SHE: Tips for Holiday Baking

Hey *|FNAME|*,

Hope you have recovered from the holiday weekend.  Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday baking season for me.  And I am sure it does for you too.  Today I want to share a few tips with you to help make your treats extra tasty.

image via Bing

When baking cakes or cookies using eggs that are at room temperature makes a big difference in the texture. They will be lighter and fluffier.  If you are in a hurry, soak eggs in warm water for 10-15 minutes to bring them to room temperature. Then bake according to your recipe.

Butter versus margarine:  unless the recipe specifically calls for butter, you should be okay using margarine in your recipe.  Butter is a must for pastry, candies, sugar cookies and shortbreads. 

Whichever you  choose the temperature of your butter or margarine is more important.  Too soft, cookies will spread out too much, too cool and the mixture won't cream together well. It will take 30-45 minutes for the butter to reach room temperature.  The finger poke test is the best indicator for the correct temperature.  Poke your finger into the stick of butter, if your finger makes an indention in the butter, it is ideal temperature and will make the best cookie. This is a great article!

When making rolled or cut off cookies, separate the dough. Keep 1/2 in the refrigerator and roll out the other. Keeps it from getting too soft.

I keep evaporated milk on hand for baking too. I substitute it for water in recipes for a richer flavor.  You can also use Almond milk or heavy cream to improve your recipe flavors ~ low fat is never a option! It 's a dessert, just embrace it. 

Keep a few boxed brownie mixes on hand for when you need a quick dessert, but don't have a lot of time.  Adding an extra egg, using whole milk and a teaspoon of vanilla will really bring a homemade taste to your dessert.  You can also add 1/2 cup of chocolate, toffee or butterscotch chips, nuts, chocolate syrup or caramel... whatever flavors you like. 

One last tip~ parchment paper. It is life changing when baking. (Now, don't confuse it with wax paper.. wax paper does not go in the oven)

What do think? Were you already familiar with these tips?  We love to share and plan to have more over the next few weeks.   I will be baking several of my traditional Christmas treats and will be sharing my recipes with you.  We would love you to share some of your family favorites with us. You can  never have too many good recipes.

Let's kick off the season of baking!!     

Xoxo,

Amy

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Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving friends!

As I sit here writing this I'm staring at the beautiful beach and it's helping to remind me just how thankful I am.  For many people this day is filled with driving all over the place and spending time with people you'd rather not. The fact that mine is nothing like that brings me so much happiness. 

A few years ago, my family started the tradition of going to the beach for Thanksgiving. Its a nice long weekend filled with nothing but relaxing, playing games, and having a blast with each other.  We all got in yesterday and spent the evening at our favorite restaurant, Peg Leg Pete's! We stuffed ourselves with fried crab claws, crab legs, and shrimp and downed a few margaritas. We laughed and told stories and then danced with the band.  As I sit here this morning I'm thinking back to the laughs we shared last night and can't help but smile.

I'm sure whether you are from Chattanooga or not, you've heard about the tragic school bus accident that happened Monday.  My heart goes out to the families who will have one less person at dinner today and with the families who will eat in the hospital as they pray their child makes it. 

Wherever you are today and whoever you are with - remember to be thankful. Life is short and full of unknowns. Be thankful for your food and your home. Be thankful for your family and be thankful for your life. 

Have a wonderful holiday!

xo Courtney 

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SHE: Thankful, Blessed, Grateful (& Stressed)

Hey Y'all,

Happy Thanksgiving week!!  What are your plans?  Our day should be pretty low key ~ we are celebrating with my Hubby's side of the family and are looking forward to spending the day together.

I know the holidays can get a little crazy for families when you are stretched between multiple holiday dinners in a short amount of time.  If this is you, try to make the best of it by being prepared. You may find that as your family grows you establish new traditions. That doesn't have to be a negative!  It may require some planning... SHE loves to plan.  And good communication is the best way to mitigate conflict and confusion.  Don't just assume things have to stay the same. As families grow, the opportunity for new traditions is given. The key is flexibility, communication and a great sense of humor never hurts!

Some quick ideas and suggestions if you have many sides to your family:

• Rotate each year- Thanksgiving Day with one side & Leftover Day with another side
• Suggest one side of the family host the weekend before Thanksgiving
• If you have a smaller extended family, invite everyone and each year a different family hosts
• Lunch with one set of family members, dessert with another
• Sunday Brunch with out of town family members before they head home
• Offer to host everyone at your house if possible, this is good for families with little ones
• Remember your little ones will not be impressed with long dinners, so don't expect them to remain interested ~ make sure there are activities for them other than listening to the adults talk politics and weather....puzzles, coloring, crafts that are quick that need entertainment

I hope these were suggestions you might fine useful.  Good, bad or crazy ~ if you have family and the opportunity to share the day with them, you have so much to celebrate.  So whether your plans are to have one big dinner with all your friends and family or 4 different dinners on Thursday ... I hope it is enjoyable and that your blessings are abundant. 

Happiest of Thanksgivings to you and yours,

Amy

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SHE: Is Ready

Hey Y'all,

We are crazy busy around here! It is market week and we are tying up loose ends to ensure an awesome weekend for our vendors and of course the attendees. 

Please tell me that you have made plans to attend if you live in the area.  The list of vendors is a fun mix of people and products.  It will be a great time to kick off your Christmas shopping and get into the Christmas spirit. 

Be sure that you are following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  (We apologize in advance, but we will be MIA in the blog world this week.)   

Also, it is "wedding week" for our sweet SHE Riley &

her hubby to be RJ. 

Congratulations to you both!! 

We wish them a lifetime of joy. 

So as you can see, we are very busy SHE's this week and we wouldn't want it any other way.

Xoxo,

Amy

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SHE: Shares ~ Christmas Market Vendors

Hey Y'all,

Our SHE Degree Christmas market is less than 2 weeks away!! We are getting so excited and hope you are too.  Ladies, this is going to be such a fun event! Please bring the family and plan to check off items on your Christmas list. 
Not sure what to expect?  Visit SHE Degree for a preview. 

The market will be November 18th and 19th at Camp Jordan arena. I hope you already have it marked in your planner with a cute sticker or washi tape. 

Have you been SHARING the word with your friends and family?   ~ it is super easy to do if you follow us of Facebook. Click on the event link and invite away. 

We are happy for the opportunity to partner with Toys For Tots this year collecting new, unwrapped toys to be distributed in our area.
Plan to bring one for free admission to the market.

Which vendor are you most excited to see?  Check back often as we are adding to the list daily! Thank you all for your support of SHE Degree this year!! It has been so much fun planning this Christmas market. I hope you will come out and meet us and of course shop with these awesome vendors! 

   

Xoxo, Amy

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