Red Velvet Donuts with Cream Cheese Glaze

Did you know I love you? If you didn't, can I bake you donuts to show you that I do?

What about Red Velvet Donuts with Cream Cheese Glaze? I don't think I could possibly pack more love into a single recipe.

I have never been particularly good about posting recipes for certain holidays at specific times, maybe with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas. But today, I am going all in celebrating Valentine's Day with the whole internet! We are so worth it. 

There are a lot of reasons I am obsessed with these donuts and you will be, too. Not the least of which is just how stinkin' cute they are considering tomorrow is Valentine's Day. BUT, please don't go away if you're bitter about this Hallmark holiday. These are just perfect to lift your spirits year round!

First of all, red velvet means cocoa powder and a good bit of it. Chocolate anything is my love language. Besides that, there is the fact that these are soft and pillowy and tender. They just melt in your mouth. The icing on the cake--no, literally--is that cream cheese glaze. What is red velvet without cream cheese frosting? It is nothing, don't even think about omitting it, please and thank you.

 Let's get baking - breakfast is served!

Nutella Ice Cream

I want you to know that I am both very, very sorry and very, very NOT sorry about this.

I've made dreams come true. And it hardly takes any time at all!

So, yes, it's true - I made Nutella Ice Cream. And it is so, so simple. More than that, though, it is delicious. The ingredient list is short, which allows that wonderful chocolate hazelnut spread we all know and love to shine through.

This is a "simple" ice cream, which is made up of a base of just milk and heavy cream - no need to temper egg yolks or create any kind of custard. This recipe is a complete riff off my wildly popular and just as mouth-watering peanut butter ice cream, replacing the peanut butter with Nutella.

Look, there are no two ways around this: if you love Nutella and if you love ice cream, you are going to flip head over heels (over and over and over) when you lay your mouth on this. Part of me didn't even want to try making this at the risk that it would be this good. Then I thought...it's summer. We're hot. We want ice cream. Why deny ourselves?!

In addition to Nutella, sugar, milk, vanilla extract and heavy cream, you will need an ice cream maker before this magic can be in your life. There are lots of options out there, but I haven't had any trouble with this Cuisinart model. It's not a terribly large gadget and well worth it for homemade ice cream (in my humble opinion!)

Enough talking...we're making NUTELLA ICE CREAM!

Triple Berry Vanilla Yogurt Muffins

Guys, I'm obsessed with these sweet, juicy patriotic muffins for Memorial Day Weekend!

Tender and rich muffins are sweetened with a bit of vanilla yogurt and studded with juicy, fresh berries! If this doesn't scream summer comfort, I don't know what does.

Before gushing more over how much you NEED to make these muffins to kick off all your MDW festivities, I just want to thank you for the great feedback on my meal delivery review post - one of my most read to date! I'm glad so many of you were interested and I will be working on a second review next week. Be sure to share with any friends or family who may be thinking about signing up for one of these services. 

So, muffs, I love muffins. They are pure breakfast indulgence as far as I'm concerned. And these Triple Berry Vanilla Yogurt Muffins are no exception. Imagine a warm Saturday or Sunday morning, sitting outside in the sunshine, with a fresh cup of coffee and one of these gorgeous muffins. It's a match made in heaven! And like I said...you need to make them (sorry for being bossy).

Muffins have made an appearance on GSG twice before - in the banana oat and jumbo pistachio form. The recipe below is more closely related to the pistachio muffins in that we are using a whole stick of butter, for deliciousness and to keep 'em fresh, and we overfill our muffin cups to get beautifully big, round-topped muffins.

I used a combination of chopped strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, but you could certainly sub one of those for blackberries. My raspberries were a bit tart, so for extra sweetness I used brown sugar instead of white sugar and topped the muffins with a small sprinkle of turbinado sugar. From start to finish, these are a wonderful slow weekend breakfast.

I mean....look at that crumb!

P.S. Heading to a cookout this weekend? I'm positive these would make a lovely hostess gift - nothing better than having a home cooked breakfast the day after a party that they don't have to lift a finger for!

Vanilla Coconut Macaroons

Crispy, chewy, super coconut-y -- in my mind, that makes the perfect coconut macaroon.

In my younger days, I was all about chocolate, chocolate chocolate. Chocolate ice cream, double chocolate chip cookies, chocolate lava cake, yes please! And, to be clear, I do still LOVE chocolate.

But nowadays, sometimes I just want something a little lighter for dessert. Something that is just subtly sweet but loaded with great flavor. A lemon sorbet, perhaps, or a raspberry crumble bar. Or maybe, just maybe, a delicious Vanilla Coconut Macaroon.

Actually, there is no maybe. I DEFINITELY want one of these cookies...and then another and another. They are the ultimate trifecta of macaroon bliss (see above) with the added gourmet sweetness of two types of vanilla. I started this recipe by taking the caviar out of a vanilla bean and rubbing it into granulated sugar. This scents the sugar and permeates the vanilla flavor throughout the entire batter. Next, egg whites are whipped with the vanilla sugar to stiff peaks. This makes our macaroons a little more meringue-like. This is an optional step, but I think it really pumps up both the crispy outside and chewy gooey inside.

