As I am now in my third trimester with baby #2 (yes, I realize I haven't blogged in a while, so SURPRISE!), I find just about any excuse to make something sweet. Maybe the third trimester doesn't have anything to do with it, but the fact that I'm pregnant does. For some reason, this time around all I want is sugary goodness, whereas with little man #1, I wanted salty foods.

I digress.

The other day I woke up and decided I just had to have something lemon. Maybe because it was 100 degrees outside and it was making me think of lemonade, or maybe because baby just decided he had to have something lemon. (Yes, HE! Another boy!) Regardless of the reason, I scoured the pantry to come up with a new recipe. And, voila! These are easy and delicious, and though I usually prefer to use fresh ingredients-- they don't require you to have actual lemons lying around. Just some lemon pudding!



Ingredients:

- 1/2 C butter
- 1 C sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- (1) 3.4 oz package of instant lemon pudding
- 1 C flour (if the mixture seems too wet, add 1/4 C to it)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsk baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
*Optional: 1/2 C - 3/4 C White Chocolate Chips*

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare your cookie sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray (I used parchment paper).

- Cream your butter and sugar together with a handheld or standing mixer. Add in your vanilla and egg next.

- Add your lemon pudding mix before the rest of your dry ingredients. Stir until well combined. Lastly, fold in your chocolate chips if you're using them :).

- With a medium cookie scoop, place cookies on baking sheet. *If you do not have a cookie sheet, use 1-2 Tbsp of dough and round into balls before placing on sheet.*

- Cook for 8-11 minutes, depending on your oven. The edges will be SLIGHTLY tan/brown. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

So easy, and so yummy. There's something about these cookies that almost give them a "cooling effect" when it comes to warm weather.

Recipe adapted from Creations by Kara.

It's that most wonderful time of the year, and that means there's so much to do. When you have last minute gifts (Shutterfly photo gifts, anyone?), or perhaps a dessert to make for a party the night before or day of, there are always certain recipes and items you tend to fall back on. How do I know? Because I do the same thing! And here I am giving away my secrets and sharing four of my favorite Christmas recipes with you.

These are the four sweets I tend to use for gift bags to neighbors or movie-nights with good friends, but they have the potential to be party hits; I know if you served these at your next shin-dig or brought them to the office party, you would be the talk of the guests (in a good way, of course).

Listed in order, you'll find in this post:

Hot Chocolate Cookies

White Chocolate Chex Mix (with a minty option)

Peppermint Oreo Fudge

Nutcracker Sweets


So, let's get this party started!

Hot Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 C salted butter
- 1 C sugar
- 2/3 C brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 tsp vanilla
- 3 1/4 C all purpose, unbleached flour
- 4 packs of hot chocolate mix (I used swiss miss, which are just under 1oz, but up to 1oz packets works!)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 - 2 C semi sweet chocolate chips
*optional: for half of the batch I added the mint chocolate chips, because, well, I love mint chocolate!*
- 1/2 C - 1 C mini marshmallows
*optional: if you have the time, freeze the marshmallows so they are easier to mix in to the mix. However, your cookies won't be quite as gooey if you freeze them.*

Directions:
(These can be made the night before or a couple hours before your get together! If you're in a big rush, I suggest making a half batch. A full recipe makes around four dozen cookies.)

- Preheat your oven to 350 and line your baking sheet with parchment paper (if you don't have it, just spray it well with cooking spray!)
- In a large bowl, cream together your butter and sugars. Next add in your eggs and vanilla.
- Mix together your flour, hot chocolate, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add it gradually to your butter mix until well combined. It will get thick, so if you don't have a standing mixer you will eventually have to switch to mixing by hand (I know, because I had to do it!)
- Fold in your chocolate chips. Save your marshmallows for the end.
- When scooping the cookies, be gentle. I only mixed the marshmallows in slightly to the mix and then placed them in my cookie scoop by hand. That way they didn't get all stretched out or broken into gooey pieces. But, no matter what, it will still be delicious!

TIP: If you want to avoid caramelized marshmallow oozing out of the cookies, make sure to patch the sides with extra dough and cover those marshmallows!



- Bake for 10-12 minutes. They will appear slightly soft/not cooked when you take them out. Let them sit on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
These are best served/devoured warm, but if you're planning on taking them to a party you can heat them up for a few seconds before transporting them!


