Christmas Traditions (And a Gift from Me!) {Tuesday Talk #103}

Can you believe Christmas is this weekend?!?!  

This month is going fast, but we are really enjoying our time together as a family celebrating Advent and everything Christmas!

My top 3 favorite "Christmas traditions" moments from this year are...

Yep, little L is licking the ladder #parentsoftheyear

Visiting with Santa on a train ride

Celebrating several saints' feast days

(St. Juan Diego x 2 and Our Lady of Guadalupe pictured here!)

Eating Christmas Cranberry Cake 

Next up, I'm looking forward to spending Christmas at home with our little family of 5 and then celebrating B's 4th birthday the next day!

What are your favorite Christmas traditions and recipes?

Ok, here's what I've been up to on the blog this week...

So are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?  I only have 1 person left!

If you still have 1, 2, or everyone left on your Christmas list, check out my Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide for some help!  I have listed 10 personal and heartfelt gift ideas that you can buy for your loved ones all the way up to the day before Christmas.

Because sometimes Santa procrastinates...but it doesn't have to seem that way.

And now for a Christmas gift for my subscribers!

These Christmas beauties are going out to email subscribers on Thursday morning, December 22nd!

Email subscribers will receive a Buffalo Plaid Merry Christmas printable (8x10 and 5x7) and a Red Buffalo Plaid Reindeer printable (8x10 and 5x7).

Subscribers will receive hand-lettered Merry & Bright, Joy to the World, and Merry Christmas gift tags - all 3 come in solid black, red buffalo plaid, and green buffalo plaid (business card size - 3.5x2).

Sign up and get your freebies here!

Sign up here to get exclusive blog updates and Sweet Little Ones Shop discounts and freebies (like the prints and gift tags above!) one to two times every month!

My dear friends, may the Birth of Christ fill your heart with peace and joy this Christmas!  I pray you have a truly wonderful holiday with your loved ones.  Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Welcome to Tuesday Talk #103!

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Chocolate Almond No Bake Cookies

One of my favorite parts about the holidays are the sweet treats.  It's fun to make them and fun to eat them!  And these chocolate almond no bake cookies are one of our new favorite holiday desserts!

They have the perfect amount of chocolate, and the almonds give them a nice, little crunch.  You can really 'pretty them up' and make them fit any holiday by adding colored candies or almonds on top.  And they only take 30 minutes to make!

You can also easily convert this chocolate almond cookie recipe to make it compatible with many different food allergies or sensitivities (which is perfect for our family since we have several!).  It is already peanut-free and egg-free, and it can easily be converted to be gluten-free and dairy-free as well!

Below I have posted affiliate links, which means that I may make a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on those links. Please see the disclosure page for more info!


Chocolate Almond No Bake Cookies
Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free, and Peanut-free

Yield: 2 to 2-1/2 dozen cookies 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all natural almond butter
3-1/2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup slivered/sliced almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar (I use coconut sugar)
1/2 cup butter (I substitute unmelted coconut oil)
1/2 cup milk (or almond, coconut, or soy milk)

Directions:

1.  Mix the almond butter, oats, and almonds in a large mixing bowl until evenly coated.  Mixture will be very dry.  Set aside.

2.  Place the cocoa powder, sugar, butter/coconut oil, and milk in a medium saucepan and put it on medium/low heat on the stove.  When it begins to boil, constantly stir for 1 minute.

3.  Pour hot liquid cocoa mixture into dry oats mixture.  Mix until all of the oats are evenly covered.

4.  Lay out wax paper on a cookie sheet (or a pan that can fit in your refrigerator).  Drop spoonfuls of the cookie mixture on the wax paper in a single layer as seen in the picture below.

5.  If desired, decorate cookies with colored candies or sliced almonds.

6.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes - 1 hour.  Once hardened, you can layer cookies on top of one another with wax paper inbetween them. 

7.  Serve immediately after taking them out of the fridge.  Refrigerate and cover leftovers.

Notes:

Gluten-free:  Use gluten-free old fashioned oats.

Dairy-free:  Substitute coconut oil for butter and soy, coconut, or almond milk for cow's milk.

For this to be truly allergen-free, you must always check food labels to make sure they do not contain any allergens prior to use.  Not all food products are made or processed equally!

I hope you enjoy these chocolate almond no bake cookies as much as our family does!

What is your favorite Christmas cookie to eat and give as a gift?

Now go check out all of the other awesome cookie recipes in the Cookie Exchange Blog Hop below!  I definitely have several new recipes I want to try out this holiday season!  Yum!

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday...

They're almost here!

Sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know about the sales and for freebies & special discounts that are just for subscribers!  P.S. I'm sending it out this week so don't wait!

I've teamed up with 7 other fabulous bloggers for a Cookie Exchange Blog Hop!
Check out all of our delicious holiday and Christmas cookie recipes below!

Keri Lynn Snyder: Holiday Cookies

Polka-Dotty Place: Brookies

Wife Mommy Me: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sweet Little Ones: Chocolate Almond No Bake Cookies

Waltzing In Beauty: Biscotti Cookies

Chasin' Mason: Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

The Adventure Starts Here: White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Our Pretty Little Girls: Frosted Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

What is your favorite Christmas cookie to eat and give as a gift?

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