Tomorrow we are officially finishing up the Girl’s Christmas crafts for their classmates!
Little bit of glue and Ta Da! Ridiculously cute Brownie Reindeer Treats!
We made our treats at the same time I was making 5 dozen Christmas cookies 😳. Yep I said cookies! I love to cook. However, baking… not so much. I suck at baking! It is WAAAAY too precise. I am more of a taste and add type Chef
😉. So, my PSBesty totally tricked me. Actually, she didn’t, I was just too stupid to figure it out LOL. She invited me into a Christmas Cookie Exchange! It sounded freaking awesome! I bake some cookies and everybody gives me a dozen… Oh wait I have to bake a dozen cookies for each person in the exchange?I wish I had seen the big picture before I said yes 😂.
So while Ninja and HBear worked on Christmas treats I baked 5 dozen Golden Cake Batter Double Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Cookies! They turned out amazing! In fact, they could be the best cookies I’ve ever made! I’m so glad that I baked them for 4 other families 😂. These cookies are super sweet! I mean they’re filled with cake mix, white chocolate chips, chocolate chips, and sprinkles… What do you expect? however, the kids loved them and my sweet tooth was definitely satisfied! I followed the recipe EXACTLY. I mean I even scooped the flour with a spoon and used a level to make sure I wasn’t going to mess these up! I also followed the advice of the original recipe and chilled the dough. I even chilled the dough between batches. This really helped!!! Also, I rolled the dough balls taller rather than fatter, to keep the cookies from spreading too much while in the oven. These are very simple instructions that I am super happy I followed because they really did turn out beautifully 😊!
Golden Cake Batter Double Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Cookies
2.5 dozen
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
1 and 1/4 cup flour
1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup of white chocolate chips
1/4 cup sprinkles
Add the egg and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and beat on high until combined.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, cake mix, and baking soda. Set aside.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low-medium speed until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips and sprinkles. Mix on low until the add-ins are evenly disbursed.
Preheat oven to 350. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Scoop rounded balls of the cold dough onto an ungreased baking sheet, use about 1.5 Tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. Shape your cookie dough balls to be taller than they are wide.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until edges are slightly browned. Mine took 12 minutes. Press a few more chips into the tops of the cookies.
Maynard.
He’s back.
He has been doing some crazy things this year with all of his new props 😊. HBear has started leaving candy and notes and now letters to Maynard 😒. Ummmm no. Look at Maynard repel down the cupboards and get your butt moving for school.
😂
Hbear is enjoying KISU and now that I am feeling better I am back to stepping/running every Monday and Wednesday. Yay!
This week I hit my goal every day except for 1 and on 1 day I hit every goal! It is very hard to get back into it after having 2 weeks off. Doing well is even more motivation to go hard 😉.
My PSBesty comes up with great ideas! She suggested taking the kids to the local Community Warm Up to do our cookie exchange! It turned out so well! The Museum had card making stations and a Christmas scavenger hunt throughout the exhibits! It was fantastic to watch the Girl’s and their friends race around the museum finding Santas, drums, Frostys and Reindeer!
They also had a game room set up and a table where we could do our exchange!
We also had the children’s Librarian read us a Christmas story (we missed story time but she read one to us anyways 😊) and we enjoyed cookies while the choir sang Xmas carols!
Look at all my cookies! It’s a good thing I got a new cookie jar at the end of last year on sale for $6 dollars! 😜
Ninja spoiled me by refilling my beautiful Purdy’s Advent Calendar. Every night I open the beautiful ribboned bow ever so gently and open up my pretty little box. I then open up the miniature boxes and take out my daily chocolate. Oh my Gawd! Truffles, Caramels and rich melt in your mouth chocolate! I am one lucky girl ❤️.
And just in case I wasn’t getting enough holiday sweets 😜 Ninja picked up a box of Krispy Kreme’s from a local fundraiser! Can you say heaven?
On Friday night I attended a phenomenal Sign Party! We each picked out our designs and the host had our pallets stained and ready for us. We each brought an appetizer and our beverage of choice and we spent the evening chatting, eating, and painting! I was pretty stressed out about it because I only knew a few people but all the guests were wonderful women and I am so happy I blew off my anxiety and just went for it! Check back next week for my delicious appetizer recipes!
On Saturday I was nursing a little bit of a hangover 😂 but we all got up and went to watch SBean’s Skating Lesson. Being sick she had missed a few weeks and it took her a while to feel steady on her feet again but when she did… She was a gliding machine 😊.
After her lesson Preschool Besty‘s daughter was in a figure skating showcase! We all stayed and had hot chocolate and watched 😊 the showcase!
After the Showcase the rink was opened up to all families. We didn’t bring helmets for Ninja or I so we had to watch. HBear hasn’t been on skates too often and watching her persevere was pretty great. She was like Bambi but she didn’t give up! It is SO weird to me that my kids don’t skate. I was on ice at the age of 2. I guess that’s what happens when you live in a warmer climate and there aren’t any rinks around and winter is 2 months long instead of 6.
After a full morning of skating we took the Girls over to Grandma and Grandpa’s for some Gingerbread House making! It is a yearly tradition and the Girls LOVE to do it! I wasn’t there this year to take pictures though 🙁. Ninja and I were podcasting with DAPF. When we were done podcasting we went over for an amazing Chicken Parmesan dinner! I also realized that I never take pictures while I’m there?!?!?! That will be a New Year’s Resolution! I got my favourite dinner and Ninja got his Mom’s famous sugar cookies! Win Win!
On Sunday Ninja and I went to Kelowna to finish up our Christmas shopping. While we were gone, Dad took the Girls to pottery. All the pottery from HBear’s birthday had been fired and was ready for painting! So, the Girls and Dad spent the morning painting it all and making the special pieces extra beautiful. After pottery Dad took them to see Wonder!
After a long week of Christmas prep and social gatherings, we all sat down and enjoyed Ninja and HBear’s favourite Christmas movie, Rudolf the Rednose Reindeer.
