Merry December everyone! Sorry for my unintentional hiatus, nothing happened life just got busy! So I’m back and wanted to share these delicious cookies that I made recently! These Pumpkin Double Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies are soft and chewy and addictive. Great for holiday parties or giving away as gifts. I made this recipe with vanilla pudding and pumpkin pie spice so you can make them year round instead of using actual pumpkin pudding mix.

Pumpkin Double Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
Source: Slightly adapted from Butter with a Side of Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. milk
1 small (3.4 oz.) box vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar and butter and beat until incorporated. Add in egg, yogurt, milk, pudding mix & pumpkin spice. Beat until fully incorporated.

Add in flour, salt & baking soda and beat until just incorporated. Remove bowl from stand and stir in chocolate chips.

Using a small cookie scoop (tablespoon size), scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, placing 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for a couple minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Store in air tight container.

Notes:
*can use vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream
*can use pumpkin pudding mix instead of vanilla mix plus pumpkin pie spice

It’s that time again, Christmas cookie time! For some reason, cookies just make Christmas seem so much more festive, maybe because we know Santa loves his cookies?! Santa (and all your family & friends) are going to absolutely love these Red Velvet Sugar Cookies! They are soft and chewy and the icing just makes them melt in your mouth. I think I just might have found a new favorite cookie! The perfect treat for a Christmas party or to give away as gifts, or to save for yourself, haha!

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies
Source: Cookies from Wine & Glue, Frosting from Georgetown Cupcakes
Makes Approx. 32-36 Cookies

Ingredients:
For the Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
14 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. red food coloring

For the Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt

Directions:
For the Cookies:
Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder & salt, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter & sugar and beat on medium speed for approximately 3 minutes until creamy & fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each until incorporated. Add in vanilla, vinegar & food coloring and beat until incorporated.

Gradually add in the flour mixture until just incorporated.

Place a small amount of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Using a 1 inch cookie scoop, roll dough into balls and then roll in the granulated sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets approximately 2 inches apart.

Bake for 7-10 minutes until edges begin to crisp and centers are set. Remove from oven and let cool on pans for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the butter & confectioner’s sugar. Add in the milk, vanilla & salt and beat until light & fluffy.

Once cookies have cooled, spread icing on the top and store in an airtight container.

I was wanting to make a fun Easter treat with the kids but wanted to make sure it was something they could easily help with and that would be delicious. I decided to just make some chocolate bark with Easter Candy! This Easter Pretzel Bark is deliciously addictive with that salty sweet combo. I used Easter m&m’s, chocolate chips and sprinkles but you could use any of your favorite chocolate Easter candy. The kids had a blast helping with this and they loved the results too! This could work with any holiday, just switch up the colors.

Easter Pretzel Bark

Ingredients:
Square Pretzels (approx. 1/2 a bag)
24 oz. almond bark
Approximately 6 oz. M&Ms
Approximately 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup sprinkles

Directions:
Place almond bark in microwaveable safe bowl and cook in 20 second increments, stirring after each, until fully melted.

Meanwhile, cover a 9 x 13 rimmed baking pan with wax paper. Lay out pretzels in an even layer covering the baking pan.

Once almond bark is melted, pour evenly over top of pretzels and use a spatula to gently spread to cover the pretzels completely.

Once covered with the melted almond bark, sprinkle with m&m’s, chocolate chips, & sprinkles. Place in refrigerator to chill until set.

Once set, break apart into pieces and store in an airtight container.

This Chilly Cow Chocolate Brownie Batter Ice Cream is amazing!! If you microwave it for like 10 seconds it softens it just enough and makes the brownie ripple sort of melty. An indulgent treat without all the calories!!

These Black Forest Gummy Bears are so good! Soft and juicy and so flavorful! Do yourself a favor and get them as a treat and hide them from your kids haha!

The new Orange Vanilla Coke Zero is sooo good, tastes like a Creamsicle! Thank you to my bestie for letting me try it before I bought it. I love the cherry kind but this could be my new favorite quickly.

I received this Southern Living Cookbook to review and it’s so gorgeous!! I haven’t cooked from it yet but it looks like it has delicious recipes for every occasion!

These Fruity Pebbles Marshmallow Treats are so fun, festive and delicious! Kids and adults are sure to love them! They would be great for a birthday party or for St. Patrick’s Day coming up. Great twist on the traditional Krispie treats.

Fruity Pebbles Marshmallow Treats
Source: 5 Boys Baker

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (10-12 oz.) regular sized marshmallows
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
5 1/2 cups Fruity Pebbles Cereal
1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large saucepan, add regular marshmallows and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until butter has melted and marshmallows are almost completely melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until completely melted.

