December is the best festive month of the year and the festivities begin during the Thanksgiving holiday followed by Christmas and New Year's Day. It's the time of the year we try to forget our worries for a while. The Santa Clause, The Christmas tree, the Christmas carols, the twinkling lights, the presents, the get together, the shopping spree, the festive food and drinks put us in a joyful and positive mood. I always tend to get a little carried away. It's so wonderful to listen to Christmas songs all day through Christmas Day on our favorite radio station especially while waking up and falling asleep at night.
Ho ho ho! It's almost time for Santa's visit on Christmas eve and he will fulfill good
little kids' Christmas wishes. My 9 year old has been writing a letter
to Santa since kindergarten days. Writing a letter to Santa is a wonderful
Christmas spirit along with holiday decor, carols, stories, movies,
red-green-golden twinkling lights and last but not least baked goodies. We will leave out some cookies and milk or eggnog for Santa and carrots for his reindeers as usual.
Our kitchen smells so Christmassy because I have been baking some sweet and savory goodies lately. I am very happy to post some of them. Christmas wreath bread is another amazing show stopper at Christmas table. I used my Italian Sweet Easter bread dough recipe filled with some dried fruits and turned it into a wreath. It is so simple to create an edible wreath. Fillings can be any sweet stuff but dried fruits really smells Christmassy. This bread is best when served fresh
from the oven. But you can bake it ahead, warm it up before serving. Feel free to add a couple of tablespoons orange flavored liqueur like Triple Sec or Cointreau if you have it on hand. Soak dried fruits in orange flavored liqueur for 1 hour if using.
We love Christmas to the core and I especially get a little carried away from decorating to baking/cooking. Christmas is all about sharing/caring. Christmas bakes make excellent edible gifts for friends, neighbors, colleagues and teachers. I have already made a Dark Chocolate Orange Brownie Christmas Tree and shared with my daughter's friends. It's fun to shape Christmas tree with chocolate or jam drizzle.Today I have made an amazing festive tart with a smooth and creamy filling along with dried fruits bursting with orange flavor and topped with strawberry jam drizzle to decorate little Christmas trees. It's a wonderful show stopper for Christmas table and the perfect way to indulge Christmas lunch or dinner with family and friends.It tastes absolutely divine.
Are you ready for Christmas? We are in the festive mood right after putting up our Christmas tree and enjoying holiday activities. I bake so many special treats around the Christmas holidays. Brownie is one of the easiest treats to satisfy kids' and adults' sweet tooth. I love the orange and dark chocolate combination the most because they mingle together very well. It's a simple recipe for chocolate lovers and the fun part is to decorate with festive touch.
