Ritter Sport Cookies

     One of our new neighbor friends celebrated his birthday, so I thought I would bake him up something special.  He loves the Ritter Sport Whole Hazel Nut chocolate bars.  So I searched the net and found a cookie recipe to incorporate the chocolate just for him.  I've gotta say, they turned out pretty good.  I can't wait to try out some other Ritter Sport chocolate bars in this cookie mix.

Recipe from Chicago Foodies

What you need:

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup turbinado sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

1 3.5oz bar of Ritter Sport chocolate bar with whole hazelnuts, chopped 

How to make them:

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate large bowl, melt the butter.

Immediately add in your sugars and stir, the turbaned sugar will mostly dissolve.

Add in the egg and egg yolk, then the vanilla.

Stir in the dry ingredients into the wet.

Then chop the chocolate into fine pieces, then fold them into the dough.

Line a cookie sheet with baking parchment paper.

Scoop or roll out cookie dough and place on the prepared baking sheet. (The dough will be greasy because of the melted butter).

Flatten the dough balls slightly.

Put the baking pan in the freezer for 30-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Remove the pan from the freezer and space to the dough out onto two prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Then transfer to a wire rack or take a bite and ENJOY!

Honey-licious Cookies

     I recently made these cookies for Liam's Avenger Birthday party.  I called them Wasp's Honey Cookies.  They taste like a soft graham cracker!  So good!  They've become one of my favorite cookies!

Recipe from Lil' Miss Cakes

Here's what you need:

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 egg (room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Turbinado sugar (for rolling)

How to make them:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl sift the flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the oil, honey, and sugar until smooth.

Add in the egg and vanilla, mix until combined.

Add in the flour mixture, mix until combined.

If the dough is soft, refrigerate for 15-30 minutes until firm.

Shape the dough into balls and roll each ball in the Turbinado sugar making sure to coat the whole cookie.

Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes until the edges are light brown.

Let cool slightly, then ENJOY!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookie Swap Party

     While I was in Texas visiting my family, my mom and I decided it would be fun to host an Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookie Swap party.  The ugly sweaters have been popping up everywhere when the holiday season hits.  I found my cute "ugly" sweater at Target along with some fun decorations for the party.

     Mom and I also set out some yummy snacks to munch on before we dove into the sweet treats.

     I found some fun Gingerbread Man shaped pasta on Amazon which I made into a pasta salad.  I even found some sweaters and scarves for the wine!

As for the treats...

     I baked up some homemade Gingerbread and my friend made these Balish Cookies.

     Mom made her famous Buckeyes and Pretzel Turtles.

     She also made some Gingersnaps and a friend brought these Hershey Kiss Cookies.

     My friend Tori brought these M&M Sugar Cookies and my sister brought some Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles.

     My Mother-in-Law came too and brought these White Chocolate Covered Pretzels and some Peanut Butter Fudge.

     Another family friend brought some yummy Toffee.

     The kiddos had a great time surrounded by the whole family.  Enjoying tasty snacks and cookies.

     We even got to ooVoo (video chat) with the hubby, since he is still deployed.  It was the first time in 5 months that his family got to speak to him.  They were so excited to see him!

     Another great party, laid back and fun.  I love having my family around me for the holidays.  Plus there were cookies! YAY!

Frosty Finger Food

     To me a serving amazing food is one of the most important details to hosting a great party.  It's actually one of the first things I do.  Coming up with a menu that best goes with the party theme can be a challenge but one I love to face.  Since it is a Frozen theme party with a winter wonderland feel, the foods needed to be white.  I placed everything on a white platter or bowl to stick with the winter wonderland theme.  

     For the Snow pops I covered a box with silver snowflake wrapping paper, put some floral foam inside to stick the pop sticks into, then topped with some pearl gum balls.  The snowflake bowls I found at Target.  

