Fudgey Cocoa No-Bake Treats with M&M's

Apparently, I have been into baking with oatmeal lately! This is the third recipe in a row that I have baked where oatmeal has been the main ingredient. Maybe because oatmeal is healthy!...and if there is oatmeal in your dessert then you can eat more, since oatmeal is good for you :) Here's the line-up of the other two recipes that I made; these Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are perfectly delicious, chewy, and are now my go to recipe for any type of oatmeal cookie. The add-ins are endless! And, this Vanilla Scented Granola is crunchy and sweet and perfect for breakfast or as a quick snack on the go.

These Fudgey Cocoa No-Bake Treats are slightly adapted from my HERSHEY'S Best-Loved Recipes cook book. I love this cook book! I am a chocolate lover and none of their recipes ever disappoint! These  are a quick and easy sweet treat that are made in a matter of minutes with simple ingredients that you probably have on hand. Sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa are cooked together until boiling on the stove top and then  peanut butter, oats, and vanilla are mixed in.  This is a perfect drop cookie resulting in a sugary little mound of fudgey, chocolatey, peanut buttery, and hearty goodness. I added M&M's for a little color and believe me these babies are addictive!  

Fudgey Cocoa No-Bake Treats with M&M's:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup Cocoa
• 2/3 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
• 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (optional)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• handful of M&M's

1. Place a piece of wax paper or foil on a cookie sheet. Combine sugar, butter, milk and cocoa in medium sauepan.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Boil for 90 seconds.

3. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, oats, peanuts, if desired, and vanilla; stir to mix well. Quickly drop mixture by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper or foil and top each with M&M's. Cool completely. Store in cool, dry place.

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies & Two of My Favorite Blogs

Here's another awesome recipe borrowed from Jessica over at How Sweet It Is. I seriously am in love with her blog; mouth watering  photographs, her writing and humor, and of course all of her fabulous and creative recipes! I want to try everything she posts!

Oh, and check out what I am going to bake up tomorrow. Don't these just look dangerous? Sinfully delicious in the best way possible. Yeah, I can't wait to try one of those babies, created by Jenny from Picky Palate, my other favorite blog :) 

But for now, I am going to enjoy these very chewy oatmeal cookies which are full of chocolate chips and a hint of cinnamon. And I am thinking I might just sandwich some cool and creamy ice cream between a couple of them! I followed the recipe almost exactly so click here for the recipe (the only change I made to the recipe was adding a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda along with the dry ingredients and I didn't need to add any milk). Enjoy!

A Summer Treat

I don't know if there is an acual name for these delighful sweet treats, but, I am going to call them graham cracker sandwich cookies (I know, it's a pretty lame name, but I coudn't think of anything else)! And, I am sure that you have had one before because of their simplicity and tastiness. And if you have never had one, let me just tell you that graham crackers and frosting pair so well together, especially with a glass of cold milk!

These sweet treats remind me of hot summer days when I was little. My mom would make them for us to the take to the beach or on a picnic, we would eat them on vacation, and I remember always eating them while watching fireworks on the 4th of July, with blue frosting of course! I absolutely loved, loved, loved them and I still do. I really like when the graham cracker gets slighly soft from sandwiching the frosting :) These are great to make with any leftover frosting that you have, which is what I did with these. They are also a simple and fun sweet snack to whip up and kids will gobble them up, enjoy!

Graham Cracker Sandwich Cookies:

All you need is:

• Graham Crackers
• Your Favorite Frosting
• Sprinkles

Break gramham cracker sheet into two halves. Frost one half with desired amount of frosting. Place the other half of the graham cracker on top to form a sandwich. Dip edges in sprinkles. Store in an airtight container (these are best eaten the day they are made).

S'more Cookie Bars

Happy Memorial Day! I have the perfect treat to kick off the start of summer, S'more Cookie Bars! I love campfire s'mores, but these bars sure step those up a bit! You have HERSHEY'S chocolate bars and marshmallow creme sandwiched between a blondie-like graham cracker cookie bar! You have to let them cool before cutting, but, I think they taste best warmed in the microwave to get the sticky, gooey, and metly effect of a s'more.     

S'more Cookie Bars: (Hershey's)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 (1.55 oz. each) or 2 King Size HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Bars
• 1 cup marshmallow creme (I used closer to 1-1/2 cups)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8x8-inch baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of the dough into prepared pan.

Arrange chocolate bars over dough. Spread evenly with marshmallow creme. Scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallow; carefully press to form a layer.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.  

