Ahh cookies. There is something so simple but satisfying by a good cookie. They're grab and go by nature and versatile. I swear there is a cookie for any craving or mood you are in. 

A few weeks ago I took a girls trip with one of my closest friends for her birthday. She requested oatmeal cookies, and I had to oblige. I haven't made oatmeal cookies since I was a kid, so I was on the hunt for a recipe that worked for both plan cookies, as well as one that worked with add ons. Lucky for me Sugar Spun Run had a fabulous Oatmeal cookie recipe. 

These cookies were a breeze to make. I had everything in my kitchen already. Don't forget to soften the butter ahead of time. I ended up sticking my butter outside for a bit (thank goodness for southern spring weather) to soften it faster because I forgot. I also like how this recipe makes delicious plan oatmeal cookies, but also allows for the easy addition of add ins. I was able to make enough plain ones for the girls trip and have enough for some fancy ones for my husband and I. I'm an oatmeal raisin girl, but we since we didn't have any on hand I used chocolate chips and nuts.

So what do I rate this recipe? 

5/5 stars for deliciousness, This is a solid oatmeal cookie. It tastes good plain, but isn't too overpowering for add ons. 

5/5 stars for ease. These are so easy to make and so delicious. 

Check out the recipe here! https://sugarspunrun.com/big-soft-oatmeal-cookies/

For my gluten free peeps: this recipe is for you! My sister in law is gluten and rice free, so I had to figure out how to make a gluten free cake without being able to use gluten free flour. Paleo doesn't have gluten or rice, so these recipes are a lifesaver in my family. So imagine my excitement when I found the Amazing Paleo Chocolate Cake by Downshiftology.

This is one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever eaten. This is not an exaggeration. It's rich, fluffy, moist, and decedent. It still shocks me that it is gluten free. The instructions are pretty straight forward, but the ingredients can be harder to find. 

But what about the icing? So since we don't have any dairy intolerance in our family, I used Brown Eyed Baker's Chocolate Frosting recipe. It's easy, delicious, and makes enough to cover the cake. Its the perfect paring. If you are intolerant to dairy, Lisa at Downshiftology has a paleo frosting recipe linked in the recipe. 

So what do I rate this recipe? 

5/5 stars for deliciousness

5/5 stars for ease. 

Check out the recipe here! 

Cake: https://downshiftology.com/recipes/paleo-chocolate-cake/

Icing: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-chocolate-buttercream-cupcakes/

So does anyone else bake for self care or is it just me? I had a hard week at work and what better way to challenge myself than by trying my hands at macarons. Is it just me, or are Macarons the new trendy dessert? I feel like in the last 5-10 years their popularity has exploded and now even our big small town has its own macaron shop. I must confess, I'm not the biggest fan of macarons, but they seemed like a baking feat, so I had to try making them. So I tried the Lavender Honey Macarons from Zaiab's A Classic Twist. 

This recipe was fabulous. I loved how the lavender and honey flavors mingled to make the perfect little cookie. If you don't like lavender, stay away because these are very lavender forward. They were also very sweet, which I think is just a characteristic for macarons, or at least all of the ones I've had in the past. The recipe also wasn't that hard to what I was making it in my head. Sure, it was tricky, but it was manageable. 

I will say, I hard failed on the purple ones. I added the food coloring after the macarons were already mixed, so they ended up getting over mixed and falling It'll be interesting to play with coloring them in the future. Real talk, I should have read Zainab's guide to making macarons for when to add food coloring instead of after. 

So what do I rate this recipe? 

5/5 stars for deliciousness

3/5 stars for ease. Macarons are not for the faint of heart. The casual experienced baker should be able to handle these, but it's not for someone who is just getting out of box mixes. (No shade to box mixes, the Ghirardelli triple brownie mix they sell at Costco is my JAM)

Check out the recipe here! https://aclassictwist.com/lavender-honey-macarons/

Hello All! 

Welcome to the first post of my baking blog. My hopes are that this becomes a place where I review existing recipes and give you (and by you I mean my future self) tips and tricks about what works and what didn't work. First up, we have the Chocolate Lovers Cheesecake by Brown Eyed baker. I LOVE this food blog, so I was delighted to find out that she also had cheesecake recipes on her site. 

This was honestly one of the easiest cheesecake recipes I've ever made, and it was pretty easy to bake as well. I did add a water bath, as I find making a water bath for your cheesecakes results in less cracking, at least for me. It isn't infallible, as this cheesecake still had a major crack in it, hence the major toppings. 

You may be thinking, why is this cheesecake divided in half? Well.. the answer is because when I baked it I couldn't decide if I wanted chocolate caramel and more chocolate, or black forest. In the words of the wise Hannah Montana, it's the best of both worlds. 

So what do I rate this recipe? 

5/5 stars for deliciousness

4/5 stars for ease. This is mainly because the cheesecake cracked, and its a bit finicky to get cheesecakes exactly right. Its probably not the recipes fault, and has more to do with human error, but if you're a newer baker, this may be slightly trickier. 

Check out the recipe here! https://www.browneyedbaker.com/chocolate-cheesecake-recipe/