White Chocolate Chex Mix

Ingredients:

- 2.5 C Rice Chex
- 2.5 C Corn Chex
- 1 C salted/unsalted mini pretzels (salted is probably better, but I used unsalted because it's all I could find)
- 1 C cashews (or peanuts, or whatever kind of nut you desire)
- 12 oz bag M&M's
- 12 oz bag white chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp [vegetable/canola] oil

Directions:
(Best made the night before or at least 2-3 hours in advance)

- In a large bowl, mix your chex (both kinds), cashews, pretzels, and M&M's.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a saucepan over low heat, mix your white chocolate chips and oil and melt. Mix constantly to prevent it from burning or getting too thick.
- As soon as the chocolate/oil is completely melted, pour into your prepared dry mix. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until well incorporated and distributed through the mix.
- Pour the mix onto the prepared baking sheets, spreading out as thinly as possible. Let sit for an hour before checking to see if it's dry. Give it as much time as needed. I let mine sit for at least two hours to make sure it wasn't sticky.
- Break apart the mix and return to bowl/sealed container.

Want to make it minty? Use mint m&m's and melt some mint Hershey's Kisses along with the white chocolate chips! Same directions apply.

Give away, devour, it's your choice.
This is something perfect to munch on. My personal favorite for Christmas movie-nights.


Peppermint Oreo Fudge

This fudge is pretty much made up of my three favorite things: chocolate, peppermint, and, well... it's fudge. This is holiday-perfection in my book, and so easy to make, too!

Ingredients:

- 1 bag of chocolate chips or morsels (I used dark chocolate)
- 1 bag Hershey kisses
- 1 bag of Candy Cane Hershey Kisses
- 2 bags white chocolate chips (minus 1/2 C)
- 1/3 to 1/2 C Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips

- 2 cans 14 oz condensed milk
- 2 C crushed Oreos (about 1.5 rows out of the standard pack)

Directions:
(You're going to want to make this one the day before, because it needs to sit in the fridge for a good five hours to set. That means you can make it, let it sit overnight, and wow everyone the next day with your amazing dessert!)

- Line a 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper and light spray it.
- Pour all your [semi-sweet, milk, or dark] chocolate chips into a large saucepan with your entire bag of Hershey kisses (sans wrappers, obviously) and one can of condensed milk. Over low heat, melt the chocolates, stirring occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom.
*Note: Do not do ANYTHING but low heat. I tried, and it did not work. The chocolates burned and I may or may not have had to buy new supplies and start all over again... maybe.

- Once the chocolates are well melted (should be pulling away from sides with very few "bumps" in it), carefully fold in one cup of crushed Oreos. Spread the mixture over the bottom of your prepared baking dish as evenly as possible. Place in fridge temporarily.
- Wash out your saucepan. Next, add your white chocolate chips, Andes mint pieces, and condensed milk. Proceed to melt over low heat, as done previously, stirring occasionally. You want to stir these a little more because if they burn you will see it!


- When these are done melting, take your dish out of the fridge and spread it over the already prepared chocolate fudge mix.
- Sprinkle your remaining Oreos on top, as well as extra Andes mint pieces if desired, and slightly/gently press them into the fudge.


- Place in the fridge for at least five hours, but preferably over night.
- Set your fudge out and give it a few (at least ten, I'd say) minutes before attempting to cut it.

This is definitely a party food. I've brought it to several get togethers and it never fails. I have yet to leave without at least one person asking for the recipe!


Nutcracker Sweets

Before my husband and I married, I had never had this deliciousness. Our first Christmas party with his family his little sister made them and I've been hooked ever since. It's like an easy toffee to make, so if you're a toffee fan...prepare to be addicted!

Ingredients:

- 12-14 whole graham crackers (as many that will line a standard baking sheet)
- 1 C butter
- 1 C brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 C chopped pecans
- chocolate syrup

Directions:
(Make these the night before or a solid few hours, because they are sticky and you want to give it time to set!)

- Line your baking sheet first with parchment paper, then with your graham crackers.
- Preheat your oven to 350.



