Bread with the Brisels

This recipe is another tradition in my family, and my big brother's favorite recipe. My Nana used to make these every Christmas, but she called them "Mrs. Carter's Cookies." I'm guessing she learned the recipe from Mrs. Carter a long time ago. 😉 They're cake-like, fudgy, and I love how the powdered sugar covers them. It's a festive addition to your cookie plate! Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Makes: about 4 dozen cookies  Ingredients: 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil  4 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 cup powdered sugar Directions: In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the oil, granulated sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Then, add in the vanilla.  Add in flour, baking powder and salt and beat until smooth.  Once your dough is well combined, cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least an hour, but ...

Happy Monday! Let the countdown begin...it's almost December! We had such a festive Thanksgiving weekend in Illinois! I wanted to share some highlights here.  On Friday, we woke up and drove to Illinois to spend some time with family. Our plans were to go to the Santa Clause Parade in Peoria, but it was too cold, so we opted out this year. Instead, we went to my Aunt Pam's house for lunch and the girls (+ Baby Jack) headed out to do a little Black Friday shopping. I LOVE the Vanilla Bean Noel scent from Bath and Body Works, and was so excited to stock up for the season.  After a dinner of leftovers, we had a special visitor from Santa Clause himself. 😉 It was so magical to see Sammy's reaction to him walking in the house! He was speechless for just about a minute, then was quick to go sit with him and tell him what he wants for Christmas. Sammy wants a toy robot and a bubble gum machine this year. Sammy had lots of questions for Santa...he wanted to know where the reindeer...

  Happy Black Friday! Is everyone out and about doing all the Christmas shopping? I've been filling my cart across lots of retailers online, so that's how I'll be doing my Black Friday shopping. This time of year always makes me so excited! We loaded up the boys early this morning, and are on our way to visit family in Illinois. Our weekend plans include lots of family time, a reindeer farm, and a special visit with a man in a red suit. 😉 Then, we'll cap off the weekend with some family photos on Sunday morning! I'm certain we'll ALL be ready for an early bedtime on Sunday evening.  I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some Friday Favorites!  First up... Our school district had school through Wednesday of this week, so we had some time to do a few little Thanksgiving projects. This activity was a turkey that said "I'm thankful for," and they used the feathers to write all the things they were thankful for. This turkey was a FAVORI...

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I'll be off tomorrow to celebrate with my family. Dustin is off, and I can't wait for a cozy day together filled with lots of yummy food!  Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to share my Top 3 Sincere and my Top 3 Silly things that I'm thankful for. Here we go!  Top 3 Silly Things (in no particular order) that I'm thankful for... #1 - My heated blanket Truly, I love nothing more than to "pre-heat" my bed while I'm taking a bath, and crawl into my bed when it's nice and toasty. I happen to have this one . It's one of my favorite parts about winter!  #2 - My Stanley cup I love this ridiculous cup and the large amount of water it holds. And the handle on the side and the wide straw? *Chef's kiss* #3 - Caffeine At this stage in life where I'm working full-time as a teacher and raising my two boys, I am so thankful for caffeine. I love a Diet Pepsi and I REALLY love a brewed coffee with a seasonal syrup flavor (pe...

  Yesterday I was off of work for an appointment, and on my way home stopped at Starbucks. I got the Gingerbread Iced Chai (holy delicious!) and a snowman cookie for Sammy. I've seen this trend floating around social media, so we had to give it a try. Baby Jack makes a pretty cute snowman if I say so myself! 😉 Happy Tuesday!

Happy Merry Monday! I love the week of Thanksgiving. It's such a festive kick-off to the holiday season! My school district has school through Wednesday (thankfully we dismiss early that day) but we have a lot of fun things planned throughout the week. I am SO looking forward to a long weekend!  Today I'm sharing a Christmas cookie recipe. Each year, I love to make a huge variety of cookies to share with neighbors/friends/family throughout the season. I start making these cookies in advance, and here's my secret: I package them really well in a Ziploc bag and a Tupperware container and I freeze them. When it's time to make a cookie tray, I pull from the freezer and package them in a festive way. They taste just as fresh as the day they were baked! Chocolate and mint is one of my favorite flavor combinations. These cookies have a chewy chocolate texture and are topped with half an Andes Mint. Once the mint melts, you use the backside of a spoon to spread it like frosting...

How in the world is Thanksgiving next week?! November is absolutely flying by. I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some favorites from the week! One of my very FAVORITE things in the world happened this weekend. Dustin got off work, stopped at Starbucks and I got a festive morning delivery. It's the best start to my day!  I made a few chicken pot pies over the weekend and stuck one in the freezer. It's always such a good feeling knowing that a homemade meal is prepped and ready to go! You can't beat comfort food this time of year. Speaking of comfort food, have you ever tried a ham ball? We had some for dinner on Sunday with cheesy potatoes. They're a staple meal in Iowa! I shared my recipe  here . Notice my Christmas plate being all festive underneath. 😉 Last weekend was glorious - we had two days with very few plans. It was so nice to be cozy at home! I put Sammy's Christmas sheets on his bed, and he couldn't have been more excited to climb...