*Holiday Champagne Cocktail**

What girl doesn't love champagne? I like to call it big girl soda, and this is one of my personal favorites. This recipe is perfect to keep in your back pocket because I usually have most of the ingredients in my pantry. Except champagne, of course, that doesn't last long in my home. Here's what I use:

Lemon
Champagne
Orange Liquor
Cranberry Juice
White Sugar
Cinnamon
Cayenne (Optional)


What to do:

1) Mix Sugar Rim -Pour about 3-4 tbs of sugar into a cute plate (works better if the plate has a lip or edge to prevent a mess) Then I mix in a couple dashes of cinnamon ( about 1/4 tsp) I just put enough until the sugar looks a pretty color, you can control your ratio's by taste or esthetically, which ever you prefer. I loooove anything that has a spicy bite, so that when I add the cayenne pepper. Like I said I love spicy anything, but here a little goes a long way, you really do not want to use too much cayenne. (Otherwise your lips will be more on fire than your tongue) The cinnamon and cayenne pepper is what makes it taste like the holidays. Make sure all are incorporated well.


2) Rim the Glass - Cut a lemon wedge, run it along the rim of your champagne flute and then dip the rim in the sugar. Obviously, you need to rim the glass first since you cant turn it over once you have liquid in it.


3) Mix the cocktail - Put a splash of both the cranberry juice and the Orange Liquor ( I used Triple Sec because that's what I happened to have, but normally my husband and I like to use Grand Marnier ) into the glass. I use about a half shot of each, but it varies on glass sizes and personal taste. Then fill the rest up with champagne carefully to not spill on that yummy, sugary rim.

Enjoy!