Now my mom has a different opinion about Cocoa and when asked about him, she'll tell you a different tale. To this day, at the mention of his name, she will emphatically declare "Cocoa was a BAD dog."😂 I think her judgement mainly stems from a Christmas cookie incident that occurred over 40 years ago.😳 According to her, one December, she had baked LOTS of cookies to take to a Christmas cookie exchange. When she finished, she stored all of the cookies on top of the dryer to keep them off of the kitchen counters and out of the way. You can probably guess what happened next.😅 My relatively small dog somehow managed to reach the top of the dryer and eat all of the Christmas cookies! Now that I think about it, do you think it's possible that my brother ate the cookies and framed the dog?🤣 Just kidding bro. I think it was fate that as an adult, when I first started my catering business, we had a dog that ate a counter full of very intricate royal icing cake decorations that took me days to make.😫 That was that day when I finally understood why my mom will forever refer to Cocoa as a "bad dog".😅  I honestly have no idea whether my mom rebaked all of the cookies that were eaten by the dog or if she showed up to her Christmas cookie exchange with a package of Oreos.🤷🏻♀️ I suspect that she had some emergency dessert in her freezer though. A batch of brownies or an unbaked pie ready to be popped into the oven.(A little trick I adopted from her.😉) I usually have some frozen cookie dough or a pie in my freezer for last minute dessert emergencies too.🤣🍪🥧 These chocolate crackles are the perfect thing to keep in your freezer for when your dog eats all of your dessert or when you just want a delicious cookie.😉😅 I scoop my cookie dough into balls, put them in ziploc storage bags and freeze them. When I get a serious chocolate craving, I can take out the number of cookies that I need, defrost them 30 minutes, roll them in sugar and then bake them up fresh.  Chocolate Crackle Cookies 2.0 1 cup cocoa powder 1¾ cups sugar ½ cup canola oil 4 eggs, room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup powdered sugar
Place on silpat lined baking sheets. Only coat as many dough balls as you can fit on baking sheets at one time. Refrigerate remaining dough balls and roll in powdered sugar just before baking.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 350.   Ciao!
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 How's your Christmas shopping going? As for me - I'm about 87% of the way to having all of my gifts bought and wrapped.🎁 Unlike me, my husband thrives on the hustle and bustle of the last minute Christmas shopping scene. He's one of the only people I know who actually really enjoys being out amongst the impatient shoppers in crowded stores with long check out lines during the last couple of days leading up to Christmas.😬 I may never understand it but I do take advantage of his enthusiasm and send him with any last minute gifts that are still on my list every year.📋😅  It's usually the little things that procrastinate buying the longest. The small tokens that I hand out to our faithful delivery drivers, holiday party hosts and our super tolerant neighbors. Typically, these are a combination of purchased and homemade treats. If you're needing a last minute gift and you prefer not to go out and face the crazy holiday traffic and chaos of the stores, do what I'm doing and stay home and bake biscotti.😂 I'll be handing out biscotti to lots of friends this year and for whoever needs to hear this, paired with a coffee shop gift card, it makes a great gift for teachers too.😉
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar 3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract 3 1/4 cups flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup crushed peppermint candies 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Place slices on baking sheet and bake for another 8 minutes. Flip and bake 8 minutes on the other side.  Melt chocolate in a shallow bowl and dip bottoms of biscotti in melted chocolate. Set on foil to set.  Ciao!
