Holiday Cocktails, Cakes + Cookies

Baileys Vanilla Cinnamon Cocktail (recipe below)

Apple Brandy Spiked Cider Cocktail (recipe below)

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles (recipe below)

Chocolate Merlot Cake (recipe below)

And just like that the holidays are here! Christmas is upon us and I thought I would take a minute to share my favourite 2015 holiday cocktails, cakes + cookies! I've spent all day baking and testing and have narrowed our holiday dessert and cocktail menu down to these four amazing treats! 

To start, I've decided to serve an Apple Brandy Spiked Cider Cocktail that features apple brandy, apple cider, maple syrup, and lemon juice. I've become an huge fan of apple brandy and can't wait to serve this to my family and friends. I've loved using St. George California Reserve Apple Brandy but any liquor store will be able to show you a great Apple brandy as well! 

For dessert we'll be cutting into an amazing Merlot Chocolate Cake covered in gorgeous sugared cranberries. To sugar cranberries, make a simple syrup by mixing 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 of sugar in a pan on medium heat until sugar completely dissolves. Add a 12 oz bag of cranberries and coat them in the hot syrup. Once completely covered, drain the syrup and let the coated cranberries cool over night or for at least two hours. Once cooled, toss them in 1/2 cup of sugar and add them to your favorite dessert! I followed the recipe exactly and only added a dash of heavy whipping cream to the frosting to lighten it up! 

The cake will be served alongside Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles (which I may have already dived into…holy shit are these things good) and a Baileys Cocktail called The French Quarter (scroll halfway down the page for the recipe) featuring Baileys Vanilla Cinnamon, cold brew coffee, and bourbon. For this recipe I used Bulleit Bourbon and would DEFINITELY recommend it. 

All the links bring you right to the recipes I used, hope some of these make an appearance at your Christmas and New Years parties! 

All the best, babes. Live large and have an amazing Christmas!

Morgan xoxo S+R