Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Blondies

My lovely, sweet and beautiful niece Elyse turns 13 today (blink.blink.). It's insane to think about the time that has passed but I'm so excited to see her take on life as an awesome teenager. Not sure what to make her for birthday baking, I decided 13 warrants a bit of sophistication. Instead of candy or chocolate overloaded sweets, I went for a classy combination of white chocolate and dried cranberries in a moderately sweet blondie with a crunchy edge and a slightly chewy center. This version is delicious and celebratory in a subtle way. Plus, in a pinch, you can toss a scoop of ice cream and maybe some caramel sauce on top and make a lovely blondie sundae.

Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

Welcome to another installment of "I had to make these more than once because we ate them all before I could take a photo." And really, isn't that the true sign of an awesome recipe. Particularly a cookie--because that's a lot of opportunities that got shoved into mouths before you realized a critical step of the recipe was missing when it comes to food blogging. So, yes, these cookies are that good. I mean, it's a cookie with cookies in it. Can it really get better than a cannibalized cookie? Well, if you're going to add cream cheese to make the soft and tender and both chocolate chips AND white chocolate chips for good measure, then yes it can get better. I gifted a batch of these to my friend Rachel for her birthday and she just about lost her mind. Cookies for the win!

Birthday Oreo Blondies

These are definitely birthday blondies. I made them three times in two months, for three different birthdays. Of course, the first two times we ate them all/gave them to the birthday honoree before I remembered to take a picture. In fact, this picture is of the last few in the pan. They are just so good, we gobbled them down before I had the time/sunny skies to grab the camera. Clearly. The blondie itself is perfect--sturdy with the right amount of crunchy edge and enough softness on the interior to gently break. But the real fabulousness is in the flavor--a little hint of birthday cake with sprinkles, white chocolate chips and big fat chunks of golden birthday cake flavor cream filled Oreos. Clearly these were made for a party and I hope the three birthday girls (Rachel, Lisa and Lisa) loved them.

Guinness Brownies

St Patrick's Day is tomorrow and I need to share with you guys the awesomeness that is these brownies. A thick, dense brownie full of rich chocolate goodness, heightened with that beautiful Irish stout Guinness. And then I did something awful. And by awful I mean amazing. I took the Bailey's buttercream frosting from my Irish Triple Threat cupcakes and slathered it on top of these brownies. Irish dessert squared. I took these to a party over the weekend were they got rave reviews. I've never made a brownie quite like this. It's fudgy but not gooey and thick but not cakey. Seriously, these are so good I can hardly describe them. Just trust that you need to make these. Now.

Peppermint Bark

Delicious? Easy? Perfect for an edible holiday gift? Yes, yes and yes. Peppermint candies and white chocolate are a wonderful holiday combination and I amped this on up with some holiday peppermint M&Ms, just for fun. Dave was particularly excited about this treat since he loves peppermint bark. Do you know what I didn't know? That Dave loves peppermint bark. Seriously, I've know him for over 15 years--you'd think I'd pick up on that. And he couldn't believe I'd never made it before. Know we're both wondering where he's been getting his fix all these years. But back to this bark: whip this up and you'll be able to break it up into deliciously big chunks, bag it up and share it as gifts--perfect for teachers, class treats, coworkers, anyone. Personally, I'm thinking some labor and delivery nurses might be the recipients of these treats--assuming our little guy arrives before Dave eats it all.

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.

Pumpkin and Spice Molasses Cookies

Molasses cookies are a fall standard, but each year I try to find a slight different version. Enter these pumpkin and spice molasses cookies. The trick with these guys is that they have pumpkin in them, making them a little soft and chewy. Plus all the spices and flavors of a standard molasses cookie. And then they're dipped in white chocolate for a creamy finish. No, it's not too much going on, why would you say such things? These cookies are perfect, delicious and I can think of a handful of people who might want to see a few of these in their cookie tins this holiday season.

Root Beer Float Cookies

Since our little guy is schedule to arrive just before Christmas, cookie season has started, so get ready for lots of fun and delicious cookies coming your way. Both with recipes posted here and for my lucky friends and family, expect some tins to arrive a bit early this year (hey, I'll have to clear out the freezer to make way for dinners so Dave and I can remember/have time to eat once we're a family of three). But before I get into the holiday treats, these cookies were special birthday baking for my nephew Aidan who turned 11 last week! That boy is a root beer fan, so I wanted to make him a cookie in a favorite flavor. But I also wanted to make something new since I just make these Root Beer Sandwich Cookies. So I went with a root beer twist on chocolate chip, using white chocolate chips for the "float" flavor. The result is a delicious cookie with a slightly crisp edge and soft interior, packing lots of root beer flavor and studded with white chocolate to add sweetness and creaminess. Win!

Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Another sweet treat enhanced by the fruits of the season. Blueberries are just about out of season, but there are still some available in New England. I suggest if you can get your hands on some of the fresh, tart berries, grab them and immediately make these cookies. The soft cookies have all the good stuff. One of my top requests for cookies from my family, particularly my niece, Elyse, and my Dad, are my Oatmeal Cranberry cookies. And Elyse has a spot in her heart from fruit-flavored goodies. So when her birthday rolled around last month, I knew I needed to share these with her. These cookies are hearty but not heavy with a touch of sweetness added from white chocolate chips and fresh blueberries bursting throughout. And the pairing of oatmeal and blueberries seems to be the perfect way to bridge the gap between summer and fall.

Ice Cream Sundae Cookies

Why yes, as a matter of fact these cookies are as amazing as they sound. Seriously. Everything you love about a big ice cream sundae all baked up and delicious. And portable. Which was important since these were the lovely treats I sent to my friend Lisa for her birthday last week. Ice cream and shipping don't mix quite so well, which make these cookie an excellent option when you want need want ice cream without the mess. The perfect cookie base flavored with vanilla and loaded up with crushed sugar cones, white chocolate chips and M&Ms, then topped off with a chocolate drizzle. Super simple and delicious, these cookies deserve a chance in your oven. And your cookie jar. And your belly.

