This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DuncanHinesHoliday #CollectiveBias It's official. My husband has turned me into a fan of peppermint mocha. Can you believe I wouldn't go near peppermint mocha anything at one point in my life? Mint and chocolate? Pfft. That's like... chocolate flavored toothpaste. How could anyone possibly enjoy that? Turns out, I was really missing out. There's just something about these two flavors that when combined, they create a magical party in your mouth. Since I've already made peppermint mocha cupcakes , and peppermint mocha cookies , naturally, the next thing I needed to make was peppermint mocha brownies. And that called for a trip to Walmart. Yes, even bakers like a shortcut every now and then. And who can resist Duncan Hines® Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix when it's only $1.00! Plus, with only three easy ingredients, you're truly sa...

Confession: I lived in New York for 13 years and never tried a Levain Bakery cookie. How sad is that? I've even visited the city multiple times after moving and still never got a chance to experience the ultra thick, rich and chewy deliciousness that is a Levain Bakery cookie. So, when I saw this recipe on Modern Honey , I figured I would bring the bakery to me. Now, I didn't go for the all original cookie recipe because, well, little old me invested in a bulk bag of pecans and I didn't want them to go to waste. I'm actually not even a fan of nuts in desserts at all. Like ever. I won't even put walnuts in banana bread. But something told me this was going to be an outstanding combination of textures and that something was absolutely friggin' right. Of course, in the mad rush I was in to bite into these cookies, I clearly didn't let them rest on the pan long enough to properly cool and firm up. These pictures truly don't do them any ...

It appears I missed the memo about it being cookie season. Sorry, y'all! This recipe is definitely four weeks late. And I know now that we're going into January, it's time for a healthy reset for our bodies but you MUST make these before you commit to any diet plans. They are amazing. I only recently became a peppermint mocha fan, and it was thanks to these cupcakes I made last year. I still won't order a peppermint mocha at Starbucks but the flavor combo in desserts is phenomenal. I won't say no to anything chocolate or coffee flavored so what's a little peppermint to spruce things up. Side note: my death by chocolate cookies were featured in an actual printed MAGAZINE. I know, CRAZY right? You can pick up a copy at your local Barnes and Noble OR purchase the digital version here . Now although I didn't add melted chocolate to this cookie dough, the cookies were still super rich, chewy, and bursting with flavor. A hint of cornstarch is the sec...

I have a confession to make. I am a bit of an ALDI fanatic. If my friends had a penny for every time I said "you should go to ALDI!", they would be millionaries. I can't help it. Their prices can't be beat. And their seasonal items are TO DIE FOR. Cue these mini cast iron skillets. Oh.my.god. The cuteness is unbearable. I secretly sometimes wait for the prices on seasonal items to be reduced (right before they are taken off the shelves)....but I grabbed these as soon as I saw them! They are worth every penny and my recipe wheels started turning right away. Since we are right at the peak of gingerbread season, I knew y'all would appreciate these gingerbread skillet cookies. Especially if they were brown butter gingerbread skillet cookies. And I won't judge what ice cream you choose to top them with, but Talenti caramel cookie crunch is a fiiiine choice. These come together so quickly and are perfect for entertaining. My signature go-to dessert...

Is it not completely insane that 2018 is less than a week away?! I am in shock. This is my official last recipe post of 2017 and it's a special one because I have again accomplished something new in my kitchen.....I made Swiss meringue buttercream! 2017 was definitely the year of trying new things. I made caramel for the first time. I tried Italian meringue macarons. Heck, I even rebranded and redesigned the blog! And now I am ending the year with a buttercream I have been wanting to try for forever. But let's take it back a little bit! My inspiration for making these cupcakes came from my dear husband who is obsessed with the peppermint mocha drink from Starbucks. (Shout out to Starbucks for being open on Christmas!) He drinks it year round and I thought to myself, wouldn't it be fantastic to make a cupcake version of it? And wouldn't it be more fantastic to use this opportunity to make Swiss meringue buttercream? Yes, the answer is yes. Although the name of...

The last time I made macarons , I told you guys about how I tried the Italian meringue method and instantly fell in love with it, right? Well, my feelings still stand true but the search is not over. The Italian method itself gives more successes than failures, but I have not settled on using it for good. My plan is to try as many different recipes as possible to see which one my oven produces the best results with. This weekend, I actually went back to the French method. Natasha of Cake Merchant posted her fail-proof recipe and obviously, I had to try it. She does things a little differently in terms of mixing the batter and beating the egg whites, and I think she's on to something. These were the fullest macarons I have ever made! You can literally see the difference. Since I've always had a problem with hollows, I was over the moon when I opened one of these babies up. And as you probably already know from the title of this post, they are gingerbread flavored! ...

So, it seems that this time of the year, peppermint is a really popular flavor. Personally, I have to admit, I am not a fan, b ut when I saw this bag of M&Ms at my local supermarket, I was instantly inspired to bake something with it. I've never made any type of "bark" before, but the idea of brownie bark suddenly came to me and it sounded amazing. And I knew if I paired it with these white chocolate peppermint M&Ms, it would be a total hit for the holidays. Just so you guys know, making bark is like the easiest thing ever. You cannot mess it up. The secret ingredient to this particular brownie bark is dry milk powder, which keeps the bark from becoming too crunchy. I was so excited about trying this recipe that I forgot to buy this crucial ingredient. But my mother-in-law came in clutch because she actually had some in her pantry! I knew then that it was destined for me to make this bark. Now, I had a few different ideas about how I wanted to include t...

I did it. I gave in to the red food coloring. It had to be done. Valentine's Day just isn't complete without at least ONE red velvet recipe. And I've got the best one for you. Pancakes, red velvet pancakes. And not just any red velvet pancakes, heart-shaped red velvet pancakes. Because circles are so boring, right? Not romantic at all. I intended to bake them as hearts, but alas, the batter was too runny. But no worries, my heart shaped cookie cutter came right in handy. And obviously, I ate all the leftover scraps. In the future, I would use a bigger cookie cutter but that's not to say these mini hearts aren't the cutest!