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a classic childhood favorite, packed in many lunch boxes over the years. I still love to eat PB&J's now! And what's not to love about a classic PB&J?  They are the perfect combination of creamy and salty peanut butter and sweet jelly sandwiched between two slices of soft bread. This cookie is the perfect treat for any PB&J lover. These jumbo-sized peanut butter cookies are soft and chewy and filled with a center of your favorite sweet jelly. Enjoy!   

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies: (peanut butter cookies adapted from Elle's New England Kitchen & idea from Giada)

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 butter, softened
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• peanut butter mixture, see below
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• about 1/2 cup of your favorite jam/jelly

Peanut Butter Mixture

• 8 oz. peanut butter
• 2 oz. (1/2 stick butter), softened
• 2 oz. honey

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Make the peanut butter mixture by combining all of the ingredients. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside. In a standing mixer or large bowl, cream the 3/4 butter, shortening, and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and peanut butter mixture. Add the flour mixture by the cupful and beat at low speed until fully mixed. Stir in the peanut butter chips.

Put the remaining 1/4 of sugar in a small bowl. Form the dough into 1/4 cup-size balls and roll in sugar. Arrange 5 balls of dough, evenly apart, on prepared baking sheets. Using a round 1/4 teaspoon measure, or the thin end of a wooden spoon, make a hole in the center of each ball of dough, about 1/2 to 3/4-inch deep. Spoon about 1 teaspoon jam into each hole. Bake for 11-14 minutes until the dough has spread and the surface of the cookies are crackled. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes. Serve or store in an airtight container. 

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

I am back with an incredibly easy, tasty, and addictive little Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookie recipe that I think you will love! I got this great idea from Picky Palate, and if you love cinnamon rolls, then you will absolutely adore these! The ingredient list is short and sweet-all you need for these is a roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough, a little butter, cinnamon, sugar, and then you make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and milk! How easy, right? Give these babies a try!

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies:

For the cookies:

-1 roll, (16.5 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, softened to room temperature

-2 tablespoons butter, melted

-1 tablespoon cinnamon

-1/2 cup brown sugar

For the glaze:

-powdered sugar

-milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out cookie dough into about a 12x5-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Pour and spread melted butter all over the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon and then sugar. Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 20 equal pieces. 

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges. 

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. 

Meanwhile make the glaze: mix together powdered sugar and milk to desired consistency. Drizzle over cookies and enjoy! 

Tropical Island Fruit Pizza

Oh, how I wish that I was vacationing on a tropical island.....

basking in the bright sun with my toes in the sand, a pina colada in hand, listening to the waves crash onto the beach, with a beautiful view of the ocean and palm trees. Oh, how I wish....wouldn't that be wonderful?

Unfortunately, a tropical island get away is not possible for me, so, instead I made this tasty fruit pizza that tastes like a tropical island! Well, okay I don't know what a tropical island tastes like! But if I did, the flavors in this fruit pizza would be it! Give this a try if you are in need of a vacation!

You can imagine that you are somewhere warm and sunny with every bite of this pizza!

Tropical Island Fruit Pizza:

For the pizza dough:

-1 roll (16.5 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough

For the toppings:

-1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

-1/2 cup powdered sugar

-1 teaspoon coconut extract

-2 kiwis, sliced

-1/2 cup strawberries, sliced

-1/2 cup pineapple, sliced

-1/2 cup toasted coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Press cookie dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake for 11-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and firm to touch. Cool completely.

2. In a medium bowl, blend together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and coconut extract. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly onto the baked cookie. Decorate with sliced fruit and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Slice and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

*To toast coconut- preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Layer desired amount of coconut evenly onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, stirring once. Be sure to watch carefully!*

Giant M&M Cookies

These M&M studded sugar cookies are quintessential to those giant cookies found in the mall at a Mrs. Fields that every kid loves! These sweet cookies are slightly crispy on the edges, yet so soft and chewy on the inside, and sprinkled evenly with colorful chocolate M&M's. What's not to love?

 I meant to put these up on Valentine's Day but didn't get the chance too! The good thing about these is that they are perfect for any occasion using holiday M&M's or regular M&M's!

Giant M&M Cookies: (source, What's Gaby Cooking)

Ingredients:

-1 cup butter, softened

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1 1/2 cups white sugar

-2 eggs

-2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

-2 1/2 cups AP flour

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 bag M&M's 

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder on low until everything is incorporated.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop out a 1/4 cup size of dough and roll it into a ball. Roll it around in some M&M's and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place 6 cookies on a sheet since they will spread due to their size. Bake for 12-14 minutes until just slightly golden around the edges. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheet (I let mine rest for about 10 minutes and then moved to a wire rack to finish cooling completely).

