eggnog ice cream cookie sandwiches

earlier this year, i was allergy-tested and found out i have a wheat sensitivity ... along with many others. i always knew something in my diet was causing me trouble, but i just couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. since then, i've tried to incorporate more gluten-free foods. while it's not 100% necessary for me [unlike someone with celiac disease] it has still helped tremendously. that's why i was thrilled to discover this Pillsbury Gluten Free Cookie Dough.  these can be stored in your fridge and you can make one, two, or however many cookies you like whenever you like. no prep, no endless list of supplies, and almost no mess. just scoop some dough out onto a pan and bake them at 350 for 12 minutes. just like that...a gluten free delicacy.

on my first experiment with the dough, i decided to make ice cream cookie sandwiches in the spirit of christmas. so, for day 5 of the 12 days of christmas cookies, i have a recipe for eggnog ice cream cookie sandwiches.

don't they look so good!? is your mouth watering like mine?....

eggnog ice cream cookie sandwiches

ingredients:

• eggnog ice cream
• Pillsbury gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough

scoop dough onto a cookie sheet using a cookie scoop. following the directions on the container, bake the dough at 350 F for 11-13 minutes. remove from the oven and let cool. once the cookies are cooled, transfer half of them to a plate with the top of the cookie facing down. using the same cookie scoop from earlier, scoop eggnog ice cream onto the flat side of each cookie. top with the remaining cookies and place in the freezer to solidify. 

when ready to eat, remove from the freezer and enjoy immediately.

you can find this Pillsbury gluten free cookie dough with the other cookie dough products in many of your local grocery stores.

you can also follow Pillsbury's pinterest board for more baking inspiration here.

merry christmas and happy baking!

--

this post is is sponsored by Pillsbury. all opinions and comments are my own.

12 days of christmas cookies: day 04

yesterday my mom graduated from nursing school. 2nd career at age 50...yeah mom! you're an inspiration! so after graduation we decided to throw a little party to celebrate. in preparation for the party, i made three different cookie recipes - one of them being these peppermint mocha chocolate chip cookies (above). i rushed over to my parents house, baked for three hours, and then helped set up for the party. with the table set up and the cookies laid out, i left for work. now, my parents have two dogs... one precious bichon named kira, and then a large lab named max. within ten minutes of leaving, i got a call from my mom.... she'd found max dining on top of the kitchen table and... every.single.cookie. was gone. all of them!! three hours worth of baking gone in ten minutes!! ooooooh, i was so upset. and i swear i went through all the stages of grief: denial..."no, no, no, mom...you're confused. the cookies are still there." anger. goooosh, i was steaming. "how could he do that!?" well...he's a dog. that's how. depression..."whyyyyy!? i worked so hard." i could have cried. i almost did cry. a sweet coworker tried to cheer me up. and then, acceptance. what could we do? they were gone. so mom headed to the store and replaced all of my homemade cookies with store bought ones. so in the end, the show went on...homemade cookies, or not.

moral of the story: never leave cookies (especially peppermint mocha chocolate chip cookies) in a kitchen unattended when there is a dog around.

peppermint mocha chocolate chip cookies

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. instant coffee powder
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp. milk

preheat the oven to 350 F. mix together the first 7 ingredients in a mixing bowl [flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coffee powder, cornstarch]. in a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. add the egg, peppermint extract and vanilla extract. pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined. dough will be thick, so add 2 tbsp. milk to make the mixing easier.

roll the dough out into 2 in. thick balls and place on the baking sheet. bake at 350 F for 9 minutes. remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring.

enjoy immediately, or store for later. whatever you do, just keep them away from your dog...

happy friday!

