Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze {Perfect for Christmas}

I adore red velvet. Red Velvet Cupcakes are one of my all time favorites so I think they definitely deserve to be made in breakfast form. Don't they just have Christmas written all over them? With such a vibrant and beautiful red there's not really a more fitting or festive breakfast to serve up on Christmas morning. These are such a breeze to whip up. No offense to any of you that only use pancake mix, but I still don't understand the whole pancake mix thing. It maybe takes 1 minute longer to make them from scratch versus a pancake mix. And once you do make that switch from pancake mix to made from scratch you'll have a hard time going back. Not to mention, when you make pancakes from scratch the possibilities are endless! It's so fun to create and eat so many different flavors of pancakes. 
Pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast foods, if you don't believe me check out the breakfast list on my recipe page. I haven't even posted half of the pancake flavors I'd like to. These are definitely going to be up there on the top of my pancake favorites not only because of their delicious combination of flavors but also for their stunning beauty. I love pretty food. I also love dessert for breakfast =). Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze = a decadent and incredibly delicious dessert for breakfast. Perfect fit for a celebration. Happy Holidays!
  

Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze
Yields about 16 pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 Tbsp red food coloring
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup salted butter, melted
1 recipe Cream Cheese Glaze, recipe follows
fresh raspberries and mint leaves, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Preheat an electric non-stick griddle to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. Measure out milk into a liquid measuring cup and whisk in vinegar, allow mixture to rest for 2 minutes. Pour milk mixture into a separate large mixing bowl and add in sugar, eggs, red food coloring, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk mixture until well combine. While whisking, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Butter griddle if necessary and pour about a 1/4 - 1/3 cup batter (depending on how large you want your pancakes) at a time onto hot griddle (you can also use the back of measuring cup or spoon to lightly spread batter from center out to the edge a bit so they aren't thicker in the center then they are on the edges). Cook until bubbles begin to appear on the top surface of the pancakes then flip and cook opposite side until pancake is cooked through  (I didn't want the tops of the pancakes to be brownish red so I flipped them a little earlier than I normally do with pancakes, I didn't wait for many bubbles). Serve warm with Cream Cheese Glaze and garnish with fresh raspberries and mint leaves if desired.

Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
6 Tbsp butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk, plus more if desired
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on medium speed, blend together cream cheese and butter until well combine and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients and mix about 1 minute until well combine, adding additional milk to thin if desired. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

Christmas Crunch {Funfetti Popcorn Christmas Style}

Easy and festive Christmas treat? Where? I'm definitely in! I posted this delicious treat back during Easter time and it was called Bunny Bait. In the post I'd mentioned a few other holiday ideas you could do with the same recipe and here's one of them. This is one of the best treats ever! I'm so glad Bake at 350 came up with such a simple and delicious idea (such a great blog by the way be sure to check it out). It seriously only takes about 5 minutes to whip up this treat, so wouldn't it be a perfect gift to give during the hectic holidays? I say it's the perfect "energy" snack for me during the holidays =). It definitely keeps me going! Just a warning, this stuff is addictive so yes it's a dangerous thing. Easy to make but hard to stop eating. I want to make it every day. It's such a versatile snack that has such a delightful crunch. 

Add as many sprinkles as your heart desires. Mine wanted a lot today =). I love sprinkles. Aren't they just fancy? Also, if you'd like you can switch up the candy melt flavor with a mint or peppermint flavor. Enjoy!

Christmas Crunch

Ingredients:
1/2 cup popping popcorn kernels, or 2 bags tender white popcorn
1 (12 oz) bag Vanilla Candy Melts (such as Wilton Candy Melts)
1 1/3 cups broken pretzel pieces
1 (12 oz) bag green and red Milk Chocolate or Mint M&Ms
Red, green and white Sprinkles (I used Jingle Mix Nonpareils)

Directions:
Pop popcorn in a popcorn popper into a large bowl (or alternately in the microwave if using microwave bags of popcorn) according to manufactures directions.  Remove any unpopped popcorn kernels.  Toss in broken pretzel pieces and M&Ms.  
Melt Vanilla Candy Melts in a microwave safe bowl on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth.  Drizzle half of melted chips over popcorn mixture, then stir, tossing gently a few times with a rubber spatula.  Then drizzle remaining half of melted chips over popcorn, and gently stir mixture until evenly coated (don't over stir though or your sprinkles wont stick if the white chips begin to set and harden).  Pour mixture into a single layer onto wax paper.  Sprinkle entire mixture evenly with sprinkles (as many as you'd like) before vanilla chips set.  Allow to cool and harden, then gently break into pieces and store in an airtight container. 
Note: I was able to fill 8 - 9 1/2"x 4" party treat bags about 2/3 full with this recipe, just to let you know so you have an idea for gift giving.

*These can be found in the cake decorating section of some supermarkets, at craft stores or at specialty kitchen kneads stores. 

