Chewy chocolate mint chip cookies

Soft and chewy chocolate cookies filled with mint chips are a delicious and festive cookie to add to your holiday cookie tray.

I hope everyone is ready for all of their holiday celebrations! I've been baking up a storm this week with my little helpers. We wrapped up a bunch of cookies for some of our neighbors and went for a walk to deliver them all yesterday. The kids had so much fun giving their cookies to some of their special neighbors and many of the neighbors were very happy and grateful (and surprised) for their little gifts.

I'm always a big fan of chocolate and peppermint. I like it all year round, but especially at the holidays. These cookies are a chewy chocolate cookie and I used a little bit of peppermint extract along with the mint chips for an extra boost of flavor. Other times of the year you can just use more vanilla extract and use regular chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch, dark chocolate, whatever chips you like. You could use walnuts instead as well, or a mix of nuts and chips. They are versatile and really yummy!

I wish everyone all the best this holiday season!

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Winter Solstice sun bread

Sun bread is a yummy and cheery way to bring sunshine into your home during the winter. It's also a fun way to celebrate the winter solstice and the return of light.

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My kids and I made sun bread to get ready for the winter solstice this weekend. Since we are a very outdoorsy and nature loving family, we like to recognize the seasons and important events in the natural world. We always make pine cone bird feeders for solstice, but now that the kids are getting a little older we can do a bit more including reading some books together. The recipe is inspired by the book Sun Bread which we got from the library recently along with some other books celebrating the first day of winter. This book is so cute and the animals all make and share a warm loaf of sun bread to help bring back the sun. After reading the book, making this bread is a perfect cold and dreary winter day activity.

I made this bread with the help of two three year olds, so it's not picture perfect bread by any means. They loved kneading the bread and helping to shape it. They used their little fingers to poke the eyes into the sun's face. I tried to not intervene too much and let them have fun. The goal for this recipe is to get your kids into the kitchen to bake some delicious bread on a chilly day and then all share it together. Reading the book is a good idea too! We served our bread for lunch with honey and butter, apple slices, and cheese. It's a rich and sweet bread making it perfect for breakfast or as a lunch/snack.

Whole wheat cranberry pancakes

Fluffy and hearty whole wheat pancakes are studded with tart fresh cranberries for a delicious fall or winter breakfast!

For this recipe I've combined two of my kids' favorite things -- cranberries and pancakes! This time of year I'm always grabbing up as many bags of fresh cranberries as I can while they are available. And, pancakes are always a hit in our house! Whole wheat pancakes can be tricky sometimes though. Too dry or thick... but these ones turn out fluffy and not too heavy! The little bursts of fresh cranberry add brightness and contrast to an otherwise sweet breakfast. A little cinnamon in the batter also brings the smell and taste of the holidays to your table.

These pancakes are terrific for a holiday breakfast or a winter weekend breakfast. The whole wheat makes them more filling. You can dust them with a little powdered sugar to give a "snow" effect as well to make them extra festive! I like to serve these with an extra sprinkle of cinnamon and a good drizzle of real maple syrup. Sausage or bacon are always a bonus, too.

Pistachio cardamom crescent cookies

Buttery shortbread crescent cookies made with ground pistachios and cardamom make a lovely addition to your holiday dessert tray. The aroma and sweet taste of cardamom pairs nicely with the pistachios.

It's National Cookie Day and I'm celebrating with some blogger friends! We are all sharing a new cookie recipe (check them all out at the bottom of this post) and just in time for holiday baking time. In our house, we have some traditional Christmas cookies that we make every year, but I always like to try out a new cookie or two, especially to take to a party or potluck.

Pistachios and cardamom are a favorite pairing of mine and crescent cookies are one that I've been wanting to try. They are often made with walnuts or pecans and sometimes cinnamon, but I thought pistachios and cardamom would be a nice combination and festive for Christmas. We also celebrate the winter solstice in our house and these crescent moon shaped cookies would be a perfect treat for yule celebrations.