Easter? Halloween? Christmas? Fourth of July?

Bring it.

Whatever holiday it is, these cookies can waltz right in and be fashionable, readily available, unassumingly appropriate.

All you need to do is buy that bag of holiday colored m ‘n’ ms. Hey, they are cookies. I didn’t say they were good for you. Though I suppose you could sneak in some wheat germ, use wheat flour, add in some flax meal, substitute canola oil for some of the butter, use some applesauce… but I will leave that up to you. Sometimes my version of healthy is less about the ingredients, and more about moderation (I didn’t say always, just sometimes). Consequently, these cookies aren’t made often: they simply show up, in colorful uniform, to stand in as a holiday treat.

I pop these casually dressed cookies into school lunches to usher in some holiday cheer. They don’t require a lot of planning or foresight on my part—I just walk through Target, notice the m ‘n’ m’s and scoop up a bag. And then smile, knowing my kids will hover around the mixing bowl, begging for a taste of the dough. Yes, the dough is unavoidably good. Especially with the big chunks of pecans.

M ‘n’ M Cookies
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups m n ms
3/4 cup roughly chopped pecans

Oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla and mix. Add flour, salt and soda and stir to blend. Mix in M ‘n’ Ms and pecans. Place in spoonfuls on tray and bake 10-13 minutes. Happy Holidays!

I cringe to put this photo here; for gorgeousness to define this recipe, hop over to Pinch My Salt.

I ran out of time to take a brilliant photo; I made this recipe, skipped the whip topping (no time), cut these beauties out of their muffin tin, dumped them on a plate and ran out the door. Shocking I even snapped a photo, though if I hadn’t taken that extra 29 seconds to snap these cheesy wonders (the other 31 seconds of that minute involved a micro planer and an orange—a rapid attempt at ‘presentable’), you might not have believed me when I told you 1. I made them, 2. they are heavenly—I tried them myself, and 3. they won a prize.

Our kids’ school has frequent fund raising events, and this particular one asked guests to ‘please bring an appetizer or dessert.’ Since I had printed out this recipe just a week prior (lucky recipe, didn’t have to get in the back of the recipe line—it never made it into my binder), it was perfect timing for this event.

People tried the desserts and voted on favorites; these cheesecake bites won, and I was given a token bottle of wine.

Thank you Nicole, for this award-winning recipe:

Orange Mini Cheesecakes with Grand Marnier Cream

Crust:
1 C. graham cracker crumbs
2 T. brown sugar
1/3 stick melted butter

Filling:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 C. sour cream
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/3 C. sugar
finely grated zest of one orange

Topping:
1 C. heavy cream
1 T. Grand Marnier
2 T. powdered sugar

Oven to 375 degrees. In bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter with a fork until well combined. Divide crumb mixture evenly between the 12 cups of your mini-cheesecake (I made 15 in a mini muffin) pan. Press crumbs firmly onto the bottom and partially up the sides of each cup; set aside. Blend sugar and orange zest in a mini food processor (optional). In electric mixer, blend softened cream cheese, sour cream, egg, sugar and orange zest. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into the twelve cups; bake for 14 minutes. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool for 20 minutes then carefully remove cheesecakes from pan and let cool completely on rack. Put cheesecakes in refrigerator and chill until ready to use. (Here is where I ran out of time): just before serving, make whipping cream. In cold bowl, whip cream, grand marnier and sugar until soft peaks form. Top mini cheesecakes with dollops of grand marnier cream and serve.

notes: I didn’t have a mini cheesecake tin, so I used a mini muffin tin. They still tasted fabulous, but I think they woulda been prettier coming out of an official cheesecake tin. Go look at the photo already!

How would that be for a New Year resolution? (I know what you are thinking, too late for New Year Resolutions. But I like to be a bit unconventional, and sometimes waiting until February to apply resolutions isn’t a bad idea: besides, the gym is far less crowded in Feb than it is in Jan).

I have heard of those who eat dessert first. Those who deliberately skip to their favorite foods, prioritizing them according to their preferences—instead of conventions. Why? Why not? Life is short; eat dessert first.

I confess that won’t be a part of my resolutions, in part because I prefer my sweets at the end of a meal. But in the case of my kitchen this week, skipping right to dessert worked out just fine.

I made default dinners this week, two of them (Turkey Meatballs w/Marinara and Sausage Pasta) . I also tried a few new recipes… ones you will never hear about. They were ‘fine’ and by ‘fine’ I don’t mean ooh-la-la, I mean eh, adequate. And never to be repeated.

As you may know, I have a special list of default dinners. A list of favorite recipes made time and again in a pinch or for good reason. They are tested and approved, enjoyed and coveted by my family. Worthy of guests, worthwhile on weeknights, default dinners is our family list of best recipes. And I remain undiluted in my mission to find, maintain, expand and fine-tune this list.