     As for the food cards, I created them on PicMonkey, had them printed at Office Max.  Then glued them to some snowflake craft paper.  The stands are just styrofoam balls that I cut into halves, spray painted white, dusted with plastic snow.  Then cut a small slit into the tops to put the food cards into.

Here's what we enjoyed....

Turkey & Peanut Butter and Jelly Snowflake Sandwiches

White Cheddar Cheese Snowballs

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Snow Trees

Snowy Cheese Ball with Ritz Snow Flurries

Ranch Snowflake Pasta

Snow Covered Pretzels

Icy Kisses & Warm Hugs

Snow Cake Pops

Sugar Snowflake Cookies

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Frozen Hearts

Powdered Donut Hailstones

Bottled Melted Snow

Glacier Water Punch

     It was a pretty simple buffet, kid friendly and so yummy!  Can't wait to show you all the fun we had at the party.  Check it out tomorrow!

Snowflake Cookies

     Another yummy sparkly sweet treat on the dessert menu are my all time favorite sugar cookies!  These are so easy to make and delicious! And of course, I had to make them snowflakes to go with the Frozen party!

Recipe from Martha Stewart

What you need:

Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour (sifted)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg (room temperature, slightly beaten)

2 Tbsp milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

White sugar sprinkles

Icing

1 lb confectioner's sugar

5 TBsp meringue powder

scant 1/2 cup water

How to make them:

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl, set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light a fluffy, about 2 minutes.

With the mixer running add the egg, milk, and vanilla, mix until well combined.

With the mixer on low, slowly add reserved flour mixture, mix until well combined.

Transfer dough to a work surface.

Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.

Using a cookie cutter (I used a snowflake) cut into the dough and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between.

Leftover dough can be rolled out and cut once more.

Bake until lightly golden about 10 minutes, do not allow to brown.

Transfer to wire racks to cool.

While cookies are cooling, beat the confectioner's sugar, meringue powder, and water in a bowl of an electric mixer on low speed until smooth, about 7 minutes.

If icing is too thick, add more water; if too thin, beat 2 to 3 minutes more.

Place icing in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or use a pastry spatula to decorate the cookies.

Garnish with sprinkles.

Let the icing dry to harden.

Then ENJOY!

Energy Bites

     Since starting my 10 Day Fitness Challenge I have been trying really hard to cut out or at least limit how much sugar/sweet treats I have.  So I went on Pinterest and found this very simple recipe to satisfy my sweet tooth.  Who knew that these four ingredients could make such addicting and healthy snacks! I don't have to feel guilty about indulging in these!  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Recipe from He and She Eat Clean

What you need:

1 cup dry oats

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

3 TBsp honey

2 Tbsp dark chocolate chips

How to make them:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl using a spatula.

Place the mixing bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Roll the mixture into equal site balls.

Store in refrigerator until ready to eat, ENJOY!

Margarita Cookies

Recipe from Love From the Oven

What you need: Cookies 2 cups all purpose flour (sifted) 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature) Green food coloring 1 cup granulated sugar 1 egg (room temperature)  1 TBsp finely grated lime zest 1 TBsp pure orange extract 1/2 cup sanding sugar 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Tequila Glaze 1 cup confectioner's sugar 1 TBsp water 1 TBsp tequila

How to make them:
Cookies Mix flour and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium bowl, set aside. Beat butter and granulated sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, lime peel, extract, and food coloring, mix well. Gradually, beat in the flour mixture on low speed until well incorporated. Divide dough in half, form each into a log about 9 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line baking pans with parchment paper. Roll each cold dough log in the sugar salt mixture to coat evenly. Cut dough into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on the prepared baking pans. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool a bit then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. To make the glaze... Mix 1 cup confectioner's sugar and 1 TBsp each or water and tequila in a small bowl until smooth. (or omit tequila and use 2 TBsp water) Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. Sprinkle lightly with some sugar/salt mixture.  Let stand until glaze is set. ENJOY!