Hi! This is Andrea from Cooking with a Wallflower, and I’m back on Ask Anna this month to share with you a brand new recipe. The last recipe of the year!

It’s already halfway through December! Can you believe that we’re just a couple weeks away from a new year? A new decade? Time really does move fast, doesn’t it?

December is the season for all sorts of holiday cookies. They’re great as desserts for all those holiday parties. Or as homemade gifts. So of course, for the last recipe of the year, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite cookies.

These cranberry dark chocolate chunk cookies are so perfect for the holidays. I love that they’re simple to make with ingredients that are easy to find. Soft and chewy, these cookies have the perfect consistency and texture. But even better? These cookies are filled with cranberries and dark chocolate chunks. They have the perfect balance between sweet and bitter. Sooo good.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined. Add egg and vanilla extract, then whisk until combined.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour and baking soda.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the ingredients until combined.

Fold in the dark chocolate chunks and dried cranberries.

Refrigerate the cookie dough for about an hour.

When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside for now.

Use a cookie scooper or a tablespoon to measure out the cookie doughs and roll them into balls. Place them evenly apart, about 12 cookie dough balls on a baking sheet.

Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until the edges are slightly browned. Remove the cookies from the oven. Drop the baking sheet with the cookies on a sturdy surface a few times. By banging the cookies, the melted chocolate will fall into the crevices of the cookies.

Let the cookies cool for several minutes before transferring over to a cooling rack.

Serve these cranberry dark chocolate chunk cookies warm topped with vanilla sea salt if desired.

Enjoy!

I’ll be back in the new year to share more recipes!

Andrea

Cooking with a Wallflower

Cranberry Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 

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Soft and chewy dark chocolate chunk cookies filled with dried cranberries. These cranberry dark chocolate chunk cookies are so delicious and perfect for the holidays.

Author: Andrea Giang

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 20 cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter at room temperature
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1¾ cup all purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup dark chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
• ¾ cup dried cranberries
• Vanilla sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined. Add egg and vanilla extract, then whisk until combined.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour and baking soda.
3. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the ingredients until combined.
4. Fold in the dark chocolate chunks and dried cranberries.
5. Refrigerate the cookie dough for about an hour.
6. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside for now.
7. Use a cookie scooper or a tablespoon to measure out the cookie doughs and roll them into balls. Place them evenly apart, about 12 cookie dough balls on a baking sheet.
8. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until the edges are slightly browned. Remove the cookies from the oven. Drop the baking sheet with the cookies on a sturdy surface a few times. By banging the cookies, the melted chocolate will fall into the crevices of the cookies.
9. Let the cookies cool for several minutes before transferring over to a cooling rack.
10. Serve these cranberry dark chocolate chunk cookies warm topped with vanilla sea salt if desired.
11. Enjoy!

3.5.3251

Here are some more great Christmas posts!

Sea Salt Caramels

Elf on the Shelf – 24 Days of Kindness

Easy White Hot Chocolate

The post Cranberry Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies appeared first on Ask Anna.

Years ago we were in Seattle, one of our favorite cities, and stopped in for a drink at a Restaurant named Purple. We sat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine, and checking out their dessert menu I noticed they had sea salt caramels on there, so of course I had to order them. They were incredible. So incredible that I couldn’t stop thinking about them so I came home and immediately looked for a similar recipe. I found this one on About.com and was very excited with how good it was. I would venture to say these caramels are even better than the ones we had in Seattle, but that’s just my opinion.

These caramels have truly become a favorite over the years. I have friends that started a tradition of getting together and making them for teachers and neighbors every year, I’ve made them several times for holiday parties, and this year my best friend even won a Christmas treats competition with them! If you love salted caramel, if you love chocolate, if you love sweets, then you are going to LOVE these caramels! I promise you, you will not be disappointed!!!

Enjoy!

Sea Salt Caramels

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

The combination of sweet caramel, crunchy sea salt crystals, and dark chocolate make these sea salt caramels impossible to put down and the perfect treat for any occasion.

