Chrissy's Banana Bundt Bread

Recipe Source: Chrissy Teigen's Twitter
INGREDIENTS
2 cups mashed BROWN bananas (about 6)

4 eggs

2/3 cup canola oil

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar

1 3.5 oz box vanilla instant pudding

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2.5 dark chocolate, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine mashed bananas, eggs, and oil. 

Add dry ingredients into banana mixture, and combine. Gently fold in coconut. 

Pour batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan, and bake for 1 hour.

Test with a skewer or toothpick around minute 50.

Remove from oven, and let cool slightly. Use a butter knife to gently release from pan- don't forget inner circle, before flipping onto another plate.

Serve warmed up slices with a chunk of sweet-salty butter.

This is one of three ways that bananas should ever be consumed. The other two are: covered in ice cream & syrup, and Bluth's Original Frozen Banana- because there is ALWAYS money in the banana stand. All jokes aside, this is much like the banana bread that we all grew up with but better.
You look at it, and think, "that banana bread is pretentious AF." and then you taste it and realize that it is just a better version of your OG. The addition of vanilla instant pudding ups the moist factor, the shredded coconut brings a nice contrast that isn't nuts (imo- nuts are aways welcome to the party) and if you want to go hugely decadent, the chopped dark chocolate will do just that. Make this.

I did have to adjust Chrissy's recipe by baking this at 350ºF for the suggested time. I live at a high altitude, and the banana bread ended up heavy and gummy when baked at the suggested 325ºF, even after added an additional 20 minutes to the cook time.

White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs cold
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups Ghirardelli Peppermint Chunks
1 cup miniature pretzels, crushed
Crushed Peppermint Candies
Miniature Pretzels
Flaky Finishing Salt

DIRECTIONS
Using a paddle attachment, further soften butter until lighter in texture.
Cream together granulated and brown sugar, until pale in color. Scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add vanilla extract, and mix to incorporate.
Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Scrape bowl between additions.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. To ensure even distribution of baking soda and salt.
Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl, and pulse until barely incorporated.
Again, scrape the sides of the bowl, and be sure to lift the ingredients from the bottom.
Add remaining flour, and pulse until just mixed. There will probably be some flour still visible.
Again, scrape the sides of the bowl, and be sure to lift the ingredients from the bottom.
Add peppermint chunks, and crushed pretzels, and mix until incorporated.
It's okay if the paddle crushes the pretzels and chunks, the broken pieces are more evenly distributed.
Using a cookie scoop, (I used a #40 scoop, which is about 1.75 Tbsp), scoop your dough.
Place balls of dough on a cookie sheet, and scoop the entire batch.
Roll the top half of the dough in the crushed peppermint candies, and top with a miniature pretzel.
Refrigerate dough for at least half an hour, up to a day. Then bake.
Preheat oven to 375° F; at least 30 minutes before you begin to bake.
Place dough on cookie sheet, at least 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until edges are lightly golden brown.
Top cookies with flaky finishing salt.

This is legitimately my new favorite cookie. I first discovered the flavor combination when I mistakenly thought my niece's favorite thing was white chocolate and peppermint- (she likes it when it's on top of very thick dark chocolate)… so I grabbed a bag of these at Costco, and then quickly became obsessed with them. My favorite flavor of Perk Energy is even inspired by those White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Crisps. So when I was making chocolate chip cookies as a request from my grandma, I figured why the heck not? I grabbed a bag of Ghirardelli Peppermint Chunks from the freezer, crushed some pretzel until I had a cup, decided they didn't look quite festive enough, and bam! my new favorite holiday cookie was born. I took them to work the next day to test on some of our clients, and by the double fisting action that went on, I knew they were winners.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

INGREDIENTS
Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
1 lemon, zested
2 large eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice
Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest until pale yellow and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time. Add the ricotta, and lemon juice and beat until fully combined.

To the butter/ricotta mixture, add half of the prepared dry ingredients, and mix on low. Scrap sides of bowl and add remaining half of dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Gently fold the dough taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl, to finish the mixing the dough.

Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets. *I prefer a #20 scoop (3.5 tbsp), and can fit about 24 cookies on a half sheet pan. Prepared cookies sheets, and dough should be kept in the refrigerator if not in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove sheets from oven, and let cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes. The cookies are extra delicate when warm, and the residual heat of the sheet helps to firm up the bottoms. When cookies have cooled, prepare glaze.

Combine powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Dip cookies, and let glaze harden at room temperature. Enjoy!