Macadamia Nut White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recently I was asked to bake cookies for a family birthday party. The request included chocolate chip and oatmeal cranberry, but also macadamia nut white chocolate chip. Except I'd never made them before, so I needed to find a recipe that would be just as good as the others. And these really are. Soft and chewy, loaded with sweet white chocolate chips and studded with salty, almost creamy, macadamia nuts these might be a new favorite. I actually had to make them again since Dave only got the handful of "ugly" cookies from the original batch. I don't usually reach for a cookie with macadamia nuts, but I really like these cookies and am glad they were requested. Otherwise, I may have never decided to make them.

Black Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

While I'm not exactly sure what happened here, I'm super excited at the pleasant mistake of a (mostly) caramelized streusel topping instead of a traditional crumby coffee cake topping. The caramelized version sealed in the sweet goodness and tender crumb of this lovely coffee cake, swirled with black raspberry jam and dotted with white chocolate chips. Raspberries and white chocolate just work well together and I'm glad I paired them in this delicious cake. I took this to work for a training session can came home with make 5 or 6 slices. Yeah, it went over real well--several people came back for seconds.

Cookies and Cream Fudge

Fudge is not that hard, people. I've made some pretty awesome fudge (so I'm told and yes, I think so too) and for realsies, it doesn't take hours of slaving in the kitchen or busting out candy thermometers to watch like a hawk and make sure the candy doesn't rise one tick above your intended temperature and be ruined. Four ingredients. Four. I don't do complicated when it comes to fudge. I want 3-5 ingredients please. Seriously, the funfetti fudge, perfect fudge and peanut butter fudge have just a handful of ingredients and are simple delicious. This cookies and cream fudge features great big chunks of Oreo cookies suspended in a creamy white chocolate base, exactly like a fudge version of my favorite ice cream flavor. this would be a lot of fun for a birthday party or just because. As a quick no-bake treat, you can keep these ingredients on hand for emergency dessert calls and save the day with a creamy, chocolatey treat.

Moose Tracks Cookies

Wow. This is a delicious, fudgy, almost brownie-like cookie loaded with white chocolate and chopped peanut butter cups.  A perfect cookie replica of an ice cream classic.  Barely enough batter to hold the mix-ins together, but that chewy chocolate cookie is still perfect. Yes, these cookies are awesome, and how could they be otherwise? Baking chocolate, chocolate chips, white chocolate and peanut butter cups jam pack into these cookies for an excellent treat. Small, sweet and full of flavor--that's my kind of cookie.

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.

White Chocolate Cookie Butter Truffles

These truffles were a mistake actually.  Well, not a mistake so much as they weren't supposed to happen. I wanted to make a different truffle but I couldn't find the components I needed to make it happen.  However, a bag of Spekulatius cookies and a jar of Speculoos cookie butter said I had everything I needed to make these little balls of spiced cookie heaven.  Smooth, creamy, full of flavor and dressed up in white chocolate and topped with a piece of those delicious spiced windmill cookies.  These truffles are perfect for sharing. In fact, I shared them right away with my November Foodie Pen Pal!

Butterscotch Pudding Triple Chip Cookies

So I've heard all the rage about adding pudding mix to your cookie dough, but I hadn't yet tried it.  Now that I have, I can honestly say, I'm a believer.  These cookies ended up soft and fluffy in a way that I don't think I've had before.  With the addition of enhancing the dough with great butterscotch flavor, the perfect palate for adding a bunch of chips--chocolate, white chocolate and butterscotch.  Plus, I got the best compliment on these cookies.  I took them to work for a training session and was questioned about whether I actually baked them, being told "They look too perfect to be homemade."  Aw, shucks.  That's just how I roll.  The cookies are delicious, slightly salty in the best way because there is plenty of sweetness to go around.

Carrot Cake Mix Cookies

Time for cookies!  Soft chewy cookies with lots of flavor--not just a not to carrot cake, but also white chocolate chips as a nod to the traditional cream cheese frosting on carrot cake and an added sweetness from caramel bits.  These cookies are yummy and fun and so easy to make.  They would be a lovely after school treat or for a bake sale or some other fall gathering.  Carrot cake tends to be a big deal in the spring, but these cookies definitely have a place as a fall treat.  And I just hope my Foodie Pen Pal enjoyed them too.

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Let me just break this down for you.  Chocolate chip cookies.  With chunks of Oreos.  Pressed into a pan and topped with cheesecake filling.  Topped with more cookie dough.  Drizzled with white and dark chocolate.  Heaven just seems like an understatement when it comes to describing these bars.  Seriously, what more could you possibly want?  The cookie is soft but has a crunchy exterior providing a perfect crust to the creamy cheesecake filling, and topping it with more goodies just seems right.  They are a fairly impressive bar and perfect for a party, work treat, celebrating a day that ends in "y," just about anything.  Oreos are my favorite store bought cookie and I love a good bar with some sort of creaminess to it, so the cheesecake filling is a great addition.  These were a big hit when our friends were over and more than a few were requested in the doggy bags.

Avalanche Cookies

Remember those lovely avalanche bars I made a few weeks ago?  They were so yummy that I couldn't help myself to make this cookie version.  You know me, I'll turn anything into a cookie. And these tasty little snacks pack a lot of flavor with peanut butter, chocolate chips, white chocolate, marshmallow and crispy cereal.  Since my friend Kate (and her son Chad) made the bars for me, I returned the favor by sending these cookies to Kate for her birthday, where they were well received for a birthday breakfast.