Saturday was our annual family holiday open house. It's a very casual gathering of friends and family where one can get a cookie or three or ten and a cup of hot spiced cider. It's something I start planning for after Halloween. First I go through my recipes and decide what I want to bake and make a list. After the list is made I check my baking supplies and make another list of what I need to buy. If the list is long I make my purchases over a couple grocery shopping outings, so it's not such a strain on the budget. The baking begins before Thanksgiving and continues until just before the party. This year I ran out of freezer space so I made rice krispie treats and pumpkin bars the night before the party.
I try to bake one new thing every year. This year I baked four (!) new recipes.
The best Christmas cookie ever! These were a huge hit!
Cheesecake squares (This was Dancing Daughters pick)
Fancy Date Ball - While these look really yummy I didn't like them that much and there were a lot left over.
Heath Bar Bit Snickerdoodles - Wow were these ever yummy!
All the new cookies I made were hits, except the date balls. Last years new recipe was chocolate mint cookies that everyone loved! This year I made some with Mint M&Ms on top, they all went really fast!
I also served hummus, crackers, veggie tray, chips and salsa, salmon ball (which I made), and cheesy bacon onion biscuits (that I also made)... No one went home hungry that's for sure!
Tomorrow, the people of the party!
You can see Monochrome Monday here.