Are these cookies a family favorite that will be gone in less than 45 minutes? Yes. My family loves them more than they love me. At least that's the vibe I get from my mother and sister. My sister has requested that if she ever marries that I make her wedding cake out of these cookies- stacked to be the cake. They are the perfect delicate little cookie. Sweet but tart, tender, moist, and just plain delicious. You should definitely make them, especially when lemons are in season. I added more flour than the original recipe calls for, and highly suggest taking care to be sure it's fully mixed. If not, the cookies will spread like the devil, and it will be a crunchy lemon sugar butter mess. Extra delicious? Yes. Beautiful cookie? heck no.

VARIATIONS:

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Berry Glaze
            Replace 2 Tbsp lemon juice with fresh berry juice of your choice.
            Strawberry & Raspberry SO good.
Orange Ricotta Cookies with Chocolate Glaze
            Replace Lemons with Oranges
            Double the zest in the cookies
            Chocolate Glaze

                        1 cup powdered sugar                            1 Tbsp butter, melted                        Orange Zest

                        2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder    1 Tbsp Orange Juice
                       
                       

Crumble Topping

Recipe from Rachel Parcell
 
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour.
Add the butter, and mix* until a crumble-y texture forms.

*You can do this with a pastry cutter, spoons, or freshly washed hands. Personally, I think it's best with a pastry cutter, because you lose less butter to your skin.

Top your favorite prepared muffin batter mix, and bake according to package directions. Let cool in muffin tip for at least 3 minutes before removing to allow to cool in a cooling rack. ENJOY!


This Crumble Topping recipe is as basic as you can get, and it is freaking delicious as is.

BASIC IS GOOD! 

You can always change it up, as you keep the basic ratio pretty similar. The more sugar/butter the crunchier the crumble, and more of a caramelized goodness will develop. The more flour you add the more sandy the crumble will be- which is good for topping juicier stuff. Swap the sugar for different blends depending on what you're going for - brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, whatever floats your boat. Adding vanilla paste is money, as is adding your favorite extract like almond, or even some citrus zest. Mix in some rolled oats, sliced almonds, or finely chopped nuts- that will give the crumble an insane crunch!

THE LIMIT DOES NOT EXIST…
WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR OPTIONS.

USES:

• On top of fruit, and baked for a delicious fruit crumble. Any fruits will do, get creative! Just cook them a little, sweeten them up a touch if they are particularly tart, and bake.
• MY FAVORITE: Grab a bag of frozen mixed berries, throw them in a pot with 1/2 cup sugar, your favorite extract, a squeeze of lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook for a couple minutes over medium-high heat, to get the berries poppin' and to get the natural pectins in the berries. Transfer to casserole dish, top with crumble and bake at 350ºF for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Use it as the topping for fruit pies.
• Since there is no limit on variations, there is no limit on what you can do with it. :)

Belgian Waffles

adapted from Simple Daily Recipes

INGREDIENTS
2 eggs, room temp
1 cup milk
4 Tbsp oil
2 tsp butter vanilla baking emulsion
1 cup cake flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp sugar

DIRECTIONS

Separate the yolk from the whites of your room temperature eggs.

Combine yolks with milk, oil, and vanilla emulsion. Beat until combined. Set aside.

In a clean metal or glass bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peak stage. A KitchenAid is your best friend for this. Reserve one quarter cup of stiff egg whites.

Turn on waffle maker to let it come to temperature.

In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly combine flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and sugar. Whisk in your wet ingredients, until mixture is homogenous. Slacken batter with 1/4 of egg whites, then carefully fold in the rest.

Fill waffle iron according to the directions, and bake in iron until it has reached the desired color. No one likes to clean up the mess of an overfilled waffle iron.

When you have approximately 1/4 of your batter remaining, gently fold in the remaining quarter cup of stiff egg whites. The last bit of batter is never quite as fluffy as the begging of the batch, and this has prevented me from having the dreaded waffle iron mess.

Serve with your favorite waffle toppings, and enjoy!

Ever have those moments when you see something that would make all of your childhood dreams come true, but you recognize that you're an adult and don't actually need that dream to come true? Well that was me with this Mickey Mouse Waffle Maker… and I resisted, until they came back in stock and my favorite Disney Instagrammer was like, "they're baaaaack!" Well friends, I don't regret the decision because this waffle iron has several settings, and a super even heating element. It's just pure quality… especially with this waffle recipe.
I didn't take very long searching for the perfect recipe. And then I was committed to making waffles, even though we didn't have regular flour OR vanilla extract, but the adjustments to the recipe are now necessary. Cake flour is a little sweeter, and much lighter, and Butter Vanilla Baking Emulsion is HEAVEN SENT. The trick of setting aside some of the stiff egg whites has also been loads of help, because the batter tends to be denser, and will just ooze out like lava if you don't have set it aside to add later.

