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Merry Christmas 2012!

Christmas Eve Traditions

Merry Christmas dear friends! I hope your day is filled with joy. :) It is still Christmas Eve as I’m writing this, but I’m just about to go to sleep, and I can’t wait to wake up for Christmas tomorrow! :) What are your favorite Christmas traditions? Here’s what Christmas looked like at our house this weekend… :)

Christmas Eve Traditions

We made and delivered these Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies to our neighbors. I hadn’t planned on it, but I made my first batch a few days before Christmas and after one bite I was like, “OH… MY… GOSH… I HAVE TO SHARE THESE WITH THE ENTIRE WORLD!!! THE WORLD MUST KNOW THE AMAZINGNESS THAT IS THESE SNICKERDOODLES!! THESE COOKIES COMPLETE ME!!!”

So needless to say, if you haven’t made these yet… Oh my gosh. Stop whatever you’re doing and make them right now. Make these as a present to yourself! These are one of the best cookies I’ve ever had. I have to agree with Monique’s description of these cookies:

These aren’t your average snickerdoodle. They are a million times better.

A million billion trillion! I prefer them plain (just as the recipe is written), but Kevin wanted me to add Christmas M&Ms to his, so I topped half of them with M&Ms before baking and we gave our neighbors half and half. :) The plain ones are totally the best though! ;)

Full disclosure: I left out the Greek yogurt, (it only calls for a tablespoon) but they are still the best darn cookie I’ve ever had. :) I’m going to try Monique’s Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter + Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookie next!

Christmas Eve Traditions

At the last minute I decided to put together a card to send with the cookies. I just used one of my free Christmas Card templates (with matching gift tags) I shared a few years ago. :) The photo of us is from our trip to Cinque Terre this year.

Best Ever, Easiest Cinnamon Buns

Tomorrow morning I am making our favorite Mini Cinnamon Buns. A Christmas morning tradition! :)

Candy Dipped Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies

I can’t wait to go to my parents’ house, where my mom will have these Candy Dipped Peanut Butter Ritz Sandwiches waiting for us. I look forward to these all year! Next year I am totally making them with these ADORABLE Pumpkin Royal Icing Accents for Thanksgiving! How cute are those??

Candied Sugar Glazed Pecans

My mom also makes these cinnamon sugar pecans. I am so in love with this delicious Christmas treat! Plus it makes the whole house smell AMAZING when they are roasting! :)

Tomorrow I’m going to snuggle in my new PJs and try this Nutella Hot Chocolate. Why did I not think of this before?? Genius.

What did you get for Christmas? :) What gift were you most looking forward to giving? :)

 

Merry Christmas you guys! XOXO

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30 Responses
  1. Kelly

    Ohhh those treat look amazing! And your tree is just beautiful :) Merry Christmas and Happy 2013! I am a new reader to your blog but really love it :) Cheers!

  2. gin pennington

    I was counting on one of your cooking sets. I have been parallyzed waist down with issues with my hands as well for 3 yrs. I have slowly recovered to a cane and can cook now . Would have been amazing to work with one of your sets… By the way it was a flu shot that parallzed me so stay away from tjem

  3. Dorothy at ShockinglyDelicious

    Thanks for linking to my Nutella Hot Chocolate. That stuff is just fantastically good….hope you liked it, and happy holidays!

  4. Mindi

    I saw that recipe for the Snickerdoodles a few weeks ago and was so tempted to make them this weekend! Now that I’ve seen your pics, I’m definitely going to try them soon. They look so good! Thanks for the great blogs and pics.

  5. Vivian C.

    I hope you, kevin, howie and miley had a wonderful Christmas :) I just spent the last couple days reading all 160 pages of this blog. It’s so addicting!! I love reading about the places you guys have traveled, the recipes, camera tips as well as the pea fonts.
    I would have adored a slr camera, even the canon rebel t4i instead of the fancier ones like 5d mark II and all that haha but unfortunately it’s way to expensive, maybe next time haha.
    I can’t wait to read more from your blog!!

  6. Nicole

    Your tree is gorgeous!! My parents got a tree too tall this year and the tree top was bending over…and of course instead of cutting it shorter to fit, my sister hung a crescent moon from the top of the tree as the tree topper…you know to go with the curve of the tree. My family is goofy and I love it!

    My favorite gift to give this year was probably my dad, I never know what to get him, but this year he wanted Photo Shop and I got him the Light Room and I really think he’ll enjoy it!

