How was your Christmas? I hope everything went smoothly, the food was awesome, and the company cheerful. My oldest son and his two boys could not come home this year, so my husband and two younger sons (19 and 18) enjoyed a quiet and fun Christmas. We even played cards all afternoon on Christmas day (say, What???). What a memory to keep! Let me show you the best desserts we loved this Christmas.
Because it was just the four of us, there was one dessert for Christmas Eve and one for Christmas day. The Apple Dumplings above was such a hit and doubled as breakfast the next day for some of us! I found the recipe by chance while going through Pinterest on the 23rd. I happened to have all the ingredients at home!
My husband had purchased Crescent Rolls a few weeks ago while I was out of town. I had two apples, everything else, except for the 7 Up. However, there was a bottle of Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider in the pantry… Yes! I enlisted my youngest son, Ryan, and he prepared the dish by himself!!!
The recipe is from Oh My Goodness Chocolate Desserts, with my only change:
Apple Dumplings
2 8-oz cans of crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 cup 7-Up (or other lemon soda) – or Sparkling Apple Cider!
2 apples, cored, peeled and each cut into eight slices
Preheat oven at 350 F and butter a 13″ x 9″ baking dish. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll triangle and place it in the dish. Melt the butter in a small pot, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. After it has thickened (just a couple minutes) remove from heat and pour over the dumplings. Pour the soda in the middle and along the sides of the dish (not over the rolls). Bake for 35-45 minutes or until they are golden brown.
My husband has just surprised me with the last two of the apple dumplings for breakfast. Apparently, I need more “curves”!!!
On Christmas morning and with the help of my husband, I prepared their current, most favorite chocolate cake: Too Much Chocolate Cake. I found this recipe on the Internet and made it for Thanksgiving. They loved it so much that I decided to repeat it for Christmas.
You know me, I usually change recipes a little bit due to what I may or may not have on hand. In this case, I had Chocolate Frosting (I think it was Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate) and frosted the cake after it had cooled. Here is the recipe:
1 package Devil’s Food Cake Mix (or other chocolate cake mix)
1 package (5.9oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 12-inch bundt cake pan. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients (except chocolate chips which you fold in after all is mixed). Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 50-55 min, or until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly, frost it (ganache would be fantastic!), and dust the cake with powdered sugar.
I have added these best desserts we loved this Christmas to a binder called “Must make again recipes”. Do you have a special place for your mouth-watering recipes?
Last, but not least! We have a randomly chosen winner for the Wool Kit (my gift) and the book “Wool, Needle & Thread” by Lisa Bongean, courtesy of Martingale:
Barbara Colvin says
I follow your blog via bloglovin’ myzbarbatmsndotcom
Congratulations, Barbara! I will contact you shortly to get your mailing information. Thank you all for participating. I loved reading your fond memories of favorite Christmas gifts and appreciate your sharing them with me. It was if we were friends sitting around the table… and for that, I am so grateful!
For those of us who enjoy wool applique’ and were hoping to begin a project soon, here is a beautiful one I found:
This wool kit is available from Annie’s Online Catalog and it is called Birches Wall Quilt Kit (this is an affiliate link – if you purchase anything from the site I will receive a modest commission). Although I have three large drawers filled with wool I cut from old clothes, I love getting kits because they have all I need to get the project done quickly. How about you: do your prefer kits or just the patterns?
I am off to write quilt patterns as my deadlines are approaching soon. I may or may not later revisit the best desserts we loved this Christmas section of my binder and make that chocolate cake again. Ai, ai, ai…
The sky outside is totally white, the rain may eventually turn to snow. I will put on the headphones (my youngest son won’t be up for hours so I need to keep the noise level down) and, perhaps, listen to Gregorian Chants or Andrea Boccelli. Either way, there will be music, there will be math, and there will be color – that is how I will roll today!
[…] my last post about the desserts we made for Christmas, I posted a photo and the recipe for the amazing chocolate cake made with cake mix. I also showed […]