Author: Ask Anna Moseley

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cup heavy cream
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• ⅓ cup honey
• 6 TBPS butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 1 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions

1. Prepare an 8-inch baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place the cream in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil. Stir in the sugar, corn syrup and honey and stir until it begins to boil. Periodically wipe down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent sugar crystals from forming.
3. Cook the candy, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 257 degrees on a candy thermometer.
4. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and stir in the butter, vanilla, and 2 teaspoons of salt.
5. Pour into prepared pan and place it in the refrigerator, or freezer, until firm enough to cut.
6. Cut the caramel into small squares or strips with a chef's knife.
7. Temper the chocolate and dip the caramels in the chocolate one at a time. Place them on a baking sheet covered with waxed paper or foil to set.
8. While chocolate is still wet, sprinkle on the remaining salt and allow to set completely. Store them in the freezer and take them out about 15 minutes before serving.

3.5.3251

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Every year around Christmastime I look to see if there’s a family in need, a cause to give to or a shelter to help out, because I know lots of people go without a lot of things most of the year; but, Christmastime is a time of year when no one should be without. Earlier this month I received the BEST email, presenting me with the opportunity to work with Aflac to help a family in need. Aflac understands that the ripple effect of financial burden, caused by an unplanned health event, can be especially compounded around the holidays, which was the inspiration behind the #AflacHolidayHelpers program. So when I received an email and was presented with the opportunity to fill someone’s fridge, decorate their home for Christmas and give them the best Christmas ever, I can’t even tell you how ecstatic I was!!!

The family

A good friend of mine from church had recently told me that her sister-in-law had gone into labor at 29 weeks and was rushed down to the local children’s hospital. Because her water had broken in the process of labor, but the baby hadn’t been born, she was required to stay in the hospital, leaving her out of work. During her stay, her husband lost his job and their baby shower got cancelled, leaving them with nothing for the baby and in a financial bind.

I knew without a doubt this was the family I wanted to help. The opportunity to bless them with an amazing Christmas, and provide everything they needed for the baby, sounded like a dream come true!

The strategy

There was a lot of shopping to be done so my friend and I teamed up and tackled the task together.

• Goal #1 – provide the family with a full fridge and lots of pre-made meals, because no new parents have time to make dinner.
• Goal #2 – provide them with everything they needed for their new baby boy: lots of diapers, clothes, toys, bedding, etc.
• Goal #3 – decorate the house for Christmas so it will look welcoming and magical when they return home.
• Goal #4 – spoil the new mommy and daddy with the best Christmas ever!
• Goal #5 – provide them with gift cards to help cover groceries, gas for their cars, etc. until they can get back on their feet.

By the end of the day my car was packed full of Christmas presents, goodies for the baby and food for the new parents! And we had SO much fun shopping for this much deserving new family!

The before

They have a super cute apartment, with beautiful hardwood floors but the living room needed a little sprucing up and the Christmas tree needed a little accessorizing. (These pictures were taken after we unloaded all our bags from shopping.)

The reveal

Their couches were a little outdated so we covered them with large blankets and sprinkled them with new pillows that matched their drapes. We also decorated their tree with fun ornaments, gift cards for groceries, gas and a family outing, along with toys for the dog and a reindeer and elf socks for their new little one.

They live in a 2-story apartment, so on their wish list was a place to change the baby’s diapers, and a place for him to rest downstairs.  To meet this need, we set up a pack-n-play, which is awesome, but took longer for us to put together than the crib! And of course we had to accessorize it with a Santa Suite for the baby.

I didn’t get a “before” picture of the baby’s room but before we got there they referred to it as the “storage room” because it was filled with office supplies, boxes and lots of other random things. Not a single thing in the room was for the baby. But when we got done with it, the room had storage, a crib, a new rug, LOTS of diapers – and they were speechless!

This family is so deserving, they are adorable, their new baby is so tiny and precious. My friend and I had SO much fun blessing them with a beautiful Christmas and a new baby’s room! They were speechless during most of the reveal but I know it meant so much to them to receive all these things, on behalf of Aflac, that they never could have imagined during such a difficult financial time in their lives.

The dog was pretty excited about her new toy too.

And, of course, we had to put the Santa hat on the little guy!

I am so incredibly thankful that I got to take part in the #AflacHolidayHelpers campaign and I’m pretty sure this will be my favorite Christmas post of all time!

