It’s hard to believe we are almost ready to start a new year. In some ways, 2025 has been long and difficult and has slowly dragged on. In other ways, this year has flown by. But either way, we are about to start a new one!
Our Fall & early Winter season, encompassing Thanksgiving and Christmas, has been full of activity and very energy draining. For this third holiday in the trilogy, we are keeping it low key. We’ll celebrate the start of the New Year with a quiet celebration at home, just the two of us. There will be an intimate dinner that Eric & I will prepare, a movie streaming on the TV, then a champagne toast as we watch the ball drop in Times Square. It is our preferred way of welcoming in a new year.
Vanilla Kissed Champagne Cocktail
Vanilla Kissed Champagne Cocktail (adapted from tasteofhome.com) Total Time Required: 15 minutes + cooling time, Prep Time: 10 minutes, Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 vanilla beans, split
- 4 cups champagne, chilled
Directions:
In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water and the sugar to a boil over medium high heat. Add the vanilla beans.
Make the vanilla simple syrup.
Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Cool the simple syrup to room temperature.
Simmer the syrup.
Remove the vanilla beans and strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer. Store the vanilla simple syrup in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Strain the simple syrup.
To construct the cocktail, for each serving, pour 1/4 cup of the vanilla syrup into a champagne flute.
Add some simple syrup to each flute.
Add 1/2 cup champagne to the flute. Garnish with fresh raspberries or strawberries and serve.
Garnish with fresh raspberries and serve.
Here’s to a happy and healthy 2026! ~Linda
Vanilla Kissed Champagne Cocktail (adapted from tasteofhome.com) Total Time Required: 15 minutes + cooling time, Prep Time: 10 minutes, Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 vanilla beans, split
- 4 cups champagne, chilled
Directions:
In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water and the sugar to a boil over medium high heat. Add the vanilla beans. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Cool the simple syrup to room temperature. Remove the vanilla beans and strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer. Store the vanilla simple syrup in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To construct the cocktail, for each serving, pour 1/4 cup of the vanilla syrup into a champagne flute. Add 1/2 cup champagne to the flute. Garnish with fresh raspberries or strawberries and serve.