New Year’s Eve is tomorrow night. Time to say good-bye to 2011 and hello to 2012.  What do you have planned for the evening? A night of partying or are you going to keep it low key and stay in? Since we have a toddler and I’m pregnant, the hubs and I decided to go low key this year. But that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna open up a bottle of bubbly after the little guy goes to bed and toast to the excitement that awaits.

But plain old champagne is just that, old. There are some delicious champagnes that should probably never be tampered with – Dom, Cristal… you know those super high end brands that the celebrities are always toasting with and spilling all over themselves.  But then there are the lower end that while decent on their own, deserve to be mixed with other liqueurs every now and then. This is when I pull out the Creme de Cassis and make myself a Kir Royale. It’s sweet, and sparkling and the perfect way to celebrate. And since it’s so easy to make, it should absolutely be on your list of champagne cocktails this New Year’s Eve.

Now I know it looks and sounds like some newfangled concoction, but believe it or not the Kir Royale has been around since WWII. It originated in Burgundy, France in the ’40s and is named after Félix Kir who was a hero in the French Resistance during the Second World War. After the war was over, he became mayor of Dijon and kept the distinguished position until his death in 1968. Kir was very interested in supporting local products from Dijon and created a drink called the Kir by combining the local peasant white wine with the sweet local black currant liqueur, Creme de Cassis. Kir’s recipe was a huge success in Burgundy and became so popular, it spread all over France, finally reaching the upper class who thought it would be more appropriate to use champagne instead of the peasant wine and thus the Kir Royale was born.

So whether you’re going out or staying in, turn your champagne into French high society by adding a little Creme de Cassis. Not only is the Kir Royale beautiful to look at, it’s delicious as well.

Kir Royale

• 1/2 ounce Creme de Cassis
• 4 ounces champagne

Pour the Creme de Cassis into a champagne flute. Add the champagne and enjoy.

During this holiday season I make plenty of cocktails. Some are simple and some are a little more complicated. While some are cold, most of my cocktail choices during this chilly time of year are hot. After all, there’s nothing better on a snowy evening than Hot Chocolate with Baileys or a big steaming cup of Spiced Cider. It’s just not the holidays unless you’re curled up in front of the fire with a piping hot cocktail. And you’d be amazed how many options there are. There are even a few of which I hadn’t heard until recently (the Tom & Jerry being one).  Hot Buttered Rum however, is not one of them.

I’ve been hearing about hot buttered rum my whole life as it’s my father’s cold-weather-drink of choice. But I only recently discovered it was a classic. One of my favorite Christmas movies of all time is White Christmas. Bing Crosby crooning, Rosemary Clooney’s amazing voice, and Danny Kaye making crazy faces while dancing insanely… it’s just the quintessential Christmas movie. You’re probably wondering what this movie has to do with hot buttered rum. Well, early on in the film Bing is talking about Vermont and the snow and how he likes “hot buttered rum, light on the butter”. Well since that movie’s from 1954, I knew the cocktail had to be older than that. But I had no idea how old.

Turns out the cocktail has been around almost as long as the United States.  After molasses began being imported from Jamaica, and distilleries opened in New England in the 1650′s, colonists began adding distilled rum to hot beverages such as toddies and nogs, creating beverages like hot buttered rum.  Although the first recipe for the buttered rum batter (which is what makes hot buttered rum, hot buttered rum) wasn’t published until 1917, people have been mixing their own spices together to add to the hot alcohol for centuries.

So this year, instead of the same old cocoa or eggnog (which are both awesome choices) why not open up presents on Christmas Eve with a cup of hot buttered rum? Not only will you feel warm and cozy inside, you’ll definitely have sugarplum fairies dancing in your head.

Buttered Rum Batter

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 oz unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg or mace
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly. Refrigerate in an sealed air-tight container for up to two months or freeze for up to a year.

To make the cocktail:

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp refrigerated buttered rum batter
• 6 oz boiling water
• 1 1/2 oz dark rum
• nutmeg for garnish

Directions:

Tonight’s the third night of Hanukkah and if you’re anything like me that means it’s all about the potato pancakes. Yes, the entree is important but when it comes to the Festival of Lights the most important food really is the potato pancake.

Now I’m a big fan of the classic Russet potato version, but every so often I like to change things up a bit. Last year I made these Potato and Green Onion Latkes and the green onions added such a nice flavor I’m making them from now on. Anyway, this year, I decided to try sweet potatoes. Oh. My. God. They were good. So today I’m bringing them to you. Make them! You won’t be disappointed.

Sweet Potato Latkes

Ingredients:

• 3 yams
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup matzoh meal
• 2 tsp allspice
• vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Roast the yams in the oven at 400° F for 1.5 hours. Scoop the soft meat out of the skins and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Add the egg, matzoh meal, and allspice and whisk together until smooth.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Take a large spoonful of the sweet potato mixture and make a patty, Place in the oil and fry for 2-3 minutes per side. Watch them because they can burn quick! Place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve with cranberry applesauce.

It’s the holidays and that means I’m doing a lot of cooking, and not just savory dishes, I’m baking plenty of sweet things as well. During this time of year I’m always baking cookies and bars of all shapes and sizes. While I usually stick to my favorites like Chocolate Mint Cookies or Chocoholic’s Brownies, every year I try and make something new and exciting. Sometimes I’m successful and sometimes… not so much. Last year I made Sweet Potato Marshmallow Bars with White Chocolate Chips.  But this year, I decided to make something that wasn’t quite as sweet, something that would go perfectly with a steaming cup of spiced cider or hot buttered rum.