Christmas Chex Mix

INGREDIENTS

13.5 oz Rice Chex
2 cup coconut
2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup light corn syrup
1.5 sticks butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp almond extract

DIRECTIONS
Line half sheet pan with wax paper.

In a large bowl, mix Rice Chex, coconut, almonds, and dried cranberries. Set aside.

In a medium sized pot, over medium heat, bring corn syrup, butter, sugar and salt to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, and add baking soda and almond extract. Mixture will bubble.

Pour over dry ingredients, and stir to coat.

Spread evenly over wax paper lined sheet pan. Cool 1 hour.

This is what I will probably eat every day in heaven, or not be allowed to eat in hell. It brings back memories of eating something very similar on cheer bus trips in high school. Only that definitely took out a filling, which then chipped a tooth, and was not nearly as delicious as this. There is just enough syrup to coat every ingredient, while still maintaining that delightful crunch from the Chex and slivered almonds. The flakes of coconut give it a "it just started to snow" vibe and complements the almond extract flavor, and the dried cranberries bring a tart sweetness and color. Definitely my new favorite.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

INGREDIENTS
Dough

4 3/4 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Active Dry Yeast (2 packets)
2 cups warm water

Topping
2 cups water
4 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse, kosher or pretzel salt
1 cup unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

In a mixer, bloom the yeast with the sugar and water, let sit for 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and using the hook attachment, combine ingredients until it forms a dough that pulls away from the sides. Continue kneading for about 5 minutes. It should be soft, smooth, and quite slack. Cover, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, prepare the topping:

In a small pot, boil water and add baking soda, stirring until the soda is dissolved. Reduce heat to a soft simmer.

Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into sixteen equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Pour the baking soda/water into a 9" square pan.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28" to 30" long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Working with 4 pretzels at a time, place them in the pan with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing them on the baking sheet. This baking soda "bath" will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color.

Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with salt, if desired.

Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter.

Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but pretend you're Paula Dean, and you need butter to live.

Sprinkle with more salt, because we go hard to the paint here, and serve!

Variation: PRETZEL BITES WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Instead of twisting your ropes of dough, cut them into 1 inch pieces, throw them in the soda water for a minute, and let sit for 10 minutes, and bake for 6-7 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Momma's Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS
2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla (OR 1 teaspoon almond extract)
4 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dairy product

DIRECTIONS
In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
In a mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs in one at a time until incorporated, then add vanilla.
Incorporate 1/3 flour mixture, then 1/2 dairy product. Repeat. End with flour. Be sure to not over mix.
Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour- use my roll out dough hack!
Heat oven to 400ºF.
Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
Cut with cookie cutter.
Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Place in freezer for 3 minutes.
Bake for 7 minutes, or until bottoms are pale brown.
Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack, repeat with remaining dough.
Let cookies cool completely before topping with your frosting of choice, and ALL THE SPRINKLES.

Bacon Swiss Poppy Seed Salad

INGREDIENTS
1/2 tsp grated fresh onion
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 head green leaf lettuce

1 head red leaf lettuce

2 cups grated Swiss cheese

3/4 lbs crispy-cooked, and crumbled bacon

DIRECTIONS

Combine grated fresh onion, mustard, sugar, rice vinegar, olive oil, salt, and poppy seeds in a container. I plopped them in a blender bottle, shook it like a polaroid picture.

Chop your heads of green and red leaf lettuce- into fork manageable pieces. Top lettuce with Swiss cheese, bacon, and poppy seed dressing. Then toss to combine, and enjoy!

This recipe is EASILY doubled, and will go fast in a crowd. Even in a crowd of non-green salad loving Mormons. In fact, the original recipe I was given was doubled, and filled a GIANT bowl. however, this recipe fit nicely into a casserole dish for our Christmas Dinner for six, with no leftovers-  I took one for the team and finished it off. You will NOT regret making this salad.

