cookies

5-Ingredient Toddler Oatmeal Cookies

Toddler Oatmeal CookiesOh boy, it has been awhile since I last posted. It’s almost embarrassing. I don’t even think I’ve mentioned that baby #2 is on the way, and sooner than later I might add! We’ll have a 2-year old little man at the end of the month as well as a little girl in October. That’s a frightening, but amazing, thought!

Toddler Oatmeal CookiesLittle man has been keeping me extra busy with all his energy recently. I feel like his energy is increasing as mine is decreasing…that just doesn’t add up! Anything to keep him occupied and happy for even a few minutes is well worth it. These toddler cookies are the *perfect* last minute, mommy-needs-a-break-from-running-around activity. I love to bake, and little man loves to help and eat…PLUS, the cookies contain ingredients I usually have on hand and are toddler-approved.

Toddler Oatmeal CookiesYou can see in the pictures that he actually CAN help make them since they’re so easy. Also, since there aren’t any eggs in the recipe, he’s totally fine licking his fingers, or eating spoonfuls right out of the bowl. I’m actually pretty sure that every time (in the many times we’ve made these), about half of the “dough” has been eaten straight from the bowl. So if the recipe actually makes more cookies than what I say it does, there’s a good chance that’s why!
Toddler Oatmeal CookiesI have to admit that even though these are for the toddler age group, I do my fair share of eating these as well. The 2 of us could pretty much finish off a batch of these cookies in one sitting. Usually that thought would deserve gasps and head-shaking but there’s really not much to be ashamed of in this case considering what’s in them. I’m serious! I would even willingly give these to the little one for breakfast.

Toddler Oatmeal Cookies

Peppermint Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Truffles

peppermint sandwich cookie truffleDecember is holiday time! Yay! When I think holidays (especially Christmas), I think peppermint. It’s just so festive and fun! You will definitely get your peppermint fill with these peppermint chocolate sandwich cookie truffles. OH. MY. YUM. If you’re confused what I mean by “chocolate sandwich cookie”, it’s just a very generic way of saying peppermint “Oreo” truffles. I decided not to play favorites because I did indeed use the generic brand that was labelled “chocolate sandwich cookies.” Guaranteed delicious no matter the brand. For reals.

peppermint sandwich cookie truffleI remember making chocolate sandwich cookie truffles in middle school home ec. class (Am I dating myself here? Do they still have that class??). In fact, I think that’s the only recipe I remember making in that class because, well, chocolate. You can’t forget a delicious chocolate recipe. Also, the original recipe literally has 3 ingredients…sandwich cookies, cream cheese, and chocolate chips. You don’t even really need a recipe for that. SCORE!

peppermint sandwich cookie truffleI used my homemade peppermint extract in this recipe. Amazing! Couple notes if you use a homemade extract…First of all, this isn’t baked so if you use an alcohol base in your extract, it will have a very small amount of alcohol in the final recipe (split over about 50 truffles). Also, I actually used a little extra extract than the recipe calls for (about 3 teaspoons instead of 2 teaspoons) because I find the homemade stuff isn’t quite as strong as store-bought. However, you also have peppermint candy cane dust to bring the peppermint flavor home so it’s not a huge deal if the extract isn’t super strong.

peppermint sandwich cookie truffleI love a strong peppermint flavor so you know for sure that something is peppermint. I ended up adding more and more peppermint to get the right flavor. I think I finally got there with this final recipe! Don’t forget a little candy cane garnish so everyone knows what deliciousness there is in that perfect little truffle!

peppermint sandwich cookie truffleIf you love a peppermint and chocolate combo, check out these chocolate mint crinkle cookies. You will not be disappointed. I plan on making them again this weekend because you can never have enough!

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Lemon Shortbread Cookies

lemon shortbread cookiesThese lemon shortbread cookies…oh my. They are SCRUMPTIOUS! They literally melt. in. your. mouth. They just might be my new favorite cookie. Since the recipe is just a combination of household pantry/fridge staples, I find it real hard not to make these cookies every day of my life. I kind of want to go make them now. But I won’t. Self-control…

lemon shortbread cookiesI made these little delicacies for a bridal shower for one of my bestest friends. Everyone loved them! I did something you’re never supposed to do though. I made these for the FIRST time for the shower. That’s risky business because you never know if they’ll turn out. I had faith though, and was well rewarded for my trust in these cookies. Whew! 

lemon shortbread cookiesI do have to be honest about these. They started out as a vanilla bean shortbread cookie that I had saved from another blog and I now I can’t find the blog! The link is broken or it doesn’t exist anymore or something. So whoever you are that inspired these cookies, THANK YOU! If you’re out there reading this, you changed my life for the better. 

lemon shortbread cookiesRandom note that you might find helpful is that when you start mixing the dough together it will look like a crumbly mess. You might curse my name or start panicking. Take a deep breath. And another. And maybe by that time you will realize that the dough just needed to be mixed a little longer. It should become a nice smooth dough to roll out and everything will be well again. You might need to slightly press it into a ball to roll out, but it shouldn’t take too much effort.

I keep these pretty small because they’re so rich. Also a good excuse to eat a couple. Definitely not like 10 though. That’s *way* too many…cough, cough. 

Fruit Pizza Cookies

Fruit Pizza CookiesThese fruit pizza cookies have been a long time coming. And when I say a “long time,” I mean a LONG time. I actually made these beauties LAST summer and they have been waiting to be posted ever since. Mostly because by the time I got around to posting them last year I realized it was practically fall and *way* too late to post a recipe featuring fruit and berries. I’m cutting it close this time but I’m going to declare that it’s still summer and I’m not late this time! I did just make them again recently, which helped prompt me to post them. Plus, I certainly cannot let another year go by without posting these because that would be depriving you of fruit pizza goodness. And I’m not a mean person like that.

Fruit Pizza CookiesWhat is a fruit pizza cookie? Simple…you take a fruit pizza (you all know what that is, I hope) and shrink it into a cookie size. Did I seriously have to explain that? Probably not, but I like to make myself clear. Best part is that you feel like you get to eat your own entire fruit pizza without having to share. WIN! You might even feel obligated to eat a couple, or few “pizzas” once you take into account that the fruit practically makes up for the heaps of butter, making them basically healthy…in a way. I would NEVER eat more than one though. Nope. Never…The baby wanted one too though so I may have eaten one for him. It totally counts.

Fruit Pizza CookiesThese are great for parties because they can be easily picked up on the go! No cutting required! Even better, leave the cookies, frosting, and fruit out for a decoration station AT the party. First, you have less work to do to frost and decorate them and second, you just became every child’s best friend. Or mine, if I’m at the party. If you do make them ahead, I would suggest that you frost and put the fruit on not much more than a couple of hours before you serve them or else they will get a little limp. I found that they mostly will get a little soft when they have strawberries on them, which makes sense since strawberries have a lot of water in them. Also, make sure you get the fruit as dry as you can prior to decorating for this exact reason.

Fruit Pizza CookiesOnce the fruit pizza cookies are frosted and decorated, I keep them refrigerated until serving to keep the fruit pretty and the cream cheese frosting chilled. I found that if I put parchment paper between the layers of cookies, it helps keep everything from becoming a sloppy mess. If it did become a sloppy mess though I’m sure someone would still be willing to eat them. If you can’t find anyone, you can always call me and I’ll find someone to take care of eating them…yeah.