12 days of christmas cookies: day 03

today i have a pecan pie cookie recipe for you! and if you love pecans, you'll love these...

i've never been big on pecan pie [part of that could have to do with my nut allergies...my husband really thinks i should take them more seriously. he's probably right..] but my dad loves it, so we always have it around our house at the holidays. to mix it up this year, i decided to give him the pecan pie flavor in a cookie. an easier, more portable dessert...and no corn syrup...

pecan pie cookies

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup butter, browned
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg, 2 egg whites
• 2 cups crushed pecans, toasted
• small bag of caramels

first, brown the butter. go here for a link that leads to browning directions. and remember...browning butter takes patience. if you aren't sure if it's browned, then it hasn't. once the butter has browned and is ready to be removed from heat, you'll know. once the butter is finished, transfer to a mixing bowl to let cool.

while the butter is cooling, toast the pecans. i put all the pecans in a pan on medium low heat. once it begins to warm, i slowly move it to medium heat. continue to stir the pecans around to make sure they don't burn. they are ready when they have a delicious, nutty aroma and are a deep brown color.

in a mixing bowl, combined flour, salt, and baking powder. in a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. add the eggs and vanilla extract. mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. fold in the toasted pecans. place cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 325 F. use a cookie scoop or spoon to measure out a small ball of dough. place the dough on the cookie pan and top with a caramel candy. take another ball of dough and place it on top of the caramel, pinching the ends of the dough together and flattening the top slightly with your palm. repeat until all of the dough has been used up. bake for 12 minutes.

remove from heat and let cool. now enjoy your pie on the go!

12 days of christmas cookies: day 02

today, i bring to you the s'mores cookie. and they seriously might be my new favorite cookies. and that's saying a lot..considering i've made a lot of cookies in my time. this could have something to do with the fact that i am obsessed with s'mores. obsessed.  i don't believe in only eating one. i will always go for seconds, and typically steal bites from my husband's, too. and of course i'll find any excuse to fit them into any and every holiday... like these christmas s'mores from last year. so to fit them in this year, [considering we haven't spent any time around an outdoor fire..what is our problem!?] i decided to make my favorite treat into a cookie ... my other favorite treat.

s'mores cookies

ingredients:

• 1 cup [2 sticks] butter, browned
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, 1 egg white
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup crushed graham crackers
• mini marshmallows
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

start by browning the butter. this is a slow, patient process and jessica from how sweet it is explains it far better than i ever could. seriously, great directions. once the butter has browned, transfer it to a mixing bowl to cool. 

while it is cooling, preheat the oven to 375 F and mix together the dry ingredients. in a separate mixing bowl [from the butter] add the flour, baking powder, salt. 

take a few graham crackers and put them in a large ziploc bag. next, beat the ziploc bag as hard as you can on the counter, with your fists, etc. [it's a great way to relieve some stress..]. that is how you crush your graham crackers. you could always buy graham cracker crumbs, but i prefer the mix of chunkier and smaller pieces. it adds a nice texture. now measure a cup and place them aside.

once the butter has cooled a bit, add the sugar and mix until combined. next, add the vanilla extract and eggs and continue to mix. pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. now add in the graham crackers and blend it into the dough. fold in the chocolate chips. place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

once the dough has cooled, take a cookie scoop, or 1-2 tbsp. of dough, and form a ball with your hands. flatten the ball of dough on the prepared cookie sheet. take four mini marshmallows and place them on top of the flattened dough. repeat with another ball of dough, except place it on top of the marshmallows. pinch the ends of the cookie together to make sure no marshmallows are peeking through. flatten the top of the cookie slightly with your hand. repeat with the rest of the dough.

bake at 375 for 10 minutes, remove from heat, and let cool. 

and now..finally..enjoy!!

our pom-pom christmas wreath

i can't believe christmas is less than 10 days away. wow, this month has been flying by. and finally, just in the nick of time, i think i've finished our christmas decor. i've kept our house simple this year. lights on our tree, a pine cone garland strung on the mantle, and this wreath. i saw similar wreaths on pinterest and thought they were the cutest things ever. so i decided to try it out myself! and i'm pretty happy with the result. i think its the perfect pop of color in our living room. we've needed something over our [tiny] t.v. for a while, so i'm considering leaving it up year 'round. it's still growing on scofield, but i'm confident he'll come around ;).

what has been your favorite christmas craft this year!?

new york city, part 2

on day two, katie took me to an amazing bagel shop in long island.

^and this is the bagel that changed my life. an everything bagel on egg with spinach and scallion cream cheese and a fried egg. it was also the biggest bagel i've ever had. which was perfect, considering we then proceeded to walk around new york enjoying all of the christmas decorations for the rest of the day and night.

