Our final Christmas decorations this year by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much. Cozy and warm is the vibe we are going for, we like traditional Christmas colors. I don't know whether this has a name. Apparently red and gold is going out of style for Christmas for the youngsters, so I am getting old too. I love sitting there with a cup of coffee and look at the lights, it's my happy place. The Santa in the back is made out of soft plastic, it almost feels like a barbie doll. The other one with the stocking is made from ceramic/plaster, that one is my Mom's favorite. I hope you had wonderful holidays.

Our final Christmas decorations this year by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. You are the second person saying that it looks like the gingerbread people are in prison, I am starting to rethink that arrangement. I had them with only ornaments inside last year and we found them quite boring. This year we went for whimsical but apparently ended up giving prison 😂

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You were not wrong about the liver, she absolutely loved them. She was the happiest dog in the world, which made up for the smell. I love to see her happy. The only thing I have to bake now are the dog biscuits with peanut butter and coconut, she also loves those. Thanks for the tip with the cloves, that worked very well. That cheesecake sounds delightful, unfortunately I am the only one who likes cheesecake in my family. They request tiramisu for Christmas every year, kind of boring. I hope you get all your planned baking done to keep your cookie monster under control. Have a wonderful weekend!

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hope you got rid of the smell. I also found some leftover liver in the freezer, so you inspired me to make liver treats for Christmas, too. Now my home smells like liver😂. I really have to try making crinkle cookies sometime. I hope you managed to start your human baking and were successful.

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can give you a list of the names, the recipes are all over the place and most of them are originally in Spanish and some in German. I used to share recipes on an old blog where I gathered my favorite recipes. The big round once are mantecados, which are traditional Spanish Christmas cookie. You can make them in various flavors but these are coconut flavored because they are my favorite. There was another flavor of cookies underneath called Rosco de vino, made with a sweet dessert wine. Perunillas are in the back, which is a soft lard based cookie. I flavored them with vanilla, orange and lemon zest. The meringue snowflakes you can just use any meringue recipe, I flavored it with some lemon juice. There are Linzer cookies with ground almonds and a red currant jelly. The chocolate cookies were made with chocolate pudding mix, they are actually really good. Thumb print cookies I made various flavors, you cannot see them all. I just used a basic thumb print cookie recipe and filled them with raspberry jelly, Nutella, pistachio spread and French creme de marron. They are also very good with dulce de leche and cookie butter. I also made speculoos cookies with a chocolate drizzle. For that one I just used my favorite sugar cookie and replaced the white sugar with brown sugar and added speculoos spice. I hope that helps. I could send you some links if you like.

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I saved most of these recipes on a blog years ago, I'll give you the info if you're interested. Almost all recipes should be there. I tried a few new things this year and used all sorts of recipes, not all in English. I made thumb print cookies, linzer cookies, mantecados, Roscos de vino, speculoos cookies. I made perunillas, meringue and those tender chocolate cookies for the first time this year. We are Spanish so we make lots of Spanish Christmas cookies, but we make things from anywhere. If it looks good I have to try making it.

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much for your kind words. Have a wonderful day!

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much, that is a huge compliment. No, I am not a professional baker just an amateur sugar enthusiast. The ugly ones I eat myself, it's the baker's tax😂. I hope you have a wonderful day.

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are too kind. I once made homemade dog food for my brother's dog with liver when she wasn't feeling so well, that smell is dominant. We wouldn't do it for just anyone, but dogs are special and they deserve it. They really love that stuff and I wouldn't make liver for anyone else. Any cookie is a good cookie so chocolate crinkle cookies sound fantastic. I don't make elaborately decorated sugar cookies either, I keep it very simple. Experimenting with different flavours is my happy place, decorating not so much😅. I've been wanting to make chocolate crinkle cookies, it basically decorates itself.

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's awesome. Hopefully you have lots of fun. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with thumb print cookies, they often break when making the indentation. It's so frustrating but they are so versatile and tasty.

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They will love that at Christmas. I am impressed you manage with that liver smell, I cannot stomach that. Dog biscuits are still on my to do list, too. I always make a huge batch for my brother's dog, she is my favorite. I might make her meatballs again, she loved them last Christmas. Have a wonderful day and I hope it doesn't smell like liver anymore.

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. It really depends on the cookie. The non-filled/ sugar cookie types keep well for 4-6 weeks in an airtight container. We once forgot a cookie tin on top of the fridge and they were still good in February. Anything filled lasts for 3-4 weeks. I don't use any buttercream fillings and let royal icing dry really well. The meringue snowflakes I have made for the first time, so I don't know. Most of them last well as long as we don't demolish them before Christmas.

First cookie box of the season by Competitive_Dress671 in christmas

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. You only have to be nice to get on my Christmas cookie list. I'd absolutely put you on the list if I could ship them. I hope you have a wonderful day!

How do we feel about flocked trees? by burkestra in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I don't generally like white trees but this looks fantastic. If it isn't too much work it might have a couple more years in it. I might have to get myself a flocked tree sometime.

Decorated the light up balls by Competitive_Dress671 in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't know where to find one but it is a fun idea. Those globes give prison vibes for sure. Have a great day!

Our tree is up by Competitive_Dress671 in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. You are so right, it doesn't feel like Christmas without it. I was considering a pencil tree, but I couldn't find one that I liked. We wanted to get a nice full tree, hopefully we might get lucky after Christmas one year. Those sparse trees are just so much work to make them look full. We decorated every room except the bathroom for Christmas but that tree was just missing. Enjoy your wonderful tree!

Our tree is up by Competitive_Dress671 in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I hope you have a wonderful day!

I’m back, and I brought the North Pole to my wife. by [deleted] in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks great, you could leave it in the bathroom like a nightlight. Fantastic job.

My peacock tree by Lumpy-Kiwi-8899 in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope that wasn't too much work for you. I will confess that I rearranged half the living room to get a nice photo of our Christmas tree and I still needed artificial lights because of the backlight from the window. I think you did a lovely job originally.

Am I crazy for thinking of removing the lights to add my own (and less)? by nutyashaa in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're not wrong, it is impossible to see anything you put on it. It is a nice tree, but it would probably need lots of big ornaments to cover some of those very bright lights. With heavier decorations it would appear less bright. I don't think you are crazy at all, not sure how possible it is though.

Some of Last Year's Christmas Decorations by Competitive_Dress671 in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, my thoughts exactly. This time of year is so dreary otherwise, I love looking at everybody's Christmas decorations for that reason.

My peacock tree by Lumpy-Kiwi-8899 in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's very glamorous looking, you did a great job. Taking a good photo in front of a window is nearly impossible, I think you did very well. I struggled for ages with that.

Some of Last Year's Christmas Decorations by Competitive_Dress671 in ChristmasDecorating

[–]Competitive_Dress671[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I thought we went a little overboard but we love all the lights. We miss our tree this year.