The recipe below can be easily adapted to suit you and your macaroon dreams! For a crunchier cookie, try toasting your coconut before mixing it into the egg whites. If you don't prefer that meringue-like exterior, just use a whisk to beat the egg whites until they are frothy and follow the rest of the recipe as written. I am also quite sure these are gluten free as long as you choose your ingredients accordingly - just check the labels!

Nutella Brownie Bites

Let us have a quick discussion on Nutella...

It is the best thing on Earth, right? I mean, not exaggerating, every single person loves Nutella, don't they? I can't imagine a world where someone is offered a spoonful of Nutella and declines...

Well, here I have the most perfect Nutella dessert that is as easy as it is delicious. These Nutella Brownie Bites are bursting with that amazing chocolate hazelnut flavor in a chewy bite-sized brownie. The hardest part of this recipe is not eating all the Nutella from the jar before you bake up your brownie bites.

Added bonus: all you need are 5 ingredients, a mixing bowl, a mini muffin tin and a strong wooden spoon. Anyone can make this dessert, trust me!

I love baking with Nutella! If you follow me on Instagram you probably saw that I made a huge batch of Nutella donuts. I have never gotten so many 'likes' on one photo...so hopefully in the next few weeks, I can have the recipe up for you!

In the meantime, I think you will love the simplicity and sweet deliciousness of these brownie bites! They are an update to one of the first recipes I ever shared on my blog! I hope you still love them as much as you did three years ago :-)

Crispy M&M, Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip Cookies

GUYS.

THESE COOKIES.

It has been, precisely, two months and ten days since my last blog post. I am sorry about my absence. It's been a crazy 2015 so far. Cory and I spent an amazing week in Park City, Utah at the Sundance Film Festival--I saw 26 movies in a matter of six days!! Work has also been a bit of a whirlwind, plus we moved out of our apartment of 3+ years to a bigger, better apartment with--if I may brag--a big, awesome adult kitchen!

So after a bit of time away, I thought it would be rather fitting to get back into the blogging action with crazy, awesome cookies! Everyone LOVES cookies, after all :-)

These cookies are e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. The are chewy and sweet, packed with wonderful goodies like chocolate chips and--the grand finale--CRISPY M&Ms!

If you are anything like me, and I hope you are, you absolutely lost. your. sh*t when they announced that Crispy M&Ms were back. These candies made my childhood complete, and I developed a lot of trust issues when they were discontinued (along with 3D Doritos, and Mountain Code Red...STOP TAKING AWAY THINGS I LOVE!).

Anyway, now, they are back. And I ran to the closest store and found the biggest bag and I tore into those M&Ms like I hadn't eaten in weeks. And now, I am putting them into cookies.

These cookies are chewy and sweet, spiced with just a touch of cinnamon. Mini chocolate chips are speckled all throughout along with nutty rolled oats and those perfect, wonderful Crispy M&Ms. The textures and flavors are surprising and fun--perfect for kids of all ages!

Mini Funfetti Cupcakes

Look at these cuties right here. Don't you want to pinch their cheeks and then gobble them right up?!

If you are feeling down, just scroll through these pictures and I can guarantee a smile will start to creep up on your lips.

Let's make homemade funfetti cupcakes, and let's make them into little bebes, and let's top them with a creamy dreamy vanilla buttercream. I think this is a great idea.

For me, funfetti instantly brings me back to childhood. The nostalgia alone has me craving a second batch. These cupcakes have a nice soft crumb thanks to the use of Greek yogurt, which replaces about half the butter of a traditional cupcake.

This recipe is just like the wonderful boxed cake mix and frosting tub-o-sugar cream of our childhood, elevated with a bit of adult class. Since we are never too old for sprinkles, we are using two kinds. First, traditional waxy rainbow sprinkles (some people call them jimmies? I don't trust those people) get mixed all throughout the cake batter. Then, after piping our buttercream, we are going to make-it-raaaain non-pareilles. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

You could also use those flat, circular sprinkles in the batter. Whatever you do--do NOT use non-pareilles anywhere within the cupcake. They will bleed their color right into the batter and leave you with very unappealing tie-dye batter rather than fun speckles of color.

OK, that's enough business for one day. It is cupcake time!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies

Chocolate lovers, gather 'round. I have a wonderful story for you.

The story is Chocolate Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies. Double the chocolate, double the fun.

I have this problem with brownies. I tend to overcook them. I don't know why this happens specifically for brownies considering they are one of the easiest things to cook. But, alas. I just can't master the cooking of brownies in my oven.

That all changed when I came across this recipe for brownie cookies. These are rich and fudgy and full of deep chocolate flavor just like a brownie, only they are bite-sized! When these cookies are done baking, they have a thin crispy shell on the outside and an ooey gooey center.

These cookies have a pretty traditional brownie base--butter, eggs, brown sugar, and 2 types of chocolate (unsweetened and semi-sweet). I add in a bunch of mini chocolate chips because there is nothing wrong with a little extra chocolate in our lives (RIGHT!?)

I totally love these cookies. I sprinkled a generous bit of powdered sugar on the top to cut a bit of that chocolate richness. I think that is just what these cookies need to take them to the next level.

Share these with that special person in your life who is a choco-holic. Bring them to a friend who needs a sweet pick me up. Make these and devour them. You're worth it!