We love bringing you something different and new to make your holiday celebrations special and unique.  You can start your Chanukah off right with these yummy and fun cupcakes, courtesy of BrightIdeas.com.  Your little darlings will love them and and the adults will marvel at your delicious creativity!  Enjoy the festival of lights and Chag Sameach!!!

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix
2 cups chopped MILKY WAY® Bars
Vanilla frosting (Try our our Heirloom Buttercream Frosting from last week!!)
Blue and yellow food coloring
White candy glitter
24 pieces TWIX® Brand Caramel Cookie Bar Minis
24 pieces M&M’S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies
2 12-cup cupcake pans
Cupcake liners

Prepare cake batter according to directions on box. Add MILKY WAY® Bars to batter before filling paper lined cupcake cups. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for approximately 21 to 24 minutes. Cool completely.  Tint 1/2 cup frosting yellow, set aside. Tint remaining frosting blue and cover the cupcakes. Sprinkle frosting with candy glitter.  Press one TWIX® Brand Caramel Cookie Bar Minis, standing straight up, into the center of each cup. Dot the top of each TWIX® Brand Caramel Cookie Bar Minis with yellow frosting and attach a yellow M&M’S® Brand Peanut Chocolate Candies.  Arrange nine cupcakes into a line, creating a menorah. Lift the center (fifth in line) cupcake slightly.

Thanks to our faithful reader, Aura, for this delicious Latka recipe.  It’s perfect for your Chanukah celebration or just because they are oh so easy and oh so yum!

Potato Latka Cookies
8 medium potatoes boiled and mashed
4 eggs
3/4 c. oil
1 c. flour
4 sauteed onions
salt and pepper to taste

Mix and drop by the spoonful on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.

The Holidays are busy enough with gift wrapping and parties galore, so how about some quick and easy tips that you can use to glam up your dining room table or to bring to the next holiday party as a lovely hostess gift?  Your welcome!

Fruitful Holiday Tree

What You Need:
- plate/platter
- foam floral tree from craft store
- lettuce leaves
- star shaped cookie cutter
- toothpicks
- assorted fruits: kiwi, cranberries, grapes, strawberries and melon

Lime Berry Tree

Fragrant Cloved Oranges

Ideas and images courtesy of www.safeway.com

When we say these cookies are the best of the best, please do take our word for it and use this recipe to impress even those with the most discriminating of tastes!!!  They are more of a sophisticated shortbread than a traditional sugar cookie.

They are quite rich but not overly sweet.  The flavor is absolutely perfect when paired with our legendary buttercream frosting which can be spread or piped on.

For the cookies…

Combine the following ingredients in this order:

1/2 pound softened unsalted butter (or salted if you wish)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon high quality vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

Combine sugar and softened butter with paddle attachment in your stand mixer.  Combining the ingredients thoroughly is very important to the final outcome so do combine well.  Next add in the vanilla and again combine thoroughly.  Then add in the flour little by little and mix thoroughly until a doughy consistency is achieved.

Roll out the dough to desired thickness and cut into whatever shapes you like.  Bake for 20 minutes at 325F on parchment, Silpat or a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Let cool, ice and eat!

For the icing…

In your stand mixer combine the following ingredients in order:

2 pounds confectionery sugar

1/2 pound butter

1 cup vegetable shortening or Crisco®

1 capfull of almond extract – to taste

A splash of cream or milk – until desired consistency is achieved.

Mix very well and get ready for the compliments to come in like a flood.  This icing is a trademark recipe of our kitchen and let’s just say that holiday and birthday party attendence is regularly on the rise in part because everyone knows that this icing will be there too!  Enjoy and have a wonderful holiday season!!!

This recipe may not be duplicated or published without express written permission from Bellaziza's Favorite Things.

Need an excuse for a girl’s night?  How about a cozy night in with a good book?  This velvety hot chocolate recipe fits into any cold winter’s night plans!

