Christmas Tree Cookie Stacks & the Year in Review

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe that 2013 is over you guys? It had its ups and downs, but I have to say, it was a better year than 2012, for many reasons. Still no series 3 of Sherlock, though (but soon, very soon).

Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2013:

1. Easy Apple Cobbler
2. Bananas are Good Frozen Nutella-Covered Bananas
3. Lemon Bubble Ring
4. Individual Elvis Pies
5. Peanut Butter Cookies
6. Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
7. Dalek Cupcake Tutorial
8. DIY TARDIS Dress
9. Doctor Who Round Up
10. Bad Wolf Cupcakes

I'm definitely noticing a theme here. That's five Doctor Who themed posts (one more subtle than the others), 3 peanut butter recipes, and 2 so-easy-they-barely-qualify recipes. And lemon bubbles, which are just awesome. I have one rule when I write this blog: I assume there is at least one other person out there just like me, who wants to read what I want to write about. By the looks of this list, that rule pays off.

And the Bad Wolf Cupcakes were a bit of a surprise, but I'm starting to suspect Rose Tyler had something to do with that...

Honorable Mentions (My Top 3):

Black Forest Icebox Cake

Bowties are Cool Blueberry Goat Cheese Pasta Salad

Neapolitan Cupcakes

My Family's Favorites:

Cherry Almond Oatmeal Cookies (gluten free)

Raspberry Red Wine Sauce

Sfogliatelle Scones

Most Pinned on Pinterest:

Doctor Who Round Up

Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows

These both kind of went viral on Pinterest (the marshmallows thanks to a pin from Recipe Girl *starry-eyed fangirl moment*) shocking the crap out of me.

My Favorite Search Terms:

1. My brain is leaking
2. Why is Nathan Fillion getting fat 2013
3. Don't involve me
4. Nathan Fillion singing peanut butter song
5. Nerdy Nummies helping hands fanfic The Nerdy Nummies helping hands videos are funny, but not so much I'll write a fanfic for them. Watch them here
6. Non-sucky homemade gifts
7. Velvet Elvis Castle fanfic
8. Dalek shower
9. Epic bean dip
10. Bad Wolf Okay, so not funny, but it's one of my TOP search terms, which tickles me

As I have each year since the beginning of the blog, I've also included a recipe with your Year in Review round up: These super cute, super easy Christmas tree cookie stacks

Except, it's not really a recipe. More of a method. You just start with any roll-out cookie dough (I used LilaLoa's End-All Chocolate Cookie Recipe (These are my go-to roll out cookes because a) chocolate b) no chill variation c) yum) plus 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract).

Using graduated star cutters (I got mine at Home Goods. They're an imported brand, I think Italian?), cut two of each size for each cookie stack (3 of the smaller stars so you can put one on top)

Melt some white candy melts (I like the ones they sell at Candyland. They taste better and melt smoother) with a splash of peppermint extract (flavoing oil is better because it doesn't have water, but if the chocolate seizes, just add a little shortening or vegetable oil. The Candyland chocolate didn't seize, but the Wilton's did). Dip the face of the cookies in white chocolate, and stack to look like Christmas trees.

Add sprinkles if desired, and stand a star on top. Et voila. Christmas tree cookie stacks. A unique and fun way to give out cookies, and easy enough for the kiddos to help.

And you know, my stats for the year show that you guys are a lot like me, so don't ever hesitate to reach out. Facebook, Twitter, email. Do you have a fandom you want recipes for? Do you have a question about baking? Do you think I got something wrong? Do you just want to talk? I'd love to hear from you guys more.

Here's to more geeky, sugary goodness in the New Year. Happy 2014, lovelies!

Homemade Gummies & The Year in Review

2012 is almost at it's close. I can't say that I'm going to miss it. It's been a rough year for me, for my family, for my neighbors, and for the world, I think. There were a lot of tragedies this year, too many to think on. And no series 3 of Sherlock. Exactly how much to you expect me to endure, Steven Moffat? There are only so many Reichenbach theories I can handle.

