Have mixer, will bake.

With the holidays fast approaching, I'm daydreaming of all the delicious recipes I've been stockpiling. I FREAK out come the end of the year, getting preoccupied with making sugary sweets, frothy eggnog and all sorts of roasted spicy things. It gets a little insane at times, until before I know it, Tara and I are trying to shape home made marshmallows out of cookie presses, surrounded by champagne or trying to force people to try our eggnog meringue. Getting into the spirit of things, Tara and I have begun compiling a list of all goodies we will be attempting (and possibly even failing at a few, but who cares when it involves ingredients like these.) Here's my check list so far- all from recipe sites that I really enjoy- lots of other great non-sugar related recipes on most all of them:

Dulce de Leche Marshmallows from: The Spiced Life
My marshmallow love knows no bounds. I've killed hand mixers on batches of them, experimented with espresso and cocoa mixes and am now ready to move on to the next.

Buckeyes from: Smitten Kitchen
I have made a home made peanutbutter cup thing in past years, but now I'm looking forward to trying these. They look a bit more sophisticated, but that may just be the beautiful photography that Smitten Kitchen consistently provides.

Cherry-limade Bars from: Cheeky Kitchen
The lemon bar is a CLASSIC. My cookie book's page that holds this recipe is neatly annotated by my mother's hand but is gummed down by layers of sugar and lemon. I'm not quite sure I can get behind the maraschino cherries and food coloring called for in this version, but it opens up some great possiblities that I never imagined. Layered lemon bars? Holiday colors? Yes. YES

Salted Gingersnap & Hazelnut Bark from: Bitchin Camero
I LOVE how grown up this looks. Like, Harry and David good. Like, I ordered this from some catalog just for you this Christmas. But wait, I actually made it! This is what I imagine the conversation will go like when I gift my friends sweet packets of this salted chocolate confection. Oh, and I also love how freaking EASY it sounds to make. But I leave that part out of my imaginary conversations.



French Bread Pudding from: Epicurious
Tara and I are also going to be doing a bread pudding- however, most recipes I have been looking at call for chocolate, french toast, sweet breads, caramel and other extras when all I really want is plain good bread, eggs, cream and sugar. This recipe looks simple enough to satisfy those cravings, with dried cherries to add some tartness.


Burnt Sugar Lollipops from: Fig & Kindle
These rustic candies look so unassuming. I imagine all the better to appreciate all the differing degrees of caramelization. I can see these wrapped up in stiff cellophane and brown bows.


Hooray for the holidays! Time to dust off those rolling pins and start stocking up on refined sugars. YES. What are YOU guys making for Thanksgiving/Christmas/whatever?