Hot Chocolate Truffles

recipe adapted from Your Cup of Cake
BASIC RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

2 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cocoa Powder

DIRECTIONS
In a medium sized pot, melt all of the ingredients over medium-low heat stirring constantly until smooth.
Remove from heat, and transfer to a separate container. Let cool in the refrigerator until stiff enough to scoop.
Using a small cookie scoop (2 Tbsp/1 ounce/30 mL), scoop your ganache onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and place in the freezer for half an hour.
Remove scoops from freezer, and shape into (pretty) balls with your hands. Roll truffles in cocoa powder, and keep chilled until ready to use.

TO SERVE

Place truffle in bottom of cup, and pour 6 to 8 oz of hot milk over the top. Stir stir stir and enjoy!

VARIATIONS

Candy Cane
Use 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract in place of vanilla.
Roll in crushed candy canes.

Chocolate Orange
Use 1 Tablespoon of orange extract in place of vanilla.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
Use 2 Cups Reese's Peanut Butter Chips & 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Roll in 2 parts cocoa powder to 1 part PB2.

Extra Dark Milk Chocolate
Use Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips & 1/2 teaspoon salt

Som' Bitches

Recipe adapted from two.thirty.ate

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
28 chewy caramels, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add peanut butter and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time until combined.
Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Gently fold in chocolate chips, and mix until just combined.
Using a two tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out dough then flatten in the the palm of your hand. Place caramel in the middle, then fold cookie dough up, pinching the seams to create a ball. Place cookies 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

If you know me, then you know that Peanut Butter Cookies are always a bust with me. Not that I don't love peanut butter cookies, but because I am THE WORST at making them. No matter what I do, they always end up terrible. After that famous episode of How I Met Your Mother where we actually met the mother, and she had made these cookies. When I watched that episode, I knew that I needed to make them. But with my terrible track record, I was SO thankful that my friend Kayla would make them. She taught me how, but for some reason every time I tried, they just didn't ever work. That is until I made them during the 2016 BYU/Utah Football game. I was SO stressed, that I had to do something. So while the game may not have ended the way I wanted it to, I have these cookies to help ease my pain.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Recipe adapted from PopSugar
  
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk

1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup salted butter, melted and cooled slightly

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the flour and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk in buttermilk, vanilla and melted butter.

Pour buttermilk mixture into the well of the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Let sit while you pre-heat your skillet.

Heat a large, nonstick skillet to about 350 ºF. Spray skillet with your cooking spray of choice.
Dollop 1/2 cup batter onto skillet per pancake. Cook pancakes until bubbles rise to the surface and pop, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip pancakes and cook another 2 minutes.

Okay guys, pancakes are my life. I've never been great at them, which was fine because my Grandma Alice was amazing at them, and I always assumed I would find a man to love me and he would make them. You know, cause all men are great at making breakfast food. Well, I'm 27, Grandma Alice has retired from cooking, and I haven't been on a date in years. So, I had to suck it up and learn. I've made a lot of mistakes, learned that mixes are the devil, and that ain't nobody got time or the money to use cake flour, but I've found the recipe that embodies all of my favorite things about pancakes. I can now sleep a little better knowing that pancakes will be in my life for always. I may be lonely, but loneliness can be fixed with a stack of hot buttermilk pancakes.

Martha's Chocolate-Raspberry Cake

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart

INGREDIENTS

CAKE
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (61 percent cacao), melted and cooled
FILLING
24 ounces fresh raspberries (a scant 6 cups)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of coarse salt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, then dump some flour in, and shake until coated with a light layer of flour. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In another large bowl, beat butter with sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in almond extract. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk in two batches. Beat to combine, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in melted chocolate.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans, smoothing tops with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through front to back and top to bottom, until a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around edges, then invert onto rack. Remove parchment and let cool completely, about 25 minutes. With a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes so they're level.

Filling: While cakes are baking, stir together 3 cups raspberries, sugar, salt, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over high, stirring frequently and mashing with the back of a spoon, until mixture comes to a boil, 2 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring, until mixture thickens and clings to spoon, 7 to 8 minutes more. (You should have 1 1/3 cups.) Let cool 30 minutes. Stir in 2 cups raspberries, reserving remainder.

Spread half of filling over one cake. Top with second layer; spread remaining filling over top. Top with final layer, cut-side down. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish with remaining raspberries.

Fact: I am terrible at reading recipes lately, and once I get the ingredients together, I put them together using whatever method would work best based on the ingredients. Which is probably how I didn't catch that this should have been made using THREE cake pans. While my cake turned out okay, using three pans would've made it so much easier with the filling and frosting. #whoopsie This cake is RICH, and slightly tangy from the raspberries. I am definitely going to keep baking this chocolate cake recipe, and the frosting is to die for! I used almond extract instead of the raspberry liquor, mostly because I didn't want to buy (let's be honest find in my home) Chambord. I do like almond with raspberry together, so I was pleased with the result.

