reindeer marshmallows, crock pot hot cocoa . . . and sugar cookies

One of my favorite holiday family activities is hosting a small cookie decorating party for . . . and with . . . my 4 beautiful children.

We gather around a 6-foot long table that's covered with 120+ Christmas shaped sugar cookies, frosting and sprinkles galore, and mugs of hot cocoa  . . . and we decorate cookies for hours and hours while listening to Christmas music and spending quality time with each other.  
You can see photos of this year's cookies here.

I try to mix it up every year, by adding new cookie shapes, or serving a new hot cocoa, and by introducing new, fun icings and sprinkles.

I made these adorable reindeer marshmallows for our hot cocoa mugs this year.

They're so simple to assemble . . .  and look festive perched atop a paper candy stick and placed into a cup of hot cocoa.

Although you could use cloves for the eyes, I like the simplicity of just the antlers (rosemary) and nose (cranberry secured with a toothpick).

 

Have you ever heard of Crock Pot Hot Cocoa? 

I discovered it earlier this year . . . and love it!

One of my favorite things about it is that you pour everything into a crock pot and let the ingredients marry together . . .  so simple! And then a few hours later, you have a wonderfully rich and delicious home-made hot cocoa that's made with real chocolate. YUM!

crock pot Hot Cocoa

Serves 12 - 1 cup servings

.     .     .     .     .     .

  6 cups milk

1 14-ounce can of Sweetened Condensed milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups of semi-sweet (or milk, or dark) chocolate chips

.     .     .     .     .     .

In a slow cooker, stir together heavy cream, milks, vanilla and chocolate chips.

Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted.

Stir again before serving.

Top with your favorite fixings and enjoy!

Refrigerate any left overs.

.     .     .     .     .     . 

Whipped cream is an important topping when serving hot cocoa . . . and so are sprinkles when you're hosting a cookie decorating party (smile!).

I also served  Starbuck's Vanilla Brulee. It reminds me of a mild cocoa that's infused with warm vanilla and caramel notes . . . YUM!

So often, it's the simple gatherings with our loved ones that are so much fun.

I hope that you feel inspired to bake sugar cookies and make reindeer marshmallows this weekend . . .  and spend some quality time with the ones that you love most!

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