Recipes and Books
Apple-Toffee Oatmeal Cookies are a sweet fall twist on a classic cookie.
This post is sponsored on behalf of #AppleWeek. Our generous sponsors Envy Apples, Bob’s Red Mill, Republic of Tea, Flahavan’s Irish Oats, Nairn’s, Taylor & College, Zyliss, Chocoley, and Torani have provided us with products for recipe creation and a giveaway for our readers. As always, all opinions are my own.
This Spring Sugar Cookie Cake is an easy sweet treat to bring a smile to faces this spring. Rich in vanilla flavor and topped with a bit of spring-colored frosting and festive sprinkles, this Spring Sugar Cookie Cake is simply irresistible.
This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
I’m not generally a big dessert eater – I’d usually rather have potato chips and french fries. Bring on the salty things! It’s rare that I find a dessert that I find irresistible.
It’s no joke when I say that this Spring Sugar Cookie Cake was one of the best desserts I’ve had in a while. It’s got a HUGE vanilla flavor, a dense but soft texture, and just enough frosting to enjoy those sweet bites without going into sugar overload. My kids and husband couldn’t stop talking about it. It was gone within a few days, and they were very quickly asking me to make it again.
Before jumping into the recipe, I’d like to thank Heather from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting this event. If you haven’t already entered the giveaway, you can do so at the rafflecopter at the bottom of this post (and check out Monday’s Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie post for a complete listing of all of the prizes from our sponsors).
And finally, be sure to check out the recipes that my blogging friends have shared today:
In this recipe, I used several ingredients from our sponsors, including Dixie 
Crystals granulated sugar, Adams Extract vanilla extract (so good!) and food coloring, and Sprinkle Pop sprinkles. All are products I’ve used and loved in the past, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to you for use in your own kitchen. But a specific notes on the preparation of this cake:
This Spring Sugar Cookie Cake is an easy sweet treat to bring a smile to faces this spring. Rich in vanilla flavor and topped with a bit of spring-colored frosting and festive sprinkles, this Spring Sugar Cookie Cake is simply irresistible.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with foil. Spray with cooking spray and set aside.
Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to combine butter and sugar, on medium speed, until combined. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine.
Scrape down sides of the bowl and add baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, and flour. Beat on low until the dough has started to come together. Increase speed to medium and continue beating until dough comes together - it'll take a few minutes for dough to go from crumbly to cohesive.
Finally, mix in toffee bits and sprinkles. Turn out into prepared pan and press down. Bake for 19-22 minutes, until edges are starting to brown. Remove from oven - DO NOT OVERBAKE! Cake will continue to bake a bit in the pan, so it's better to have it underbaked.
Allow cake to cool completely before removing from pan and frosting.
In a small bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add salt and confectioners sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until butter is mixed in. Add vanilla extract and then heavy whipping cream, 1 Tbs. at a time until frosting comes together and is the right consistency for piping.
Use a 1M tip and a piping bag to frost edge of the cake, and if you have extra, center. Decorate with remaining sprinkles.
Serve, or cover loosely until serving. Cake will keep, covered, for about 2 days.
This recipe was adapted from Crazy for Crust.
Thank you #SpringSweetsWeek Sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Swiss Diamond, Nancy’s Yogurt, Barlean’s, Sprinkle Pop, PEEPS, Melissa’s Produce, and Adams Extracts for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are my own. The #SpringSweetsWeek giveaway is open to residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Six (6) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. The #SpringSweetsWeek Bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #SpringSweetsWeek posts or entry.
Rich, decadent chocolate cookies are studded with chocolate chips and chopped pecans for an indulgent sweet holiday bite.
This post is sponsored in conjunction with Christmas Cookies Week . I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the Christmas Cookies Week recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
If you had to choose, which would you prefer – vanilla or chocolate?
I would always answer vanilla, but the truth is that if you give me a really good bite of something dark chocolate, I’m in heaven. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always choose vanilla ice cream over any sort of chocolate ice cream, but there’s something about high quality chocolate and that just feels like the ultimate treat.
And so, I’m ending this year’s Christmas Cookies Week with a recipe for all of you chocolate lovers out there. These Brownie Cookies are rich and indulgent. I made them with chocolate chips and pecans but you could easily change that up – they’d be amazing with white chocolate and dried cranberries, or perhaps some peanut butter chips. But I’m not going to stop there. Save the recipe for summer – these decadent little morsels can only be improved by a little vanilla ice cream in between them, making an amazing ice cream sandwich.