Coconut Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS
For the Cookies:
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. canola oil
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2 eggs
2 tsp coconut extract
5 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
For the Frosting:
1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sour cream
1 tsp coconut extract
dash of salt
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. coconut milk (or as needed, to taste)
Toasted Coconut

DIRECTIONS
For the Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
In a stand-mixer or large mixing bowl, combine butter, oil, sugar, powdered sugar, and water. Cream together and slowly add in eggs. Then add coconut extract, and mix thoroughly.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix well and slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture until combined and doughy.
Roll dough into golf-ball sized balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silpat.
Dip the bottom of a glass into excess sugar and press on to each dough ball (re-dipping in sugar each time) to flatten the cookie to about 1/2 inch in thickness.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottom is lightly golden-brown. Do not over-bake. Set aside to cool.
For the Frosting:
Cream together butter, sour cream, extract, and salt. Slowly add powdered sugar, and mix until desired consistency (you may not need all of it). Add coconut milk to thin if needed. Spread over cooled cookies, top with toasted coconut and serve! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator to get that soda shop experience.

Sodalicious Cookies

Recipe Adapted from Favorite Family Recipes

INGREDIENTS

For the Cookies:
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. canola oil
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
5 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
For the Frosting:
1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp almond extract
dash of salt
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk (or as needed, to taste)

DIRECTIONS
For the Cookies:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
In a stand-mixer or large mixing bowl, combine butter, oil, sugar, powdered sugar, and water. Cream together and slowly add in eggs. Then add almond extract, and mix thoroughly.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix well and slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture until combined and doughy.
Roll dough into golf-ball sized balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silpat.
Dip the bottom of a glass into excess sugar and press on to each dough ball (re-dipping in sugar each time) to flatten the cookie to about 1/2 inch in thickness.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottom is lightly golden-brown. Do not over-bake. Set aside to cool.
For the Frosting:
Cream together butter, sour cream, extract, and salt. Slowly add powdered sugar, and mix until desired consistency (you may not need all of it). Add milk to thin if needed. Mix in food coloring to desired hue. Spread over cooled cookies and serve! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator to get that soda shop experience.

Guys, I am slowly increasing my A1C with the addition of SodaBomb! in Roosevelt- they are fantastic! Thankfully, they do not have Sugar Cookies every day like those other soda shops (Sodalicious, Swig) and I can keep myself in check. BUT their sugar cookies are vanilla flavored- still delicious- but they don't quite live up to the amazingness that is a Sodalicious Sugar Cookie… sorry Swig, the one time I gave you a chance-at the original, your sugar cookies were meh. Anyway, I had to find something to fill in the void, and I finally gave making some myself a chance. I'm SO glad that I did. These are SO good! If you are a monster, and do not like Almond Extract, go ahead and make them with Vanilla- just know that they won't be as good! Also, these get SO MUCH BETTER after sitting in the refrigerator over night.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Recipe Adapted From Alina Design Co

INGREDIENTS

1 package (2 sheets) puffed pastry

2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter (melted)
Cinnamon Sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Unfold then use a rolling pin to spread out the puffed pastry. Place one sheet of puffed pastry onto parchment. Spread cream cheese mixture onto puffed pastry, top with other sheet of puffed pastry.
Seal sides by pinching them together. Spread melted butter over the top, and generously sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool. Serve warm.

Once upon a time, I pinned the recipe for this on Pinterest, and it became my mom popular pin. Like, it was on the Most Popular Page for like 3 weeks. It was the most annoying thing of my life! And then Pinterest stopped being an invite only website, and the jets were cooled. Unfortunately, the annoyance caused me to resent the pin, and I never made the recipe. What a foolish decision that was, because this is AMAZING. The original recipe says to use Crescent Roll Dough, but I think that it's too greasy and too savory of a thing, AND when I made this in a bind, all I had was some Pepperidge Farm Puffed Pastry Sheets. Best ingredient swap of my life! Make this, you will not be disappointed! 

Puffed French Toast

Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf french bread, cut into 1 inch slices*

3/4 cup sugar

1.5 tablespoons cinnamon

2 eggs
2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. milk
1 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Vegetable Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

In a shallow baking dish, mix sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil to 375ºF.

While the oil is coming to temperature, thoroughly combine eggs, remaining sugar, salt, vanilla extract, milk, flour and backing powder in a pie dish.