 Friends... you are officially invited to my online cookie exchange! 🍪 What's an online cookie exchange, you ask? The concept is simple. I'll post one of my favorite cookie recipes on my blog today and in return, you can share one of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes in the comments. Just like the old fashioned cookie exchanges that our grandmothers participated in - but without the calories -- or the cookies.😂 I probably should have called it a recipe exchange but that just doesn't have the same pizazz as cookie exchange.😅
I chose a classic snickerdoodle to share on this special cookie exchange edition of the blog because they're one of my most requested cookie flavors. A classic butter cookie coated in sweet cinnamon sugar. A simple cookie that's anything but simple to make. It's actually one of the trickier cookies to get just right. This is the 4th Snickerdoodle cookie recipe that I've posted on my website. (I really should have called this snickerdoodles 4.0.😂) I've experimented with lots of different snickerdoodle recipes. I've played with adjusting the amounts and types of fat like of butter and shortening. I've even tried adding cream of tartar and cream cheese to get better results. At the end of the day, all of my snickerdoodles were all delicious but they produced a less than desirable appearance. One turned out too flat, one was too puffy and another didn't hold the signature cinnamon sugar coating. Turns out - 4th time is a charm.😉 A mixture of butter and coconut oil proved to be the perfect combination to produce the perfect snickerdoodle with a soft, chewy center and a sweet, crispy, cinnamon coated exterior.  Snickerdoodles 2.0 8 Tablespoons butter, room temperature 1/3 cup coconut oil 1 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 Tablespoon vanilla 1 large egg, cold 2 1/3 cups flour For the Cinnamon Sugar: 1/4 cup sugar 4 teaspoons cinnamon
 Cool 8 minutes on baking sheet. Cool completely on wire racks.
I hope you enjoy and now it's your turn to share your favorite cookie recipe.😉 Ciao!  When was the last time you were this excited about eating your vegetables?😂
I wish I could channel this sweet girls enthusiasm for green vegetables.🥑  My hope is that this sweet girl will keep her love of vegetables as she grows. I'm a big fan of vegetables too but unfortunately my sweet tooth usually trumps my desire to fill my plate with vegetables.😅  I've learned that making vegetables as easy to grab as an apple off the counter is key to me actually consuming them.😬 I prepped 6 of these warm harvest grain bowls and put them in my frig during the week leading up to Thanksgiving this year. I knew that I'd be too busy meal prepping for the holiday to actually make proper meals so these grain bowls were a life saver. They're packed with tons of flavor and loaded with protein and vegetables!  Warm Harvest Grain Bowls 1 cup farro 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped 1 cup brussels sprouts, halved 1 cup sweet potatoes, cubes 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained & rinsed 1 cup roasted chicken, shredded 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded or shaved 2 Tablespoons dried cranberries 2 Tablespoons pistachios 1 Tablespoon olive oil Lemon balsamic vinegar
 Sprinkle parmesan cheese, pistachios and cranberries over the top.  Drizzle with lemon vinegar.
Note: I packed the cheese, pistachios and cranberries in a separate bag so I could warm each one and then add my toppings just before I eating my delicious grain bowl.
Ciao!  Yesterday was National Cookie Day. Don't worry if you missed it - it's never too late to grab a cookie and celebrate.🍪 I haven't bake any Christmas cookies yet but you better believe that I'll be snagging one out of my freezer to toast national cookie day right along with you today.😅 I wouldn't call myself a Grinch but I also haven't experienced my normal excitement over Christmas cookie season yet.🤷🏻♀️ By the end of the first week of December, I would normally have stocked at least 2 freezer shelves full of cookies and cookie dough in preparation for the holidays. I blame myself for being too busy to do all the things that get me into the spirit of Christmas: cutting down a Christmas tree, decorating the house and shopping for gifts.🎄 Not to worry, I found my Christmas cookie motivation.😅 Turns out all I needed was to spend an afternoon in the cutest, most Hallmark-esk town in the state of Georgia. This picturesque town would make anyone want to grab a cup of hot chocolate, turn on a cheesy Christmas movie and spend an afternoon baking cookies. 😂  If you find yourself suffering from a lack of motivation like I was, consider this your invitation to bake. I think I just figured out why National Cookie Day is December 5th.😂 I feel like we should all bake a batch of cookies in honor of National Cookie Day. It seems disrespectful NOT to celebrate.😂  If you're looking for a new Christmas cookie to try this year - consider these Peppermint Mocha Slice Cookies. This was a new recipe that I made last year and they were a big hit. And if you want to make these ahead of time, you can prepare the dough, wrap it and freeze it until you're ready to slice and bake. Posting pictures of these minty chocolate cookies reminded me of just how scrumptious they were. Now I'm really ready to get started my Christmas cookie baking.👩🏻🍳😋 Enjoy!
Peppermint Mocha Slice and Bake Cookies 1 3/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 16 Tablespoons butter, melted 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon peppermint extract 1 1/2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar 1 Tablespoons dry milk powder
Bake 10-12 minutes at 350. Let cool 10 minutes on baking sheet.  Ciao!
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