Monster Cookie Dough Truffles

You realize there are a lot of cookie and candy recipes from the holidays that I haven't yet shared, right? I'm just so crazy that there are not enough days for me to share it all. So over the next few weeks, they'll trickle in here or there, but I think this one I saved--a Monster Cookie Dough Truffle--would be awesome for New Year's Eve. They are quick to make and you can eat them one handed with the rest of your party appetizers. And something about peanut butter and chocolate goes well with a celebratory beer to ring in the new year. We love these truffles and I had to hide them from Dave for fear no one else would get a chance to try them. The eggless cookie dough is sweet, soft and loaded with monster cookie goodness. Dipped and milk chocolate and topped with sprinkles, swap out the holiday colors for rainbow or anything that works for your party theme.

Spanish Chicken and Rice

One pot meals at like heaven for weeknight dinners. Less stuff to clean up and easy to just throw everything together, layering in the flavors for a delicious, hearty meal. And this Spanish Chicken and Rice is one amazing dinner. Chicken and chourico get amped up with garlic, onions, peppers and seasoning, then cook with rice for a lot of flavor and a filling meal that gets done in less than an hour and is perfect for a cold winter evening. We all loved this dish and it will definitely be in my dinner rotation. It's definitely a full meal, but we added bread and a salad for a more rounded dinner.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my followers, friends and family the merriest of Christmases. Hope you left Santa the best kind of cookies so he felt compelled to give you everything you wished for.

Merry Christmas,
The Cookie Princess

Christmas Funfetti Cake Batter Truffles

It's almost Christmas, so there's a good chance that you're busy but you still need some holiday treats or gifts or you might have some little, idle hands that are on winter vacation and maybe they need something fun to do. Enter these Chrismas Confetti Cake Batter Truffles. Little balls of cake batter goodness with holiday-themed sprinkles dipped in white chocolate and ready to gift or shove in your face--either is fine, I won't judge. The batter comes together quickly and it's a no bake treat, so even the little ones can help with this recipe start to finish. Make up a quick batch for the unexpected visitor or the neighbor who shoveled out your driveway. Or tuck this recipe away for a birthday party and use rainbow sprinkles. Or save for next week and use gold or silver sprinkles for a fun New Year's treat. No matter when you make them, they'll be delicious.

Peanut Butter Fudge

"Holy crack-filled fudge!" This is one of the responses I got to this recipe, which is by far an awesome compliment (because the fudge does not in fact have crack in it). I've been looking for a peanut butter fudge recipe for a while and I'm glad to have finally found one just about as easy as my Mom's Perfect Fudge recipe. Now I have both chocolate and peanut butter in my fudge arsenal, which is definitely a good arsenal to keep full. I might have kept some of this peanut butter fudge back just for me so I could enjoy it's smooth creamy texture and big peanut butter flavor.

Egg Nog Cookies

Confession: I'm not a huge egg nog fan. Technically, before these cookies, I wasn't at all a egg nog fan. But I've seen the light in that the subtle flavor can add some lovely goodness to the right cookie. I added this cookie to the rotation because my brother really likes egg nog, and there are some others, Dave included, who enjoy the flavor. These egg nog cookies are light with a gentle crunch and the sweet glaze gets a dusting of fresh grated nutmeg to mimic a glass of the creamy beverage. So, yes, as far as these cookies are concerned, I'm an egg nog fan.

No Knead Crusty Bread

What's better than fresh, homemade bread with a crunchy crust and soft, fluffy interior? We loved this bread with our Thanksgiving dinner and I even made another loaf this weekend. Super simple to make with ingredients already in the pantry and no kneading. Yup, perfect artisan-style bread and you don't have to knead it at all. Plus, you can adapt this recipe in all kinds of ways to add flavor from herbs and spices to match whatever you're serving. Since we had this with Thanksgiving dinner, I can tell you this bread is great for leftover turkey sandwiches, but also perfect for pairing with pasta, chili or soup.