*Note* They might look a little underbaked in the center-but don't fear! They will continue to bake a bit once removed from the oven.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Confetti Bark

 

Here is a simple and quick treat perfect for Valentine's Day that you can whip up in a matter of minutes! It is sweet and rich and very addicting and how fun is it?! Chocolate chip cookie dough gets baked and topped with melted white chocolate chips and sprinkled with bright and colorful sprinkles, pink and red Valentine M&M's and frosted animal crackers, which I love! So festive and you can easily change it up for any holiday! I hope you enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Confetti Bark:

-1 package (16.5 oz.) Nestle Tollhouse Refrigerated Choclate Chip Cookie Bar Dough

-1 (16 oz.) bag white chocolate chips 

-sprinkles

-1 cup frosted animal crackers

-1/2 cupValentine's M&M's

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Place cookie dough in the prepared pan and let soften for 5-10 minutes. Pat dough gently with fingertips to evenly cover bottom of pan (using floured fingers makes it much easier).

3. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Sprinkle white chocolate chips over cookie; bake for an additional 1-2 minutes to melt the white chocolate chips. Immediately spread the melted white chocolate chips evenly over top of the cookie. Distribute sprinkles, frosted animal crackers, and M&M's evenly over top; press down lightly. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until the chocolate has hardened. Remove the foil from the pan and break into pieces. Enjoy <3!

Fudgy Cherry Cordial M&M Cookies

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and who doesn't love it? Well unfortunately, I do know some people who don't love Valentine's Day and one of those people is my boyfriend. He thinks it is just a stupid made up hallmark holiday! I on the other hand love Valentine's Day! I remember when I was little, we got to make little mailboxes out of milk cartons and decorate them all out in red and pink and hearts so that when our Valentine's Day party came around we all had our own special mailbox to get filled with valentine cards from our friends. I remember how fun it was passing out valentines and then opening each and every valentine. Now, I love that Valentine's Day is all about chocolate, pink and red sparkly decorations, cute stuffed animals, and spending time with the one that you love! Even though my boyfriend doesn't believe in Valentine's Day, he still treats me well! One year he came over and surprised me with a heart shaped box of turtle candy which is my favorite, a teddy bear, and flowers! How sweet, don't ya think?

I love chocolate covered cherries so when I saw a bag of these Cherry Cordial M&M's at target I knew I had to try them, and they were actually really good. So, I decided to make some cookies with them and I thought that a chocolate cookie would be the perfect combination. I used a chocolate cookie recipe from my mom which is for chocolate crinkle cookies that you usually roll in powdered sugar, but, I just omitted rolling them in powdered sugar and added the M&M's. These cookies turned out great! They are super fudgy and chocolatey and taste a lot like a brownie with a hint of cherry flavor from the M&M's. These are perfect for Valentine's Day and if you can't find the cherry cordial M&M's you can just use regular M&M's!

Fudgy Cherry Cordial M&M Cookies:

-1/2 cup vegetable oil

-3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

-2 cups sugar

-4 eggs

-2 teaspoons vanilla

-2 cups flour

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-2 cups Cherry Cordial M&M's

In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, mix oil, cocoa, and sugar until well blended. Blend in one egg at a time until well mixed. Add vanilla. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt into oil mixture. Fold in the Cherry Cordial M&M's. Chill for several hours.

Drop a heaping tablespoon of dough onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Candy Bar Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Get a load of these giant cookies! This is yet another fabulous recipe created by Jenny from Picky Palate. You take chocolate chip cookie dough and place a big scoop on the top of your favorite fun size candy bar and place a nice big scoop on the bottom then seal the edges up and bake. The result is a classic buttery, chewy, and perfectly crisp edged chocolate chip cookie with a melty, gooey, and chocolately surprise center!

My candy bars of choice were Snickers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Milky Ways, but any fun size candy bar would work great, just choose your favorites!

Here's the inside of the Snickers stuffed cookie,

and the inside of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookie,

and finally the Milky Way stuffed cookie, my favorite!