One last time, huge THANKS to Ellen at Family Around the Table and Christie at A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures for hosting this week-long festive event. I have today’s recipes from my blogging friends below, but if you’d like, you can also search #ChristmasCookies on social media or follow the #ChristmasCookiesWeek Pinterest Board.
Oh, and don’t forget to scroll down and enter the GIVEAWAY at the bottom of this post!
In the bowl of stand mixer, combine eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour, baking powder, and salt. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Return mixer to low speed and slowly add in melted butter-chocolate mixture. Scrape down sides of the bowl and again with the mixer on low (or fold in by hand with a rubber spatula), add in chocolate chips and pecans until just combined.
Using an ice cream scoop, portion dough onto prepared baking sheets, placing about 1-1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set and cooked throughout.
Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
This recipe calls for 9 oz. of semi-sweet baking chocolate. You can also use 1 1/2 c. (260 grams) of semi-sweet chocolate chips, if desired. The original recipe calls for chocolate chips, but I've been making these cookies with baking chocolate instead.
I used vanilla extract from our sponsor, Adams Extract in this recipe.
This recipe was adapted from Southern Living Best Loved Cookies (p. 21)
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from one of our sponsors, Adams Extracts, Yumgoggle, Sprinkle Pop and Silpat. For more details about the prizes, check out this post.
Disclaimer: Thank you #ChristmasCookiesWeek sponsors: Adams Extract, Sprinkle Pop, YumGoggle and Silpat for providing the prizes free of charge. The #ChristmasCookiesWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Four (4) winners will be selected at random from entries received. The prize packages will be fulfilled by and sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. #ChristmasCookiesWeek bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household are not eligible enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #ChristmasCookiesWeek posts or entry.
Classic Spritz Cookies are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth almond cookies – created in bright colors and topped with sprinkles – that are popular around Christmastime. These little cookies bring a fun bit of holiday cheer to lunchboxes, afternoon snacks or holiday dessert tables.
This post is sponsored on behalf of #ChristmasCookiesWeek. The generous sponsors, YumGoggle, Sprinkle Pop, Silpat and Adams Extracts have provided us with products for recipe creation and a giveaway for our readers. As always, all opinions are my own.
A sweet bar cookie gets a fall makeover. Fall Magic Bars are a twist on the 7-ingredient American classic bar cookie, this time with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Delicious on their own or warmed with a scoop of ice cream on top.
We’re halfway through #CranberryWeek, one of my favorite foodie weeks of the year. If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you probably remember me saying that cranberries ring in late fall for me. I skip pumpkin season and go straight for these tart fruits. Thanksgiving never has a pumpkin pie (unless someone else brings it) but instead, a cranberry pear tart.
This is the second recipe that I’m sharing with you this week (if you missed my quinoa with turkey, Brussels sprouts and cranberries on Monday, be sure to click the link and check it out!), and this is my only dessert. If you’re wanting extra sweets or just more cranberry recipes that I’m bring to you this week, you can search #CranberryWeek on social media. This year we have over 20 bloggers bring you delicious cranberry recipes to brighten up your fall. In addition, today’s recipes can be found at the bottom of this post, and as an added bonus, I’ll even give you a few of my favorites from previous years:
Today’s recipe has been one that I’ve been thinking about for two years now. (There are just so many recipes to try, and not enough time to make them all!) I grew up loving classic Magic Bars (aka Seven Layer Cookies). The graham cracker crust was topped with sweetened coconut flakes, a mix of chocolate and butterscotch chips, chopped pecans, and sweetened condensed milk. My mom used to whip up a batch, and like most other sweets in my house, they didn’t last long.
I’ve taken that classic recipe and created a fall version, with dried cranberries and white chocolate, which pair so well together. These cookies are delicious at room temperature, but even better when they’re warm from the oven or microwaved for a few seconds. Then they become ooey gooey sweet goodness. Nobody will judge if you top a warm sugar-laden cookie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I promise.
A sweet bar cookie gets a fall makeover. Fall Magic Bars are a twist on the 7-ingredient American classic bar cookie, this time with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Delicious on their own or warmed with a scoop of ice cream on top.
A Books n’ Cooks original recipe.
See all the tasty cranberry recipes being shared today below and follow #cranberryweek on social media for more ideas all week long. And a big thanks to Caroline from Caroline’s Cooking for hosting this week-long event!