The holidays are a time for lots of different things: sleigh-riding, roasting chestnuts, holiday shopping, ugly sweaters, family, friends and, of course, lots of wine.

When I was growing up, instead of making holiday cookies we made all different kinds of pasta. We would gather round in groups with forks to seal together the raviolis. And while I still love to make homemade pasta around the holidays, the one thing I really look forward to is the desserts. I mean, I always look forward to dessert, but I pay extra special attention on Christmas.

Half of the fun is looking at all the different festive holiday creations and then drooling over the gooey goodness.

So this year, I think that instead of just looking at the cookie eye-candy, I’ll attempt to make some of my own and hopefully they’ll look as good as these 41 different delicious Christmas desserts!

Right now, America is experiencing economic hardships. Times so tough that even our multi-million dollar making, jump shot shooting, around-the-rim slam dunking NBA ballers can’t even catch a break! Diehard fans’ worst nightmare has officially come to fruition: the NBA lock-out is here.

Here’s the low-down on the lock-out, for those of you who don’t know: players don’t want to concede to more pay cuts, but managers and owners don’t want to (or can’t afford to) give players the salaries they think they are owed. Until they get what they demand, professional athletes are going to act like my 12-year-old sister and pout.

Fine. Be babies, guys. Not like I wanted to wear my Knicks jersey anytime soon.

Then, I had an awesome idea. What if our larger-than-life athletes – instead of stomping their feet and throwing a temper tantrum – got on with their lives in lieu of the lockout? I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out on this one. College kids know way better than anyone what to do when you’ve got nothing to do, right? And college girls know how the best activities. I mean, really…who wants to sit around playing video games all day, guys?

So, since you’ve got tons of time on your hands Bron-Bron, it’s time to step off your throne as the King of Cleveland and take some advice from the real powers that be: college girls.

We know, you’ve already vacationed in the West Indies twice this year, bought four new Rolls Royce’s…hell, you even convinced Jay Z and Beyoncé to have a baby. Don’t worry if you’re all out of ideas on ways to spend our money because like the do-gooders that we are, we’ve got some tips for you…

initiating the gallery...

Since we all snacked so healthily last week, I think we deserve a treat. And there is no better treat than cheesecake. Unless, of course, that cheesecake also involves peanut butter cookie dough. I know, right?

Hello, lover.

This recipe is not only super simple, but it will be the one that will make you famous among your friends. Like, “I want to hug you and buy you presents” famous.

Ladies, I present you with my most coveted recipe: Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars. No, it’s not New Year’s Resolution friendly, but whatever. These things are so good, you won’t even care about the calories.

Ingredients:
1 8-oz package of cream cheese
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 18-oz package of your favorite store-bought peanut butter cookie dough

Recipe:

1.     Take your cream cheese out of the fridge and let it soften. In the meantime, heat your oven to 350 degrees.

2.      In a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, sugar, and egg. Beat until smooth.

3.     Take half of the cookie dough (and try not to eat it all with your hands) and use it to line a medium (8 or 9-inch) square baking pan or dish. Press dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. This is your crust.

4.     Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough.

5.     Take the other half of the cookie dough and crumble it. Sprinkle this over the top of the cream cheese layer in the pan.

6.     Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to chill.

After you let this chill, cut it into squares and try your hardest not to eat the entire plate before your friends get a chance.

Yup, building snowmen....still fun.

HAPPY OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF WINTER!

It’s hard to remember when you’re spending half of your day bundling up in the thickest, warmest, heaviest things you own just to walk outside to get the mail, but it’s is the most wonderful time of the yearrrrrrrr! Yes, really. Andy Williams was not lying when he gleefully belted out the season’s staple song back in the 1960s, and his holiday tune still rings true today. Even if it takes my hands a full 7 minutes to warm up after being outside.

Winter is one of the best seasons for a multitude of reasons that I just don’t have enough time (or Redbull) to list. But, because I need to share the gloriousness of this beloved season, I compiled the top 10 reasons why winter beats summer, spring, and fall’s seasonal asses every year.

[Click on any image to view the slideshow.]

