Cinnamon Roll Bread

I've really been craving cinnamon rolls lately, but I've been to lazy/tired/pregnant to actually make them. But a quick bread that tastes like cinnamon rolls? Yeah, I can do that. Especially because it whipped up fast, makes the kitchen smell awesome and tastes amazing. A slightly sweet vanilla quick bread is marbled with a cinnamon-pecan gooey ripple throughout and a sweet glaze drizzled over the top. The crumb is light and the filling has so much gooey goodness, just like you'd expect from a cinnamon roll. Yes, I think this bread can take the place of cinnamon rolls just fine, thank you very much. And this recipe makes two loaves, one for you and one for a friend. But warning, give the second loaf away before you taste the first. Because otherwise you may not share.

Simple Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes I realize I've shared a lot of pumpkin with you. Get over it because I'm loving all thing pumpkin right now and the growing human making me unable to eat most things is letting me eat all the pumpkin, so it's going to keep happening. No seriously, I get it. I told Dave I was going to make pancakes this weekend and when I asked him what flavor, all he said was not pumpkin. But I digress. These cookies may be pumpkin, but they also have chocolate chips. And they are only three ingredients, so how could you not make them? The perfect after school snack, last minute treat when you're invited to a pot luck or a quick and tasty gift for that person you forgot to put on your list. These cookies are soft, full of flavor and dotted with chocolate chips. Chocolate, of course, it quite an appropriate pairing with pumpkin, so I'll never hesitate to include it.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Red velvet is definitely a holiday flavor that gets to ride the wave straight from Christmas through to Valentine's Day. It's red. It's chocolate. It's delicious. And it goes so well with winter. I'll make just about any sort of cookie for the holidays, but I always want to include festive cookies that are specific for the holidays or ones that I wouldn't necessarily make some other time of the year. Enter these red velvet white chocolate chip cookies. They clearly say holiday and they are super tasty. Soft and tender, with the perfect level of chocolate flavor, and speckled with white chocolate chips, standing in for the standard cream cheese frosting you might expect on a red velvet cupcake. I love that they are puffy and I think they are adorable with the extra white chocolate chips pressed into the tops. That's a step I normally don't take, but I'm glad I did this time--it really makes for a holiday cookie with that extra special step.

Amish Sugar Cookies

Ok, so get ready for more cookies. It's official--I've completed the holiday cookie baking and came in at a total of 112.5 dozen cookies, which will go out to our friends and family in the next couple of weeks, but I still have some candy that I want to make and include. This year I finished a few weeks early since we'll need the space back in the freezer so I can prep a bunch of meals for when our little guy arrives sometime next month. These were one of the first cookies I added to this year's list as an alternative sugar cookie, and I love them. They have a nice crispy outside, but are still a soft, sweet sugar cookie that definitely compliments the holidays. The trick to these cookies is a combination of butter and sour cream as well as a combination of granulated and powdered sugars. Sprinkled with some colorful red sanding sugar, I think these would be perfect for Santa, don't you think?

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Ok, so maybe there's been a high proportion of pumpkin recipes lately. But can you blame me? We're well into pumpkin season and they just taste so good. Almost makes the cooler weather (and rainy crap we've been getting) seem slightly more tolerable. But these muffins--these are brunch-worthy. Like holiday brunch-worthy. Maybe Thanksgiving morning? And they're super quick to make, so you can definitely squeeze these in on the big day between the turkey and the sweet potato casserole or just before everyone else wakes up on a lazy Sunday. Dave loved the streusel topping, which really brings the pumpkin pie style to these soft, flavorful muffins. If you don't have a stone muffin pan, I'll encourage you to put it on your holiday wish list--the result is a crisp exterior edge, which is this case seems almost crustlike.

Molasses Snickerdoodles

We are headed toward the holidays and the weather is a big indication of it. It's been rainy and chilly here--definitely coat weather. I'm too big (and too hot) for my coats thanks to the little bun in my oven (now I know why they call it an oven--I'm just an incubator right now!), so I've been able to get by with just hats and scarves (but still flip flops since my feet don't fit in all my shoes). And it's getting dark early now. So some comfort treats are what it's all about. And nothing says winter comfort like a sweet, spiced molasses cookie. Good thing I happened to make some. And in a snickerdoodle form, no less. I think this method really helped with the texture of this particular version of molasses cookie--after all snickerdoodles are pretty amazing anyway. They have a crisp outside and a tender inside and pair will with milk (and maybe ice cream. Or whipped cream. Or pie). Definitely a recipe worth taking the molasses spot on your holiday baking list.

Butterscotch Snickerdoodles

Butterscotch is one of those flavors that doesn't get enough attention. Fall is all about apples and pumpkin and winter gets cinnamon and ginger, but I think butterscotch needs to go into the holiday mix too. It's not quite right for spring or summer--not light and fresh enough. But right about now, butterscotch definitely works. Rich and flavorful, it lends itself to holiday treats. So a butterscotch enhanced cookie dough--which itself is soft and super tender--loaded with butterscotch chips and rolled in a cinnamon sugar coating sounds like an excellent idea for a holiday cookie. Dave really enjoyed these cookies (I did too), claiming they were the right notes of butterscotch and cinnamon, and really lending a new layer of delicious to the snickerdoodle family.

Oreodoodles

Seeing as how Oreos are by far my favorite packaged cookies, how could I not tackle this recipe (and subsequently gobble them up). Seriously these cookies are fantastic and definitely pair best with a tall glass of milk. These chocolatey cookies are slightly crisp on the outside with tons of extra Oreo dust encasing a gently tender cookie. Not only are these cookies rolled in Oreo crumbs, but they're dotted with crushed Oreos and chocolate chips inside, too. Now wonder a glass of milk is a must have with these guys.