Whether you’re in the market for something to up your holiday hospitality game for out-of-town guests or you’re looking to give a gift that nearly everyone will enjoy (read: the gift of caffeine), this Bialetti Moka Pot is a good choice.
Whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year, chances are you’re getting some well-deserved time off in the next few weeks. Ideally, you’ll be able to use that time to go away somewhere. What’s that? You’re feeling strapped for cash because of holiday shopping and other expenses? These Airbnbs are all under $100 a night. And they’ve all got beautiful kitchens to boot. If you don’t go now, start looking at early 2018!
Saturday pancakes do double duty in my house. Their first job is to fill our bellies on Saturday morning, between cartoons and snuggles, but the leftover pancakes have a second life as a quick weekday breakfast during the week. When a double or triple batch of pancakes yields an abundance of extra flapjacks, this is how we prep them for freezing and then reheat them as needed.
If you’re looking for stocking stuffers, hostess gifts, and dinner ingredients, chances are good that you can get everything on your list at Trader Joe’s. They have a huge selection and the prices are great, but what makes Trader Joe’s so great for gifts is their packaging. Everything in the store is so artfully packaged in Trader Joe’s signature old-timey style that it all feels like a gift. You could give someone a package of sponges or toilet paper from Trader Joe’s, and they’d take one look at the line-drawings of well-dressed Victorian people on the wrapper and say, “Wow, this is a fancy gift!”
Virtually everything in Trader Joe’s that can fit in a stocking would be a great stocking stuffer. To help you narrow it down, however, here are 10 of our favorite stocking stuffers to pick up at Trader Joe’s.
Every December, my nearby nieces and nephews join my two kids at our house for a cookie-decorating party. On the surface this seems like a fun activity for the little ones, but in reality it’s just an excuse to drink wine with my sister-in-laws. I make a big batch of sugar cookies and royal icing and supply several bags of varying colors of icing for the kids to share.
In the past, I’ve bought small piping bags or squeeze bottles, and I’ve even used zip-top bags in lieu of piping bags; each has their own set of advantages and disadvantages. This fall, however, I was super excited to find an inexpensive and easy piping bag alternative.
With a million and one recipes out there, a pancake really has to be something special to make it stand out from the crowd. Friends, today I give you just such a pancake. A whole plate of them, actually. The lightest, fluffiest pancakes any of us here at Kitchn have ever had the pleasure of either making or eating. Every time I make them, I wonder why I ever bother making anything else.
Is that enough of a hook? I sure hope so, because these pancakes deserve to be made far and wide. Here’s how you, too, can have a piping-hot plate of lofty buttermilk pancakes for your next breakfast.
Welp, the holidays and wintery weather have descended upon us (read: my entire house has come down with some terrible, no good, very bad cold). My recovery game plan? A whole week of hearty soups. I’m making their benefits twofold by making double batches of each and freezing extras for the crazy weeks ahead.
For as long as I can remember, peanut butter blossoms have been a given at my family’s annual cookie swap. Showered with a light layer of crunchy sugar and filled with a signature chocolate kiss at the center, I could always count on them to be nestled amongst all the Christmas cookie classics. This year I’m bringing a spiced twist to the spread. It’s everything you’d expect from peanut butter kiss cookies, with a subtle hint of warm cinnamon.
While you dream of having a commercial-grade, high-end oven, what you’ve likely got is whatever cheap oven your landlord purchased 700 years ago. Sure, you can turn the dial to your desired temperature, but you know from experience (and many batches of burned cookies) that you can’t trust that thing. That’s why it’s absolutely essential to have an oven thermometer, like this trusty one from Rubbermaid.
Itty bitty means you can eat more than a few of these brownie bites and no one will take a second glance. That’s exactly the kind of treat we like to feature on our cookie plates and holiday dessert spreads. These are especially awesome because they also happen to be gluten-free, thanks to the exclusive use of almond flour. Almond flour makes treats extra fudgy and moist, like your favorite flourless cake, but in perfect two-bite portions.