Hungry for the Holidays

One of my favorite aspects of the holiday season is the increase of treats available. The increased amount of cookies, cakes, and sugary warm beverages is reason enough to smile and be jolly. Who doesn't love a great holiday themed dessert? Did you know that 2 out of 3 Americans will gain 6 pounds between Halloween and New Years? It's really not that surprising considering all of the winter holidays revolve around food. It's shocking that I've evaded that statistic and haven't put on that much weight from all of the yummies I've devoured each year (maybe 2 lbs. versus the 6 lb. national average). My sweet tooth persuaded me to begin Christmas baking super early. The weekend before Thanksgiving my boyfriend and I made decorative sugar cookies with a variety of sprinkles, colored icings, and cookie cutter shapes. 

This is me & the boy decorating the cookies. They were so tasty!!!! 

We also made red velvet brownies from a Duncan Hines mix. It came with a cream cheese icing to drizzle over the top which made for extra delicious gooey brownies :)

I packed him a little care package to take home with him. This adorable holiday themed box came from Michael's and was about $7. The first layer was sugar cookies with a pumpkin muffin that had a cream cheese filling, the second layer was the red velvet brownies, and the bottom layer was chunky chocolate chip cookies!

I also dropped by the grocery store today and made a little 'pick your own' 6 pack of beer with seasonal flavors. There's only 5 pictured because the 6th was a regular Stella (which is my favorite beer by the way). I figured each time I drank one I could do a little review! So below is my commentary on Blue Moon's seasonal brew.

You'll have to excuse my lack of expertise when it comes to the vernacular of beer and beer tasting. I'm not much of a connoisseur in regards to the drink.. I only started consuming the stuff a few years back because I much preferred the taste of fruity mixed drinks. Once I started drinking craft beers it was like a whole new world was exposed to me. I'm much more brave nowadays to test out a new brew. Anyhow, tonight I tried out Blue Moon's Mountain Abbey Ale, part of their seasonal collection. The description is as follows- "This copper-colored ale is crafted with roasted malts, Belgian sugar and a touch of wheat for a rich caramel flavor and a smooth toffee finish." My initial impression was indifference (more like an audible 'meh'). You can definitely pick up the sweet hints of toffee and caramel which are two flavors I typically enjoy. I don't know how I felt about the overall taste, though. It reminded my roommate and I a lot of a dark liquor.. like a bourbon or something. Although the drink was chilled, it had a warm undertone in taste. The more I sipped on it the more I enjoyed it. I think it took time for me to get accustomed to the heavier flavor since Blue Moons are typically light wheat beers. I give it a 6.5 out of 10. Not sure I'd purchase a six pack of it, but I wouldn't turn it down if someone offered me one!

I'll post reviews of the drinks as I consume them! If you know of any yummy holiday ales let me know. I love trying new flavors!