recipes

Happy Boozy Birthday — Drink Recipes on Me!

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One of my favorite round-up blogs to write is the #yummybday one. That’s when I pull together some favorites from my twitter postings of tasty treats you might bake for a loved one’s birthday. The blog serves as an easier way for my loved ones to determine what they should make me at my next birthday, too.

Nevertheless, I’ve noticed lately more yummy cocktail recipes from the people I regularly follow for mouth-watering ideas. So, here goes — the first #boozybday round-up. Enjoy (but in moderation of course…).

Birthday Cocktail Recipes

The Cookie Rookie always has great beverage offerings on her twitter feed. I’ve picked two for you:

The Toasted S’more Martini is a favorite from her blog back in 2013.

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I also like the sound of this Sherbet Mimosa, another one she recently republished.

Birthday cocktail

Another of my favorite foodie bloggers is Living Lou, and not just because she lives in London, Ontario (where I went to grad school). I’m confident her Peach Sangria with blueberries and basil will be a crowd pleaser!

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Since I live now in Charlotte, NC, I have to include Life, Love, Sugar’s Carolina Panther Punch. Plus, anyone who knows me, will know I love brightly colored foods.

Birthday cocktail

I’m a big fan of bubbly, so I also have to share this Blackberry Lavender Champagne Cocktail from AdventureBite.

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On Town & Country’s list of top spring cocktails, Le Bleu Glacier is the one that stuck out to me (and not only because it’s in French!). You garnish this blueberry, vodka, vanilla cocktail with berries and smoked cheddar!

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Then, because I was worried I was including too many champagne/vodka pairings I put whiskey into my Google search. As a proud Canadian, my eye was drawn to the Raymond Massey cocktail.  Turns out this cocktail is “a sophisticated cocktail with the simple classic flavours of Rye, Champagne and Ginger.” The drink’s namesake is Canadian actor Raymond Massey from Toronto, where you can go to Massey Hall. I can’t help it, champagne’s in there too!

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One last one, because it involves a star, the Zephyr Star from Bevvy features gin, lemon, simple syrup, allspice dram, and honey bitters. My only disappointment is that it’s not really involving stars other than the star anise on top. Well, I could still liven it up with the awesome light-up ice cubes my husband gifted me recently.

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Cheers! Enjoy your next birthday celebration, even if it’s for a one-year-old it’s de rigeur these days that drinks be served.

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Birthday Beginnings with Chocolate

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A friend of mine, growing up in the Dominican Republic, would awaken on her birthday to the song Las Mañanitas and a cup of hot chocolate. I want to adopt this cultural practice of starting the day with my belly full of warm chocolate!

One of my favorite travel memories comes from my time in Paris when our hotel would serve us fresh-from-the-oven croissants and individual pots of chocolat chaud. I am salivating just remembering how wonderful it was to start to the day with this buttery, flaky pastry and my own silver carafe filled with liquid Parisian chocolate? Each of the mornings I spent there felt like my birthday — just being in Paris is enough to celebrate after all.

Hot Chocolate Creativity

Nonetheless, we can’t have this excellent experience every day in most parts of the world. So, instead, I offer the following few exciting hot chocolate recipes for you to try if you want to add this idea into your birthday fun.

This spicy hot chocolate from the New York Times has chile powder too:

Or People shared chocolatier Jacques Torres’s recipe for a minty hot chocolate:

 

For a little added boost to your morning, you could start with a Kahlua hot chocolate such as this one from Damn Delicious:

Another boozy one that is supposed to taste like a foil-wrapped chocolate orange comes from serious eats:

Or, for hot days when you still want some cocoa taste, you could try this Frozen Nutella hot chocolate:

Combining two of my favorites is this chocolate and peanut butter hot chocolate recipe (plus, I love this site’s name: chocolatemoosey.com):

For your entertainment, also, I end this blog with a Minions parody of the best-known Latin American birthday song.

Birthday Baking or “No Bake” Goodness

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It’s time for another #yummybday roundup. I know the real reason I have twitter followers is because people want to see the treats I share each day. Fine. Here’s the latest greatest hits for you. It can help you with upcoming birthdays and all those holiday potlucks coming up too. You’re welcome.

For the Chocolate Lover

And because I can’t believe I missed last week’s National Chocolate Day:

These tantalizingly named Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars make the cut with their shortbread, salted caramel sauce, cookie dough and chocolate ganache layers.

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Or a double dose of goodness with @mindoverbatter’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars:

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@BeyondFrosting gives us this No-Bake Snickers Icebox Cake, which I love for the “no bake” part:

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For the gluten-free, some fudgy, gooey brownies from @Texanerin:

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Fruit Lovers Unite!

Combine fruit and funnel cakes with @grandbabycake’s Strawberry Shortcake Funnel Cakes:

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Lindsay of @Life_Love_Sugar provides us this Banana Pudding Ice Cream Cake:

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Lemon’s a fruit too…Thanks @WillCook4Smiles for this Lemon Oreo Cheesecake:

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Hand-held Yumminess

OK, this one tackles two favorites: eating with our hands and S’mores. Check out @shugarysweets’ Ooey Gooey Hand Pies:

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Also with marshmallows…I’m weak in the face of fluffy whiteness. Thanks @spoonforkbacon for these Salted Gingersnap Mallomars:Screen Shot 2016-10-28 at 4.11.45 PM.png

Plus one more from @shugarysweets who often makes my #yummybday tweets — Birthday Cake Fudge.

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Finally, another of my favorite ingredients from a familiar fellow blogger @cookierookiebec. How about Loaded Salted Caramel Soft Batch Cookies?

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Can you believe I held off an entire year before sharing all that yumminess in one blog? I need to do this again more often. I also welcome suggestions. Or, if anyone wants me to do some taste testing of sweets recipes, let me know at @BirthdaysBest…I’m willing.

Let them eat bread with sprinkles?

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Fairy bread for your birthday sounds cool, right? It might even be worth the crazy long flight to Australia or New Zealand to celebrate my special day there. Only, it sounds a lot better than I think it would taste.

According to Mental Floss, there’s a tradition on birthdays of eating white bread spead with butter and topped with sprinkles. This is called Fairy Bread (and, by the by, the sprinkles are called hundreds or thousands.

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Not sure how you’d make such a thing (because I know spreading butter and sprinkling something on top sounds tough)? Don’t worry: Here’s a recipe – yeah, it has only one instruction!

To make it more challenging, you might try out some of these fairy bread-inspired recipes.

The fairy bread wands look just like candy-covered pretzels sold in chocolate shops here. So, you could probably just visit Rocky Mountain Candy Co or the like if this is still too daunting a baking task.

For those, on the other hand, who want to take it up a notch there’s always baking a cake to look like Fairy Bread as this sugar-amped Sydney-based baker did.