Easy Valentine's Day Cookies

Valentine's Day will be here before we know it, so I wanted to find some fun and easy cookie recipes. My family and I love celebrating the day with the kids, and themed treats are a big part of it.

I remember when I was young and Valentine's Day always seemed to me to be about romantic love. And of course romantic love is wonderful, but I really like how it has become more of a day about all kinds of love. No one is left out and everyone is made to feel special. That's the best kind of day for sure!

These cookies are some of the easiest I've ever made, and they taste so good. They are actually sort of like a cookie and donut combination. They are soft in the inside, and the glaze gives them a perfect sweetness.

This recipe makes 18 cookies but can easily be doubled. My granddaughter wants us to make them for her preschool Valentine's Day party, and I think that's a great idea!

Do make sure that the glaze is completely dry before you take them off the rack so that the sprinkles are set.

Recipe for Easy Valentine's Day Cookies

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Glaze:

1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons milk

sprinkles of choice for decoration

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and eggs until blended. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined.

With floured hands, roll rounded tablespoons of the dough into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Bake until puffed and the bottoms are pale golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, and 4 tablespoons milk.

Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and set on rack, sprinkle on decoration. Let cookies set until glaze is dry, about 20 minutes.

Makes 18 cookies.

Another great thing about this recipe besides it's great taste is how easily it can adapt to any holiday or season. Just change the color of the glaze with food coloring, and the sprinkles to match the occasion.

Holiday Breakfast Pancakes with Nordic Ware Baking Pan #MadeinUSA #Holidaybakeware

* I received Nordic Ware products to review and share a recipe. All opinions shared are my own.

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals during the holidays. We make pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon and all the tradition breakfast fixings. Waking up to a warm meal and a good cup of coffee is a great way to start the day when it is cold outside. This year I have step things up a notch by making pancakes in a Nordic Ware Mini Bundt Tea Cakes and Candies pan. I mixed up a basic recipe for pancakes and poured the mixture into the cake pan. The pan can be used for candies and cakes but I thought it would make perfect pancakes. They turned out delicious and golden. Be sure to put oil and a dash of flour on the pan before pouring in mixture to ensure them coming out easily. Pop them in the oven at 350 for 15-20 min and top with any syrup you enjoy.

Since I was making several servings of pancakes I allowed them to cool on a cookie sheet while the others baked. Next time I make these I plan to put precooked bacon inside and sprinkle cheese on top after baked for a more savory version of holiday pancakes. I attempted to make pumpkin fudge in the pan to have cute candies but I overcooked my fudge and ruined it. I will definitely try fudge or another candy in them to take to work for the holidays. I can think of so many recipes I already have that would be 10 times more fun in the Nordic Ware pan.

Product info for the Bundt Tea Cakes and Candies Pan

• Part of Cast Aluminum Bakeware series
• Provides superior baking performance and beautiful detailed results
• Non stick coating results in easy release and cleanup
• Heirloom quality, durability, and lifetime warranty
•  Unique miniature  versions of our Bundt shapes perfect for chocolate candies or mini tea cakes

Pancakes with Pumpkin Spice Syrup

You can follow Nordic Ware for great recipes and more on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

M&M's® Hot Chocolate Christmas Cake Recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeInTheFun #CollectiveBias

The holiday season is here and I'm very excited that I've already started my holiday baking. It's my favorite time of the year to share desserts and treats with family and friends. I have the most wonderful memories of my mother being busy in the kitchen, baking delicious pies, cakes, and cookies.

My mom would save her change in a jar all year round so that she would be sure to have enough money when Christmas came so that she could buy the ingredients she needed for her baking and candy making.

I like to think about her when I'm baking for my children and grandchildren, and they seem to love my baking, just like I loved hers.

I've mentioned before how much I enjoy the seasonal M&M's® I always find at Walmart, and sure enough, the other day I found M&M's® Hot Chocolate flavor. So, so good!! And I also bought the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix and Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting to make a yummy cake for my family.

It's so easy to whip up a cake with this cake mix and frosting, and I simply added hot chocolate mix and chopped M&M's® Hot Chocolate candies to the cake batter for a great hot chocolate flavor.

I also bought some M&M's® Holiday Peanut because peanut is my absolute favorite kind of M&M's®, though I have to say that all the other flavors are a close second.