Recipe Source: Adapted from Bake at 350

Zuppa Toscana Soup {Olive Garden Copycat Recipe}

I know it may seem like I'm obsessed with Olive Garden lately. I think this is the 3rd copycat recipe I've done of their restaurant in the last month. To be honest I really don't even like Olive Garden all that much (it's just one of the only few restaurant options I have close by to where I live). We went just a few days ago and I thought my pasta was soggy and the sauce was bland but I will always love their soups, salad and breadsticks. The Zuppa Toscana is my husbands favorite soup there so I decided to order some to go to bring home to make my own copycat recipe. 
I went to work adding a bit of this and a little of that to this very basic recipe until when tested side by side they basically tasted identical. You could make your own changes to the recipe, such as adding garlic (I didn't taste it in theirs so I didn't add it in this recipe), using hot or sweet Italian sausage (if you use sweet I'd recommend omitting the sugar as it won't be needed) or if you wanted an even creamier soup just add more half and half or cream. Enjoy!

 Zuppa Toscana Soup {Olive Garden Copycat}
Yields about 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb Italian Sausage (casings removed if necessary)
4 oz bacon (about 5 slices), diced into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces
1 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1 small onion)
3 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed then sliced into halves, halves diced into 1/8 to 1/6-inch slices 
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp salt, then to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups half and half
1 cup lightly packed kale, chopped into bite size pieces
finely shredded Romano cheese for serving, optional

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into 1-inch pieces and add to saucepan. Cook sausage, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Drain sausage onto a plate or baking dish lined with paper towels leaving 1 tsp fat in pan, set sausage aside. Add diced bacon (being sure to separate pieces from each other if you stacked them when slicing) to fat in saucepan, return to heat and saute 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced onions to bacon in saucepan and saute mixture until bacon is cooked through (not crisp) and onions are tender, about 5 minutes longer. 
Add chicken broth, water, sliced potatoes, sugar, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring soup just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in half and half, kale and cooked sausage. Cover saucepan and simmer 25 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are very tender. Use a spoon or ladle to remove excess fat from top of soup if desired. Serve warm topped with Romano cheese.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

Brownie Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting

Looking for a rich and indulgent cupcake recipe? Well look no further because I'm telling you this is the most indulgent cupcake I've ever eaten! Brownie + cookie dough. Yes, this is what dreams are made of. I just made the Brownie Cupcake with Marshmallow Frosting and I loved the cupcake so much I decided to do one more version of it by making these. 

What I would recommend is that you set aside half of the Cookie Dough Frosting to eat plain  then use the rest for the cupcakes. I've never said this before but with that much frosting over a brownie cupcake you'll have a hard to finishing one cupcake =). This frosting would also be incredibly delicious over a lighter cupcake such as a vanilla or chocolate cupcake. If you don't want to make cupcakes at the moment then just make a batch of this frosting to eat by the spoonful, that's the beauty of it, you can because it's egg free. I'm in love with this frosting! Just think fluffy chocolate chip cookie dough and here you have it! Enjoy!

Brownie Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting
Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, light-brown sugar and cocoa powder. Pour in melted butter and use a wood spoon to stir until combine. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in milk. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combine (batter will be thick). 
Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffin cups filling each about 2/3 full (about 1/4 cup batter in each). Bake in preheated oven 16 - 20 minutes (lesser for gooier brownies). Allow to cool in muffin tin several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost with Cookie Dough Frosting. Store in an airtight container.

Cookie Dough Frosting

Ingredients:
10 Tbsp salted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp molasses
2-3 Tbsp cream or half and half
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip together butter and light-brown sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Mix in flour then add powdered sugar, vanilla, molasses and 2 Tbsp cream and blend together until smooth adding an additional 1 Tbsp of cream to thin if desired. Fold in chocolate chips.

Note that if you want a pipe-able frosting you will have to leave the chocolate chips out then simply add some of them to the top for garnish, otherwise they'll just get clogged in the piping tips.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

M&M Cookies {Christmas Style}

M&M cookies were always one my favorites as a child (and still are today). They are basically a chocolate chip cookie enhanced with color and that delicious crunchy candy coating that covers those tasty little M&M's. It's funny I'm actually not a big fan of the plain milk chocolate M&M's but I LOVE the minis version of them, I don't know what it is. Cheap chocolate but when it's made into tiny form how can it be resisted =)?
I don't know what cookie Santa's going to request at your home but I'm pretty sure he's requested these from mine. If you are going to be a part of a cookie exchange this year, I would say these are definitely a great cookie choice to go with. It would be very hard to find someone who didn't love these cookies, young and old alike. They have a perfectly chewy and soft center along with a very light crunch around the cookies edge, just the way a cookie is meant to be. They are thick, full of sweet vanilla flavor and of course loaded with that chocolate candy goodness. This recipe could also be used to make a chocolate chip cookies just swap out the M&M's for a bag of chocolate chips. Enjoy!

