Sunday, October 2, 2011

Quick & Easy Christmas: Gooseberry Patch Review & Giveaway!

I know we have just entered the month of October and Halloween decorations are among us, but why not start prepping for Christmas???

If you're like my mom and myself, you start Christmas shopping in July and the Christmas decorations are up by Thanksgiving day. I don't know which holiday season I love more....Halloween or Christmas? The span from October to December is just so wonderful and magical. I can't choose! I love it all!

Today, I have the wonderful honor and privilege of introducing you to the newest and one of the most fantastic cookbooks from The Gooseberry Patch....Quick & Easy Christmas!
Over 220 Christmastime recipes...most 30 minutes or less! Plus simple decorating ideas & gifts. 

I was so thrilled when I received my copy of this cookbook in the mail on Friday, I couldn't put it down and tagged so many wonderful recipes to try out. Today I'm going to share with you two of them, Gooey Honey Biscuits and Jenn's Pistachio-Cranberry Cookies.

Gooey Honey Biscuits
By Cheri Emery
This recipe was the perfect breakfast this morning. It was so quick to put together and I had the biscuits ready to go in the oven before the oven was done preheating! The biscuits were soft, flaky and fluffy, not to mention delicious!
They look rustic and went great with a tall glass of milk. The only thing I would do differently is to maybe double the honey butter because the warm biscuits absorbed the initial honey butter I brushed over top, so I had to brush more on later (oh darn!). It only made them taste better ;)

Jenn's Pistachio-Cranberry Cookies
By Debbie Button
These cookies are pretty much going to be my new favorite holiday treat that I'm going to make every single year from now on. How cute is it that it is red, green and white? Green pistachios, red cranberries and white chocolate chips. Not only do they color coordinate, they taste fantastic together! I don't know about you, but my favorite way to have cookies recently is by using cake mix, they create the most soft and fluffy cookie, and these cookies don't disappoint! 

Just to show you how fun their decoration and gift ideas are, here are an example of a few...
*Dress up the beverage station at your holiday buffet. Fasten a festive ribbon around a punch bowl and set it in a fresh pine wreath...so pretty!

*Dress of plain pillar candles in an instant...press in fancy brass upholstery tacks or map pins to form spirals, starts, stripes or other simple patterns.

*Give your home a spicy holiday scent year 'round. Cover oranges with whole cloves, piercing the peels in circle and swirl designs or simply covering the fruit at random. Roll in cinnamon and ginger, then stack in a wooden bowl.

Now for the best part....the GIVEAWAY!
Gooseberry Patch was kind enough to send me another copy of this fantastic holiday book to share with you! All you have to do is....

Leave a comment on this post answering the following question:
What's your favorite holiday tradition?

Do you go shopping on Black Friday? Have a special treat you must make? Do you open Christmas present on Christmas eve or day? Tell me your favorite holiday traditions!

Winner will be chosen randomly and announced October 9th, 2011, so enter before it's too late!

20 comments:

  1. I LOVE Christmas. And I've passed that onto my son. My favorite traditions are anything that includes him. Seeing Christmas through his eyes only make it more magical and blessed for me.

    Everyday Mom's Meals

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  2. My favorite Holiday tradition is backing a lot of cookies and pies with my Mother. Hence Why I would so love to win this cookbook

    Tammi Delancy
    delancytr@gmail.com

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  3. Oh I LOVE Goosberry patch!! My favorite holiday tradition has to be Christmas morning breakfast with croissants from Williams Sonoma and scrambled eggs! I also love opening stockings and Christmas eve mass! Too many to list!!

    Cheryl Ogenbaug

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  4. My favorite holiday tradition? WAtching A Christmas Story for 24 hours, and trying to wrap all of my gifts without the urge to toss them into a bag with just tissue paper on top...I like wrapping the easy way. :)

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  5. My favorite holiday tradition is to bake all my favorite Hungarian handed down recipes to give out as gifts for presents...ciao4now64@yahoo.com

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  6. hmm, making "santa sundaes" for santa claus. it's 2 mini marshmallows in a shot glass, hershey's syrup, whipped cream and a cherry on top. each of us would make one for santa, and he'd always leave a note saying how yummy our sundae's were.

    ps love the halloween blog theme :)

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  7. My favorite holiday tradition?making the kids treats that reflict the holiday ..and the join the kids have when i make the treats for them..nikki
    fonso_tubb@yahoo.com

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  8. I love making plates of cookies and candies to deliver to friends, family, and neighbors ... I have loved it even more since my kids became old enough to help out!

    ~Jill (luvcooking2@yahoo.com)

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  9. A fairly new tradition a few of my friends & I have started over the last several years is getting together to bake all of our favorite Christmas goodies. After our kitchen is loaded with 50+ dozen cookies, we share with each other and many others. Lots of coffee is consumed & much laughter is had for the day...very sweet in the middle of a hectic season!

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  10. Going to Pizza Hut buffet on Christmas Eve with my family - sounds odd but it is so muchfun and no one has to cook - Christmas morning we have sausage egg bake and open gifts -it is a magical time isn't it!
    krisostrander2001@yahoo.com

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  11. My favorite tradition is turning on christmas music while decorating the christmas tree with the kids!

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  12. My favorite tradition . . . hmmm . . . I would have to say making angel food cake on Christmas morning to have for breakfast.

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  13. I love to go shopping on black friday.

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  14. Making Cookies/cakes for Christmas!
    And decorating the Christmas tree!

    Gina Taylor
    ginataylorfamilyphoto@ymail.com

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  15. I have like 8 of their cookbooks! I especially love the Christmas ones with all the cute tag and wrapping ideas. Makes me want to sit down and craft all day!

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  16. My favorite tradition is the whole family getting together for the day!
    Joyce72@rocketmail(dot)com

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  17. My favorite tradition is playing Christmas music as I bake cookies, cakes, pies and candy as gifts for friends and neighbors. Then while I'm decorating the tree and gift wrapping for the family I play Christmas music. I love Christmas music playing as I prepare for Christmas time for it keeps me in the spirit.
    Elizabeth elizabedu3@aol.com

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  18. I just found out that candy town has a nice selection of Gooseberry Cookbooks! But of course none of the ones you have mentioned. But my favorite tradition is going to a Christmas cookie exchange that my girlfriends Dolly and Shannon host. Its the 10th aniv. this year. We always dress to the 9's and the cookie competition is fierce! But Shannon has had to move around alot in the past 10yrs. For awhile she was in Alaska and now she is in St. George UT. Theres awards and you have to make 8 doz. of a homemade from scratch cookie or candy. But it is something I look forward to every year!

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  19. I just love having stockings, wrapping and putting little surprises in them. It goes back to when I was a child. I always thought that having a Christmas stocking was one of the most fun parts of Christmas day. Thank you for the giveaway. lylacldy(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  20. Homemade Christmas morning pecan sticky buns and cinnamon rolls--these are a Christmas morning tradition and oh so yummy.

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