After months and months of bemoaning and belaboring senior year, the fall semester is almost complete. Half of my senior year is over. My lasts semester taking a full course load is over.  It’s the end of an era, the beginning of something new. It’s what I’ve been counting down to since October. I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit ranting about how I could  not wait until the semester was over, how I needed a break, how I was tired of my professors, how I needed more free time and fewer responsibilities and how I was absolutely certain that this semester was just never going to end.

But now, now it’s very close to ending, and what I hadn’t seemed to realize was that it wasn’t so much my last fall semester of college that I wanted to end, but rather all of the work that accompanied it.

You see, I tried my best to strike a balance. But somewhere along the way the stress of senior year started overwhelming the sentimentality of senior year. It was less about enjoying the experience and more about powering through to the end of the experience. The senioritis started kicking in, and I started freaking out. I was trapped in a of must-get-things-done-now mind frame, worrying about my senior thesis (I don’t know why. It’s not due to April), my grad school applications (Don’t even know if I want to go to graduate school), and my grades (Still important. But now that the papers are done it doesn’t really seem as stress worthy). I spent a good chunk of the semester thinking about what comes next, and while it made sense at the time, that is not how I want to spend the latter half of my senior year.

I want to spend it partying partaking in senior year activities. I want to be a college student, because hey, I don’t know if you noticed but this will be my last chance to do that.  I use to do it quite well once upon a time (I’m looking at you, Junior Jenn) and after a little winter break rest and relaxation I think I’ll be more than ready to get back to the basics, for my last semester of college ever.

So I’m going to power through this last week one last time, and then do some celebrating. I’ll rest, relax, and recuperate all while getting into the Christmas spirit. And in January I’ll be back, with some New Year’s resolutions and some new, less stressful, senior goals.

If you need me until then, I’ll be watching Real Housewives reruns and baking Christmas cookies (or just eating the dough).

I’ve spent weeks and weeks bemoaning the fact that Christmas commercials were airing in November. Macy’s has had their holiday decorations up for months. The Starbucks baristas have been wearing Santa hats since the day after Halloween. “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet,” I kept saying. “Why are people already doing their holiday shopping, why are the decorations already up? The holiday season starts after Thanksgiving. That’s the way it goes!!” The early start seriously upset me. And I refused to take part in it. But now, it seems, I have nothing to complain about.

Thanksgiving is over.

We’ve watched the parade. We’ve carved the turkey. We stuffed ourselves with stuffing and cranberry sauce and ate pumpkin pie until we wanted to puke. And then, when the feeling passed, we ate more. The holiday season is upon us. So I better just get in the spirit. Here’s how.

10. Watch a Christmas movie. Everyone has a favorite holiday movie. So what better way to get into the holiday spirit than by watching Tim Allen in The Santa Clause or the Olsen twins in To Grandmother’s House We Go? There’s always the recently made into a musical, Elf, or the kind of creepy but still enjoyable The Polar Express. Everyone has a favorite. Just find yours on YouTube and enjoy.

9. Order a peppermint mocha or a caramel latte. These have been available since the first of November and although I drank my coffee from Starbuck’s Christmas cups I refused to indulge in a peppermint mocha until the day after Thanksgiving. So after I did some cyber shopping, I went out and got one. It was worth the wait.

8. Decorate your dorm room. Don’t wait until you’re back home to decorate for the holidays. Get into the spirit now. Studying for finals and finishing out a semester that should have ended the day before Thanksgiving is depressing enough without prolonging your holiday cheer. So don’t. Hang twinkle lights. Make paper snowflakes. Throw tinsel everywhere. And while you’re decorating…

7. Blast that holiday music. There has to be at least one station in your range that plays annoying, nonstop Christmas music from Thanksgiving until New Years day. Embrace it! Or if you want something a little more specialized, download your favorite artists singing holiday tunes. I’m not going to lie; I’m listening to Kurt and Blaine sing “Baby its Cold Outside” as I type. Glee’s Christmas album is totally worth the $9.99 on iTunes.

6. Drink hot chocolate. Nothing says winter quite like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold, snowy night. Curl up on the couch in your favorite sweats, with a warm blanket and your hot chocolate, topped with whip cream and marshmallows. Mmm. Sounds fabulous.

