Cozy Holiday Treats and Sips Ideas from Juniper Glen Assisted Living

Fun recipes to make and share this holiday season!

The holiday season is a tour for the senses! From gorgeous blankets of snow to twinkling Christmas lights, soft faux-fur blankets and holiday music in every store, it’s a true delight for all. Two of the best senses really get treated well this season–taste and smell. With so many delicious holiday treats and sips ideas available, it’s easy to indulge. While we at Juniper Glen Memory Care Assisted Living provide our wonderful residents with healthy, satisfying, and tasty meals created by our in-house chefs, sometimes a little bit of indulging is a necessity. If you’re looking to bake or whip up a fun treat this holiday season, and perhaps share with your loved one in our care, we’ve come up with some delicious ideas! Check out our recommendations of holiday treats and sips ideas below!

Spicy Hot Cocoa

Let’s kick it off with a holiday classic with a twist! While classic hot cocoa is always delicious, we love this spicy take. Take your favorite cocoa mix (consider a sugar-free option to keep it a little healthier), add a dash of cayenne pepper, and you’ll have a sweet treat with a lovely little kick! If you’re feeling a little extra festive, top your cocoa with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon! If you’re a little spice-shy, consider using cinnamon or ginger instead of cayenne pepper. You’ll still get a kick, but with a little less heat!

Gingersnaps

Sticking with a bit of spice, this gingersnap recipe is truly a home run in our books. As the writer claims, they melt in your mouth and are simple to make! One of the best holiday treats around to pair with a hot cup of tea, these are easy to store, making them an excellent choice for gifting and bringing to your loved one as a treat to enjoy the entire holiday season. Ginger contains antioxidants too, so even though it is a sweet treat, if made with high quality ginger, they can have a tiny health benefit as well.

Chocolate Chip Snowballs

Another classic, these snowballs are sweet, buttery, rich, and absolutely delicious. We recommend saving this recipe for a day that you can really get dirty, as the sugar does tend to get everywhere. We love how they melt in your mouth and pair nicely with coffee or tea. Not only are they delicious, but there’s something adorable about these tiny little treats, that makes them irresistible to the eye. These are also an excellent option for sharing, and make a great gift when visiting family and friends during the holidays!

Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Biscotti

A slightly healthier option than the others on the list, these biscotti offer the benefits of antioxidants and vitamin C to the mix! Cranberries are a classic holiday fruit, and the dark chocolate pairs nicely with the tart fruit. As an added bonus, this recipe is refined sugar free, making it a great option for those of us watching our sugar intake. We suggest blocking off a bit of time for making these, as biscotti are baked not once, but twice!

We hope you find a new recipe (or four) to try during the holidays and to help you enjoy the festive days of the season!

If you are interested in learning more, please schedule a tour of our Juniper Glen Memory Care Assisted Living in Buffalo, NY.