Our weekend was spent preparing for and hosting our annual Christmas cookie and craft beer exchange, which has become our favorite event of the year. The tradition started with just a few girlfriends when I was living in South Bend and keeps getting bigger and bigger every year. It’s a great way to unwind and spend time with friends during the hectic holiday season.

Here’s how it works: everyone brings either a six-pack of craft beer or a dozen cookies to share. We spend the night sampling everyone’s creations and the person who baked the crowd favorite takes home a small prize.

We stocked our fridge with a variety of my dad’s homebrew, New Belgium and Upland beers before everyone arrived. We also got a growler of Krampus from Bloomington Brewing Company, which is our favorite seasonal beer. We had to make a beer run halfway through the party last year, so we wanted to make sure we had more than enough beer in case most guests decided to bring cookies. But, most people actually brought both! We still have dozens of beers in our fridge leftover from the party. Luckily, there’s no such thing as too much beer.

I made Doubletree cookies, Oreo truffles, pretzel cookies and almond cut-out cookies for the party. I also put out a cheese plate and some salty snacks to help balance out all of the sugar. That table quickly became covered in cookies when guests arrived. I think we’re going to need a bigger one for next year’s party!

There seriously wasn’t enough room for all of the delicious cookies people brought. What’s so fun about the party is somehow no two people ever bring the same cookies. We had everything from classic spritz cookies to ombre cookies. I only sampled a couple because I was so busy mingling — and I didn’t want an awful stomach ache this morning.

There were lots of favorites, but our friend Stacy won the cookie competition this year. She brought two kinds that were delicious, but the salted caramel cookies were the biggest hit. I also loved the coffee cheesecake tartlets and Snickers-stuffed snickerdoodles other friends brought. We tried to send everyone off with bags of cookies, but we still somehow ended up with the majority of the leftovers. I threw them in the freezer so we won’t be tempted to eat ourselves into cookie comas!

The party was an absolute blast and I’m kind of sad it’s already over. It’s become one of our favorite holiday traditions and it was especially fun being able to throw it in a home of our own this year. I’m already dreaming up cookie recipes for next year’s party!

What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Chime in by posting a comment below!

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I love hosting friends and look for just about any excuse to throw a party. That means we’ve hosted quite a few over the years — and I’d like to think we have it down to a science. That hasn’t always been the case. When you’re trying to juggle food, drink and entertainment for a crowd, a lot can go wrong. So I’m sharing a few tips for how to host an impressive party without all of the stress.

1. Keep it simple. 

When it comes to planning a menu for a party, don’t be overly ambitious. Homemade meatballs are great for a date night at home, but no one will know you used the frozen version when you smother them in a delicious sauce and throw them on a Hawaiian roll. You can keep your menu sophisticated without having to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen. Take shortcuts if they won’t compromise the deliciousness of a dish and don’t be afraid to serve some semi-homemade or store-bought foods. Nancy’s quiche and deli spirals are staples at many of our parties because they’re absolutely delicious and effortless to prepare. I also almost always serve two-ingredient creamy salsa dip, sangria and ranch house cheese spread because they’re crowd pleasers that take hardly any time to put together.

2. Prep the day before. 

I don’t know how I hosted parties before I started embracing this tip. It makes life so much easier. No one wants to spend the entirety of their own kickass party in the kitchen, so prepare as much as you can the night before. I actually plan my menu around what types of foods can be prepared ahead of time so all I have to do the day of the party is pop a couple things in the oven and put out some plates. Crockpot recipes, chilled salads and baked dips are always popular among guests and easy on the hosts.

3. Be clear about what’s expected of guests — and vice versa. 

If people ask what they can bring to the party, be truthful. If you’re counting on guests to help stock the bar or feed the crowd, be clear about those expectations from the beginning. And let people know when they’re invited whether it’s OK for them to bring their significant others, kids or friends. This will help ensure there’s enough food and drink for everyone and will ensure you avoid the awkwardness of unexpected guests. You should also be sure to let guests know whether you’ll be serving a full meal, light appetizers, or just drinks. That way they’ll know whether to come hungry or eat before the event.

