Happy Memorial Day! The weekend that kicks off summer, definitely a favorite of mine 🙂 But of course, let’s not forget the real meaning of Memorial Day (nope, it’s not beer and bbq’s). It commemorates all the men and women who have died in military service for the United States. Thank you to all who serve and protect our country!!

However, it is also a long weekend for most people and we all like to eat and drink and spend time with family and friends. So, if you are going to a bbq, bring these cookies! Tasty and festive, great for ages 2 to 102 😉 Let’s begin…

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baling soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups red, white and blue M&M’s (plus more for topping)

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, or bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter, oil and both sugars until smooth and creamy. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat well. Slowly add in flour mixture until just combined and then stir in M&M’s. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Take rounded spoonfuls of dough and place on prepared cookie sheet. If desired, place more M&M’s on top of each cookie. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Another year older… 32. And I decided to make something a 6 year old would want 😆 But I’ve always wanted to try these and my birthday seemed appropriate. I made Funfetti cake from scratch and a vanilla buttercream frosting. Really easy and tasty so I will share the tips and tricks I did so you can make these super cute treats! Let’s begin…

What you will need:

Ice Cream Cones (They are called Cups, make sure they can stand up on their own)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1/3 cup sprinkles

For the buttercream:

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Stand about 20 ice cream cones up in a mini cupcake pan. In a bowl, whisk together the flour baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together butter and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until well blended. Beat in sugar. Slowly add in flour mixture, alternating with the milk until everything is incorporated. Stir in the sprinkles.

Now, you can either just spoon the batter into each ice cream cone, or use a pastry bag or ziplock bag (what I used) so you don’t make a mess.

Fill each cone to about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes. Don’t worry! The cones will not burn. I was worried about that and they came out just fine. Here is what they will look like when they are done:

I also cut one open so you can see what it looks like on the inside:

So cool, right? I like baking them like this. I’ve seen some people bake cupcakes and then just place them inside an ice cream cone but that’s cheating 😉 This, way, you have cake all the way down to the last bite. However, the cone did get soggy/chewy. I didn’t mind it but my husband was turned off.

Now make the buttercream frosting. Beat butter until nice and creamy and smooth. Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until you get a nice consistency. Add more sugar as needed. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and decorate however you like! Have fun and enjoy!

A baker’s dozen. Anyone know what that means? 13. A dozen plus 1. I always thought the extra was for the baker to eat, hence the name. But I did some research and found out that is comes from the Medieval Ages when bread was a daily staple of life. Well, it still is, duh 🙂 In those times, though, a baker would be severely punished if he was caught cheating his customers of a full dozen. The practice of giving 13 instead of 12 ensured the bakers that they were giving more than enough and would not be fined.

Today, I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies! I love to always have a baked good in the house. I have a recipe that is super easy and the perfect amount if you are not wanting a ton of cookies. I actually got 15 cookies, but if you make them big enough, you’ll get 13, or a bakers dozen 😉 So, here we go!

What you will need: 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat together the butter and both sugars until creamy. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add in the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop cookie dough by spoonfuls. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Enjoy!

Today is the first day of spring! However, I live in chicago and it does not feel like it at all. My son and I spent a total of 8 minutes outside coloring with chalk and then came inside because we were too cold. So, we made cupcakes! 100% from scratch, from the batter to the buttercream frosting. The eggs are Cadbury, though and probably the best little pieces of chocolate I’ve ever eaten! So addictive.

Anyway, these look super cute but I only got 3 cupcakes frosted. I didn’t have anymore piping bags so I had to use a Ziplock bag. Let me just say, Ziplock bags are great for some things but piping buttercream frosting ain’t one of them. So before you decide to pipe any sort of decorative frosting on a cake or cupcakes, make sure you have the appropriate tools 🙂

What you will need:

12 cupcake tin, greased or lined with paper cups

For the batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup warm water

For the frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food coloring (optional)
I used a Wilton #233 tip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat together sugar, egg, vanilla, oil and water. Whisk in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Pour into prepared pan about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for about 15 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Make the frosting. Beat butter until nice and smooth. Add in milk and 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in vanilla and slowly more powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency. Beat in food coloring. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Decorate with eggs or however you like. Enjoy!