dessert

5-Ingredient Toddler Oatmeal Cookies

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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

Strawberry Balsamic Dessert Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Chips

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Strawberry Balsamic SalsaIt’s February! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means…well if you have kids it probably means just another day of the week. BUT, you can change that thought with this beautiful strawberry balsamic dessert salsa. It’s about taking that 10 minutes with the person/people you love to enjoy each other and enjoy this food. Don’t forget the food. Very important. 

Strawberry Balsamic SalsaI do love a little chocolate-y goodness around Valentine’s Day. Yes, I sure do. BUT, this is a special, festive dessert recipe that requires no chocolate! The chocolate is optional, of course, for those of you who just can’t part with it. Like me. I do have to say though that the strawberry “salsa” along with the cinnamon sugar tortilla chips brings more than enough enjoyment for one dessert. 

Strawberry Balsamic SalsaI love that this is a little bit of a more adult-y dessert in that there are fancy* ingredients and it doesn’t make you feel like you’ve eaten so much sugar that you might throw up afterwards. It’s delectable and lovely and the balsamic vinegar helps bring out the natural sweetness of the strawberries and vice versa. It just makes me so happy! *Side note: Balsamic vinegar definitely qualifies as “fancy”. So don’t judge. Thanks 🙂

Strawberry Balsamic SalsaI will say that even though this seems like a “grown up” dessert, the kids will be sure to enjoy this too. Our little guy was begging for tortilla chips after his first bite! So if the people you love include your kids, don’t go about making them the leaning tower of chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Give them (and yourself) a little sweet treat with this gorgeous strawberry dessert!

Strawberry Balsamic Salsa

Christmas Eve Hot Chocolate

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Christmas Eve Hot ChocolateEvery year growing up we used to leave milk and cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. That tradition is sure to continue with our little one. However, I don’t think Santa would mind ONE bit if we left him some of this hot chocolate instead of milk along with his cookies. In fact, I’m POSITIVE he would love it. 

Christmas Eve Hot ChocolateThis is a *super* rich and creamy version of hot chocolate that will leave your whole body warmed. Notice the sweetened condensed milk pouring into this pot of cream and whole milk…Yeah. It’s rich. In fact, I’d say it’s on a totally different planet than the “hot chocolate” packets that often pop up. Don’t get me wrong, I still use powdered hot cocoa and love it. But for Christmas Eve, this version is certainly a treat worth having. Santa will leave your house so, so happy. 

Christmas Eve Hot ChocolateThe only comparison I can come up with is the hot chocolate Travis and I had on our final night in Italy a few years ago. We were sitting in a cozy cafe near the leaning tower of Pisa. Stop right there. Picture that stunning image for a second…Okay, proceed. We wanted to treat ourselves to a little something and decided on hot chocolate. That was a genius idea. I think had the best hot chocolate of my life there. Now, this might not be an identical recipe, but it sure did bring me back to that little cafe. All the good feels came back real quick.

Christmas Eve Hot ChocolateChristmas Eve hot chocolate is almost like a pause button on life. With all the stress of Christmas – running around to see family, wrapping presents, making endless food, traffic, decorating, etc. – this hot chocolate will force you to sit and enjoy the little things of life. Even if just for a minute. And it will put a SMILE on your face! What more can you ask for?! Maybe some peppermint truffles to go with it?? Yeah. That’s what you can ask for 🙂

Peppermint Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Truffles

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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!

Oven-Baked Apple Chips

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Apple ChipsI hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was filled with family, laughter, and LOTS of food (of course!). I pretty much ate my weight in potatoes, rolls, turkey, and pie last week. I don’t regret it…but I think I do need a little time to let the food settle.

Apple ChipsI’m sure many of you have some extra apples lying around this time of year. No matter how wonderful that Thanksgiving apple pie was, the thought of any more pie at this moment does NOT sound appetizing to me. Ask me in like a week and my tune might change…but for now, let’s talk apple chips! A little lighter apple snack is worth a shot and these are SO DELICIOUS!

Apple ChipsThese oven-baked apple chips are super easy to make. Good food that requires little work = happy Steph. I’m sure this resonates with more people than just me. Especially after the busy Thanksgiving baking/cooking rush. You do need some patience, but you don’t need to fuss with the recipe for sure. It’s a breeze!

Apple ChipsMy little guy devoured these apple chips. As you can see, he even helped put them on the tray. Well…he did if “helped” means “took each of them off the tray and made me chase him so he didn’t drop them all over the floor.” I try to give him some credit at least for being interested in cooking. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with ways to have our little ones help in the kitchen. This could have potentially been a great activity if he didn’t love dropping things on the floor and eating apples…Maybe you’ll have better luck with your little ones. Let me know how it works out for you! (p.s. the picture shows an unlined baking sheet. I tried it lined and unlined. They both work but lined is much easier!)

Apple Chips*Note: Please don’t let your kids use a mandolin if they help. They can certainly help mix and put the slices on the trays though!

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