Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I've always loved sugar cookies. You really can't go wrong. I mean, you can make them into any shape you want (Yoda, anyone?). And you get to decorate them and make them pretty with frosting and sprinkles. 

I also love chocolate. That one's pretty self explanatory. And I began to wonder a few months ago what it would be like to combine the two??? Amazeballs. That's what. They were so good, I took them to our Friendsmas and did a "decorate your own" and they were mostly gone that night. Then I took them to my in-laws and they were most definitely gone. Very quickly.

I found the recipe from Smitten Kitchen and they turned out great. A fun new twist on the classic Christmas sugar cookies. Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

// 350 degrees // 8-11 minutes //

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter, softened (I used sweet cream butter)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

Directions

1. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and cocoa

2. Add in flour, salt, baking powder (recipes usually say to combine the flour mixture first, but I never do and it usually turns out fine!) and mix until smooth

3. Wrap and place in fridge to chill for an hour or so

4. Roll out dough using flour so it won't stick.

5. Cut in desired shapes

6. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheet for 8-11 minutes

7. Enjoy!

Soft & Chewy Molasses Cookies

Molasses cookies have to be one of my favorite cookies. Of all time. My mom made them when I was growing up, usually around Christmas. Molasses cookies are one of those cookies that are like comfort food to me and are always delicious when you eat them warm with a hot cup of cider/coffee/tea. Yum. 

Seriously, you should make these this holiday season. They are so soft and chewy and have the best flavor. I made them last weekend and the whole batch was gone in a day. One day! Don't worry. We had friends over. It wasn't just us (although it very well could have been). Here's my mom's super good recipe for Molasses Cookies.

Peanut Butter Cups

Happy Monday! I can't believe it's already October!!! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I was so glad Zachy was home for the weekend! We ended up just hanging out and doing normal stuff. Having him gone all week sure makes it nice to just have him here to do the normal things. Saturday we went down to Puyallup to watch my brother coach his team to victory (Go Linfield!). It was a beautiful day and we met my parents there to cheer them on. After the game, we went to Home Depot and got supplies for a super awesome project that hopefully I'll be sharing soon! It was definitely a learning experience for both of us... 

Old Fashioned Peach Pie

I wanted to make my mom her favorite cake for her birthday and I had to ask her what it was (embarrassing, right?) because I couldn't for the life of me remember. Rightfully so, because she said her favorite is not cake, but any kind of fruit pie. That made me feel slightly better. 

The Perfect Summer Smoothie

Since I was a kid, I have always loved smoothies. Mostly in the summertime just because they are so delicious and refreshing. And they are healthy! Jam packed with fruit, you can't go wrong. Here's my recipe for my favorite smoothie: Strawberry Banana.

Snickers Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies

You heard me. These cookies are packed with yummy goodness - they're essentially two cookies in one and they taste just as good as Channing Tatum looked in Magic Mike. Yeah, that good. I found the recipe via Pinterest on the blog Bakergirl (originally adapted from Picky Palate). I wanted something with Snickers in it, since that's the hubby's favorite candy. These turned out to be the perfect combo!

Raspberry Cobbler

There's something about summer that just screams Pies! Cobblers! Anything with fresh fruit! After we got some raspberries at Pike's Place Market last weekend we immediately came home and made some raspberry cobbler. 

S'mores Cookies: The Perfect Summer Cookie

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Ours was lazy, which was just what I needed to recover from a stressful last week. We watched a lot of Lost. A. Lot. Of. It. We're on season two now... it is so good! Have you seen it? Don't tell me anything! :)

I made these cookies this weekend for a little get together with friends and they were a hit! Pinterest came through again. It always does. It's not like I'm surprised. These cookies were really really really good. Like, win the lottery good. Like, give away your first born good. Well let's not go that far, but they are deeeee-licious. 

I got the original recipe from Kevin & Amanda and I only did two things differently: I used regular graham crackers instead of cinnamon and regular mini mallows instead of the mallow bites. Otherwise, this is some of the best cookie dough I've had. Seriously yummy. These might become our favorite "summer" cookie this year. They have the same flavor of s'mores with a lot less of the messiness!