This week I’ve invited Maria Confer, of Hickory and Juniper, to share her favorite winter cocktail with us. I first “met” Maria when she was fashion blogging at Lulu Letty, and was struck by her ability to make vintage fashion relevant and fresh. Now I know she’s more than just a pretty face in a lovely dress- she’s a sweetheart and a creative homemaker too. When you head to her blog, check out what’s she’s done with her new small bungalow! But first, here’s what Maria has to say about her cocktail of choice:

I really got into classic drinks about eight years ago which just so happened to be around the same time that my husband, Cole, and I fell in love with movies like The Philadelphia Story (the Hepburn version, of course) and The Thin Man series. We would drink endless G&T’s, gin martinis, sidecars and old fashioneds. There’s no other drink that I love more in the winter than a classic old fashioned. Okay, maybe it’s a tie with a hot toddy, but when it comes to a whiskey cocktail, I avoid the popular Manhattan in favor of its lesser known cousin. My husband prefers bourbon and I like rye best, but whichever you choose you won’t be disappointed.

• An old fashioned glass
• Ice
• Sugar cube
• Bitters
• Teaspoon of water
• 2 oz of Bourbon or Rye Whiskey
• Maraschino cherry
• Orange slice

Place a single sugar cube in your glass. Drop three dashes of bitters on top of the cube. Add a teaspoon of water and crush your sugar. Twirl the mixture around in the glass to coat the sides. Add two ice cubes and pour the 2 ounces of the Bourbon or Rye Whiskey of your liking. Garnish with an orange slice and maraschino cherry.

Thanks, Maria!

Today Elizabeth has a very special holiday cosmo to share with us! And I can’t wait to try it. Here’s what she has to say about the drink:

I recently stopped in at 1022 South, one of Tacoma’s gems (an absolutely incredible cocktail bar/apothecary) and ordered their holiday cosmopolitan, which absolutely blew my mind. It was such a perfect combination of the classic holiday flavors of ginger and cranberry. So for this recipe, I set out to attempt my own version of their delicious cosmo with a similar holiday twist on the standard recipe! This would be a perfectly festive drink to serve at a holiday party. I think my favorite touch is the star anise garnish, which adds an extra bit of flavor, and looks pretty cute floating around in your drink!

Elizabeth is a friend I met through blogging- I love finding kindred spirits through this blog, even though we may never meet in person! She lives far away from me in the Pacific Northwest and blogs about fashion and life at Delightfully Tacky. We both were members of The Delightful Dozen for a bit, and worked with Freckled Nest as blog designers. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us, Elizabeth!

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, fill with ice, and shake until it’s almost too cold to hold (appx 30 seconds).  Strain into a cocktail glass and toss a star anise in there to garnish (it adds some awesome flavor as well)!  Makes one 8oz drink. Be sure to check out Elizabeth’s blog post about how to make your own ginger liqueur!

After inadvertently going a whole month without chocolate (!?) I needed just the right fix. Buuuut something without flour, dairy, or eggs, thanks to the diet I’m on for baby Lucy. Well, that made things interesting! But with a little help from my friend, Bob (of Red Mill fame), I concocted this semi-homemade vegan/gluten-free version on my favorite chocolatey standby. Oh, and I was delighted to find that these coconut brownies tasted even better the next day!

•  Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free brownie mix
• 2 Tablespoons of milled flax seed
• 6 Tablespoons of water
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extra
• 3/4 Cup of vegan butter spread (like Earth Balance)
• 1 Cup of shredded coconut (sweetened or not – your preference)
• optional: 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

First you’ll need to make your egg substitue, which is done by combining the milled flax seed with the water and simmering the mixture on the stove for five minutes. The egg-like result is kind of amazing! Now melt the butter spread and add to it the flax seed mixture, vanilla extract, brownie mix, and 3/4 of the shredded coconut. Blend with an electric mixer until just combined. The batter will be super thick. Now hand stir in the chopped walnuts and then press the batter into a 9×13 pan. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of shredded coconut and lightly press into the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Be very careful not to overbake the brownies! After baking, allow the pan to cool for only a couple of minutes and then cut out square pieces with a plastic knife. They will be very sticky, so be sure to really grease up the pan before baking or line it with parchment paper. And as I mentioned before, the brownies are even better the next day! Breakfast? I won’t tell!