Peppermint Mocha Hot Cocoa Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so......." hang on, since this is Hawaii the weather is only frightful in the heat of September/October or if a hurricane is coming. That doesn't stop us from celebrating the winter season with yummy cakes.

Peppermint Kahlua Chocolate-Dipped Biscotti ~ #CreativeCookieExchange

I am excited to be baking again with the #CreativeCookieExchange bakers. During my absence I followed along in the background and saw all the wonderful cookie creations everyone was baking, and now I am ready to join in the fun once again. It truly is amazing how much you can miss something, especially when you have talked yourself into believing you don't need to do it any more.

Peppermint Dark Chocolate Drizzled Coconut Macaroons

Would you be surprised if I told you that I have played in the snow here in Hawaii?  And no, it wasn't one of those promotional events planned by a local supermarket, where they fly in a container of snow for the kids to have a snow day.  This is honest to goodness real snow that can require a vehicle to use snow chains. It doesn't snow on the island I live on, but it does snow on the top of Mauna Kea on the Big Island, which is a dormant volcano standing almost 14,000 feet above sea level (and if they measured it from the ocean base it would be 33,100 feet!). We haven't had snow as yet this year, so I decided to make some cookies that look like snowballs.

This idea fitted in perfectly with the theme for the Creative Cookie Exchange this month - Peppermint! I decided to make coconut macaroons, and drizzle them with a dark chocolate that had been flavored with peppermint essence.