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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…
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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…
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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…
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Rosewater Champagne Truffles
Mother’s Day is around the corner, and I know very few moms who wouldn’t love a little chocolate treat on their big day…especially if they don’t have to make it themselves. 😉 If you want to wow mom with a special little homemade treat this Mother’s Day, these Rosewater Champagne Truffles are just the thing. With dark chocolate, a splash of bubbly, and a little rosewater, you’ll have mom feeling relaxed, loved, and a little bit fancy. Roses + Chocolate = Delicious Roses and chocolate are an iconic gift combination for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day…but have you ever combined them into one gift? No, I’m not talking about rose-shaped…
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Top 10 Northern Ginger Recipes of 2023
There’s nothing I love more than looking back at the recipes you all have made the most throughout the year. It’s fascinating to me to see which recipes you liked the most vs the ones I thought would be the most popular (I’m often wrong, though I’m getting better at guessing!) This list has decidedly more chocolate than last year’s, and I couldn’t be happier about that. Anyway, without further ado, here are the 10 most popular Northern Ginger recipes from the past year. #10: Mud Pie Cake Coming in at #10 is Mud Pie Cake. This chocolate-lover’s dessert has layers of deeply chocolatey cake (adapted from Ina Garten’s famous Beatty’s Chocolate…
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Homemade Dark Chocolate Marshmallows
Happy almost-Christmas everyone! It’s been a weird holiday season, with no snow in sight here in Northern Minnesnowta. But there’s nothing like a pile of delicious seasonal treats to get you in the holiday spirit, right? I know marshmallows might not be on your list of typical holiday treats, but, honestly, they should be. Especially these homemade Dark Chocolate Marshmallows. Marshmallows Are the New Cookies If you’ve been following along on this blog for a while, you may have noticed I’ve become a little obsessed with homemade marshmallows. Case in point, the three other marshmallow recipes I’ve already created: Some would call this a “problem;” I prefer to call it…
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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 —…
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Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Consider this the chocolate chip cookie of the summer. All the things you love about a chocolate chip cookie, just…brighter. Fruitier. Dare I say…sparklier? A party of a cookie that’s just begging to be made into ice cream sandwiches and brought to the beach. Let me introduce you to Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies! Dark Chocolate + Freeze-Dried Strawberries = an Ideal Flavor Match I’ve recently become obsessed with freeze-dried fruit — especially berries. Freeze-dried raspberries and strawberries have made their way into my granola (especially this Chocolate-Lover’s Granola — YUM), oatmeal, trail mix, and, of course, baked goods. When it’s freeze-dried, the flavor of the fruit is more concentrated…
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Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Originally published in April 2021; Updated April 2023 One of the big reasons I bake is to share some joy in treat form with my loved ones. So I’m always thrilled when I get the chance to bake something special for a friend. I originally created this recipe two years ago to celebrate the birthday of one of my closest friends…and it ended up being one of the best things I’ve ever made! So naturally, I had to share it with you all. I recently updated the peanut butter frosting recipe just a little—to make it fluffier and even better than it was. Get excited—these Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut…
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7-Layer Magic Bars
It may technically be spring, but there’s a blizzard raging outside my window. Yes, it’s a typical Minnesota April—blustery, snowy, and cold. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love living in the frozen north. Call me crazy if you will, but I truly love it. And I suspect, despite what most Minnesotans would tell you, that they secretly love it too. Because the truth is, there’s almost nothing we love more up here than complaining about the weather. Nothing, that is, except bars. No, not the kind you belly up to and drink (though, admittedly, we love those too), but the kind you eat. Dessert bars.…
Recipes and Musings from the Zenith City
