Tracy IsemingerThis shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SavorHolidayFlavors #CollectiveBias
Every year as Christmas nears, I get so excited for my family and friends to join me in a fun day of holiday baking. It’s a time when generations get together and spend time together and sharing stories and recipes. I always set up a coffee bar to get us through baking from morning to late afternoon!
To get started preparing for our day of baking, I start out with a trip to my local Walmart where I can find all sorts of festive holiday decorations and of course, my very favorite, Starbucks® K-Cups.
This year, I was beyond excited to find a Starbucks® Peppermint Mocha Caffè Latte K-Cup® Packs 9 ct along with my usual Starbucks® Holiday Blend K-Cup® Packs 16 ct. I even found some fun cookie straws that are perfect to go along with our cookie bar coffee bar. Shop now by hovering over the photo below!
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Now to set up my coffee bar, because of course, I need some coffee to prepare myself for the busy day. First, I gather up all the fun holiday finds I picked up to decorate with. How cute!
I add one of the festive towels under my coffee machine to catch drips and then put out some cute paper cups (so much easier to just throw away rather than wash a bunch of cups).
I then place the K-Cups® out next to the coffee machine for easy access. I find leaving them in the box works best so it’s easy for guests to see what the options are.
I love to add candy canes to my coffee and they go perfectly with the Starbucks® Peppermint Mocha Caffè Latte K-Cup® so I place some in a glass to grab to use as stir sticks too.
Dress it up with some fun napkins, and decorations and that’s it!
When all of your cookies are done for the day, a cup of hot coffee is a well-deserved reward.
This morning, I’m trying out the Starbucks® Peppermint Mocha Caffè Latte K-Cup®. You simply pour the peppermint mocha packet into your cup and then brew 8oz of the Caffè Latte K-Cup® and stir.
Look how EASY it is to make!
This year, I thought it’d be fun to make some chocolate spoons and easy chocolate crunch candies to accompany the coffee while we are baking. Making them is super easy and how fun is it to stir your coffee with a chocolate spoon?
Making the candies and spoons is easy enough, the kids can do it ahead of time or while everyone else is mixing up the cookie recipes.
For the spoons, you are basically going to just place chocolate wafer melts into the mold and warm slowly in oven until all the chocolate is melted.
Add some sprinkles and crushed candy canes to the top after the chocolate melts and let it cool and set.
The candies take a few more steps but they are still super simple.
Start by placing a few chocolate melts into the bottom of your mold. I also added a few sprinkles to the
bottom for fun.
Melt in the microwave for 30 seconds and smooth out with a fork.
Add some crushed chocolate wafer cookies on top of the melted chocolate.
Top with more chocolate melts.
Place in oven at 275 degrees and allow chocolate to melt.
Remove and smooth chocolate with a knife leaving clean edges on your mold.
Chill until chocolate is set and remove from silicone molds.
Easy!
Now I’m ready for everyone to arrive at my home for a memory-making day of baking cookies for a holiday cookie exchange. Everyone either brings their favorite cookies already prepared or the ingredients to assemble at the party. I like to leave it open because some people prefer to bake ahead and others need a little help!
We spend the day chatting and catching up and just enjoy the time to be with friends and family creating new memories and sharing old ones while sharing a great cup of coffee. I look forward to this day all year long.
At the end of the day, everyone goes home with and an assortment of fresh baked cookies as well as some cookie dough ready to pop in the oven. I love having some cookie dough to enjoy with my Starbucks® Holiday Blend Coffee later!
Chocolate Crunch Candies
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
What are some of your family’s favorite ways to spend time together over the holidays?
Share with us in the comments!
