For the holidays, Nestle Toll House is making Swirled Holiday Premier White morsels. These are white chocolate chips with either red or green swirls. These cookies combine swirled chips with semi-sweet chocolate chips in a traditional recipe. Try baking a batch of these for some holiday fun. The original recipes calls for sprinkling some of the chips on top of the cookies, but this is mostly for show. I stirred all of the chips into the cookie dough to save time.

1 cup (6 oz) Swirled Holiday morsels
1 cup (6 oz) Semi-Sweet chocolate morsels
2 1/4 cups flour, spooned and leveled
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs 

Preheat oven to 350F 

In a small bowl, combine swirl and chocolate morsels. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.

Drop by rounded tablespoon-ful on to ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely.

St. Julian Winery is by far my favorite vineyard. Located in Paw Paw Michigan, this is the closest I get to a locale winery. Most supermarkets carry their wines, but the varieties vary from store to store. Concord is available at most stores, and reasonably priced at about $7 a bottle.

Like the name suggestions, Concord has an intense grape flavor. Made from grapes grown in Southwestern Michigan, this wine is fruity, dense, and slightly sweet as would be expected. St. Julian classifies this as a red wine, though it could easily mimic a dessert wine.

What I enjoy most about this wine is the nostalgic taste of grape juice, with added sweetness. Think of this wine as sophisticated grape juice, with just a touch of sparkle. Its dark color suggests a red wine, but the fruity taste reminds me of sangria. My favorite sangria is actually based off of a grape-flavored wine, so this wine is a perfect fit.

St. Julian has many, many varieties of wine that are tasty and affordable. Check out their website for information on products and tours: St. Julian Winery.

I’m not sure what the appropriate wine glass is for a wine of this type, so I used my usual glass. This wine should be served chilled, and I would recommend a dessert wine glass or similar varieties. This would be a great wine to add fruit to, in the vein of sangria. Try a complimentary flavor such as apples, or a contrasting flavor such as lime.

The screw tops on these bottles can be difficult to loosen, sometimes I need to use a jar opener or even a knife. The screw tops do not suggest a low-quality wine, in fact, screw tops are becoming increasingly popular among mid-range wines.

 Moscato Allegro, similar to Moscato D’Asti, is a light dessert wine with a fruity finish. While very crisp and fresh, this wine does not have the bubbles of Moscato D’Asti. The fruity flavors are probably best with warm summer days, but is there really a bad time for dessert wine?

The bottle is fun and playful, though it may not store well in a typical wine rack. According to makers Martin & Weyrich, “the traditional, long and sleek ‘Renna Punto’ bottle is used only for the finest Moscato.” At under $12, this wine is a bargin. Most quality dessert wines will run over $20, but muscat wines tend to be more affordable.

This wine should be served cold, in a dessert glass or other narrow white wine glass. Although technically a dessert wine, it’s makers boast this is their “most versatile wine, Moscato Allegro is lovely on a hot day or a cold night. It is excellent as an aperitif, with a meal, with dessert, or all by itself.”

Okay, I take back everything bad I ever said about cookie-dough scoopers (see Ode to a Melon Baller). This little device is awesome! If you are fed up with the two-spoon tango of drop cookies, try one of these nifty kitchen tools. A cookie-dough scooper works with practically any kind of batter and drops perfect little dough balls on to cookie sheets.

You can find expensive varieties for $10 to $15, but I found mine on sale for about $2.50.

While I have a general distaste for kitchen utensils with only one purpose (such as a garlic press), this item has broken through the barrier. My cookie-dough scooper is two to three times faster than using spoons or rolling balls of dough between my hands. It also prevents the dreaded cookie-dough-under-the-fingernails predicament.

To prevent dough from sticking, try a shot of cooking spray in the scooper before digging in to the batter. Most varieties should already be non-stick, but if releasing the dough becomes problematic, try another spritz of spray.

Imagine a vanilla cheesecake, drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with pecans. Now, imagine that cheesecake swirled in with dark chocolate brownie batter and baked to perfection. These are delicious Turtle Cheesecake Brownies from Brownie Mix Magic. All you need is a box of brownie mix, some cream cheese, caramel ice cream topping, and chopped pecans. This simple but decadent treat is my tasty tribute to National Chocolate Brownie Day.

1 box (19.5 oz) dark chocolate brownie mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3 large eggs
8 oz (1 bar) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 13×9 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine brownie mix with oil, water, and 2 eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are mixed. Spread into the bottom of a prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in vanilla extract and remaining egg. Spread over brownie batter (it does not need to cover completely). Dollop caramel over batter. Drag a knife through brownie batter, creating a swirl pattern. Top with chopped pecans.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until golden and just set in the middle. Allow brownies to cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate if desired. Cut in to squares and enjoy.