Cake Poll: WINter Wonderland Giveaway!

Halloween and the election are over...whew! And now, we're at the cusp of the sweetest season of the year, that series of two months where we eat copious amounts of delicious pumpkin pie and christmas cookies. That's right--November is the point of do not pass go, do not diet until New Year's.

And in celebration, we're offering a seasonal sweets poll! It's a bounty of five sweet prizes--for five separate winners! The following prizes are being offered:

• One lucky winner will receive a cupcake tote bag from Penguinbot! Love is in the details with this sturdy, durable vinyl tote--it's delicately reverse-appliquéd with an adorable cupcake, with the an inner lining of bright, contrasting pattered fabric. It's an extremely well-made bag which would usually retail for $50 (and would be worth every penny). Even if you don't win, you should probably buy one (you know, to help the economy); you can get one here.
• Two lucky winners will receive Elisa Strauss' new book, Confetti Cakes for Kids. Even without kids, these recipes are super fun and the pictures are amazing to look at!
• Two winners will receive a pack of Cakespy Holiday notecards! Each pack includes an assortment of cards which are guaranteed to make this the sweetest holiday season ever!

What do you have to do to enter? Don't worry, it's easy. All you have to do is answer the following two questions.

1. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?
2. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

But wait, there's more! If you copy and paste (or include a link to) a recipe for either of your responses, you'll be entered into the drawing twice! That's right...double your chances of winning!

SORRY--THE POLL IS NOW CLOSED!

Comments

[Byron]

1. Pumpkin Pie and maybe grandma's rubarb cake.

2. For Christmas I like anything and everything Gingerbread!! Last year we made a Gingerbread house but the cookie was still to fresh and soft and caved in on its self.. LOL http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gingerbread-Men/Detail.aspx

[Cheryl]

1. Pumpkin pie with loads of whipped cream!
2. Chocolate Crinkles,I make sure to underbake mine so that they are extra fudgy!

[Sena]

1. Thanksgiving dessert - Pound cake

Recipe at http://comeandpeek.blogspot.com/2008/06/simple-and-delicious-pound-cake.html

2. Christmas cookies - Choc chips. But this recipe looks delish!

Recipe at http://comeandpeek.blogspot.com/2008/05/snack-thatll-last-you-all-week-pudding.html

sena.sagani[at]gmail[dot]com

[Kiwi]

1. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle! Recipe courtesy of Paul Deen, here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-gingerbread-trifle-recipe/index.html
I could eat the entire batch of this stuff by myself.

2. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?
Rum balls, yum! My coworker always brings some and they are irresistible.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RumBalls.html

[bbElf (a.k.a. panda)]

My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is a slice of pie with whipped cream (it's also my favorite after-Thanksgiving breakfast!). One of my favorite pies is apple, and while I don't really have a recipe for it I usually use about 4 apples for a 9" pie, add cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and raisins, with a dash of ginger, a tbsp of flour or so and no more than 1/4c sugar. Mmmmm!

My favorite Christmas cookie is a plain old sugar cookie with sprinkles on top. Can't beat the classics!

[Amy]

Let's start with the favorite holiday cookie:

http://veganaddict.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/my-spicy-love-affair/

Ginge-o-Ramas: I make these all year round, but they are especially lovely in the colder months with some tea.

Favorite Thanksgiving dessert? Hmmmm... the whipped topping that goes on pumpkin pie, or, these:

http://veganaddict.wordpress.com/2008/11/02/skanky-pumpkin-squares-the-recipe/

Yummy! Both of the links take you to my wordpress blog, where there are more cookie recipes I love.

Thanks for having a giveaway!

[drea]

1. pumpkin pie
2. chewy gingersnaps! i found the recipe in a fiction book and it's the best recipe ever!

Gingersnaps
Recipe from Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup and 1/3 cup (for later) sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350º F.
1. Beat butter and 1 cup sugar on medium until well blended.
2. Beat in egg and molasses until fluffy.
3. Whisk ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt into flour.
4. Add flour mixture into butter/sugar mixture with mixer on low.
5. Using _ teaspoon, form dough into balls.
6. Roll balls into remaining 1/3 sugar.
7. Place two inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
8. Using fingertip, place a drop of water on top of each cookie. Do not press down on dough.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until cookies are flattened or crinkled. Cool for two minutes on sheets, then place on racks.

Note: 12 minutes for chewy cookies, 15 for crispy.

[Dianna]

I just love this Caramel-Pecan Pie recipe from Southern Living. Nice and rich!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1120407

For Christmas I love Chocolate Crackle top cookies!

[Gina]

1. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert? My great-aunt's pecan pie. It is soooooo good!

2. What is your favorite Christmas cookie? My husband's sugar cookies - they are so crisp and yummy!

[Reeni]

My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is Pumpkin Pie.
My favorite Christmas cookie is Pecan Sandies.

[Christina Claassen]

1. My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is any pie my mother-in-law makes, but pecan is pretty high up there. Martha Stewart has a good recipe at http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=91e7d3deb6a0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=also_try_p4.

2. My favorite Christmas cookie is straight up butter cookies that my grandma used to make, and that we would squeeze out of a metal cookie press to make perfect little flower shapes. Yum! Here's a fairly decent recipe for those: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/spritz-butter-cookies?autonomy_kw=butter%20cookies&rsc=header_9.

(yeah, I know, I'm a Martha Stewart dork!)

[sharkiepatronus]

I am definitley a classic pumpkin pie girl for thanksgiving but I really like the pumpkin/pecan hybrid pies too.

As far as Christmas cookies go, I Love LOVE LOVE Pizelles, they are light and yummy and a nice change to the ubiquitous chocolate chip although, I wouldn't say no to those either!

[flurogoddess]

We don't have thanksgiving in the UK but I do like pumpkin pie, plu si've always wanted to try candied yams (not a dessert really, but they sound good!).

Boring, but lovely - Oatmeal and Raisin for cookies, every time!

[annsy]

My favorite Thanksgiving dessert is the Honey-Pecan Pumpkin pie from Epicurious... been making it for years! The candied pecans are an especially big hit. Here's the recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Honey-Pecan-Pumpkin-Pie-4356

My favorite Christmas dessert... that's hard! My grandmother always made her fudge at Christmastime, and that ranks right up there for me, but I really like a Dutch cookie called Banket. It's an almond paste mixture wrapped in flaky dough, and it is to die for. Here's a recipe, but it's not the one I have (mine is from a friend): http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banket/Detail.aspx

[Jamie]

Thanksgiving- Pumpkin Pie
Christmas- Sugar Cookies

[Renee]

Pumpkin pie, no crust! mmmm!

My fave xmas cookie is a butter cookie made from a 70s cookie press. I have no idea what they are called, but my favorite is the one that looks like a flower. We put a little chocolate chip in the center. The cookies are buttery and have almond extract. They're just savory and taste like xmas.

[Tory]

My favorite thanksgiving dessert is sweet potato pie and this is the one I'm making this year:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sweet-Potato-Pie-with-Gingersnap-Pecan-Crust-233021

and my favorite christmas cookies are lebkuchen, and if I dare to try to make them myself I will use this recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lebkuchen-107446

[Satisfying my Sweet Tooth]

my favorite dessert the caramel apple cheesecake from Costco and favorite Christmas cookie, well, I just posted about them all!

[Juicebox Mom]

Adorable bag!
I love the classics...pumpkin pie for thanksgiving. Sugar cookies in the shape of Christmas trees, Santa, etc...with lots of frosting smeared on by my kids.