4. Have some entertainment planned. 

Most of the time our parties just involve everyone catching up, enjoying some good food and beers and a whole lot of laughing. But, we always have some entertainment planned just in case we need to help people break the ice. It can be something as simple as having card games handy or a makeshift photo booth setup.

5. Have fun!

This is the whole point of having a party, after all. While it can be easy to get caught up in all the duties of hosting, it’s important to spend lots of time mingling with guests and partaking in the festivities. If you don’t, your guests will feel awkward and you won’t want to throw another shindig anytime soon. Have a blast!

The post How To Throw A Stress-Free Party appeared first on The Broadcasting Baker.

Hey, strangers! I’m sorry I disappeared on you this week. It’s been a hectic few days, to say the least. A bad system of storms rolled through Indiana Wednesday and I headed north to Kokomo to cover the aftermath. Dozens of homes were destroyed but, miraculously, no one was seriously injured. I had a late night putting together some stories and then had another late night the next day seeing the Dixie Chicks in concert in Indy. I was exhausted, but it was so worth it! They put on an absolutely amazing show. I’ve always loved their music and have had it on repeat since seeing them live.

Now we’re spending our Saturday getting ready to host our first party in our house! We’ve been working really hard to make the place feel put together and cozy and we can’t wait to break it in by having our friends over for food and drinks. I spent last night prepping to make today a little bit easier. We’ll have lots of appetizers, pineapple mint sangria, craft beer and this boozy lemonade.

This is by no means a light drink, but it’s easy to throw together and serves a crowd. And it’s the perfect cocktail to sip on humid summer nights. My mother-in-law gave me the recipe a couple of years ago, but I completely forgot about it until this week. I have a feeling it will be a hit with our guests!

The recipe calls for a can of beer and I would highly suggest using 21st Amendment Brewery’s Hell or High Watermelon if you can. It’s the hint of watermelon takes the flavor up a notch!

This lemonade can be served two ways: on the rocks or frozen. I think it’s great both ways! If you prefer a slushie, just pull the lemonade out of the freezer 20 minutes before serving and let it sit on the counter to thaw slightly.

Boozy Lemonade

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 12 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate
• 12 oz. vodka
• 12 oz. can wheat beer
• 2 liters lemon-lime soda
  [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Combine all ingredients in an oversized pitcher or large punch bowl. Refrigerate and serve on the rocks or freeze for boozy lemonade slushies.

[/directions]

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It was like a giant family reunion, especially for my dad’s side of my family. His cousins made the trip and I hadn’t seen most of them in decades! We also got to spend time with two of my cousins and their beautiful babies, who we hadn’t gotten a chance to meet  yet. It was wonderful to catch up and see how happy my parents were surrounded by their amazing family and friends. The afternoon was laid-back and fun, just like Ben and Lana.

My mom was the mastermind behind the entire event and she did a beautiful job making everything come together. In addition to making several homemade sweets, she had Kelly’s Bakery and Cafe cater and everyone raved about the delicious spread. My favorite dishes were the bacon-wrapped dates and ham, cheese and apple butter croissants. I plan to recreate them both soon for the blog!

My dad, of course, was in charge of the beer. He made an amazing dry-hopped Saison for the occasion. It was fantastic. Having a dad that brews beer seriously ups his coolness factor — my friends are always asking when he’s coming to Indiana next because they love sampling his creations. Once we move later this summer I think I’ll have to have him come over and teach me how to brew!

After a month of nonstop travel, I’m definitely ready for a relaxing weekend in Bloomington. I need to get back into my cooking/workout routine, which has been seriously thrown off the past two weeks. My body has had way too much sugar and is in need of lots of fruit and veggies. Looking forward to getting back on the meal prep train this weekend!

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