But the world didn't end, proving that the Mayans just got tired of making their calendar (although we did have some epic storming on Dec. 21st, proving that Mother Nature is the ultimate troll), so here's to hoping that 2013 is a much better year. And I do not want to hear anything about 13 being an unlucky number. Because it's not. It's a baker's dozen. Which is 1+ a dozen. Which is like getting one extra. Which is awesome.

I made a collage. Because collages are cool

Here are your top 10 favorite posts from my first full year of blogging:

1. Green Tubular Peyote Bracelet
2. White Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
3. Dark Chocolate Dreams Cupcakes
4. Mush Pie (Cookies & Cream Mousse Pie)
5. Peanut Butter Chiffon Pie
6. S'mores Icebox Cake
7. Cookie Dough Truffles
8. Vampire Fang Cupcakes
9. Pumpkin Pie Icebox Cake
10. Cherry Limeade and Lemon Lime Ice Pops

The most pinned on Pinterest was Cookie Dough Truffles.

You guys with your mad Google skills never failed to keep me entertained with your search terms. Here are some of my favorites:

• "Why does the Doctor love bananas?" Because of my banana strawberry milkshake muffins, apparently
• "What is a Whedonite?" Thaaaaaaat's me!
• "Cheesy jokes" This searcher and I should be friends
• "Homemade gifts for Whovians" Cookie Bouquets?
• "Can a grandma wear steampunk?" Yes. Obviously.
• "Banana Muffin Terrorist" I will now refer to myself as such. Because I terrorize with wholesome breakfast foods.

2012 was not a great year, but having this blog and the wonderful foodie community to turn to made it a little bit easier to bear. Here's hoping for lots more food and friends in the new year.

But you don't care about that. You're here for my super awesome, semi-geeky, homemade gummies. I had actually meant to post these before Christmas, but I ended up being way too busy. Still, they were too cool not to share. And so super easy. Three ingredients, and they take about 10-20 minutes hands-on cooking time. Then 8 hours to chill and set. Then 24 hours to crystallize. But it's not like you have to do anything while they chill, set, and crystallize. Unless you're like me and check on them obsessively. But I have a neurosis, so don't follow my example there.

And yes, those are R2-D2 and Batman gummies you see there. Because I have the silicone ice-cube molds from ThinkGeek, and they ended up working great as candy molds. I also made a bunch of Christmas trees for presents, cut some into squares, and cut some into strips to make gummy worms. Because I could.

But Batman came out the best. Because Batman is awesome. Just make sure to spray your molds with non-stick cooking spray, and the gummies pop out easy-peasy. And you can make them any flavors you want, so long as you have the extracts. And with all the recipes for homemade extracts out there, the sky is really the limit.

Homemade Gummies {Printable Version}

Yield: About 3 dozen gummies

Ingredients

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1¼ cups cold water, divided

2 cups sugar

Food coloring

Flavored extract (such as lemon, peppermint, raspberry, etc.)

Approx. 1/3 cup additional sugar

Directions

Lightly spray your candy molds* with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over ½

cup of cold water and allow to soften. Add the remaining water and sugar to a small saucepan and heat

on high until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the

mixture is thickened slightly. Whisk the sugar syrup into the softened gelatin and continue to stir until

the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Divide evenly into 4 (or more) small bowls. Tint each bowl with 4-5 drops food coloring, and ¾ -1 tsp.

extract, and stir until well mixed. Carefully spoon into the prepared molds and refrigerate about 8 hours,

or until set.

Carefully remove the gummies from the molds and toss in the additional sugar. Place on waxed paper

and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours to crystallize. Store tightly covered at room

temperature.

*Silicone ice cube molds work well. Or use mini loaf pans and cut the gummies into even squares.

Recipe found via BettyCrocker.com

If you eat a Batman gummy on midnight on New Year's Eve, the new year will be awesome. Truth.

Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies & The Year in Review

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