Gingerbread Men Sandwich Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are a must for Christmas and I make some version of them every year. So this year when I saw the idea of making them into sandwich cookies, I couldn't resist. I made sandwiches out of gingerbread men, stars and trees, because I like to party. The cookies are soft and flavorful, made with molasses, cinnamon and of course, ginger. The filling is perfect for sandwich cookies, creamy and sweet, and has the perfect texture to combine cookies without oozing out the sides like messy frosting. I really need to make more sandwich cookies--they are fun and you can get away with eating two cookies and frosting but look like your only having one.

Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Cookies

You know how I love to make tiny little two bite cookies? Well, these suckers are big.  Huge, even. A big ol' soft pumpkin cookie, stuffed with caramel and then rolled in cinnamon sugar because, well, why not?  The cookies are a wonderful way to tuck in the caramel--perfectly pumpkin flavored with a little spice and sweetness.  The caramel is a nice surprise, offering a creamy center wonderfully matched to the pumpkin and spice.  You might want to keep all these to yourself, but wouldn't it be better to share?  I mean, this is the season of giving.  So I decide the best way to share these cookies would be through the 3rd Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Exchange. Like last year (with these) and the year before (with these), I shared a dozen of these cookies with each of three different food bloggers and in return, I received three lovely packages, each containing a dozen cookies from three other food bloggers

Ginger Rum Molasses Cookies

Of course ginger and molasses go together for awesome holiday cookie flavor, but add rum to the mix and you'll make my heart sing, and not just because I'm a lush and want to booze it up.  As a flavor enhancer, this works very well.  These cookies are soft, with a nice molasses flavor, with the rum coming through for a nice extra bit and speckled with crystallized ginger,meaning you get nice bits of ginger flavor bite after bite.  A soft molasses cookie is always required for the holidays and I really like the slight twist this recipe gives that holiday stand-by.  These might even been a great cookie swap option for those looking for a little variety in their tradition recipes.

Gingerbread Mini Loaves

Spicy, sweet, soft and quintessentially Christmas.  These mini loaves would make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, or friends.  I love how mini loaves are a perfect little package of tasty goodness, wrapped up as an extra bit of holiday cheer.  And it doesn't get much more cheerful than gingerbread, with it's soft, cakey goodness and lots of spicy flavor.  Gingerbread loaves and cakes don't always get a chance to shine during these days of decadent houses or crisp, men shaped cut-out cookies, frosted and adorned.  But I loved this delicious bread with all it's spice and molasses, plus the fun additional of maple syrup for a little twist.  Plus, I made 6 of these little loaves without breaking out my stand mixer--just two bowls, a whisk and a spatula. Holiday flavor was never so easy.

Cranberry Orange Pinwheels

If you've been following me for a while, you know I love swirled cookies.  I've got so many different flavors and am always looking for more--mint and fudge, almond and sugar, cinnamon and cranberry, peanut butter and chocolate.  I just love these cookies because they are so much fun to make.  It might seem like a lot of steps, but I still think they are easier than regular roll out sugar cookies, and there's the bonus of tons of flavor.  These cranberry and orange swirls are stuffed with fresh cranberries and pecans, sweetened with brown sugar.  It's a lovely combination and I'm really glad I picked up this recipe for my swirls this year.  Sweet and nutty with a nice sugar cookie base.  Cranberry and orange are one of my favorite holiday flavor combinations, and the addition of pecans works so well.  These are officially on the holiday cookie list.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

How pretty are these little guys?  Of course these are dressed up for holiday cookie tins, but you can use any color sugar you like for your special occasion.  But more important than being pretty, these cookies are exactly what a Christmas sugar cookie should be--crisp and airy and perfectly sweet.  A mixture of cream cheese and butter gives these sugar cookies a consistency I haven't had from other drop sugar cookie recipes I've tried.  I'm thrilled with how these turned out and they were super easy.  Let's see: pretty, delicious and easy.  Yeah, that equals a win.