Love new twists on holiday traditions – like the circa 2010 cookie swap dreamed up by the lovely Leigh Ann & Julie – A Cookie Swap Beer Tasting featuring sweets from our crew and yummy brews from Brewforia.
Miss Julie pulled out her awesomely retro Betty Crocker Cooky Book to whip up her treats – including chocolate bon bons.
A quick look at the full spread – my favs included Lemon Ricotta cookies and Miss Leigh Ann’s Rosemary Butter Cookies from Martha
I went for a booze & caffeine theme of course – thanks to trusty Sunset Mag recipes – and utilized Knob Creek for some Bourbon Snaps and pulled out the instant espresso for these Espresso Meringues.
For my first attempt at a meringue – I was pretty dang pleased with myself. Besides the fact that these aren’t really for instant gratification folks (they require a lot of sitting in a low heat oven, making you drool and stare at them) – they are ridiculously yummy. And as I learned in the process – making meringue is cathartic in a way – you beat the crap out of something nasty looking until it is malleable, soft, light and sweet.