- On the stove over medium heat, melt your butter. Add the brown sugar and bring to a boil, stirring the whole time, for one minute. You don't want it to get chunky!
- Remove the mix from heat and add your vanilla. Mix well, then pour the mix over your graham crackers. Use the back of a spoon to spread it as evenly as you can over the graham crackers.
- Sprinkle the chopped pecans over your creation. Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes (I always do 10 so the edges get nice and bubbly/ dare I say a little "burned".)



- Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly. Move to a plate (on the parchment paper if possible). Drizzle with chocolate syrup *this part is optional*.
- After they cool, break them up as you like!
These are perfect sweets to give away in a tin or mail to someone who may not be close enough to enjoy them.


This time of year is nothing if you don't have a few recipes on hand when needed. Let me know if you get some raves (or perhaps just want to offer them yourself) after eating/serving/giving any of these away!

Merry Christmas!

This fudge is pretty much made up of my three favorite things: chocolate, peppermint, and, well... it's fudge. This is pretty much holiday-perfection in my book, and so easy to make, too!

Ingredients:

- 1 bag of chocolate chips or morsels (I used dark chocolate)
- 1 bag Hershey kisses
- 1 bag of Candy Cane Hershey Kisses
- 2 bags white chocolate chips (minus 1/2 C)
- 1/3 to 1/2 C Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips

- 2 cans 14 oz condensed milk
- 2 C crushed Oreos (about 1.5 rows out of the standard pack)

Directions:

- Line a 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper and light spray it.
- Pour all your [semi-sweet, milk, or dark] chocolate chips into a large saucepan with your entire bag of Hershey kisses (sans wrappers, obviously) and one can of condensed milk. Over low heat, melt the chocolates, stirring occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom.
*Note: Do not do ANYTHING but low heat. I tried, and it did not work. The chocolates burned and I may or may not have had to buy new supplies and start all over again... maybe.

- Once the chocolates are well melted (should be pulling away from sides with very few "bumps" in it), carefully fold in one cup of crushed Oreos. Spread the mixture over the bottom of your prepared baking dish as evenly as possible. Place in fridge temporarily.
- Wash out your saucepan. Next, add your white chocolate chips, Andes mint pieces, and condensed milk. Proceed to melt over low heat, as done previously, stirring occasionally. You want to stir these a little more because if they burn you will see it!


- When these are done melting, take your dish out of the fridge and spread it over the already prepared chocolate fudge mix.
- Sprinkle your remaining Oreos on top, as well as extra Andes mint pieces if desired, and slightly/gently press them into the fudge.


- Place in the fridge for at least five hours, but preferably over night.
- Set your fudge out and give it a few (at least ten, I'd say) minutes before attempting to cut it.


Serve, give away, eat it all (it's BEYOND addicting)... your choice!

It seemed only appropriate to start October off with a Harry Potter inspired recipe. As you may know from previous posts (especially last year's Halloween post), I'm a fan. And that may be putting it lightly. This year I'm rereading the series and making treats to match.

What's surprising is I'm already more than halfway through (finishing Goblet of Fire now). I think I was so worried about not finishing by the end of October that I was speed reading parts. I intend to slow down a little bit now and enjoy. Of course, now I'm on to the longer books... so I guess we shall see.

Annnnnnywho....

TREACLE TARTS!

If you didn't know, Treacle is an actual type of sugar, but it's basically Molasses and Corn Syrup. There was no way I was clever enough to come up with this on my own. I referenced Bakingdom's recipe, bless her for being just as big of a fan and having one ready for me to use.

Ingredients:

Crust

- 3/4 C unblecahed all-purpose flour
- 1/4 C confectioners’ sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 C (1/2 stick) cold, butter, cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons water

Filling

- 1/3 C light corn syrup
- 1/4 C molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/2 C bread crumbs

Directions:

For the Crust

- Put all the ingredients in your food processor and pulse/ run on low until a dough ball forms. OR use a pastry cutter and blend in your butter by hand, then kneed the dough until it is well formed. Chill in the freezer for around 30 minutes or in the fridge for up to two hours (at least one).

- Next, roll your dough out on a light floured surface to around 1/8 inch thick (AKA pretty dang thin). If you are using tiny tart pans (I got mine from Amazon), carefully lift your dough and place the (sprayed) pan underneath the dough, then press it into the pan and around the edges. Kind of like a complex cookie cutter. If you're making a large tart/pie, put it in your 9" round pan.


