…then you better check out this post! Hehe.
Merry Christmas Eve! Hope everyone is feeling nice and festive today…I know I am!
I have a full day ahead of me – lunch at Jay’s aunt’s house, church, and then dinner at my parents’ house – so it’s a good thing I got all of my baking and wrapping done last night.
Speaking of baking…want to see what I made?
The first thing I whipped up (and when I say “whipped up,” I mean it quite literally) were these Toffee Pumpkin Spice desserts. I’ve had a box of Fillo shells lying around since HLS this past August and was determined to use them up.
All I did was prepare a box of Pumpkin Spice pudding mix (the stuff is amazing) as you would for a pie, and topped them with some Heath Bar bits. So simple, it’s scary. 
The next dessert I made is a little spin-off of my Dark Chocolate Turtle Graham Bars.
A few weeks ago when we were over at our friends’ Cortney & Jim’s for dinner, she had made a batch of these and I just could not keep my grubby little fingers off of ‘em.
Ooo, speaking of fingers. I forgot to show you my latest holiday nails…
Simple and understated. Thanks again, Kelsey! 
So anyways, back to these crack bars.
For my friends out there who love a sweet & salty combo, these are totally for you. The bottom is a sleeve of saltines, which are then coated in the same brown sugar and butter mixture as my turtle grahams. That brown sugar and butter is really just a wonderful thing on these. Oh good lord.
Once that part was cooked, I topped them with about 14 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips and loaded on the Heath Bar bits.
Can ya tell I’m all about the Heath bars lately?
I’m hoping my goodies will be a hit today!
*****
Workout
Knowing full well that my full day ahead of me is also going to include lots of delicious food, I knew it’d be a good idea to start with a workout. Here’s what today’s looked like:
- Full Body Circuit Workout
- Quick Abs Circuit
- 1 mile run (8:20)
Post-workout, I refueled with some coffee & an egg, cheese, and jam sandwich. Now it’s time to get ready and get festive. It’s Christmas Eve, baby!! 
Question for the Morning:
What’s one thing you’re most looking forward to this holiday weekend?
Every Christmas Eve, my mom gives one present to the kids. It’s always jammies. Once everyone is in their jammies, we cuddle on the couch while she reads ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The on Christmas morning, we wake up and open our stockings while coffee and cinnamon rolls are made. Once that’s all made, we sit down to open presents.
My kids are 3 and 5 this year, so they’re starting to truly be involved in the process, which makes everything even better!
i LOVE sweet and salty. in fact, i’m just now making some chocolate coconut bars that include crumbled chocolate wafers, pretzels/cracker thins, chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut! i cant wait to see how they turn out!!
have a wonderful xmas eve courtney!
Ugh, sweet and salty is my THANG. Hello, pretzel M&M’s! Heaven.
I love the nails. I was planning on doing mine a very POP! red, but adding a little pizzazz is such a cute idea!
I’m about to squeeze in a workout too before the festivities begin. I’m sure I’ll be happy about it later after I’m in a sugar coma!
Have a great Christmas!
Oh love Heath bars! I’m definitely a salty, sweet fan. Merry Christmas!
All of those treats look delicious! :) I’m most looking forward to spending time with my family and friends.
mmm i DO love sweet ‘n salty! your treats you made look delicious! you’re quite the master baker this past week – nice job! i’m most looking forward to our candlelight Christmas Eve service this evening at church and also our Christmas dinner tomorrow night!
I love the sweet and salty combo! Those sound delicious! Merry Christmas eve!
I love starting my day off with a workout! I think I actually love getting it out of the way…;) I have made those toffee bars with the saltine crackers like 6 times and I have only had it turn out once. I wonder if it has something to do with the temp of the oven??? I love em anyway…:)
I get to spend this whole day with my bestie….eating, working out, laughing, and eating again..
Merry Christmas Eve!
I LOVEEEEEEEEEEE your nails!!! :) SUPER CUTE!!! I decorated mine as candy cane nails :)
Such a great idea to use the Phyllo cups. I was thinking the exact same thing but I prepped mine for mini quiches for Christmas breakfast tomorrow.
Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!!
Both of those desserts look fantastic!! I love sweet-salty so that last one is right up my alley! I love the holidays, but I have to admit that I always look forward to when they’re over. I’m fortunate enough to see my relatives fairly often (without holidays) and often feel like the actual holidays come with a lot of added pressure. I understand how if you had family flying in or you didn’t see them a lot that holidays would be very special, but for me I prefer the regular ol’ days when I’m with my family.
Oh! And Merry (almost) Christmas!! Don’t want to seem like a complete Scrooge here, lol.
My hubby loves Heath bars, so he’d be all about those desserts! Merry Christmas Courtney!
Of course your goodies will be a huge hit! You have such baking talent.
I absolutely love those holiday nails. So festive and cute.
I’m looking forward to spending time with my family, eating great food, and opening gifts. However, Christmas isn’t just about the presents; it’s about being together and being thankful for the year.
Your desserts are always so drool-worthy. I’m just looking forward to spending time with my family since I don’t get to see them all that frequently. Have a great day!
A friend of mine recently made a similar dessert using Saltine crackers. I couldn’t believe how tasty it was!
I’m looking forward to an afternoon with good food and laughs with family … as soon as my MIL is ready for us, of course. ;) We were supposed to start at 2 … but I’m now waiting around b/c she just changed it to 3 haha! Oh the joys of the holidays! :P
Merry Christmas!
LOVE how you used up the phyllo shells- how creative of you! I swear I would of never thought of that. & I DO love that pumpkin pudding- so good. I usually put gingerbread cookies in that pudding…but I think the heath bar bits would be even better.
Hope you & your family have a wonderful Christmas Eve :) We are watching bits of the NYJ & NYG game in between the Ravens game..I always think of you :)
My boyfriend’s sister made those for Christmas but left out the caramel part. They were delicious..but you’re look SO good!!
Merry Christmas, Courtney! Hope it’s a sweet one! XO
Okay I am SUPER envious of your nail beds. Merry Christmas Courtney :)
Sweet and salty is the best combo! I made sweet and salty truffles, so good. Merry christmas!!
Love the nails – the snowflake’s a perfect touch!
Love the festive nails…almost as much as the sweet and salty combo! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Courtney! I’m looking fwd to time with my family and the food coma I am inevitably going to fall into! ;)
cute nails!
I love the sweet and salty combo! :)
Merry Christmas!
my aunt made those graham cracker bars as well! she said she found the recipe on pinterest!