5. Make a wish list. I know. I know. This is the season for giving, not for getting. But once upon a time your wish list was the most important part of your holiday season. And who’s to say that Santa still can’t use a little help finding you the perfect present. If you hadn’t told him, he never would have known you wanted that Cabbage Patch doll back then, and he won’t know you want those patent leather pumps now. Write a list. Mom and Dad will get it to Santa. They always do.

4. Plan the perfect holiday party. After your brief reunion with your high school BFFs on Thanksgiving Eve you remembered just how much fun you use to have with them. What better way to start off a month of hanging out at home than with the perfect party? Peppermint flavored cocktails and an excuse to eat all the candy canes you want. Do you need another reason? How about an excuse to…

3. Find the perfect party outfit. Every store I step into, every magazine I open, all I see is sparkles. Bright speckled dresses, and black satin, and red silk. My InStyle is constantly reminding me of my need to find the perfect party dress. And frankly, I can no longer resist. I want a pretty dress. And I want one now.

2. Make some break and bake cookies. Around the holidays, baking can sometimes become a mix between an art form and a competitive sport. But if you just want something sugary sweet to indulge in during your movie marathon, try some break and bake cookies. Pillsbusry and Tollhouse make it easy for use college girls, simply break apart the brick of cookie dough decorated with Christmas trees, candy canes, and reindeer, place them on a tray, and put them in the oven. Of if you really can’t wait just break and eat, salmonella be damned.

1. Start shopping. Right now. Right this second. In fact, you should have started shopping already, because everyone else has, and you’re never going to be able to catch up. You have gifts to give. Lots of them. Mom. Dad. Brother. Aunt. Boyfriend. Cousin’s boyfriend. Boyfriend’s cousin. These gifts are not going to buy themselves. And no, you can’t get away with homemade cards and free hug coupons like you use to be able to.

You’ve got to love the holidays, huh?

[Check out Jenn's other musings-in-the-form-of-a-list here.]

Though we’ve certainly celebrated our fair share of cupcake recipes here on Intro to Cooking, I hope the foodies out there can forgive me for serving up another cupcake creation. Hell, you should, because these babies combine the two most important culinary elements of college in one mind-blowing, gut-busting dessert:

BEER. CUPCAKES.

Did I know you could make cupcakes from beer? Would I have without-a-doubt gained the Freshman 500 had I known about this back then? I mean, is the freakin’ pope Catholic?

To be fair, the baking process will dilute the alcohol, so you won’t be able to get drunk off of these babies, but there are many health benefits to beer so these are basically like eating a vegetable.

Please consult the following recipe by Big City Little Kitchen, who recommends adding more Guinness to the icing for an extra kick, for the ultimate collegiate culinary bliss.

Ingredients

1 cup Guinness
1 stick, plus 1 tb, unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
8 oz cream cheese
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine the Guinness and the butter, chopped into 1-inch chunks, in a large sauce pan, and heat to melt the butter. Remove from heat, and whisk in the cocoa and sugar.

3. In a bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs and vanilla, then add to the beer mixture. Then mix in the flour and baking soda.

4. Place cupcake liners into a cupcake tray and pour mixture into molds. Bake for 25 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, remove from tray, and let cool.

5. Using a mixer, whip cream cheese until smooth, sift in sugar, and beat. Add milk, and beat until smooth. Spread glaze over cooled cupcakes.

6. Indulge. Then indulge in another one. With a nice, cold Guinness. Then maybe share the rest.

Warning: Insanely Addictive.

The edges are crispy and savory while the insides are soft and piping hot. They’re so much better than the fries you buy at the concession stand or a fast food restaurant, because they’re actually made from potatoes. They’re easy to make and even easier to devour. Just writing this makes me want to whip up a batch and chow down. In my bed. While watching an ANTM marathon.

You can use regular or sweet potatoes for this recipe, or even mix them up in the same batch, which I do here. These fries are already healthy (and totally natural!), but you could make them have a lower glycemic index than starchy russets by choosing waxy potatoes, such as new potatoes or red potatoes. Really, this is the perfect college recipe – healthy, easy, tasty – so memorize it. It will get you through the rest of your college career, I guarantee it.

