black pepper + white cheddar mac & cheese

can you believe it is december this week?! WHAT. this weekend we put up our first ever christmas tree (a real one!) & decorated it with the cutest forest animal ornaments. it goes with the rest of the house since i have a slight obsession with foxes & deers. seriously though, fox figures everywhere. also, who watched the girlmore girls revival?! i pretty much spent all of friday binge watching it & not sure how i feel about the ending. BUT i don't want to spoil it for all you slow pokes so let's just skip on over to this mac & cheese!

this mac & cheese dish is SUPER cheesy because i used an extra old white cheddar cheese (& lots of it). since it is the holidays, i made it a touch richer with the addition of heavy cream but feel free to use whole milk for the whole recipe. instead of doing the traditional topping of bread crumbs tossed in butter, i used harvest snaps! they have so many flavours to choose from. i went with the black pepper blend but feel free be bold & use your favourite (wasabi?!?!). just make sure to have an extra bag on hand for snacking purposes cause i ate a whole bag in the process;)

happy ALMOST december! get those advent calenders ready.

ingredients

• 1 box of short pasta
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 egg
• 3 cups grated extra old white cheddar, plus more for topping
• salt, to taste
• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 bag of black pepper harvest snaps, crushed

directions

• preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• cook pasta as directed on box until al dente. strain & set aside.
• in a separate pot over medium heat add the butter, flour & mustard powder. stir constantly & cook until a smooth roux forms, about 5 minutes.
• add the whole milk, heavy cream & bay leaf. simmer for ten minutes.
• remove bay leaf & temper in the egg, followed by the grated old white cheddar cheese.
• add the strained, cooked pasta to the pot & stir until evenly coated. if the pot is not oven safe, transfer to a baking dish.
• top with additional cheese & crushed black pepper harvest snaps.
• bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly & golden brown.

this post was created in partnership with harvest snaps! thank you for supporting the brands that keep me doing what i love. xo

mini matcha swirl cheesecakes

happy gilmore girl release day!!!! errr.. black friday. i hope you all had an amazing thanksgiving & ate your weight in turkey! instead of being surrounded by crowds & going black friday shopping this year, i am going to do the complete opposite. i plan to stay in, bake some holiday cookies & binge watch the whole season of the new girlmore girl's revival. i woke up early & already watched the first episode, but i don't want to spoil it!

if you plan to do the same as me today, here is the perfect little bite size treats to whip up: mini matcha swirl cheesecakes. i usually only make cheesecake during the holiday's & this year i wanted to make something mini. if you couldn't tell by now, i love making mini versions of things! the filling is half vanilla cheesecake & half matcha cheesecake baked onto a gingersnap crust. as always, i used aiya matcha's cooking grade matcha powder to ensure the matcha flavour doesn't get lost with all the other ingredients. a little cheesecake making tip for you, ALWAYS make sure the cheesecake & the eggs are at room temperature or you will end up with chunks of cream cheese. i always use philadelphia's full fat cream cheese because i never have any luck with other brands. lastly please, PLEASE do not buy the lower fat cream cheese available, they never turn out! i have tried one too many times. anyways, have a great long weekend:)

ingredients

for the gingersnap crust

• 1.5 cups gingersnap crumbs
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

for the swirled filling

• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons aiya matcha powder (i use the cooking grade matcha powder)

directions

for the gingersnap crust

• in a mixing bowl add the gingersnap crumbs, sugar, vanilla & butter. stir until a wet sandy mixture is formed.
• press the crust into twelve lined cupcake tins & bake for five minutes while you prepare the filling.

for the swirled filling

• in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the cream cheese & sugar until smooth.
• add in the eggs one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. finished off with vanilla extract.
• divide batter into two equal portions. leave one as is & add the matcha powder to the other one.
• add one scoop of each mixture per cupcake tin & swirl together with a knife.
• bake for 20 minutes & let cool completely before serving.
• top with whipped cream if desired.

this post was created in partnership with aiya matcha! you can find the cooking grade matcha powder that i used here. thank you for supporting the brands that keep me doing what i love! xo

white chocolate + bourbon cocktail

who else is ready to start mixing up some holiday cocktails for those thanksgiving & christmas parties!?! this might be one of my favourite cocktails to date. it is like dessert in a cup finished off with sweet white chocolate in the drink, in the whipped cream & shaved on top! if you don't know by now i LOVE (am obsessed with) white chocolate. i was so excited when green & black's organic asked me to partner with them & create a cocktail incorporating their chocolate (of course i picked white chocolate). green & black's make some of the best chocolate i have ever had. the organic white chocolate is made with madagascan vanilla, madagascan vanilla beans & raw cane sugar. all the good stuff that i love to use in my baked goods.

have you ever incorporated chocolate into a cocktail before? i found what works best is to shake the half & half with the melted white chocolate before adding the ice. this helps dispurse the white chocolate evenly throughout the milk! then add all the other ingredients & shake, shake, shake. if you want to keep it simple, feel free to skip the addition of the white chocolate whipped cream. i just figured when it is the holiday's, calories don't count:)

ingredients

for the white chocolate whipped cream

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 ounces green & black's white chocolate with madagascar vanilla bean, melted & cooled
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for the white chocolate + bourbon cocktail

• 2 ounces bourbon
• 4 ounces half & half
• 2 teaspoons fine sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 ounce green & black's white chocolate with madagascar vanilla bean, melted
• white chocolate whipped cream, for topping
• shaved white chocolate, for topping

directions

for the white chocolate whipped cream

• in a mixing bowl whisk whipped cream until soft peaks are formed. add white chocolate, sugar & vanilla. continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
• refrigerate until ready to use.

for the white chocolate + bourbon cocktail

• fill cocktail shaker with half & half + white chocolate. shake until smooth.
• add ice & pour in bourbon, fine sugar, vanilla & nutmeg. shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
• strain cocktail into a glass over ice.
• top with white chocolate whipped cream & sprinkle with nutmeg + shaved chocolate.

this post was created in partnership with green & black's organic. they make some of the best organic chocolate EVER. i can't stop snacking on this white chocolate & the sea salt milk chocolate. thank you for supporting the brands that keep me doing what i love! xo