The holidays are a busy time, especially for Moms preparing their homes for kids winter break or out-of-town guests. Every year, I strive to make this time of year a simple and slow as possible, especially once my kids are on break from school. This year, that has meant paring down my holiday decor and keeping only the things that are simple, efficient, practical, functional & bring us joy.
Every year around this time, I find myself crunching on Peppernuts made by my Grandma Thelma’s sweet hands, and thinking about how I MUST share this great recipe and meaningful family tradition with you! Well, this year I’m doing it, and you are going to love it!
I took the photos for this post, then sat down with my tiny tree dish full of peppernuts & my mug of almond nog. I’m a happy camper as I type away at this post with my delicious little snack.
Have you seen that Silk now makes Silk Almond Nog? They have original and pumpkin spice and they are SO good. They are both so creamy that you won’t believe they are dairy-free, and there are no eggs in either of these nogs! I’m drinking the original Almond Nog & it is full of nutmeg and cinnamon, & has the smooth velvety flavor of classic eggnog.
The peppernut cookies are a family tradition that I just love. My Grandma makes them every year for everyone in the family, and has for as long as I can remember. I have such fond memories of helping her roll and slice the long, thin rolls of dough when I was a young teen. It means the world to me to receive them as a gift from her each year, & it is so fun to see my girls grow up and enjoy peppernut cookies, too.
Peppernut cookies are a tiny spiced holiday cookie that are popular in Germany, Denmark, & the Netherlands. The cookies are roughly the size of a nut, and can be eaten by the handful, hence the name. They have anise oil in them, but it is not overpowering & adds just the right unique spice. These little crunchy cookies are so addicting! I love that they can keep indefinitely & are great for snacking and for sitting around in covered dishes for your guests to enjoy.
We celebrated Christmas early with my Mom’s side of the family, which meant getting these little peppernut cookies early, too. The cookies pictured are made by my Grandma, but one of these days I’m going to make them myself.
I’m feeling quite sophisticated eating my peppernuts and drinking my almond nog. It is like having cookies and milk, but way more special because it is peppernuts and nog! I can drink a mug or two of Silk Almond Nog without feeling naughty because it is made without eggs, dairy or saturated fats & there are only 80 calories or less per serving! I especially appreciate that there are no artificial colors or preservatives in Silk products. Grandma’s cookies, on the other hand, are a bit naughty, but I can’t bring myself to mess with a recipe that has been handed down & that is so, so good. I will keep it as it is written, and enjoy every little cookie as we only have them once a year.
1 16 oz bottle dark corn syrup
1 1/8 cup sugar
1 cup of oleo (margarine or butter) (melt in hot syrup)
1/2 tsp. anise oil
~Boil this mixture until the sugar is dissolved.
2 eggs (well-beaten)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup sour cream
~Mix together, then add to hot mixture.
10 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
a handful or two of walnuts, cut up fine
~Pour above mixture into flour & mix. You will end up using your hands–just like Grandma!
~Form into long rolls, about the diameter of a quarter. Wrap in plastic wrap & let it get good and cold, or you could freeze at this point until you are ready to bake. Cut into fairly thin slices, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Each cookie should be about the size of a quarter.
~Bake 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
~These get better with age, so don’t be afraid to bake a bunch!
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I love sharing such simple joys of the season with you! I hope you can find a quiet moment or two to cozy up, slow down, sip on some nog, & savor recipes that have been passed down. It is amazing how something as simple as the cinnamon flavor of a creamy nog or the spicy hint of anise in a crunchy cookie can cause one to pause and find comfort in meaningful memories of seasons past.
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Visit Silk Holiday to learn more about Silk Almond Nog & find more simple joys of the season, like recipes, a free digital holiday recipe book, a coupon & more!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk . The opinions and text are all mine.
Christmas shopping for my girls is in full swing! My girls are growing up so quickly, and I have only one tween left. Teagan is 16, Colsie is 14 & Avery is 12. Thank goodness I still have my lil’ Avery!
Even though she is not a teenager yet, she has a distinct style and her own opinions when it comes to the clothes she wears. I really love her style. She is sporty with a touch of girly sparkle. I wanted to buy her some clothes for Christmas but needed to her to point out a few of her favorite things so “Santa” will get it right– if you know what I mean!
