Holiday Treats

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 20:30:00 -0400

It’s the Holiday Season and around this time year, I usually indulge a little bit with some extra treats.

Eggnog

I am a recent convert to eggnog. I don’t believe I’ve ever had it before about a year or two ago. Now I will usually pick up a quart of eggnog each week while grocery shopping.

I’ve tried a variety of eggnogs, but my favorite (so far) has been Upstate Farms Light Egg Nog. If they don’t have the light variety, I’ll get the regular variety of it. It’s delicious and smells great.

I will usually have about 4oz of eggnog in the morning with my breakfast. Eggnog is rich, so I usually won’t have a lot.

I haven’t tried any spiked eggnog. I haven’t ruled it out yet, but I just haven’t tried it yet.

See’s California Brittle

In the “before times” (pre-COVID), I used to travel to San Francisco, California about once a year.

During these trips, I usually tried to pick up some See’s Candies on the way home (along with a lot of sourdough bread for the family). I usually picked up a variety pack (of some sort) in the airport while waiting for my flight home. During one of these trips, I discovered See’s Milk California Brittle.

Milk California Brittle is described as:

Buttery brittle with California almonds covered in smooth milk chocolate.

It’s absolutely delicious.

Last year, I ordered two pounds of California Brittle and had it shipped to me. I did the same thing this year. This has already become a bit of a Christmastime tradition for me. I think if I did this any more than just around Christmastime, I would start to pack on a few pounds.

If you haven’t tried California Brittle, I absolutely recommend it.

Puppy Chow

Puppy Chow (also know as monkey munch, muddy buddies, muddy munch, reindeer chow, or doggy bag) is another amazing treat for the holiday season.

Puppy Chow is Rice Chex covered in chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar. What’s not to like?

I’ve tried making this once a few years ago and failed miserably. I don’t know what I did wrong, but it was terrible. Now, I beg my wife to make it. She will usually humor me and I’ll scarf it down.

I haven’t had puppy chow this year, but I’m looking forward to it.

Chex Mix

My Mom used to make us her own patented (not really) Chex Mix every year for Christmas. This was pre-COVID. My kids tried to make it last year and it just wasn’t the same. It was good and I love that they made an effort.

I don’t really know what’s in my Mom’s Chex Mix other than Rice, Corn and Wheat Chex, Pretzel sticks and peanuts. I have the recipe around here somewhere, but I’m too lazy to dig it up. It’s also patented (not really) and you can’t have it. 😝

Roasted Chestnuts

I had never been particularly interested in roasted chestnuts. A few years ago, we were on vacation in Italy over Thanksgiving. The street vendors were roasting chestnuts on street corners and they smelled delicious. I never tried them, but I should have.

Ever since that trip to Italy, I’ve wanted to try roasting chestnuts at home.

A few weekends ago, we tried roasting chestnuts (in the oven) for the first time. They turned out good, but didn’t smell as good as I remember from our trip to Italy. In Italy, the street vendors had roasted the chestnuts on an open fire (ala The Christmas Song) or over charcoal or something, I can’t remember.

I think we’re going to try again, but use the charcoal grill to roast them instead.

I’m sure you also have some Christmas time treats that you enjoy during the holidays. These are my recent ones.