When my four year old granddaughter saw this cake she said it was beautiful, and that is one of the reasons I bake, for love, for family.

I want her to remember her and I baking together, which we frequently do, and remember how much fun we had in the kitchen.

And if you love baking as much as I do, how awesome would it be to win a KitchenAid® mixer? Be sure and enter the sweepstakes to be eligible  to win one of eight mixers being given away.

Holiday #BakeInTheFun

Simply add chopped candies and hot chocolate mix to the batter to give it that great hot chocolate flavor. I always make sure to use parchment paper and vegetable oil so that my cake doesn't stick to the pan, it works every time.

Put together and frost both layers of the cake, then the real fun begins! Decorate your cake with the sprinkles that come with the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting, and the M&M's® Hot Chocolate flavored candies.

This is really such an easy way to make a fun and festive cake that you can enjoy at home, or bring to a holiday gathering.

Recipe For M&M's® Hot Chocolate Christmas Cake

Ingredients:

1 box of Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/4 cup hot chocolate powder
3/4 cup M&M's® Hot Chocolate flavored candies, roughly chopped

For frosting cake:

1 container Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting
additional M&M's®

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil and place parchment papers (if using) into 2 8-inch round cake pans.
Combine cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add in chopped candies and hot chocolate mix, stirring well.
Divide evenly into the prepared pans. Bake 20-24 minutes until done, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans, put on a wire rack and let cool completely before assembling and frosting.
Decorate with sprinkles and candies.

My family and I drink a lot of milk, we can go through quite a few gallons in a week. I always appreciate the low prices on Great Value Milk at Walmart.

Having a glass of milk with dinner and dessert is something that many people take for granted. But many families with children aren't that lucky, and go without milk and it's essential nutrients because it's not typically donated to food banks, even though it is in high demand.

More than 46.5 million Americans – including one in every six children – rely on Feeding America food banks each year. And one of the most requested food items is milk. But sadly, food banks are only able to provide the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person per year.

But we can help out by making a small donation at pourmilklove.com. The Great American Milk Drive will deliver a gallon of milk – and all of the essential nutrients, including protein, that it provides – to a family in need in YOUR local community.

When you purchase two bags of M&M's® at Walmart ( 9.4 oz. bags or larger) up to a gallon of milk will be donated to the drive. What a great way to help get milk to children who need it. And you can also make a donation to the Great American Milk Drive here.

You can find all these products, and additional flavors of M&M's®, at your local Walmart. Check out the baking aisle for all kinds of great dessert and baking ideas.

Use this coupon to save $1.00 on any two (2) bags of M&M's® Chocolate Candies 8 oz. or larger.

Be sure to check out more delicious holiday baking recipes here. And tell me what your favorite holiday recipe, I'd really love to know.

Pink Velvet Cupcakes Recipe

Have you ever tried Pink Velvet Cupcakes? Red Velvet flavor is pretty popular and I do love it, but pink velvet is made with buttermilk, and tastes so good!!

I made these cupcakes for an early Valentine's Day party, and they were a big hit. But Pink Velvet isn't just for that holiday, it can be used for little girl's parties, baby showers, and any spring celebration. I just think that they are so cute, and you can change the cupcake liners and sprinkles to fit the occasion.

These cupcakes are topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting, and it's one of my favorite frosting recipes. I don't like to spend a lot of time on frosting, but it really does taste so much better when it's homemade.

Recipe for Pink Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
2-3 drops red food coloring
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

For frosting:

 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature
1 8oz. package of cream cheese at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and food coloring until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 23-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 

 With an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl to ensure even mixing.
Beat in the vanilla extract just until mixed. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until desired thickness. Frost cupcakes with a spatula, and decorate with sprinkles.

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Baking Candy Cane Chocolate Cupcakes With Land O' Lakes Butter #HolidayButter #shop #cbias

Holiday baking has been a long tradition in my family, so I'm very excited to be in the kitchen baking some of my favorite treats.

Chocolate and peppermint are a must during the holiday season, so I combined the two and made these yummy cupcakes.

My grandchildren were thrilled when they saw them, and it was a real struggle for them to wait until after dinner to have one.

The key to successful baking for me, is using the highest quality ingredients that I can. Butter is one of those ingredients, and I always like stocking up on it at this time of the year.