In the United States, Aflac is a leader in voluntary insurance sales at the work site. Aflac knows that major medical insurance may not cover every expense related to a serious health event, so supplemental insurance from Aflac is there to help fill in the holes.

Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.

Z161385A                                                                                                              12/23/16

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The post Making Christmas Wishes Come True! appeared first on Ask Anna.

Every holiday meal needs a good dinner roll, something warm and soft to sink your teeth into, and something to make leftover turkey sandwiches with the next day. I’ve wanted to share this recipe with you for years but it’s our secret family recipe so I haven’t been able to, but the day is finally here, all the permissions have been asked and now I finally get to share my recipe for the BEST dinner rolls!

To me a good dinner roll is important because I don’t want to waste my holiday carbs on something that’s not amazing, so trust me, I don’t take it lightly that I’m calling these the BEST dinner rolls because they are seriously SO good, just ask anyone who’s ever joined us for the holidays.

Do you want to know the best part about these rolls, they are SO easy to make!!! There’s a way to make them by hand, or in the bread maker (which is how I make them), so I’ve included both directions and you can decide which way works best for you.

In our family we call them “Lisa’s famous rolls” but since y’all probably don’t have a “Lisa” in your family, I’ll call them the BEST dinner rolls instead.

Be careful because when they come out of the oven you’ll probably have little hands stealing them right off the baking sheet! I always have to make two batches, one for everyone to eat before the meal, and one to actually enjoy with our holiday feast!

They are amazing with jelly, butter, honey or just by themselves, but whatever you choose to eat them with, make sure you have some handy Huggies® Wipes waiting to wipe off sticky fingers and faces.

Just like not all rolls are created equal, not all wipes are either. Huggies® Wipes have triple layers that are gentle on cute faces but thick enough to clean up all 10 sticky fingers!

I truly hope you enjoy these rolls as much as all of our friends and family do, you might be surprised, but I know they’ll end up being one of your favorite things and you’ll start craving them each holiday season!

Check out other recipe considerations for more family-recipe fun:

• How To Create A Breakfast Waffle Bar
• Gourmet Chocolate Chips and Caramel S’mores

5.0 from 1 reviews

The BEST Dinner Rolls from Scratch (seriously THE BEST)

 

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Author: Anna Moseley

Recipe type: Dinner rolls

Ingredients

• 2¼ teaspoons yeast (1¾ teaspoons yeast)
• 2¼ teaspoons yeast (1¾ teaspoons yeast)
• ½ cup warm milk (1/2 cup warm milk)
• ½ cup warm milk (1/2 cup warm milk)
• 2 teaspoons sugar (1½ teaspoons of sugar)
• 2 teaspoons sugar (1½ teaspoons of sugar)
• 1 cup hot milk (3/4 cups hot milk)
• 1 cup hot milk (3/4 cups hot milk)
• 1 cup cold milk (3/4 cups cold milk)
• 1 cup cold milk (3/4 cups cold milk)
• ½ cup melted butter (1/2 cup melted butter)
• ½ cup melted butter (1/2 cup melted butter)
• 2 eggs (2 eggs)
• 2 eggs (2 eggs)
• ¾ cups sugar (1/2 cup sugar)
• ¾ cups sugar (1/2 cup sugar)
• 2 teaspoons salt (1½ teaspoons salt)
• 2 teaspoons salt (1½ teaspoons salt)
• 8-9 cups flour (6½ cups flour)

Instructions

1. Dissolve 2¼ teaspoons yeast with ½ cup warm milk. Add 2 teaspoons sugar and stir a little. Set aside.
2. Mix 1 cup hot milk, 1 cup cold milk, ½ cup melted butter, 2 eggs, ¾ cups sugar and 2 teaspoons salt.
3. Combine yeast mixture and wet mixture.
4. Add 8-9 cups of flour 1-2 cups at a time. Knead until the dough is soft, not sticky. Cover and let rise 1½ hours.
5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Pinch off pieces of dough that are about fist-size. Fold the rough edges of the dough under and place them on the cookie sheet, rough edges down. Tip: the rolls won't rise very much in the oven so make sure to make the balls of dough are about the size you want them to end up.
7. Bake 15-18 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

3.5.3218

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The post The BEST Dinner Rolls from Scratch (seriously THE BEST) appeared first on Ask Anna.