    What I got for Christmas…a ton of stuff. My two fav’s are my turquoise ring which I’m wearing today and the new Cinderella Eye Shadow Set from Sephora. I’ve loved Cinderella since I was a kid. A dream is a wish your heart makes….

  7. Karen

    Merry Christmas! Your tree and cookies look amazing! Thanks for your blog. You are so inspiring and I look forward to your posts! :-)

  8. Brooke

    Merry Christmas! Your tree is gorgeous and I love that Miley and Howie paper. Thanks for continuing to provide so many tips and awesome inspiration this year.

  9. Normita

    Hope you and yours have been a wonderful christmas time….I love and enjoy every post of you….thanks for sharing…God bless you this New Year. This is the time I enjoy and decor all my home most, your christmas tree is amazing!!!

  10. Diane | An Extraordinary Day

    Merry Christmas Amanda & Kevin (& Howie & Miley too)!!
    After losing our jobs a few years ago, our Christmases have changed greatly. It’s no longer about the presents under the tree, but family and friends, and the best gift ever given….Jesus! “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15.
    Now off to make those cookies! Snickerdoodles have always been my fave. :D

  11. Dalia

    Merry Christmas Amanda! Hope you and yours have a blessed and wonderful Christmas. Thank you for your amazing posts. I always look forward to each and everyone. Those cookies look so yummy right now with a tall glass of milk, yummo!

  12. Averie @ Averie Cooks

    I’ve wanted to make Monique’s browned butter snickerdoodles for awhile and also her Nutella cookies and I just can’t wait til I’m back home in my regular kitchen and oven to whip them up! I want to reach through my screen and grab those things. Or your mini cinnamon buns. I love crescent roll-cinnamon rolls and made some with Nutella this week!

    Merry Xmas, Amanda! :)

  13. Monique @ Ambitious Kitchen

    Merry Christmas Amanda! I’m so happy you baked the brown butter snickerdoodles — they are one of my favorites too! Thank you for sharing, have a wonderful day! xo

  14. Debbie in S. Florida

    Btw, your tree is spectacular, and I can’t wait to try your cinnamon roll recipe (and the others). Maybe we’ll start a new Christmas morning tradition!

  15. Debbie in S. Florida

    Merry Christmas to you, too, Amanda. Hope you and your family are enjoying a wonderful & joyful holiday together. Thanks for all the amazing things you’ve shared with us this year. I always say I live vicariously through you! You go to the most wonderful places and do the most fabulous things and make the most delicious recipes, and then you share it with all of us! I’ve enjoyed each and every post, and can’t wait to see what you come up with for next year!

  16. LeslieMac

    I also added the mini cinnamon rolls to our Christmas morning tradition. So thanks for sharing that along with all the all the goodies, photos, tips, tricks and happiness you share with us all year long! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you, Kevin, Miley & Howie.

  17. Karen Pelkey

    Merry Christmas Amanda,
    I look forward to the daily emails. I tried your choc-late covered ritz crackers but since we have someone in the family who is allergic to nuts, I made them with marshmallow fluff and semi sweet choclate. A nice christmas surprise. I’ll let you know how they turn out. They are cooling as I am writing this. I hope your family has peace and health in the New Year.

  18. Debbie

    Wishing you & yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year! I do look forward to reading your blog- thank you for sharing.
    Your tree is beautiful! It comes across on my monitor as gold & crystal embellishments- quite elegant. What surprised me is your wall color. Unless you painted over the wall or it is another room, I thought it was a green with strong grey undertones, but in this picture, it is coming across as a deep gold- compliments your tree beautifully.
    Well, I need to go get everything started for the Christmas meal now-hosting 10 people for a White Elephant/Stingy Santa game followed by the “standard” turkey dinner with an onslaught of desserts(we have a bunch of sweet tooths here- so I will have to try those cookies soon).
    Safe travels and wishing you worlds of peace,
    Debbie
    (just wondering if you still have your 2 cats?)

  19. Melissa Souther

    Merry Christmas to you and yours as well! I really love reading your blog and trying out your recipes. I want to try the photography tips and scrapbooking stuff you show as well. I teach 2nd grade and have 2 young grandchildren so life is always busy. I hope you have a wonderful holiday of blessings!

  20. Paulette

    Thank you for a beautiful blog and a wonderful year and may you have a Merry Christmas and may 2013 be blessed with a heathly, Happy New Year. Paulette

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Meet Kevin & Amanda

Kevin and Amanda

We love to travel and to eat! Here we share our favorite quick and easy recipes, plus travel tips and guides for our favorite places around the world. If you have any questions about what camera I use or how I edit my photos, check out my photography tutorials.

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