Stir in fruity pebbles and mini marshmallows until fully incorporated. Dump mixture into prepared baking pan, Spray the back of a spatula with cooking spray and use to spread out mixture evenly in the pan. Allow to set up for about 30 minutes.

Turn pan out onto cutting board and cut into squares. Store in airtight container.

Pancakes are on most people’s list of favorite breakfast food, or breakfast for dinner. But while totally delicious, they don’t normally make it on the super healthy list. These Greek Yogurt Pancakes make both of those lists, super delicious AND healthy! I actually made this for dinner one evening and Sophie proclaimed them “the best pancakes ever” and asked when I would be making them again. That’s quite the endorsement coming from that picky eater!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes
Source: Everyday Belle
Makes Approx. 8 medium sized pancakes

Ingredients:
10 oz. Non-fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose or white wheat flour
2 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, add yogurt and stir until creamy. Add in eggs and stir to incorporate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour & baking soda.

Pour the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture stir until just incorporated. Mixture will be very thick.

Spray a griddle or skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Spoon batter onto the heated griddle or skillet. Flip pancakes when bubbles appear around the edges and on the top. Cook pancakes until golden on both sides. Serve warm with desired toppings.

Notes:
*Can add toppings into the batter, chocolate chips, blueberries, etc.

These Festive Gooey Butter Cookies are melt in your mouth delicious!! I ate 3 in a row! So buttery and soft with just enough of a chewy texture. I love how fun they are and you can change up the sprinkles to go with any time of year. These would be great for parties, birthdays, holidays or any occasion.

Festive Gooey Butter Cookies
Source: Dear Crissy
Makes Approx. 3 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 white cake mix
1/2 cup sprinkles, divided
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add in egg and vanilla and mix until just incorporated. Add in cake mix and beat until fully incorporated. Stir in 1/4 cup of the sprinkles. Place dough in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out rounded tablespoons of dough into 1 inch balls or use a small cookie scoop.

In a small bowl, add remaining sprinkles. In another small bowl, add confectioner’s sugar. Roll the balls of dough first in the sprinkles and then in the confetioner’s sugar and place on prepared cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until set and pale golden. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Target has the cutest decor in their dollar spot right now for winter and valentine’s. Love all the hot cocoa decor! I also found this super cute wreath in the regular valentine’s section and Baylor decided to wear it as a necklace, haha. In the top left are these pretty lunch boxes that look so cute and fashionable they could be a purse! And how cute are those hedgehogs!

You all have got to try the Lava Cake Hershey Kisses!! They are amazing and taste just like a molten lava cake in Hershey kiss form, so good! I haven’t tried the triple chocolate m&m’s or the Ghiardelli Creme Brûlée chocolates but I thought they sounded delicious. Have any of you tried them?

I have been looking for new dinnerware for a while, and I found these pretty white dishes at Home Goods and was able to get a set of 6 place settings. Well except they just had 4 matching bowls, but I found 2 others that coordinated well thankfully. They are the “Made in Portugal” brand that they carry there. Sophie also found this beautiful tea pot, sugar cup and teacup and I got it for her to display in her room. And how fun is this sprinkle donut mug?! I couldn’t resist getting that!

Slow Cooker BBQ Beef
Source: Carlton Kitchen

Ingredients:
2.5 to 3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast
1/2 tbsp. dried minced onion
18 oz. bbq sauce (recommend Sweet Baby Rays)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. dried thyme or rosemary
dash liquid smoke
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Spray a slow cooker with cooking spray. Add in beef and sprinkle with minced onion.

In a small bowl, add bbq sauce, balsamic, garlic, thyme, liquid smoke, salt & pepper and stir to incorporate. Pour evenly over beef. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or low for 4 hours and high for 2 hours.

Once cooked, use two meat forks and shred/pull meet apart. Serve alone, over rice, on sandwiches, or in tacos.

Candy Cane Cheesecake Dip
Source: A Night Owl Blog

Ingredients:
1 Cup Peppermint Mocha Liquid Coffee Creamer
1 3.4 oz. pkg cheesecake instant pudding mix
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups whipped topping (cool whip or other brand)
Crushed Candy Canes for garnish if desired

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl add creamer and pudding mix and mix together until incorporated. Set aside for approximately 5 minutes to allow the pudding to set up.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add cream cheese and sugar and beat until incorporated. Add in pudding and beat to incorporate. Remove bowl from stand and gently fold in the whipped topping. Place in refrigerator to chill and top with candy canes right before serving. Serve with oreo thins, chocolate graham crackers, teddy grahams or desired cookies.

Notes:
*Customize and switch out the peppermint mocha with your favorite creamer and switch up the topping to match!