Andrea starts the week with a late-breaking cookie tip: If you’re going to make the Soft and Chewy Molasses Spice cookies, plan on serving then the same day, or a day later. If you serve them a few days after baking, you might want to re-title your gift tag or recipe as a Crispy Crunchy Molasses Spice cookie. They’ll still be delicious, but they will be a much different texture than when you pulled them out of the oven.

Andrea and her friend Barb hosted their the 2nd Annual Christmas Cookie weekend, which was a fun-filled activity full of sugar and sparkles. Some tips for a successful cookie workshop: make your dough ahead of time, order your ingredients (especially royal icing) well ahead of time, and set up a separate icing station for the kids using canned vanilla icing, rather than the trickier royal icing. Stefin shared a tip to purchase a pre-constructed gingerbread house, so you can focus on the decorating rather than the constructing. Our last recommendation is edible glitter, which adds a festive sparkle to any of your cookies.

Snack Mix review: The Caramel Churro Snack Mix from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen was a big hit! The biggest challenge for both of the hosts was getting most of the Snack Mix into gift bags, rather than their mouths. The Chocolate Caramel Party Mix was a salty+sweet sensation, but you may want to serve it with a scoop or Dixie cup so your guests don’t get their hands covered in chocolate.

Now it’s time to start thinking about New Years’ Eve, and the hosts picked the Champagne Cheesecake Shooter, from The First Year food blog. This easy, pretty, and (dare we say?) light holiday dessert looks especially festive and has a variety of topping options. If you’re looking for cute shooter cups, check out this link. Please bake along with us and show us some pictures of your shooters!

Speaking of New Years’, it’s time to think about your New Year Baking Resolutions. Stefin is going to perfect her blind baked pie crusts (more on that in February!), Andrea is going to tackle baking for a crowd, and Listener Amy is going to bake her mom’s favorite recipes each month as a special tribute throughout the year.

Listeners, what are your 2017 Baking Resolutions?

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