In all honesty this past week was one of the hardest weeks our little family has had. First I was sick and I am not talking about *cough* *cough* *sniffle* sick. It was more horrific than that, but I will spare you the details. Then poor little Baron came down with it. Gabe watched in horror fearing the inevitable, mistaking every off feeling in his body as “the sickness” as we lovingly refer to it as. It eventually hit him too. Then came the snow which has yet to cease. Now the snow isn’t really a bad thing, in fact it makes the view from out of our windows quite lovely. It is however very cold which is fine if you have a furnace, we did until it decided to stop working (and is still not working). Cold, sick and confined to our little home.

Things could be a lot worse and this time of year is a great time to be reminded of all that we are blessed with. A little stomach bug sure makes you appreciate the good health we do have 90% of the time. And a loving family who would endure the treacherous roads to come and try to fix our heating issues.

I absolutely LOVE this time of the year. Everything about it. The generosity, the cold, the gifts, the joy, the baby and of course the hours and hours spent baking sugary treats for loved ones. Sadly with all that happened this past week my hours of baking have been cut short but I have had some time to peruse some of the baking that is going on around the Internet. Here is a compilation of all the treats that I would have love to bake this year – because really it’s the thought that counts? If I hurry maybe I’ll have some time to in the few short days before Christmas.

Fleur de Sel Caramels (I have tried these and they are delicious!! A little soft but full of yummy flavor…. I would suggest caramelizing the sugar to a deep amber color but don’t burn it! )

Chocolate Caramels (These are also FANTASTIC!)

Peppermint Patties (Seriously?! yum.)

Peppermint Bark (I’m not a big white chocolate fan but this looks tasty!)

Stained Glass Cookies (a craft you can eat)

Saltine Toffee with Chocolate and Almonds (since we have a lot of saltine crackers around these days)

Peppermint Meringues (so cute… do you notice I really like peppermint things?)

Sugar Crusted Chocolate Cookies (sugar, good. chocolate, good.)

Oliebollen (these a traditional dutch favorite. Little fried donuts studded with raisins and apples… these make me proud to be Dutch)