Makes 2 Servings

3 cups milk

1 cup chopped MILKY WAY® Bars

2 cinnamon sticks

2 ounces vanilla vodka

1 ½ ounces almond-flavored liqueur

Whipped Cream, optional

Shaved DOVE® Milk Chocolate, optional

1. Combine milk, MILKY WAY® Bars, and cinnamon in saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring. Once hot and well blended, remove from heat and add vodka and almond-flavored liqueur.

2.  Serve in tall mugs with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of shaved DOVE® Milk Chocolate.

3.  Not intended for creation or consumption by persons under 21 years of age.

Recipe and picture courtesy of BrightIdeas.com.

What’s Thanksgiving without pie? We won’t settle for just any pie here (shocking, right?).  We are actually pie connoisseurs and quite frankly need our Thanksgiving pie to be the absolute best pie, period. We are proud to bring you our Favorite Pecan Pie recipe, courtesy of Shannon Swindle, Head Pastry Chef at Craft Restaurant of the always chic W Hotel in Dallas, TX!

Why is it so special? First of all, it has chocolate in it.  Can you go wrong there?!?! Also, this recipe brings the classic flavors of vanilla and honey rather than the gummy corn syrup most traditional recipes use.

If you want yours to turn out just like Shannon’s, she recommends using the best 70% cacao chocolate you can get. You can also leave the chocolate out for a traditional Pecan Pie. We recommend topping it with fresh hot fudge and your favorite Vanilla ice cream. Enjoy, have a safe and happy Thinksgiving… and you can thank us for this one later!

Shannon Swindle’s Chocolate Pecan Pie

Makes (2) 10-inch Pies

For The Crust:

• 28 Ounces All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 Pound Cold Butter, Cubed
• 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• Up to 3/4 Cup Ice Water

Place all dry ingredients and the cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer running, drizzle in the melted butter. Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the largest pieces are the size of small peas. With the mixer running, drizzle in the cold water until a shaggy dough just begins to form. Bring the dough together with your hands, divide into 2 equal pieces, shape into flat rounds, wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Dough can be made several days in advance and kept refrigerated, or frozen for up to one month.

For The Filling:

• 4 Eggs
• 8 ounces Melted Butter
• 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
• 2/3 Cup Honey
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Cup granulated Sugar
• 2 Cups Brown Sugar, packed
• 2 Vanilla Beans, Seeds Scraped
• 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
• 4 Cups Texas Pecan Halves, Toasted

1 Cup Amedei or Scharffen Berger 70% Chocolate, Chopped (Amedei is available at Neiman Marcus, and Scharffen Berger is available at gourmet grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Central Market.

Place all ingredients except the pecans and chocolate in a large bowl over a hot water bath, and whisk gently until smooth and all the sugar has dissolved. Remove the vanilla pods, leaving only the seeds behind.

Roll the pie dough to fit 2 10-inch pie pans, line the pans, and crimp the edges in a decorative pattern, or leave them shaggy for a more rustic looking pie. Chill for 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Place a coffee filter or parchment paper liner on top of each lined shell, and weight with baking beans. Blind-bake the crusts for about 20 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. Remove the crusts, and allow them to cool to room temperature. Remove the baking beans, and store for later use. Divide the pecans and chocolate between the two pies, and pour enough filling to just reach the top of the crusts. Bake pies for about 1 hour, or until just beginning to puff in the middle. Allow the pies to cool for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Have you heard the phrase, “Yum-O” coined by the beloved Rachael Ray? Well, her thirty minute meals have nothing on this fabulous five minute cake! It’s moist, it’s made from scratch, and it’s to die for with a little ice cream! So grab your favorite mug and get ready to make your new favorite chocolate treat!

The Most Dangerous Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever!!!

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• a small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).  And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

A big thanks to Sarah, our amazing web designer at Camp Creative Group for yet another of her superb recipes!  Sarah, YOU are absolutely one of our very Favorite Things!  Again, thanks so much for all of your brilliant work on our fabulous 2008 Holiday Gift Guide and everything else that you do!!!