This week was typical: make some proven familiar recipes to offset my search for new [default] recipes. This week, the two default dinners proved themselves delicious again, but the new recipes didn’t make the cut. One recipe was a quick rendition of pork paprikash, another was skillet broccoli, then there was the new salad dressing and that parsnip puree. All fine, but not worthy of our list of favorites. What WAS delightful this week was dessert.

My friend made me coconut macaroons for Christmas. I usually take it easy on both baking and eating sweets, but these cookies I ate standing up. I think by the third one I finally got myself a cup of coffee. Fortunately, I ate them in December so no New Year resolutions applied…

… And since my resolutions really don’t begin until February, I made them, and ate many of them, again. Maybe you should too— especially if your New Year resolutions wisely include eating dessert first:

Coconut Macaroons*
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or two teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

*my friend and I both enjoy Barefoot Contessa, so when I asked her for the recipe, she just gave my a page number. We both agreed: these cookies are a bit persnickety. I highly recommend spraying the cookie sheet to avoid sticking; my friend waits for dry, cool weather…

I cannot help but sing many different songs to the tune of “Oh Christmas Tree.”

I make up words to this tune, silly words, while driving the kids around town. And I could just as easily make up a holiday-cookie-baking version of the song… if I really wanted to.

Singing or not singing, it is the time of year to bring out the flour, sugar and butter and mix them into round, square and otherwise cut-out cookies. My son loves to make this particular recipe. The recipe originated from my beat-up, soft cover Betty Crocker Cookbook (from when I was a kid); you know, the fancy twisted candy cane cookies? But over the years and birthdays and broken candy canes, it has become a multi-colored log that we slice and bake as ’rounds.’

It still tastes as good.

And we alter the colors according to the event. When we cheer for our team, it is purple and gold swirled together; for my son’s birthday it was blue and yellow. And for Christmas, well you would think—and could go with—red and green. But in our case, my son chose ice blue. And we rolled the log in red and green sugar before slicing. (Recipe below).

Oh, and speaking of variations on the Oh Christmas Tree song? My sons picked up this hilarious version; be careful, you will start singing it at the most inopportune times:

“Oh Todd the Toad”

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?
Did you not see the big red truck?
For now you are a hockey puck.

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?
Did you not see that rolling car?
For now you are a piece of tar.

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?
You used to be so big and fat,
And now you are so very flat.

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?
You used to eat a fly or two,
But now the flies are eating you.

Oh Todd the Toad
Oh Todd the Toad
Why did you hop onto the road?

Keep singing and make:

Hockey Puck Cookies
1 cup shortening (or half shortening, half butter)
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp food coloring (split the dough in 2 and use 2 different colors, if desired; roll together into log)
optional: crushed candy cane, colored sugar for rolling

Oven to 375 degrees. Mix well first five ingredients; blend, then add salt and flour. Color dough. Roll into 1 1/2 inch log; roll in colored sugar/crushed candy canes. Cut in 1/2 - 3/4 inch slices. Bake for 9 minutes. If after singing and baking, you have developed a great affection for Todd the Toad, consider coloring the hockey pucks green.

I was shocked how little time and effort were required to make these little rounds of harvest bliss. In fact, I had the ingredients on hand for over two weeks before I finally capitalized on an opportunity to deliver them to my table top. And now, in hindsight? I wonder why I didn’t make them earlier.

(Okay, to be honest I have the ingredients on hand again. My intention is to make this dessert again so I can snap a much lovelier photo, but alas I am procrastinating again. And why should you have to wait for this recipe? I will sub a prettier photo soon. Or you can send me yours!).

We had guests pop over for a quick visit on a weeknight. I thought it would be a nice touch to provide dessert beyond the coffee and chocolates, so I pulled out some frozen puff pastry (key shortcut: look for the box Pepperidge farms that already comes in six individual rounds or ’shells’). One box serves 6—how easy this would be if I had to serve 12 or even 24?!

With the holidays coming, it is nice to have such a dessert in your arsenal.

Individual Pecan Apple Tarts with Rum Cream
2 large green tart apples
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup raisins
2 T water
2 T dark rum
puff pastry (1 sheet or 6 tart rounds), thawed
4 T toasted, chopped pecans
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 tsp sugar

Combine apples (cored, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces), sugar, raisins, water and 1 T Rum in small saucepan; cover and cook over medium heat 15 minutes (stir a bit). Let cool. Preheat oven to 400; roll pastry into 4 1/2 inch rounds (cut if using pastry sheet; for pastry rounds, just roll out to 4 1/2 inches). Press 1 T pecans into center of each round, leaving border. Spoon apple mixture onto each round, leaving 1/2 inch border. Bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile mix cream, 1 tsp sugar and 1 T rum until stiff peaks form. Place a dollop on each tart and serve.