Working quickly, take each slice of french bread, and soak both sides in the batter. Shake off excess, and place in hot oil. Fry until puffed up and golden in color, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Remove from oil, and place on a cooling rack lined with paper towels to cool. While still warm, coat in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Serve warm with whatever your heart desires. We like it with fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce, and whipped cream.

I'm a Mormon. I guess that needed to be said for the story? Anyway, I was watching General Conference with my friend, Marina. And in between the Saturday Sessions a commercial for a cookbook came on, and it showed a picture of this puffed french toast. And I KNEW that I needed that cookbook, because I NEEDED to make that french toast for our Sunday General Conference Breakfast the next day for all of our friends. So, after the afternoon session, we drove to Deseret Book, purchased it, found the recipe and straight to Walmart to grab the ingredients. We forgot to grab the Texas Toast the recipe called for, but there were loaves of french bread next to us. Laziness prevailed, so we grabbed a loaf, and then the adaptation that created my FAVORITE breakfast was born!

Cowboy Caviar

Recipe from Culinary Hill

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (11 ounce) can super sweet corn, drained (see notes)
1 red onion, diced
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup chopped cilantro (1 bunch)

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, sugar, white wine vinegar, chili powder, cumin and salt.

Add tomatoes, black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, onion, bell peppers and cilantro. Mix to combine.

Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight to let the flavors marry. Serve chilled with chips.

Lilliana and I went to the store one Saturday to purchase some strawberries to make strawberry ice cream. Next to the strawberries was some samples of what looked pretty dang gross, but it had a corn chip, so we decided to try it. And then our love for Cowboy Caviar was born. We paid the outrageous price of $2.69 for a cup of it, and then shoveled into our mouths as fast as we could, because other family members would try it, and would also fall in love. Today when I went to the grocery store, they did not have any of that delicious Cowboy Caviar, so I found a recipe, and hot dang, I am gonna live off of this stuff!

Midnight Cookies 'n' Cream Ice Cream

Inspired by Chocolate Midnight Cookies
by Häagen-Dasz in Downtown Disney
Recipe Adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (100% cacoa)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 ounces crushed Oreo Cookies

DIRECTIONS
Combine 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
Chop the chocolate and place it in a medium bowl.
Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
Combine the remaining milk, cream, evaporated milk, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Add the cocoa, whisking until it is incorporated, and continue to boil for 4 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the chocolate. Add the salt and whisk until the chocolate is melted.
Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon resealable plastic freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until the mixture is chilled through, about 30 minutes.
Pour the ice cream base into the ice cream maker and process until thick and creamy per the machine’s instructions.
Gently stir in crushed Oreo Cookies, place in a quart sized container, topped with parchment paper before regular lid, and then freeze for a minimum of 3 hours in the freezer.
Scoop, and serve to all your favorite people.

The first time I took my niece, Peggy, to Disneyland, all she wanted for a snack, all day, was ice cream. And I just kept forgetting to take her to get some- there are waaaay better things to eat in the land of happiness than ice cream. So after our first day, while walking through Downtown Disney on our way back to the room, she noticed the Häagen-Dasz and reminded me that all she wanted was ice cream. So we made that quick pit stop. She was kind of being a butthead, didn't know what she wanted, so I chose for her. And I chose the first ice cream that I saw an advertisement for and that is what she got. She kind of pouted a little bit, and then she got the ice cream. And good heck, was it good! So, as I was making ice cream this last week, my facebook kept popping up that a year ago I was in Disneyland. Which made me crave this ice cream, so I made it happen! This is seriously SO good! You should definitely make it today!

Cranberry Apple Pie

adapted from A Bountiful Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

7 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup fresh cranberries, washed
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
dash salt

2 9-inch pie crusts

Egg wash

Sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place rack on bottom third of oven.
Place bottom crust onto 9-inch pie plate. Set aside.
Place apples in large bowl and mix with cranberries. Add rest of filling ingredients and mix well. Fill bottom crust with apple cranberry mixture.

Place other half of dough on top of filling in pie plate. Crimp edges. Make slits on top of pie for steam to escape.

Brush with egg wash if desired, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar.
Place pie onto foil lined cookie sheet (important, this usually bubbles over a bit.
Bake for about 60 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if pie is getting too brown.
Continue baking for about 10-15 minutes or until pie is bubbly and golden.

Remove from oven and let sit for at least four hours. This will prevent the pie from becoming a gooey mess, and help to keep it's shape when cutting and serving.