Candy Bar Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies: (Picky Palate)

Makes abour 24 large cookies

-2 sticks butter, softened

-1 cup granulated sugar

-3/4 cup brown sugar

-2 large eggs

-1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-10 oz. bag chocolate chips

-variety of fun sized candy bars, about 24

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. Place flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; mix and then slowly add to the wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips to combine. Using a cookie scoop, take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of candy bar. Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of candy bar. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until candy is enclosed with dough. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake 9-13, or until cookies are baked to your liking. Let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Fudgey Frosted Brookie Bars

When I saw these Brookies over at Bakingdom, which I am calling Fudgey Frosted Brookie Bars, I just about drooled and I made them the very next day! Brookies, which are part chocolate chip cookie, which I love, and part brownie, which I love even more, are turned into a tri-level decadant treat! You have a buttery and chewy chocolate chip cookie base, topped with a dense and fudgey brownie, topped with a smooth and rich chocolate buttercream. I love, love, love them! Give these a try and if you like these, you may also like these, these or this!

Brookie Bars=pure decadance, indulgence, and are simply irresistable : )

Fudgey Frosted Brookie Bars: (adapted from Bakingdom)

Ingredients:

For the Cookie Layer

-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup brown sugar

-1 egg

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

For the Brownie Layer

-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

-1 cup sugar

-2 eggs

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/3 cup cocoa powder

-1/2 cup flour

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon baking powder

OR

use your favorite boxed brownie mix plus the ingredients called for on the box (if using a boxed mix, be sure you use a mix for an 8x8-inch pan, not for a 13x9-inch pan).

For the Frosting

-4 tablespoons unsalted butter

-1/4 cup cocoa powder

-2 cups powdered sugar

-2-6 tablespoons milk

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Make the cookie layer first: In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined. Fold in the flour mixture until just combined (be careful not to overmix). Fold in the chocolate chips and spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden on top.

Make the brownie layer: While the cookie layer bakes, prepare the brownie batter. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sugar until combined.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Whisk in the dry ingredients until combined. Once the cookie layer comes out of the oven, immediately pour the brownie batter on top of the baked cookie layer and return to the oven. OR, prepare boxed mix according to package directions and immediately pour over baked cookie layer and return to the oven.

Bake 20-30 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a wire rack and then frost as desired.

To make the frosting: In a microwaveable medium size bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the cocoa powder until combined. Mix in the powdered sugar and milk alternately until you reach your desired consistency. Stir in the vanilla.

Oreo Truffle Surprise Cookies

These cookies sure do have a yummy surprise in the middle!

On the outside they look like regular chocolate chip cookies, but, then you take a bite and surprise! The inside is filled with a tasty cookies n' cream truffle center. All you need to jazz up a good ol' chocolate chip cookie is your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, some coarsely chopped up oreos and a bit of softened

cream cheese. Yummy! I found this fabulous recipe from Jenny over at Picky Palate.

Be sure to check out Picky Palate, where you can find the complete recipe right here, the only adaptations I made to the recipe was using chocoate cream filled Oreos because that's what I had on hand!

Jumbo Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I found these cute mini chocolate covered peanut butter cups at Trader Joe's, which is such a cool store! I wish we had one closer to us, but the closest one is an hour and a half away : ( boo! But, if you are ever  near a Trader Joe's make sure and stop in and check it out, I always find some kind of treasure there! When I saw these mini chocolate covered peanut butter cups there I knew exactly what I wanted to make, and that was an extra large and chewy peanut butter cookie loaded with mini peanut butter cups and chocolate chips....so here it is! By the way, if you don't live near a Trader Joe's, I just saw that HERSHEY's just came out with these extra mini peanut butter cups too, no unwrapping! Enjoy!

                                  Jumbo Peanut Butter Cup Cookies: (adapted from allrecipes)

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup butter, softened

-1/2 cup shortening

-3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

-3/4 cup granulated sugar

-3/4 cup packed brown sugar

-2 eggs

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

-1 1/2 cups mini chocolate cover peanut butter cups, or regular size peanut butter cups chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, peanut butter, and both sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips and mini peanut butter cups. Measure out  a 1/4 cup dough for each cookie and drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Let cool for one to two minutes on baking sheet before removing onto cooling rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip M&M Cookie Dough Dip

Who doesn't love eating raw cookie dough by the spoonful? I think one of the best parts of making cookies is getting to taste the dough before it is baked. I remember sneaking spoonful after spoonful of cookie dough when I was little while my mom was making cookies, I just couldn't help myself! I also love tasting spoonfuls of brownie batter and cake batter, and two of my favorite ice cream flavors are cake batter ice cream and chocolate chip cookie dough. One time, Dairy Queen even had a brownie batter blizzard! Yummy! Cake batter ice cream and brownie batter ice cream are on my list of things to make.

