Indulge someone with indulge caramels.
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

There’s something for everyone, from hot and spicy chocolate to “cocktail cups”—a chocolate Margarita rimmed with salt—to chocolate bars wrapped in angel paintings.

Take a bite now.

Want pricier, pretty boxed chocolate gifts? We’ve got plenty of those, too. Some look like sushi!

You can find loose dried cranberries in many specialty food stores, and Ocean Spray Craisins in most supermarkets.

Split the amount of chocolate chips in your recipe by half, making up the remainder with the cranberries. Do the same with the raisins in the oatmeal cookie recipe.

The cranberries add not just holiday flavor but color, too.

• Here’s a cherry chocolate chip recipe that you can use with dried cranberries.

Make cranberry chocolate chip cookies for the
holidays. Photo courtesy Cherry Marketing Institute.

[1] A cup of spiced Constant Comment tea with a matching cake (photo © Bigelow Tea).

[2] Add some cookies: butter, oatmeal, shortbread, spice (photo © Aimees Seavey | New England Magazine).

[3] Constant Comment is also made in decaf and green tea versions (photo © Bigelow Tea).

[4] Relax with a cup, anytime. No cake or cooked required (photo © Bigelow Tea | Facebook)

‘Tis the season to enjoy cinnamon spice tea with your favorite holiday goodies, suggest our friends at the Fitzpatrick Hotel in New York City. Their “Fitz to a Tea” program has a different tea theme each month of the year.

You can add a cinnamon stick and your favorite spices to an unflavored black tea—toss a cinnamon stick, cloves, and allspice into the teapot and infuse with the tea—or purchase spiced tea.

One of the most popular branded spiced teas is Constant Comment, developed by Ruth Bigelow of New York City in 1946 (read the story). Today, it’s available as loose black tea, in tea bags, in decaffeinated bags, and in a green tea version. You can find them all at BigelowTea.com.

Along with your own favorite recipes—try the Constant Comment spice cake recipe below.

> The history of Constant Comment Tea.
 
 
CONSTANT CONMMENT SPICE CAKE RECIPE
 
Ingredients For A 9-Inch Cake

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9″ round cake pan.

2. Combine the milk and tea bags in a small saucepan. Heat over medium/low heat until bubbles form around the edge, stirring occasionally. DO NOT BOIL.

3. Remove from the heat and let cool, 15-20 minutes. Remove the tea bags, squeezing out the liquid. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smooth.

5. Add the eggs and whisk to blend. Add the cooled milk; continue to whisk until thoroughly combined.

6. Add flour and baking powder; mix until a smooth batter forms.

7. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake approximately 35 minutes, or until the center of the cake springs back when touched. Cool completely on a wire rack before removing it from the pan. Dust the top with confectioner’s sugar prior to cutting and serving. (A stencil was used to create the pattern on the cake in the photo.) Serve with whipped cream if desired.
 
 
MORE SPICED TEA RECIPES

The recipe uses Phat Beets, Rick’s Picks’ amazing pickled beets. If you pickle your own, great! But don’t use a plain sliced beet from the can without infusing more flavor.

Crostini With Pickled Beets & Goat Cheese

Ingredients

– Log of fresh goat cheese, softened
– Rick’s Picks Phat Beets or other pickled beets
– Crostini or crackers
– Seasonal garnish (for the holidays, use sprigs of fresh dill; for the summer, fresh blueberries; at other times, a halved grape tomato—you can also pickle the tomato)

Preparation

For the holidays, substitute dill sprigs for
the blueberries. Photo courtesy Rick’s Picks.

• Read our review of Rick’s Picks, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week and a gourmet, low-calorie holiday gift.

Say “cheese” and check out our beer and
cheese pairings. Photo courtesy of
Cabot Creamery.

Earlier this week, we described the difference between lager and ale.

Lager and ale are just two of some 30 styles of beer. How about those pilsners (also spelled pilsener) you’ve been quaffing? What about porter and stout? Where do IPAs fit in?

Our Beer Section has enlightening articles.

• Check out our Glossary of Beer Terms, where you’ll find definitions from A (Ale) to Z (zymurgy, which is the study of fermentation).