I took her to the mall and straight into Justice. Justice is definitely a destination for stylish tween girls this holiday season. Whether shopping in-store or online, Justice makes it easy and hassle-free for anyone with a tween girl in their life to find some special holiday gifts.
Justice has got you covered no matter what style your tween is embracing at the moment. Whether you have a sporty athlete like my Avery, or a girly girl, or a fashion trend setter; Justice makes shopping for every girl easy and fun. The store was even organized into fashion types and we of course, headed right to the sporty section.
We had our first few flurries of the season last week here in the midwest, and it made me giddy! I immediately wanted to slow life way down, grab a warm drink, a fuzzy blanket & hunker down & savor the moments. The holidays are upon us, and I’ve learned that this is the time to be intentional about creating slow moments so that I can focus in on what matters most. Slowing down allows me to make the Christmas season my own.
A recent slow moment that I enjoyed was with a cup of Warming Spiced Almond Milk. The recipe has been in the back of my brain for a while now, and with the cold weather and holidays upon us, a trip to Target was what was needed to make my warm, slow moment come true!
I love showing up to a holiday party with a little hostess gift. Usually I keep it small and simple, like a homemade snack in a mason jar. During the holidays, it is fun to get a bit more generous and creative, so I did! I made this this festive DIY Wine & Snack Gift Basket. Wine is the perfect simple, sparkly & sophisticated hostess gift.
Gloria Ferrer wines is the star of this DIY Wine & Snack Gift Basket. Gloria Ferrer caves and vineyards opened in 1986, is Carneros’ original sparkling wine house, owned and founded by the Ferrer family of Spain. Exuberant and fruit-forward, Gloria Ferrer wines go perfectly with today’s diverse and flavorful cuisine, and have earned over 400 gold medals and 50 90+ scores in the last 5 years. Needless to say, they are the perfect wine choice for my gift basket.
I chose the Sonoma Brut & the Royal Cuvée:
Sonoma Brut –91% Pinot Noir, 9% Chardonnay
Winemaker Notes: Delicate pear and floral notes backed by toasty almond. On the palate, one finds lively citrus, toast and apple flavors overlaid with persistent effervescence, a creamy mid-palate and toasty finish.
Royal Cuvée Brut –67% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay
Winemaker Notes: The wine opens with green apple, citrus and honey on the nose. This continues into the mouth adding black cherry and brioche with Asian pear. The mousse is fine textured and creamy. Light mineral character and Meyer lemon continue into a long crisp finish.
After typing that, I am tempted to keep the basket for myself! They sounds so delicious!
I wanted a few fun things in the basket along with the wine. I wanted the basket to have a simple, classy and elegant feeling, to compliment the Gloria Ferrer Wine. I wanted a touch of glitz without being overdone.
It is the first week in December and time to trim the Christmas tree! We are big into traditions Christmas traditions and family tree trimming is one of them. We have made some sweet memories over the years–and some not so sweet memories. If you follow me on instagram, you will know we had a tree topple while halfway decorated a couple of years ago. It made for a great photo– little me holding up a great big tree with lights all hanging off & ornaments all around my feet–thankfully we only lost a couple of them!
We are going to decorate as a family tonight, and I am really looking forward to it. These moments with my family are so sweet right now, as I find my girls growing up so fast and have recently been reminded just how precious life is. I am trying to savor every moment.
Here are a few things I am going to do that will help us survive trimming the tree as a family:
The holidays are upon us and I am determined to enjoy every moment of them! One of the ways our family makes the holidays special is by using traditions to make memories from year to year. We have found some of those traditions changing. As the age of our 3 girls (12, 14 & 16 years) change, so do their interests. We used to put them to bed early, then grab them from their beds, pajamas blankies and all, and throw them into our heated car to go look at Christmas lights. They LOVED it. I remember the giggles, their ringlets & curls bouncing as Daddy carried them out to the car, & the sound of Christmas music streaming out from the car every time he would open the car door to throw another girl in! Oh what fun memories! Now we can’t imagine lifting our grown girls, or that they would enjoy being in public in their jammies. Yes, traditions sometimes have to change.
