The Love of Home…Decorate…Bake…Repeat…

“He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.”

-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Hello, sweet friend…

Today I thought I’d share a bit of my Christmas decor…

This is admittedly the most decorating…

I’ve done…

since our move from SoCal five years ago.

I’ve had so much fun this season…

decorating trees & mantels.

Decorating has been a labor of love for me…

and realize that…

my style isn’t for everyone…

So I definitely encourage you to find your own.

That being said…

Coming home will always be the best feeling in the world to me…

and though this Christmas…

may be a little different than last…

I hope…

you will always be…

merry in your hearts.

Here we are at the top of the stairway…

where I’ve wrapped a bit of garland & red bows around the banister…

👩‍🍳

Let’s Bake…

Sugar Cookies

Everyone needs an easy sugar cookie recipe! These are melt in your mouth delicious. You actually don’t even need to frost them…but of course I did.🥰

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted buttersoftened at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg (large)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °F with a rack in the center. Whisk together flour with baking powder in a small bowl and set aside. 

Using a stand-up or hand mixer, beat the butter together with sugar. To the mixture add vanilla extract and egg and beat to combine. 

To the butter mixture, add flour in 3 parts until fully incorporated. 

Divide the dough into two equal parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll into ¼-inch thickness.

Use a cookie cutter to cut out your favorite shapes. 

Bake cookies on a parchment or silicone baking sheet at 350˚F for 10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden.

Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Royal Icing

Ingredients

1 Cup shortening, such as Crisco (I know…but trust me once a year during a pandemic is fine…🥰)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

8 cups powdered sugar, about a 2 lb bag

1/2 Cup heavy cream , or whole milk (more or less added to desired consistency)

Food coloring, if desired

In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl for use with your handheld electric mixer, place shortening and extracts. BEAT until creamy (at least 1 minute).

ADD powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.

ADD cream 2-3 Tablespoons at a time, alternating with the powdered sugar.

MIX until creamy. Use more or less cream (or whole milk) to reach desired consistency. (I like for it to be smooth enough to pipe through a piping bag, but still a bit more firm than typical store-bought frosting.)

ADD a 2-3 drops of gel food coloring if desired.