell your friends about Eat Your Sweets!)

Well my sweet fans, this baker is pooped from all her baking (and lots of holiday merriment!)...so I'm off to enjoy some delicious leftovers from "my display, my display, my display"...and to kick my feet up and relax!

I hope you all enjoyed my latest post and enjoyed some fabulous sweets at your holiday celebration as well.

Thanks again for reading and please eat your sweets everyone :)

...While visions of sugarplums danced through their heads...

I don't know about you, but at Christmas visions of anything sugary are dancing through my head! (But then again, when are sweets not on my mind?)

While at this time of the year sweet treats are a big focus for me, family is the most important part of the holiday season...appreciating those who are always there for you and remembering those who have passed.  Two special ladies that I remember at this time of the year are my Grandma Millie and my Great Aunt Fannie.  I remember them not only for being wonderful, loving women, but for the delicious treats that they would procure at Christmas as well.  Being good little Italian ladies, they would religiously make the same yummy delights every year...creating desserts that we all loved and looked forward to at the holidays. 

One thing that my grandma would always make were were biscotti.  I vividly recall them being transported to our house in a Macy's shirt box...rows and rows of them.  As a child I did not have a real appreciation for these "hard cookies" :).  (I was the little girl that loved a chewy, soft cookie.)  I seriously remember sitting at the table during dessert thinking, "Does Grandma know how hard these cookies are?" Haha, how foolish I was!  Biscotti are now a cookie that I love, make quite often, and enjoy creating different variations of.  My latest ones were butterscotch/hazelnut....

and they were super yummy, if I don't say so myself!  I know several members of my family that enjoyed them...and finished them off in a matter of a day! :)

Another treat I would look forward to at Christmas time was my Great Aunt Fannie's pizzelles.
These were also brought to our house in a shirt box lined with tissue paper...God love these ladies!... recycle, reduce, reuse...they were so ahead of their time! hahaa :)

I remember their sweet anise smell wafting out of the box and their light airy taste in my mouth. So simple, but so delicious! 

This weekend I decided I would try to make these airy delights for the first time.  I broke out my aunt's pizzelle maker (yes, the very same one she used in her little Bronx apartment to crank them out by the dozen!) and gave it a whirl.  Let me tell you...they are trickier to make than you would think!  You have to get the batter consistency right, the timing in the pizzelle maker right...don't leave them in for too long! 

Well, I am happy to say that I think I have these pizzelles down! Here's the final product:

They tasted great and even my hardest critic (miss Leah herself) loves them. And I quote, "I like these cookies mama!"  Enough to make this baker feel happy and satisfied that my final product came out yummy :)

I can't wait to share these with my family to see if they get the seal of approval and if they would my Aunt Fannie proud.

Ok everyone, this exhausted gal is off to bed...I hope more visions of sugary sweets dance through my head...and yours too as we get closer and closer to Christmas.

Thanks for reading everyone and don't forget to eat your sweets!