Our friend Andrea wrote a great baby food tutorial a while back and we have been meaning to share it with everyone for the longest!  Andrea is one of those moms who inspires so many with all of her crafty little projects and her commitment to being fabulously healthful.

Take a look at just how easy and how much better making your own baby food can be by clicking HERE.  Thanks Andrea!

This recipe is from our wonderful web designer and right-hand techno girl Sarah at Bravos Media.  Not only is she an absolute genius with all things internet and design related, BUT she also has a secret arsenal of her grandmother’s best recipes!

Her grandmother always made these cakes for church bake sales and had standing orders at the cake and fancy work tables at church dinners.

mix in order:
1 lb. butter
1 lb. confectioners sugar (10x sugar)
6 or 7 large eggs
3 cups cake flour (sifted)
2 tsp. vanilla (or 1 tablespoon)

-Grease & Flour tube pan
-Bake about 1 hour (or until done) at 325 degrees

This cake freezes well and is very versatile either plain, iced, or as a base with fruit.

Okay, so when you have a cookie that starts with the words “Gluten Free”, if you’re like us you’re thinking ‘Thanks honey, but I’d rather have less of the real thing…gluten and all!”  This cookie is a very rare exception though.  It’s fantastic and you would never even know it’s completely flourless!  It only takes about 15 minutes too, baking time included!

It comes from our dear friend Katie who we are crowning Our Favorite Queen of Simple Chic.  Yayee Katie Cakes Cookies!

Katie’s Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c chunky peanut butter… “A certain national brand rhyming with ‘hippie’ works best” -Katie
1 c packed golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c chocolate chips.

Mix all ingredients in order. Drop onto lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Okay, so if you were one of us who watched Oprah on the day that she introduced us to her favorite turkey burger, you can understand why we had to go right out and get the ingredients to sample it ourselves!  It turns out that they ARE as good as they looked on-air, so move on over Oprah because Bellaziza’s Favorite Things now has an Official Favorite Turkey Burger too!  It’s not something we would have ever expected, but not all that surprising either at this point:).  Ooh, and P.S. – Oprah, we love you!

So this recipe will be the star of the show at your 4th of July fête with your family’s potato salad or maybe even some Freedom Fries (LOVE the irony…and the French!).  It comes from Donald Trump’s posh private club Mar-a-lago in Florida.  Thanks to The Oprah for getting the recipe out of The Donald.  Give it a try and enjoy your holiday!

• 1 Anjou pear, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups Major Grey’s Chutney
• 1/4 cup dried currants or raisins

Preheat oven to 350°. 
Toss the diced pears with the cinnamon and salt. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes. 
Cool and mix with the chutney and currants or raisins. 

Okay girls, these have got to be the absolute best chocolate chip cookies…EVER.  Thank you Neiman Marcus!  Seriously, just give the recipe a try and you’ll be a believer.  

We have been using it for years now and have a few tricks…mix the butter and sugars very well so that they are a smooth and creamy consistency.  Also, barely mix in the egg.  This is important.  Over-mixing the egg will actually give you ‘tough cookies’…hehe:).  We also sometimes substitute 1 cup of flour for oatmeal.  A perfect treat for Father’s Day or anytime…enjoy!

Ingredients

Directions 

When we recently spotted this salsa recipe on Do Better, one of our favorite tips and tricks blogs, we knew you would love it! Doesn’t it look amazingly delicious?!? Well we whipped up a batch and it in fact is. Try it as the perfect addition to your Memorial Day feast!

Ramon’s Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango
1/2 red onion
1 bunch of cilantro
2-3 tomatoes
1 can of black beans
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tsp honey
season with salt and pepper
Chop all of the ingredients to roughly the same size. Stir. Drizzle in vinegar and honey. Stir again. Store covered in the refrigerator about an hour. Stir. Taste. Need salt and pepper? Add a little and taste again. Taste again. And again. Stop eating directly out of the container momentarily. Grab a fresh spoon. Eat again. Enjoy! Graciously accept the loads of compliments that are sure to come your way.