Ingredients:
1 pound waxy potatoes, such as red potatoes
1 pound sweet potatoes, cut in half crosswise
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt (coarse sea salt works best)
Paprika and cayenne pepper
Baking pan lined with aluminum foil

Potato Time:
1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Yes, 500.

2. Cut the potatoes into wedges that are about 1/4 inch thick at the thickest point. The shape doesn’t matter, so don’t worry if everything comes out a little lopsided.

3. Place wedges in a large bowl, and toss with the olive oil, salt, paprika and cayenne pepper to taste. (Or throw in your own spices. Garlic salt works well, too!)

3. Spread the potato wedges on the pan in an even layer. Put them in the oven, and roast 20 minutes or until tender.

4. Remove the pan from the oven, and loosen the potatoes from the foil using a spatula. Return to the oven and cook for another five minutes.

5. Serve at once, seasoned with more salt, pepper, or ketchup if desired.

Note: These are best served right away (and good luck trying not to house them all immediately), but can hold in a warm oven for about 30 minutes.

Like Reese’s? Yeah, me too. Honestly, I’m not sure I can ever trust someone who doesn’t. The problem is that a girl can’t subsist on peanut butter cups alone . . . but it’s fun to try.

No, seriously, the problem is more that those things are crazy unhealthy. Not only will they set you back more than 200 calories and 13 grams of fat for a pair, but they’re full of artificial flavors and preservatives. And that, my lady friends, is why I make my own. (Well, that and the fact that the CVS lady looks at me funny when I come in and buy, like, 12 Reese’s packs before 10am.)

Now, I need to be clear here—these homemade treats aren’t really much healthier, but they do taste better, they don’t contain any weird artificial stuff, and they are far more effective at impressing your friends. Plus, it’s a heck of a lot cheaper to make a dozen of these than it is to buy six packs of Reese’s. So what are you waiting for?

What You Need:
(The recipe is based on this charmer from AllRecipes, my go-to recipe source.)

• 1 (11.5-ounce) package semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup of all-natural peanut butter (you can use Jif, but I prefer the hippie stuff)
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (that’s the powdery stuff)
• 12 muffin-cup liners
• Muffin pan

What You Do:
1. Place the muffin liners in the muffin pan.

2. Put half the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, and zap the chips in the microwave for 1 minute on HIGH. Take them out and stir them, and continue to microwave them in 30-second increments on HIGH until you can stir them completely smooth.

3. Distribute the melted chocolate evenly among the 12 muffin-cup liners. Then use a flexible spatula or a spoon to creep the chocolate 1/2 inch or so up the sides of the liners so it’s not all stuck in the bottom (creating a little bowl for the PB).

4. Put the chocolate shell bottoms in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are firm.

5. While those little cups of goodness are chillin’, use a whisk and a small bowl to combine the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar. (This is where the natural PB comes in handy – it’s a lot thinner than the other stuff, making it easier to stir.) Leave it at room temperature until the chocolate shells have firmed.

6. Take the shells out of the fridge and distribute the peanut butter mixture evenly among them.

7. Melt the remaining chocolate chips in the microwave in the same way you melted the first half of them.

8. Spoon the melted chocolate over the top of the peanut butter cups, spreading the chocolate to the edges of the liners. Refrigerate the finished cups for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are firm.

And that’s all there is to it! Soon you’ll be chowing down on homemade peanut butter cups in your bedroom where none of your roommates can find them on the couch with your girls while you catch up on the first season of Glee. I know – total girls night perfection.

So imagine my delight when I saw a recipe for them that was simple enough to do in a dorm kitchen!

What You Need:

* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

It’s Cookie Time:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

2. Grab an hand mixer and a large bowl and cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. (Or roll that dough out and cut out some fun little shamrocks for a late night, post green beer snack on Wednesday!)

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

These little pieces of Heaven are sure to garner you a dorm fan club. Just be sure to keep them safely hidden…

[Recipe provided via Allrecipes]