^grand central station. for some reason, i thought it would be a good idea to walk 6+ miles in heels. well, i guess they weren't really heels. they were more like ankle boots with a little heel on them. so maybe i'm just a wimp or something. i mean, i was that embarrassing girl that was limping with every step and leaning on her friends. so we got to grand central station, and i looked at the floor and thought, "clean enough." and those shoes were off. i'm sure i then proceeded to look even more embarrassing than before. but hey, sometime's you gotta do what you gotta do. so i did. i took my shoes off. end of story.

^we also went to saint john of the divine cathedral. we missed the evening song, so just walked around and admired the beautiful building...and their really cool swan tree.

^and it snowed...it snowed!!!

 we finished off the weekend by visiting the momfuku milk bar.

snow outside, cookie in hand....it was magical. i've decided there should always be cookies when there's snow. always.

i got the cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip cookie, and i took a compost cookie home for scofield [butterscotch, chocolate, pretzels, potato chips...that's all in this cookie]. now the milk bar needs to come to greenville...i've decided that too.

welp, that just about wraps it up! now i'm just dreaming of going back, already listing out the places i didn't get to visit. see you again soon, new york!

12 days of christmas cookies: day 01

i've decided to start a little project this holiday season - the 12 days of christmas cookies. i know what you're thinking..."isn't a little late for that? it's already december 12th." yes, yes, i know. i've already confessed i have a bit of an issue with procrastinating. but if julia child's entire cookbook can be cooked through in 365 days, then i think i can get 12 batches of cookies done in less than 12 days...eh? plus, there's nothing better than baking cookies while listening to christmas music.

i decided to kick it off with double chocolate chip gingerbread cookies. white chocolate chips go so well with gingerbread, but i can't help but try to fit chocolate into everything...so why not combine them!?

double chocolate chip gingerbread cookies

ingredients:

• 2 cups wheat flour [or all purpose flour if that's all you have on hand]
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. all spice
• pinch of cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter [2 sticks], softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

add all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl [the first 8 ingredients]. mix well to combine. in a separate mixing bowl, add the butter and brown sugar. blend using a hand mixer. once it has a creamy consistency, add the molasses, honey, vanilla extract and eggs. continue mixing until fully combined. add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. finally, fold in all the chocolate chips. cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour [can be left overnight or up to 8 hours]. 

after letting the dough sit in the refrigerator, remove it and let it soften a bit. while it's softening, preheat the oven to 350 F. using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookies onto a prepared baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes. let cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

snack on one with a glass of milk [soy for me!] - beeest combination!

happy baking!

new york city, part 1

on saturday, katie and i made our first stop at the brooklyn bridge. it was cold, but boy was it beautiful. we had lovely views of the city, the sun was shining, and well...i just love walking.

after the bridge we had brunch in brooklyn. we stumbled upon the cutest little restaurant [and other adorable ones along the way]. it was so hard to decide which one we wanted to go to, so we just made a decision - pretty much feeling like we'd hit jackpot at any of them.

^oh, and meet katie. she's adorable. i just want to put her in my pocket and keep her with me always. i'm not kidding...also, she's the bravest person i know. maybe if she's in my pocket that brave will rub off on me...

^and don't get me started on the christmas decorations...everywhere. it was amazing. i'm seriously thinking about making a trip to new york at christmas a tradition.

^i love all the colors of the bikes here. heck, i just love that there were bikes everywhere. my freshman year of college, i begged my dad for a bike. so for my birthday, he got me a cute little light blue one with a basket to ride around campus. i was so so excited...and then i rode it. no one really rode bikes at my school...at least not little blue cruisers with baskets. there were also minimal bike lanes, and because it wasn't a road bike, riding it on the road was kinda dangerous...and really awkward. so it sat there, all year long. then i took it back home and it's been sitting in my parent's garage ever since. i'm still trying to convince my dad i'm going to come get it and paint over the rust [whoops] and start riding it. really, i am....

^a salted caramel chocolate chip cookie from ovenly, but the bakery should be called heavenly...

oh new york, you've stolen my heart...