fête à fête

I'm usually a staunch bake-it-from-scratch kinda gal, but the new Williams-Sonoma holiday baking mixes have convinced me to bend the rules a bit. They are so well blended that no one will really know (unless they're the secret baking police) that you didn't really make it from scratch. Best of all, they are also easy to use. It's like fun baking, minus a few tedious steps!

The buttery Classic Sugar Cookie Mix is a great standard mix. No holiday party would be complete without a plate of these treats, whether they're decorated or simply sprinkled with colored sugar. Created by the award-winning Dancing Deer bakery , this all-natural mix is easy to prep – just add butter and eggs. It yields a lot of cookies (about five dozen), so you can decorate them to your heart's content. They can also be stored in the cute old-fashioned decorative tin.

Inspired by the traditional holiday drink, the Eggnog Poundcake Mix has a nice eggnoggy taste, but it's not too rich at all. In fact, you'll be eating more than one slice. Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, ground cinnamon and nutmeg are added for an extra holiday oomph. Just add water and butter, and voila! Instant elegant dessert. Great by itself, with hot cocoa, or tea. Or, you can slather on a thick layer of fudgy choco sauce for an ultimate indulgence. Go ahead, you've been nice all year, treat yourself...

www.williams-sonoma.com

See you in the kitchen!

Tami