Cookies and Bars

  • My 12 Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes
    Cookies and Bars,  Recipe Roundup

    My 12 Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes

    I’m knee-deep in my holiday baking right now. Every year, I do a ton of baking in December, then box everything up for gifts for my friends and fam. It’s great — everyone gets to enjoy some delish cookies, and who needs more stuff, anyway? As I was baking the other day, I thought it was high time I put together a post with all my faves. There are so many great cookie recipes to choose from on this site, but these are my top 12 favorite holiday cookie recipes. See if you can’t find something to add to your cookie tray this year! 1. Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies From my…

  • Matcha Pistachio 7-Layer Bars
    Cookies and Bars

    Matcha Pistachio 7-Layer Bars

    Holiday baking season is in full swing, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s absolutely my favorite time of year, baking-wise. For the past few years, I’ve given baked goods as gifts for family and friends (no one really needs more stuff anyway), so I spend the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas baking every chance I can get. And while I have a ton of old family recipes and my own favorites that I bake every year, I like to try out one or two new ones as well. This year, I’d been thinking about making something with matcha and white chocolate (it’s a fantastic flavor combo, plus matcha is…

  • Comfort Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Comfort Cookies [a.k.a., Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies With Toffee and Sea Salt]

    This week while I was stress baking on Election Day, I accidentally made the best cookies of my life. (One of very few good things that came from that day, IMO). Since the world is a stressful place for a lot of us right now, I thought we could all use some comfort in cookie form. Thus, I decided to call these cookies Comfort Cookies. Chocolatey, Salty, Buttery Comfort This is a recipe I’ve been working on for a while, but it just wasn’t quite right. It was missing something. This time around, I had a bunch of homemade toffee bits taking up counter space (left over from testing these…

  • Soft and Chewy Monster Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Soft and Chewy Monster Cookies

    Halloween is almost here and I’m so excited. I moved into my new house last February, so I finally have a porch to decorate. Plus, judging by the number of neighborhood kids running around, I think there’s a good chance I’ll actually have trick-or-treaters this year! And even though my first jack-o-lantern in decades ended up becoming squirrel food (if you’ve seen my Instagram stories, you’ve seen the results 🎃 🐿️), I’m not daunted. I picked up some more decorations and Halloween candy, and came up with this delishhh Soft and Chewy Monster Cookies recipe to drown my sorrows in. Soft, Chewy, Peanut Buttery…a Classic Monster Cookie I’m going to…

  • Cherry & Toffee Oatmeal Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Cherry and Toffee Oatmeal Cookies

    A while ago, someone I follow on Instagram posted a cookie they got at a bakery somewhere…and that cookie had oatmeal, cherries, and toffee in it. Now, I can’t remember for the life of me when that was, who posted it, or what bakery it was from, but that cookie got stuck in my brain and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, naturally, I had to make my own. That’s where these Cherry and Toffee Oatmeal Cookies came from. And if you think that flavor combo sounds as good as I do, you’re in the right place! A New Fall Favorite When we think of fall, the usual flavors…

  • Rocky Road Rice Krispie Bars
    Chocolate and Candy,  Cookies and Bars

    Rocky Road Rice Krispie Bars (Small Batch)

    Back this week with another no-bake treat for you…and another rice krispie bar recipe! (If you missed my last recipe, check it out here.) If you’re not a rice krispie treat fan, sorry — I’ll have something different for you next month. But for now, let’s dig into these chocolatey, marshmallowy, nutty, ooey, gooey, bars. Give a warm welcome to Rocky Road Rice Krispie Bars! A No-Bake Treat for Chocolate Lovers Are you a fan of rocky road ice cream? I love it — SO much. Chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, almonds…I mean really, what’s not to love?? So when I was thinking about making another version of my favorite rice…

  • Strawberries and Cream Rice Krispie Bars
    Cookies and Bars

    Strawberries and Cream Rice Krispie Bars (Small Batch)

    Summer is alllllmost here. The days are long, the sun is shining, the grass is green, and the flowers are starting to bloom. I wouldn’t say it’s exactly warm, but considering I live in the frozen north, it’s pretty darn close. Anyway, with the summer sun comes the need for no-bake recipes (which is convenient, because the oven in my new house kind of sucks…but I digress). So for those days when it’s too hot to turn on the oven (or when your oven doesn’t work the way it should), I’ve got a few new no-bake recipes coming for you over the next couple of months. First up: these Strawberries…

  • Northern Ginger Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Northern Ginger Cookies

    This week marks five years since I hit “publish” on my first blog post! When I started this blog, I honestly thought I might do it for a year or two. But five years in, I’m still loving it and have no intention of stopping. To celebrate five years of baking and blogging fun, I decided to create a signature cookie recipe: one that reflects not only the name of my blog, but also the cozy vibes of this beautiful place I call home (and some of my favorite flavors). Everyone give a warm welcome to Northern Ginger Cookies! A New Kind of Ginger Cookie Northern Ginger Cookies are soft…

  • Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

    Originally published March 2019; Updated Dec 2023 Soft, buttery, a little tangy, and slathered with a thick layer of creamy frosting: my list of what makes a perfect sugar cookie. You know those soft sugar cookies you find in most grocery store bakeries with the crazy thick layer of sugary frosting? Like those, only more buttery, less plastic-tasting (you know it’s true), and made with ingredients I can pronounce. These Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies are the closest I’ve come to those infamous grocery store cookies. Soft, Satisfying, and Perfect for Holiday Baking! These cookies are on the softer side, but they still have a slight firmness that makes them…

  • Spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
    Cookies and Bars

    Spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

    Halloween is over, so naturally I’ve started planning out what holiday cookies I’ll bake this year. Not that I’m ready for Christmas decorations, music, and movies yet…I’m a firm Christmas-starts-the-weekend-after-Thanksgiving person. In the meantime, I’ll be snacking on these Spiced Chocolate Crinkle Cookies while I do my holiday cookie planning. The Ideal Cookie for the In-Between Season These chocolatey cookies straddle this in-between season perfectly. With warm fall spices (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice), they’re perfect for both your Thanksgiving dessert table AND your holiday cookie tray! Or for, you know, snacking while holiday gift shopping. And while I’m a fan of all the traditional flavors of this season —…