Orange Cranberry Sugar Cookies

    Goodbye 2016! I had to get one last post in before this year was over! I made these cookies with all of my Christmas cookies this year. I was really happy with how they came out. They're chewy and packed with fresh orange zest. They just scream Florida Christmas! I chopped up my dried cranberries because I bought mine at Trader Joe's and they were really big and fresh.

Orange Cranberry Sugar Cookies 

Ingredients:

- 1 cup butter, room temp

- 1 cup packed light brown sugar

- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- the zest and juice from 1 ripe orange (about 1/4 cup of juice)

- 2 and 1/2 cups of flour

- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda 

- 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

- 1 cup of dried cranberries 

    Preheat over to 350 degrees. Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set that aside. Whip the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the sugars and continue to whip. Once fluffy and completely combined, add in the egg, vanilla, orange zest, and juice. Once completely combined, add the dry ingredients into the wet. Mix well and then fold in cranberries. Scoop tablespoon cookies on to a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring from the baking sheet. 

Easy Oatmeal Dog Cookies

    My new sister-in-law and my brother got me a super cute set of doggy cookie cutters for Christmas. So, of course I had to test them out! These are literally the easiest and simplest dog treats that you can make. With only 3 ingredients and a great consistency for rolling, you'll be surprised how easy it is to whip up a batch of these. Oh, and my dogs LOVE them!

Easy Oatmeal Dog Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 and 1/2 cup of old fashioned rolled oats

- 1/2 cup of peanut butter

- 1 banana, mashed

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the oats into your food processor and pulse until powdered. In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter and banana, add all but 1 tablespoon of the oats. Knead the dough until it all comes together. Roll the dough out, using the reserved tablespoon of oats to dust the surface with. Place cutout cookies on a greased cookies sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until the bottoms start to brown. Cool and enjoy!

Coconut Clouds

    If you are looking for the perfect gluten free Christmas cookie, look no further! These are great! They are light, chewy, and full of coconut! Imagine that a coconut macaroon had a baby with a meringue, that's what I think these cookies resemble. Be careful whipping the sugar into the egg whites, take it slowly. Hope everyone out there is having a wonderful holiday!

Coconut Clouds

Ingredients:

- 1 (14 ounce) package of sweetened coconut

- 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

- 4 cold, fresh egg whites

- 2/3 cup of sugar

- 1 cup of chocolate chips for drizzle

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt. Set that mixture aside. Next, whisk the sugar slowly into the egg whites. It's easiest to use an electric mixer. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Once just combined, scoop into tablespoon mounds on a greased baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Once baked and cooled, microwave the chocolate chips in 30 second increments until melted and smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate on top and enjoy!  

Beet Salad Bites

    So, this last week has been a super busy one! Between work and prepping for our little class of 2006 reunion party, I am completely worn out! I wish more of my classmates had made it this weekend but we did have a nice time visiting with the friends that were able to attend! If you know me, you know that I am a goat cheese fanatic! I got a little excited when I found this recipe! Be generous with the honey and make sure your beets are roasted until tender!

Beet Salad Bites

Ingredients:

- 1 pound of fresh raw beets

- fresh baby spinach

- 7 ounce package of plain goat cheese

- 1 cup of roasted walnut pieces

- honey to garnish

- plastic skewers or toothpicks

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start by peeling and chopping the beets into bite-sized pieces. Toss the cut beets in a little olive oil and lay them out on a cookie sheet. Top them with salt and pepper and bake until tender. If you can't find dry roasted walnut pieces, you can roast them yourself in the oven with some salt. Once the beets have cooled, you can assemble them. Take about a teaspoon of goat cheese and roll it in the nuts, skewer on a toothpick with the beets and spinach. Drizzle with honey and enjoy!

Class of '06!!

Key Lime Snowball Cookies

    I have been slacking in the blogging department! November was a very stressful month. It was mostly busy! Catering for the holidays in Dr. Phillips has been INSANE! (Insanely awesome!) Anyhow, I am back just in time for National Cookie Day! Over Thanksgiving, my family took a visit to The Showcase of Citrus in Clermont where we picked oranges, lemons, and key limes! I decided to turn some of the key limes that I brought home into some cooler cookies that will make an excellent addition to your holiday baking!

Key Lime Snowball Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of softened butter

- 2 and 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, divided

- 1/4 cup of key lime juice

- 2 teaspoons of key lime zest

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1 egg yolk

- 3 cups of flour

- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whip together the butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Next, mix in the lime juice, zest, vanilla, and egg yolk until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 3 increments. The dough will be on the dry side, press together to form a large ball. Pack cookie dough into a small cookie scoop and scoop cookies out onto a greased cookie sheet. If you don't have a scoop, you can form the dough into 1 inch balls. Bake for 15 minutes. Once the bottoms of the cookies have begun to turn golden, remove them from the oven and immediately toss in the remaining powdered sugar. Let cool (or not) and enjoy! 

Citrus picking with my family!!