Fortunately I didn’t have to look very far for my inspiration, Better Homes and Gardens had a recipe for Frosted Butterscotch cookies that sounded perfect: not too sweet and ideal for this festive season. But I wasn’t wild about the browned butter frosting so instead I opted for Tidy Mom’s Buttercream Eggnog Frosting. It was the perfect combo. The simple cake like cookie topped with the wonderfully sweet (and spiked of course) eggnog frosting – the ideal cookie for the holidays.  But what made this cookie baking experience especially sweet was I got to use my new OXO “be a good cookie” spatula.

I love OXO products. As a matter of fact whenever anyone asks about a cooking utensil they should get, I always, always recommend OXO’s products. They’re easy to handle, usually dishwasher safe and last forever. So when they asked that I give their new spatula a try, I welcomed that wonderful little cooking tool with open arms. And when I say little, I’m not kidding. This adorable spatula is the perfect size for scooping up hot cookies off your cookie sheet, and the rounded edges make it even easier to squeeze between those mounds of dough that may have expanded more than you expected in the oven. But what makes this spatula truly special is that half of all the proceeds received from every purchased spatula goes towards pediatric cancer research.

As someone who’s whole paternal side of the family (save my father and his brother) has died of some form of cancer or another, this is a program that is important to me. The only way we’re going to find a cure for this horrible disease is from research. So I believe every dollar put toward that cause is a dollar well spent. And if you can spend it buying the perfect cookie spatula, why wouldn’t you?

But if you’re already spent out this season with all the gift buying (and seriously, who isn’t) don’t worry, you can still get this awesome cooking tool. How? Well, because not only were the OXO folk nice enough to send me a spatula, they sent along an extra for me to giveaway to one lucky reader.  But I’m going a step further since it’s the holiday season.  Because I love OXO products so much, and the color of the month is red and green, I’m going to give away two of their wonderful rubber spatulas, one red and one white. The white one’s rounded and concave so you can scoop while stirring, perfect for folding things like chocolate chips or nuts into your cookies. The red spatula is your basic scraping rubber spatula, perfect for scraping the sides of your mixing bows. I use both every single time I bake and couldn’t imagine making cookies, cakes or frosting without them.

Here’s how you win: (Main entry required) THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Go to OXO’s site and peruse all their amazing cooking utensils.  Then come back here and tell me what you absolutely must have (other than the items shown here) to make your baking dreams come true.

Want extra entries?

Each item you do will get you one chance to win (for a total of five chances). If you already do any of these things they do count! So make sure to leave a separate comment for each item.

1. Go like OXO on Facebook.
2. Go like Kitchy Cooking on Facebook.
3. Follow @kitchycooker on twitter and tweet the following statement:   I just entered to win a “be a good cookie” spatula from @kitchycooker and OXO. Have you?  http://bit.ly/tXWzTT
4. Subscribe to the Kitchy Cooking RSS feed.

The Fine Print

• This giveaway is only open to residents of the 50 United States.
• Giveaway will end on December 28, 2011 at 6 pm PST. One winner with a valid entry will be chosen via a random number generator at random.org.  The winner will then be notified via the e-mail they provide when they leave a comment.
• Winner has until January 3rd at 6 pm PST to claim their prize or I’ll pick another winner.

Now that I’ve laid out all the nitty gritty details, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for – the recipe for these yummy Butterscotch cookies with eggnog buttercream frosting.

Butterscotch Cookies with Eggnog Buttercream Frosting

For the cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar and shortening with an electric mixer until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Alternately add the flour and sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in the walnuts if you’re using them.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.
4. Spread the cookies with Eggnog Buttercream Frosting and serve.

For the Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup eggnog (or you can use commercial eggnog)
• 2 tsp rum (only if you’re using virgin eggnog)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl beat together the powdered sugar and shortening until well combined.
2. Gradually beat in the eggnog and rum until frosting is smooth.

I’ve always been a huge fan of chocolate and cherries or any combination thereof. My favorite sweet? Chocolate covered cherries. They’re soooo good. There’s just nothing in the world that beats them, especially if it’s a deep, rich dark chocolate in which the cherry has been dipped.

So, since I’m such a huge fan of chocolate and cherries, you’ll probably find it weird that I hate Black Forest Cake. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s the fake cherry taste, the gooey overly sweet cherry filling or the way-too-sweet whipped cream. Whatever the case I am absolutely not a fan.

But because I really love chocolate and cherries, I thought maybe there was a way to take that cake I hate so much and turn it into a brownie I could fall in love with. And there was: simply take my favorite brownie recipe, add some cherry wine and a ton of bing cherries.

To my thrilled surprise, it worked! Those brownies were just what I was craving: moist, chocolatey goodness with just a hint of cherry. And the best news is there was no sicky sweet whipped cream or cherry jelly. It’s the perfect dessert for this holiday season… or any other time of the year you’re craving chocolate and cherries.

Black Forest Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
• 4 squares of unsweetened chocolate
• 1-1/2 cups of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tablespoons cherry wine
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups fresh or frozen bing cherries, pitted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a small pan over a low flame, stirring occasionally, until chocolate and butter are completely melted, about 5 minutes.  Pour the melted butter and chocolate into a mixing bowl and gradually beat in the sugar.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Add the vanilla and cherry wine.
3. Gradually mix in the flour.  Then fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
4. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan and place the cherries evenly over the top of the batter. Bake for 45 minutes. (I like my brownies really fudgy so I only cook them for 40 minutes.) Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting.  Makes about 20 brownies.