 When I saw this recipe two times in  one week I knew I had to give it a try! And this turned out to be one seriously delicious and addicting dip! Doesn't it look exactly like cookie dough? It was so delicious that it was literally devoured in about 5 minutes by some of my cousins! It is so rich and sweet, creamy and smooth, and has a great caramelly brown sugar flavor that you get from cookie dough. It is studded with adorable mini chocolate chips and mini M&M's. This dip is so fun and playful and perfect for any occasion, dessert, or for just just eating by the spoonful to satisfy a cookie dough craving! It takes no time to whip up and there are endless dipper possibilites to choose from. I served the dip with graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate covered graham crackers, which was the favorite dipper choice by far! I also think it would also be tasty with oreos, teddy grahams, Nilla wafers, pretzals, chocolate covered pretzals, and mini brownie chunks. I am definetly going to try it sandwhiched between two soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies and as a frosting for fudgey brownies, kind of like these brownies that I really enjoyed. I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Brown Eyed Baker, and then I also saw it here, on How Sweet It Is, who took this dip to another level by creating three other fabulous cookie dough dip flavors! Her Cookie Dough Dip Trio includes Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter, and Double Chocolate Fudge, which is the one I want to try next. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip M&M Cookie Dough Dip: (adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

-1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

-1/3 cup brown sugar

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

-1/2 cup powdered sugar

-1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

-1/4 cup mini M&M's

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously, until the brown sugar dissolves.

2. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract, and set aside to cool.

3. Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar for 1 minute.

4. Slowly beat in the cooled butter mixture and beat again for another minute.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips and M&M's.

6. Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate.

7. Garnish with additional chocolate chips and M&M's, if desired.

Serve with graham crackers, chocolate covered graham crackers, Nilla wafers, marshmallows, Oreos, mini brownies, teddy grahams, etc., anything you want!

**NOTE: after refrigerating the dip, it will be pretty solid and un-dippable so make sure to remove it from the refrigerator about 15-30 minutes before serving it, so it has time to soften up.

Funfetti Christmas Tree Bars

Merry Christmas!

Funfetti Cookie Bars:

Ingredients:

-1 box Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix

-1/3 cup oil

-2 eggs

-1 can Pillsubury Funfetti frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13x9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, oil, and eggs until well moistened. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack and frost with funfetti frosting and decorate as desired. 

*I used cookie cutters to cut out the Christmas trees and then frosted and decorated them! 

Candy Corn Kiss Sugar Cookie Blossoms

 

Candy corn is one of my most favorite fall candies, I don't know what it is about them but I just adore them! I think it must be there tiny size, cute shape, bright yellow and orange color, and they are just so sweet and melt in my mouth. I love em', what about you? So, when I first heard that Hershey's made Candy Corn Kisses a couple of years ago I knew I had to hurry and snatch up a bag of them. I think people have mixed feelings about them, some people hate them and some people love them. I am somewhere in the middle and when I saw them at the beginning of the fall season I just couldn't resist picking up a bag, I figured I could make something yummy with them. I decided on these adorable Candy Corn Kiss Sugar Cookie Blossoms, I couldn't stop taking pictures of them! I used a drop sugar cookie recipe from allrecipes, which is a pretty basic sugar cookie recipe except that it uses 3 egg yolks, which makes these cookies ultra chewy, and then I rolled them in orange sanding sugar, and after they baked I placed a Kiss in the middle. These turned out to be fantastic, the perfect sugar cookie in my opinion and everyone else who rated this on allrecipes. They have just the right amount of sweetness, they are super chewy and moist, have a great thickness, and they have an overall wonderful flavor. The sugar gives them a little extra texture and crunch and the Candy Corn Kiss makes them adorable, so be sure to give these a try this fall!  These would also be great just rolled in granulated sugar, frosted, or with any kind of Hershey's Kiss. I will for sure be making these cookies again and again!

Candy Corn Kiss Sugar Cookie Blossoms:

-1 1/4 cups white sugar

-1 cup butter

-3 egg yolks

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

-orange sanding sugar, for rolling

-24 Hershey's Candy Corn Kisses

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

2. Cream together sugar and butter. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.

3. Add flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Stir just until combined.

4. Form dough into walnut size balls then roll into orange sanding sugar and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Don't flatten. Bake about 8-10 minutes, until tops are cracked and just turning color. Immediately place a Candy Corn Kiss in the middle of each cookie and remove to cooling racks. Cool completely.