Can you believe Christmas is in just 2 days!? I’m crazy excited!!! I’m also excited for the new year but I know that after a busy Christmas season, planning a big New Year’s Eve party is the last thing most of us want to do. Fortunately I’m hear to help and I have some great tips that will help you plan, and throw, a stress-free New Year’s Eve party!

My number 1 tip for planning a stress-free party is one-stop-shopping. I was looking around online trying to find the best place to find all my decorations and food items in one place (because who wants to be out shopping after you’ve just finished all your Christmas shopping?) and that’s when I came across WorldMarket.com. They have the cutest New Years decorations AND they have all the food and drinks I need for my party! I got all the ideas I needed from their website, made my list and headed to the store. A great time-saving tip is to make a list beforehand, that way you can walk in, get what you need and walk out (after paying, of course). Wandering wastes time and it usually results in you spending more money than you intended to.

This year for our New Year’s Eve party, I decided to put together a champagne bar, complete with lots of yummy goodies to mix in. While I was at World Market I stocked up on champagne, because they have a really good selection, of really good champagne, and this girl likes good champagne.

I also stocked up on champagne glasses because shockingly, I have 30 wine glasses, but only 6 champagne glasses! I purchased the entertaining set that comes with 12 glasses and a box to store them in. I have the same set, with wine glasses, and it’s perfect for all the entertaining we love to do!

While I was looking around online, I found this beautiful, gold 2-tiered stand that I knew would be awesome for displaying all the drink add-ins, and it’s gold, which is perfect for New Year’s Eve!

Every party needs yummy snacks so I made sure to stocked up on lots of snacks that I know everyone will love. I love that World Market has everything from yummy chocolate snacks (because if you don’t have chocolate, it’s not a party), popcorn, pretzels and all sorts of fun chips!

And of course every New Year’s Eve party has to have fun party items that make noise, so you can wake up the neighborhood at midnight!

I bought these party blowers to go with the gold theme, and I know my guests will have fun with them because even grown ups love party blowers!

I’m so excited to spend New Year’s Eve with my friends, ringing in the new year, but I’m most excited that this party was so easy to plan and even though it looks like it took a lot of time, it really didn’t. Here’s my complete list of time-saving tips that will guarantee your New Year’s Eve party turns out fabulously!

Most of these fabulous clocks are also from World Market. Click HERE to see all their selection.

• One-stop shopping. Decide what you want to serve/do at your party, then look around to find the one store that carries everything you need. If there are additional grocery items you will need, pick those up when you’re doing your grocery shopping for Christmas dinner. All the fruit I served at my party were items I picked up while I was already at the grocery store.

• Make a list, and check it twice (sorry, it’s almost Christmas, I couldn’t help myself). Do as much of your “shopping” online before you even go to the store. I “shopped” the entire World Market website and new exactly what I needed, so that when I actually went to the store, it was quick and easy.

• Buy pre-made, ready to go snacks. This is a biggie. It’s easy to put pressure on yourself to think your guests expect a full arrangement of homemade goodies, well let me tell you that your guests will be just as happy eating delicious items poured out of a bag, as they would be eating homemade items. In fact, they will probably enjoy the out-of-the-bag goodies even more knowing you didn’t spend tons of time stressing about them.
• Set up as early as possible. I always set my parties up at least the day before because there’s no time limit to how long it takes me. If you wait until the last minute you’ll feel lots of pressure to get it done quickly, and then it might not end up how you want it. Set it up the day before so you can take your time, get every detail right, and enjoy yourself more the day of the party.

• Enjoy yourself! I’ve said this over a hundred times but I keep saying it because it’s SO important! When your guests start arriving, grab a glass of champagne and treat yourself as one of the guests of your party. Tell yourself “what’s done is done and now it’s time to move on”. Don’t spend the party worrying that you missed something, or wondering what else you could have done, because your guests will be able to sense your stress and they won’t enjoy themselves as much. Attend your own party as a guest and you’ll have so much fun and want to host even more parties!

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and get to enjoy a fabulous, stress-free New Year’s Eve party! I would love to see your party pictures, tag me on Instagram at @askannamoseley.

Happy New Year!!!

The post How to Throw a Stress-free, Fabulous New Years Eve Party appeared first on Ask Anna.