Monster Cookie Recipe I love this recipe. It combines the three amigos: oats, chocolate, and peanut butter. Monster Cookies! I have no idea why they are called Monster Cookies, so feel free to slap a more festive title on them before delivering a plate to your neighbors. This recipe doesn't contain any flour so the ingredients mix together quickly to create a thick, chewy cookie. If you are on a gluten-free diet, use GF oats and you are good to go! The trademark of Monster Cookies are M & M's. I use them around holidays for a fun, colorful treat, but the rest of the year I just use (and actually prefer) chocolate chips. Seriously, I Keep Reading
Mini Burger Cookies (great recipe for kids!)
Mini Burger Cookies Some of you walk into a craft store and feel a surge of inspiration. You can transform beads or yarn or fabric into these crazy, incredible creations. Me? Not so much. On the rare occasion that I set foot in a craft store, gripping a 40% off coupon in my sweaty hand, I just feel overwhelmed. I usually buy a glue stick and get out of there as fast as I can. So, sadly my children will grow up with a mom who is unable to turn pipe cleaners into zoo animals. Paint and glitter? Forget it. But playing with food? Sign me up. I love having my daughter sitting on the countertop while I make bread or standing on a chair next to me Keep Reading
Rhubarb almond cake recipe
Rhubarb Almond Cake My rhubarb will soon pop up from its winter hibernation. I love the bright splash of color it adds to the garden this time of year. Growing rhubarb is not a difficult task so it's great for beginning gardeners. It's one of those low maintenance, high yield plants that makes you look like you know what you're doing. Last year it was more like an ornamental shrub in our raised beds, though. I didn't use it in one single, solitary recipe for some reason! I'm determined to change that this year. And this recipe is a great place to start (Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is a good place to go next). It caught my eye as I was flipping Keep Reading
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (recipe)
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies This cookie recipe is near and dear to my heart because it comes from my grandma's recipe box. I'm always amazed at the strong connection between taste and smell and memory. It seriously fascinates me; I had six tabs open in my browser at once reading about it. These vivid memories are connected to emotions more than information. They recall a feeling, time, or a location. So cool. The smell of a box of crayons takes me back to the first day of school. The taste of my mom's meatloaf reminds me of breaks home from college. One bite of these cookies and I am at my aunt's house on Christmas Eve, surrounded by warmth and Keep Reading
Homemade Gingerbread Cookies
Homemade Gingerbread Cookies Christmas is just days away, and I have been cranking out all kinds of holiday treats from my kitchen (in January I will be cranking out miles in the gym to pay for it). This year, I strategically waited until my Mother-in-law arrived in town because she washes dishes like nobody's business. This is a big deal because I don't have a dishwasher in my kitchen (and I love my MIL, of course). I will happily keep the house stocked with baked goods as long as I don't have to do the dishes afterward. It's a nice trade-off, if you ask me. This is one of my favorite roll & cut Christmas cookie recipes. When I say roll Keep Reading
Peaches and Cream No-Bake Dessert recipe
A few weeks ago, I attended a Ladies' Night, where we all brought something to share for dinner and dessert. One woman brought this dessert, and it was the perfect sweet treat for a hot summer night: a graham cracker crust topped with cream and studded with chunks of fresh peaches. In typical potluck fashion, it started the whole Who-Brought-This-And-May-I-Please-Have-The-Recipe round of questions as soon as it was served. The great thing about the ingredient list is that it features items you probably have in your stockpile, thanks to great summer deals (marshmallows and graham crackers), while featuring those sweet peaches that are just starting Keep Reading
Macaroon Trees (gluten-free, dairy-free dessert)
Macaroon Trees (a gluten-free, dairy-free recipe) I showed up for New Years Eve with zero resolutions and one platter of macaroon trees. So far, 2015 is looking good (pretty much like 2014...). This is quite possibly the easiest dessert recipe I have ever shared with you. The five ingredients are mixed together in one bowl, shaped directly on the pan, and baked for just 12 minutes. From start to finish, it took maybe 30 minutes to create a sweet little forest of coconut trees. And this was my first time ever making macaroons. I saw the original recipe in a Martha Stewart Living magazine. I had always thought of macaroons as a fussy dessert, like Keep Reading