This creamy cranberry jalapeno dip is lightly sweetened and balanced with just a hint of heat from the peppers. Served with crackers and pretzels or spread on toast, this is an unforgettable holiday treat.

Creamy Cranberry Dip

As soon as I tasted the Cranberry Jalapeno Dip I shared with you last week, I knew I was going to be making it on repeat. I quickly discovered that by stirring it all together, versus serving it in the more striking layers, it was easier to snack on without the potential for crumbling crackers in the cream cheese.

I love the flavor combination but I just may love the festive holiday colors even more. You’ll just do a couple of things differently in this recipe, in order to achieve a perfectly spreadable creamy cranberry jalapeno dip.

I am a big fan of fresh or frozen cranberries. As I’ve said for years, stock up on cranberries while you can, my friends. I buy as many bags as I can get my hands on during the holidays and stash them in the freezer. You don’t need to do anything special with them. Just toss the bags in the freezer and use them while still frozen for any number of recipes.

You can make this with either fresh or frozen cranberries. I did find this to be a teeny tiny bit more crunchy when made with cranberries that hadn’t been frozen, but it honestly wasn’t noticeable to anyone but me. I’ll happily be making this with frozen cranberries throughout the year for every possible occasion.

Cranberry Jalapeno Dip Costco

Have you tried the Costco Cranberry Dip that everyone is talking about? Well, I did and it’s delicious. Guess what though? We like this one even better.

The Costco dip is made with both cream cheese and sour cream. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but we found that we preferred using all cream cheese and just thinning it a bit with the reserved cranberry juice to achieve the desired consistency.

If you want a near-exact match for Costco’s recipe for cranberry dip, add ¼ cup of sour cream while beating the cream cheese smooth. Just be cautious if you add any extra cranberry liquids, as that will thin it out quickly. Add just a teaspoon or so at a time to keep the right creamy consistency.

Palmier Cookies are light, airy, buttery sugar-sprinkled cookies that only require two ingredients. 

Palmiers, Elephant Ears, French Hearts, Palm Leaves: whatever you like to call them, these cookies are in the running for my all-time favorite treat.

Palmiers

I can’t stop grinning tonight as I sit here and write about these flaky, sweet, French cookies. It turns out that I like Palmiers so much, I made a batch for my birthday in lieu of a cake a few years ago.

If that doesn’t say a lot about how much I enjoy these airy cookies, I don’t know what will. Not only are these the simplest cookies I have ever made, but from the very first bite, this became one of my very favorite treats.

What is a Palmier?

I’m introducing you today to the easiest cookie you may ever make. Not only are these cookies incredibly simple to make, but from the very first bite, this became one of my very favorite cookies.

It is almost absurdly simple to make these flaky, sweet, buttery, delicate cookies!

You only need two ingredients to make Palmiers: frozen puff pastry and plain white granulated sugar. Nothing fancy is required, no special tools at all.

Palmier Pastry

Take your puff pastry out of the freezer about half an hour before you want to start making the cookies.

You want it to be soft enough to unfold easily, but not so warm and soft that it sticks together. 30-40 minutes is just about right.

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Points of Intersection

I slowly peeled the sticky note off the windshield as I read, my heart thumping faster and heavier with each word.

I quickly shoved it in my pocket as I glanced to see if my mom had noticed.

She hadn’t.

We were utterly exhausted and wanting to somehow leave the worry there at the hospital and symbolically drive into new hope and faith as we exited the hospital parking garage. We needed to gather up a little energy to give a little more to Dad over the next week.

They Didn’t Know

It was 7 pm and we’d been at the hospital since right before 7am.

The person didn’t know we’d only found out just a couple days before that the surgeon had found an almost totally blocked carotid artery and set surgery for right away.

They didn’t know we were inside fasting and praying as what had been said would be a shorter surgery turned into many hours and finally into all day of waiting.

They didn’t sit with us when the surgeon finally came out, wringing his hands with a serious face as he said, “it was much worse than I had expected.”

They didn’t know we’d just faced the reality that at any time one wrong step off of a curb could have taken a husband, father and grandfather.

They didn’t know we were relieved to have witnessed a miracle of discovery and removal but that we were still carrying the day upon us.

They did see that the left side of the car had too much space between the lines and the right side was sitting too close to the yellow line.

And that was enough.

Points of Intersection

We are all but lines on a world map and eventually we will come to what is known in math as “the point of intersection.”

What can be a total annoyance to one maybe someone else’s mere effort of survival.

Lines crossing lines without seeing where they are coming from.

I didn’t know this sticky note had followed us in the move but today I lifted a book and there it was.

A sticky reminder that I just want to act in a way that oth

Creamy dark chocolate peppermint fudge is topped with crushed candy canes for a wonderful Christmas treat.

Peppermint Fudge

Five-minute fudge recipes are my saving grace this time of year. I always want to be that hostess or friend with tons of holiday treats at her fingertips, but then time gets away from me.

Lightning-fast candy recipes can help you put together the prettiest and tastiest of holiday treats with the least amount of effort!

As an added bonus, a piece of this fudge will melt beautifully into a steaming mug of milk and make a wonderful cup of peppermint hot chocolate! I’ve already stashed this fudge in the freezer to make cocoa through the holiday season.

I have always loved making candy and treats to share. But have to admit the traditional candy-making process can get tedious. So, finding a way to get such delicious holiday flavors in an easy fashion is a winner in my book.

Easy Peppermint Fudge

The best part – no one knows the difference. No one will believe that you made this in just five minutes and five ingredients. I love adding this fudge to cookie trays to share with friends and neighbors.

Stored correctly Peppermint Fudge will keep nicely in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Store in an airtight container, separating multiple layers with parchment or wax paper. Serve from the refrigerator.

I strongly suggest storing Peppermint Fudge in its own container. Do not combine it with other treats in a tightly enclosed container. If you store them together, everything in that container will become peppermint in flavor.

I have a family member that prefers this fudge without the candy on top, so I usually only top about half of the recipe with crushed candy canes. The portion without candy is still full of peppermint flavor and everyone loves it.

Can I Freeze Fudge?

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Tart cranberries and spicy peppers mingle in this sweet and spicy Cranberry Pepper Jelly. Everyone goes crazy for this spicy jam at the very first bite!

When I realized I had been buying cranberry pepper jam almost every time I was at the grocery store, I knew it was time to make my own version of this jam.

I first tasted this jam with brie and fancy wafer crackers. Then I poured the jam over a simple block of cream cheese and served it with Ritz crackers. My kids went nuts over that.

Next, I spread this pepper jam on the Best Ever Ham Sandwich. When you layer this Cranberry Pepper Jam with creamy goat cheese, salty ham, and fresh arugula, it’s the sandwich that everyone is going to be talking about.

Cranberry Jalapeno Jam

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned an upcoming recipe that has been as highly anticipated as this recipe for pepper jam.

I mentioned that I would soon be sharing the recipe when I first shared that awesome ham sandwich recipe a few weeks ago. In the time since, I’ve received countless emails, messages, and snaps asking when I’ll be sharing the recipe for cranberry jalapeno jelly.

I’ll apologize now for the delay, because the recipe just wasn’t perfect until this version. And when I say it is perfect, I mean it. It is absolutely positively PERFECT now.

Side note: if you love sweet heat combinations and cranberries as much as we do, you definitely need to put this cranberry jalapeno dip on your must-try list too!

Spicy Jam

When you’re working with cranberries, I’ve found that it’s really easy to make a cranberry sauce. As evidenced by this classic homemade cranberry sauce and this spicy hot pepper cranberr