- Put the tart(s) on a baking sheet and chill for 20 to 30 minutes in your freezer.

*Optional*
* Preheat your oven to 350.
* Line your (chilled) tart(s) with parchment/wax paper and pie weights, beans, or rice (like in the Apple Nutella Bars recipe) and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

Note: I did this with my first batch (which are not pictured) but they got WAY over cooked. However, they were chewier with the final product. If you want them more candy-like and less pie-like, I would definitely recommend doing it this way.

For the Filling

- Mix all your ingredients together in a bowl. Wow, that was easy!

Put it all together!

- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Put around 1/2 to 1 tsp of filling into each mini tart pan (or put it all in your large pie dish).
- Bake the mini-tarts around 20 minutes, or a regular pie-size for around 30 minutes.


DELICIOUS! If you like molasses, you will definitely love these!


I made these to celebrate finishing books one and two! Treacle is mentioned in both of them and really stuck out, so it seemed an obvious choice to make. Can you guess what I'm going to be making once I finish book four (yes, I already finished three)?

Here's a hint:

"He drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside." -Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Thursday morning, when our weather was at its worse (we had five straight days of nasty rain/wind), our coffee pot broke. There was no warning signs, no spewing grounds... nothing. I turned it on... and it wouldn't work. It was thirty minutes before I even noticed, because I'll set it up, turn it on, and do things and then get excited to get my first cup of coffee... but there wasn't any. It was awful.

After consulting my mama on just how to find a substitute way of making coffee, I dulled my coffee-less-morning-pain by making these DELICIOUS muffins. After making them I of course felt guilty (and after eating two of them). Luckily a friend came by to take some off my hands.

They are rich and delicious, and easy to make. Luckily they are rich enough where two was my limit (with a nice glass of milk or cup of coffee).

Ingredients:

- 1 C whole wheat flour
- 1 C unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 C sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 C milk (I used skim)
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/2 C vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus extra for sprinkling if desired

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Wish together your milk and melted butter. Add the oil and eggs next.
- Combine your flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the liquid ingredients to this mix well. Don't over mix this. The batter should be somewhat lumpy.
- Gently fold in your 1 C chocolaate chips.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared muffin pan. Use about 1/4 C batter per muffin.
*If you use liners, make sure to spray them!*
- Optional: Sprinkle the top of the muffins with extra chocolate chips for show!
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Check the muffins with a toothpick. Make sure it's batter sticking to the toothpick and not just melted chocolate from the chips when you're deciding if they're done or not!
- Remove muffins from hot pan to a cooling rack and let sit for at least five minutes before digging in. This didn't, exactly, happen when I made them... but then they were very hot and VERY "melty" with the chocolate chips.

ENJOY!



This recipe was adapted from About.com.

New Year's we had a small celebration. Although you may remember that the little one ended up waking and staying up until almost elevan, we enjoyed the last of 2012 as a family.

We also enjoyed some super yummy food... including these! I'm not sure if they're technically tarts, but I didn't know what else to call them.

Ingredients:

- Follow the dough instructions/ingredients from the pumpkin pasties recipe.
- pears
- honey

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350. Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Roll out your dough or pick of pieces and roll it in your hands. Take sections and line your muffin tins with the dough.
- Cut a pear into small pieces, cubes if you can manage. The pear doesn't have to be extraordinarily ripe, but it should be relatively soft to have the best flavor.
- Fill each muffin tin with somewhere between a teaspoon and tablespoon of pear pieces.

- Drizzle honey over the pear. This part is your preference. I probably used maybe 1/8 tsp of honey for each, but I'm not sure if it was even that much!
- Bake for around 18 to 22 minutes.
- Remove and let sit, giving the melted honey/pear juice time to settle.
- Serve warm and enjoy! Simple and beyond delicious, especially right now when pears are in season!



Linked on:

Mint and chocolate are two of my favorite things. Just so you know, my site will definitely be featuring more than one minty dessert.

I made these for the first time last year and revisited the recipe before deciding to share. I wanted to make it positively perfect. To me, these are the ideal dessert. Enough to satisfy a chocolate craving, minty goodness, and rich enough to keep you from eating the whole batch! I hope you enjoy!