M&M Cookies
Yields about 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients:
2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (for a thicker cookie use 2 1/2)
2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup salted butter, chilled and diced into cubes (about 1/2-inch)
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg 
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (11 oz) bag M&M's (I used mini)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. 
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, blend together butter and sugar on low speed until it starts to come together then increase mixer to medium speed and whip until creamy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Mix in egg and egg yolk. Stir in vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine (batter will be thick due to the chilled butter). Mix in M&M's (I set aside about 1/4 cup of the M&M's to lightly press into the tops of cookies before baking so they show through more, totally optional). 
Scoop dough out 2 Tbsp at a time and shape into a ball, transfer to a Silpat lined or buttered cookie sheet - fitting 8 per sheet. Bake in preheated oven 10 - 12 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool on baking sheet several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. 

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Hello Christmas Cookie Season!! I'm obsessed with cookies so this gives me one more reason to love the holidays. I created this recipe to be a no refrigeration necessary recipe. A lot of chocolate crinkle cookie recipes require that the dough be refrigerated 2 - 4 hours before baking, I don't have time for that =). Mostly I just don't have the patience for that especially when I know what awaits me. 

If you prefer you can omit the coarse sea salt from the recipe if you are not a fan of salted caramel. I personally am unequivocally in love with the addition. These taste like caramel brownies in cookie form. They are intensely delicious! If you are baking them for someone else you'll have a hard time wanting to gift them after all =). If you wanted to go all out with these cookies you could even toss in some semi-sweet chocolate chips and toasted nuts.  Enjoy!

Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Yields 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
10 tbsp salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 dozen caramels (such as Kraft), unwrapped (Rolos would also be good)
coarse sea salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, whip together butter, granulated sugar and light-brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until combine. Mix in vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. 
Scoop dough out 2 tbsp at a time and roll into a ball. Press one caramel into the center, sprinkle top of caramel with a small pinch of coarse sea salt then fold cookie dough around caramel and salt (make sure the caramel is fully covered with dough around all sides). Shape into a ball once more then roll in powdered sugar*. Align cookies on Silpat lined or buttered cookie sheets and bake in preheated oven 11 - 13 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool (note that the caramel will set after it cools, I liked these cookies best warm for soft gooey caramel). Store in an airtight container.

*I gave my cookies a generous coating of the powdered sugar before baking, but when they baked a lot of the powdered sugar baked and dissolved into the cookie anyway. So I found you can coat the top again with powdered sugar after baking (which is not pictured) to get a prettier cookie. If doing so roll in powdered sugar once before baking (doesn't need to be generously), then bake them and allow to cool and dip the tops of cookies in a fresh batch of powdered sugar (so there is no cross contamination) and shake off some of the excess. If you want to do it that way I would recommend using 1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling before baking and reserve 1/4 cup in a separate bowl to dip and coat the tops after baking.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

Brownie Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

If there are two things I love it's brownies and marshmallows. Okay okay there are a lot of foods I love and adore but two of them are definitely brownies and marshmallows. I also love the combination of the two. The chocolate just compliments the marshmallows perfectly. Like a S'more or a chocolate covered marshmallow, they just wouldn't be what they are without the chocolate. 
This cupcake took three attempts to get the cupcake base just where I wanted it. I don't like a brownie that's so chocolaty rich I can only eat a bite or two. I also don't like a brownie that has no body to it and it's completely gooey. It's needs some chew and bite to it. Basically I'm more of a traditional, milk chocolate brownie kind of gal. 
Just an fyi these cupcakes aren't a fluffy dome like cupcake. They will likely sink just a bit in the middle once they are removed from the oven, that's supposed to happen. If they don't then it's a sign they are likely over-baked and dry. The marshmallow frosting is delicious toasted but it most definitely doesn't have to be. Toasted or not this frosting reminds me of the soft center of a gooey marshmallow that was slowly roasted over the hot coals of a campfire. It is fluffy, dreamy, bliss in frosting form and it is actually incredibly easy to prepare. The stand mixer does most of the work. Enjoy!

Brownie Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk

Marshmallow Frosting:
4 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, light-brown sugar and cocoa powder. Pour in melted butter and use a wood spoon to stir until combine. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in milk. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combine (batter will be thick). 
Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffin cups filling each about 2/3 full (about 1/4 cup batter in each). Bake in preheated oven 16 - 20 minutes (lesser for gooier brownies). Allow to cool in muffin tin several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then pipe Marshmallow Frosting over cupcakes and toast edges of frosting with a kitchen torch if desired.

For the Marshmallow Frosting:
Add egg whites, granulated sugar and cream of tarter to a heat proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a saucepan filled with a few inches of simmering water.  Heat mixture, whisking constantly until egg whites are very warm to the touch, about 4 minutes (mixture so register 160 degrees on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and transfer bowl to electric stand mixer fit with a whisk attachment. Beat mixture beginning on low speed and gradually increasing to high speed, until stiff glossy peaks form, about 6 - 8 minutes. Add vanilla during the last 10 seconds of mixing. For best results serve immediately.

Recipe Source: Brownie Cupcakes - Cooking Classy, Marshmallow Frosting - Martha Stewart