Holiday Season Bakes of 2017

Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, whatever you celebrate, there's always time for food - especially sweets! I did a bunch of baking this holiday season...

Carol Sing

I'm a huge fan of Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction. So I dug into her new cookbook, Sally's Cookie Addiction. These Butterscotch No-Bakes are fun, crunchy, sweet and pretty easy to make. I recommend you get your copy of her new book ASAP!

These next cookies are definitely worth remaking again and again. Vegan Oatmeal Raisin cookies. You can get the recipe here. All I did was use raisins in place of chocolate chips. Delicious and vegan-approved!

Holiday Parties

Another vegan recipe! This one is fancy - Vegan Chocolate Coconut Cake. Yum, yum, yum! You can find that recipe here. And I can guarantee it's easier than you think. The macaroons that you see on top are amazing alone. Make them with this recipe. Maybe since it's vegan you won't feel as bad eating a lot?!

This one was improved. All week long, I've been trying some original cookie recipes and adjusting them as I go. They all tasted good, they just weren't what I wanted them to be. I didn't want them to go to waste, so I melted an extra bag of chips and dipped them in halfway. Delicious! But I won't give away the flavor...😯

I'm in love with these cuties! They're inspired off of this pin. Not the recipe though, just the design. They're just chocolate cupcakes topped with a swirl of chocolate buttercream, three mini marshmallows, and part of a paper straw. But what makes them even cooler is that the inside is filled with marshmallow fluff. 😍

You can see more info about how to fill cupcakes in this post. But I can tell you one thing - it's probably easier than you think. I did it after just watching a few videos. ;)

Christmas Eve

I didn't get a picture of this one, but they're Easy Cinnamon Snowballs. I got the recipe from *once again* Sally's Cookie Addiction. (Seriously, go get your copy now!!) 😃

I only made two types of cookies for Christmas Eve. These ones are Berried Snowballs from The Cookie Bible. They're basically fun, snazzy rice crispies. Crunchy, chewy and yummy!

Christmas Day

Last but not least is Christmas Day. I didn't do anything chocolate this year. The main dessert was Fresh Apple Cake. This is amazing! It's full of apple🍎 (of course), pecans and shaved coconut. It's moist and super, super yummy! 😉

My other Christmas Day dessert was Shortbread Jam Thumbprints (Sally's Cookie Addiction). They're rolled in crushed pecans and they have almond extract in them!! I don't know about you, but I love almond extract - but I must say a little goes a long way. These are crumbly (in a good way) and full of flavor.

I had leftover thumbprints that I dusted with cinnamon instead of pecans, and filled with apple butter. Yum!! Always take advantage of your leftovers. ;)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! I'm sad to see it come to an end, but I'm excited for what 2018 has in store. Happy New Year! 🎉