SUPPLIES:

- 1 C Butter or Margarine, softened
- 1 1/4 C Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
- 2 C All Purpose, Unbleached Flour
- 2/3 C Cocoa Powder
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 to 2 C Nestle Dark Chocolate and Mint Chips


Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 350.
- Blend together the Butter/Margarine and Sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each one. Add the vanilla, then set aside.
- In a smaller bowl, blend together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Slowly add this mixture to the butter mixture until well blended. You may have to forgo your mixer and just use a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the salt.


- Mix in the chocolate/mint chips.
*Note: If you cannot find these, or don't like mint, regular semi-sweet chips work! You can also mix the semi-sweet chips with 3/4 tsp mint extract to achieve a similar taste!*

- Use a cookie scoop to put these on a prepared sheet. If you do not have a cookie scoop, I would suggest putting them in the fridge for an hour and using your hands to roll them into doughs (kind of like you would with peanut butter cookies-- then using a fork to "criss-cross" them).

- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Yes, I realize this is a wide range of time, but it really depends on your oven. At our old apartment they only took 11 minutes, whereas here they take around 15. If the edges are getting a little crispy, and a toothpick is coming out 95% clean, you are good to go!

Trust me when I say you need a glass of milk to go with these cookies! Hope you enjoy!

Don't forget to enter the Simply Modern Designs giveaway and the Relay for Life benefit/giveaway!

When I saw the Candy-Cane Hershey Kisses, I just couldn't say no. When I saw this recipe on the bag, I knew I had made the right decision.

Confession: I only ate one. I am blessed this year to have a lot of people to bake for, especially since I'm trying to break my cycle/battle with food.

The one I had though? Delicious. Be careful. I had to chew on some gum to keep myself from eating all of these. If you like peppermint... they are THAT addicting.

Ingredients:

- 1 bag of Hershey brand Candy-Cane Kisses
- 1/2 butter, softened
- 1 C sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 C all-purpose, unbleached flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp milk (I used skim)
*red or green sugar crystals, powdered sugar, or festive sprinkles

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Beat butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl.

- Add flour, baking soda, and salt to butter mixture. Add milk as needed, alternating with flour mixture. Use your mixer as long as possible, if not until the mix is well blended.

*I refrigerated the dough for a bit since I had to take care of Michael and rolling the cookies was a bit time consuming. You do not HAVE to refrigerate the dough, but I would say it makes it a bit easier.*

- Shape dough into 1" to 2" balls. Roll in sugar or sprinkles if you wish to make the cookies much more festive.
- Place on a nonstick cookie sheet, or lightly sprayed cookie sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

This is where I had some trouble. My first batch turned out like this...
So, the kisses looked more like melted candy canes or discolored witch's hats.

My second batch was slightly better, but sadly not as perfect as I'd like. I put the kisses in the fridge, and wonder if I had put them in the freezer if they had turned out perfect. So...

- Remove your cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes before placing candy-cane Hershey kisses in the center.

These are fabulous cookies for a party or to give away. Enjoy!


There's still time! Enter the Atkinson Drive and Exquisite Crafts giveaways!

The air is crisp in the morning. It's cooler at night. Leaves are hinting at color change. The cool breeze is blowing.

Yep. It's autumn!

What does that mean?

Pumpkin and Apple EVERYTHING.

Ok, ok. I promise to give you recipes other than pumpkin and apple cookies, pies, muffins, breads, pancakes, cobblers, cheesecakes.... are you drooling yet? Seriously, though. I promise you'll get other recipes, too, from now until November... but I can't help myself if these take precedence over all.

So, here's the first one! The hubby said they're not too sweet and not too chewy, which he's a fan of in some cases (especially when it involves pumpkin). Perfect with coffee or a cup of tea, in my opinion!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 C butter
- 1/2 C unpacked brown sugar
- 1 C pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 C unbleached, all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Optional: throw in some raisins, chocolate chips, or walnuts to make them extra tasty!

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Beat the sugar and butter together. Next add the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin.


- Beat in your flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.

- Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray. Use a cookie scooper (if you have one) and space them out accordingly. If you don't have a cookie scooper, I suggest making them 1 to 2 tbsp each.

- Bake for 16 to 19 minutes.
- Let cool, and then gobble them up!


Do save some for those that you live with. If you live by yourself... aren't you lucky to have them all to yourself!

This recipe was molded from: The Lady Behind The Curtain.