Christmas Recap

Hello and Happy (almost) New Year! I hope you all had a nice holiday. I took a little break over Christmas (although I did stay pretty active on Instagram) and it was so nice. Although now I'm really behind on reading blogs.

I wanted to share a few Christmas related things first. I adore picking out my annual Christmas wrapping paper and ribbon...

But sometimes you have to give in to your kids...

Yep, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrapping paper. ;) 

I didn't make as many desserts for Christmas dinner this year. But I did make sure these made the cut...

We've always called them Sand Tarts, but I've also heard them referred to as snowballs. So yummy!

Logan's favorite present was this...

DJI Mavic Pro Drone

That's a professional grade drone, y'all! To say he loves it is an understatement. And no, we don't usually spend that much on Christmas presents. He got a part time job after school and paid for it himself. Well, with a little help from us. :) He's most excited to use if for filming his movies. These drones provide awesome overhead shots. He can fly it up to four miles away and the video quality is excellent. 

Speaking of Logan, he went out with friends the other day and came home with this little goodie for me...

A cupcake ATM? Yes, please! He got it at Sprinkles. Such a neat idea and it was delicious. If you're not familiar with Sprinkles, click here: http://sprinkles.com/cupcake-atm for a little demonstration. Just click "how it works" at the top. 

And while we're on the subject of chocolate. I made this little concoction the other day...

It's a tunnel of fudge cake. Yum!!! Click HERE for the recipe. (I used my own homemade frosting instead of their glaze)

It wasn't a hard recipe, but I would definitely called it "involved." At least for this amateur baker. :) I think I counted 7 mixing bowls when I was done. One of the first things you do is melt butter and whisk it with cocoa powder to coat the Bundt pan with like this...

It makes a kind of crunchy layer on the outside and it's really good.




 I don't know how it works, but this cake mysteriously creates a gooey tunnel of fudge in the middle (or more toward the bottom in my case) lol. Here's the finished product...

Did y'all know the creator of the tunnel of fudge cake lived right here in Houston? Her name was Ella Rita Helfrich and she won 2nd place with her tunnel of fudge cake recipe in the Pillsbury bake off in 1966. Her recipe was very well received and everyone wanted to make it. It became the most requested recipe in Pillsbury history. Click HERE for her original recipe. Her recipe uses nuts and they're essential to its success. However, I didn't want nuts this time, which is why I made the other recipe I mentioned from Lemon Sugar

Pillsbury used to make a frosting mix that you could use to make it easier, but stopped manufacturing it a long time ago. That caused an uproar, as you can imagine. I wish they'd bring it back. It was so much easier to make this with a boxed mix. 

Apparently this post has gone all food-related, so I may as well show you a quick snack idea. I actually had this for lunch the other day and it was so good...

It's just Bonne Maman fig preserves with some Babybel cheese on top of a Club cracker. Gosh, that hit the spot. :)

We had a busy holiday season. My oldest son, Dylan, graduated from college right before Christmas too. We had a graduation party for him and I'll share a few pics soon. 

Wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous new year! 

~Lisa