cake mix cinnamon rolls

I've been craving cinnamon rolls for awhile now. I've also been too lazy to make them. After a teasing week of warm weather, I couldn't help but make them on this snowy day. They were the perfect remedy. Nothing beats eating a cinnamon roll while snuggled in a blanket watching American Housewife. If you haven't watched that show you need to. You can thank me later.

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

(makes 24)

Ingredients

Cinnamon rolls:

1 box of white or yellow cake mix 

2 pkgs of active dry yeast 

2 1/2 cups of warm water 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp salt 

5 cups flour 

Filling:

2 cups of brown sugar 

Cinnamon 

1/2 cup of butter, softened 

Frosting:

3 oz cream cheese, softened 

1/4 cup of butter, softened 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/8 tsp salt (of using salted butter skip this)

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar 

Instructions 

Head to Six Sisters' Stuff for the baking directions. Once your rolls are out of the oven cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla and salt. Beat in powdered sugar until frosting is smooth. If you like your frosting to melt onto your cinnamon rolls spread on once the rolls have cooled for 15-20 minutes. If you want the frosting to be firm wait until the rolls are completely cooled. Enjoy!

soft chocolate chip cookies

These are Mister's favorite cookies. Often times when these cookies are available it is because he made them. I am not ashamed to admit that my husband makes better cookies than I do. I love that these cookies stay soft longer than just the day they were made. Get creative with your mix-ins. We love to add Butterfinger, toffee, or caramel bits.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 cups flour
1 1/2- 2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugars, and eggs. Add salt and baking soda. Slowly add flour and mix together in between each cup you add. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop 1" balls of dough onto a baking sheet (12 balls to a sheet). Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges begin to brown.

creamy caramel apple dip

Creamy Caramel Apple Dip

Ingredients

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup apple butter
1/2 cup caramel sauce
1/2 -1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup toffee bits
sliced apples

Instructions

Head over to Six Sisters' Stuff for the directions. Enjoy!

ice cream cake: take 5

We love birthdays at our house. We can't wait for the opportunity to try another ice cream cake concoction. This one turned out perfect. We decided it is one of our favorite ice cream cakes of all time. The inspiration was a Take 5 candy bar - chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, and pretzels. Try it and see the magic for yourself.

Take 5 Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients

20 peanut butter sandwich cookies
1/4 cup butter (melted)
10 oz jar of fudge
5.3 oz bag of Rollos
Moose Tracks ice cream
1 cup pretzel sticks (the skinny ones)
1/2 cup caramel (plus some to drizzle on top)

Instructions

In a food processor, pulse the peanut butter sandwich cookies until they are fine crumbs. Stir in the melted butter until the cookie crumbs stick together. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. Microwave the fudge for 30 seconds or so until it is runny. Spread a thin layer on top of the cookie crumb crust. Chop up the Rollos to desired size. Sprinkle 2/3 of the Rollos on top of the fudge. Freeze for 1 hour, or until fudge hardens. Allow ice cream to soften for about 10 minutes. On a clean surface, scoop the ice cream, pretzels, and 1/2 cup of the caramel. Using two large spoons, combine the ice cream mixture making sure to break up the pretzels. Scoop ice cream mixture into the spring form pan and top with the rest of the chopped Rollos. Freeze for at least 1 hour before serving. Top with a drizzle of caramel syrup. Enjoy!

chewy red velvet cookies

I don't know if your family is like mine, but I feel like we always have somewhere we need to be during the month of December. I also feel like we have a million places we need to take some treats. These cookies are my new holiday favorite. They are so easy and such a crowd pleaser!

                               

Red Velvet Christmas Cookies 

1 box red velvet cake mix 

1/3 cup oil 

2 eggs 

Cream cheese frosting (I just use the  stuff from the store)

Sprinkles (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together cake mix, oil and eggs until well combined. Scoop out onto a baking sheet. Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes. Allow to cool, then top with frosting and sprinkles.

                                             

My husband absolutely loved these! He also came up with the idea of topping the frosting with crushed candy canes instead of sprinkles. You know we'll be trying that next time!

ice cream cake: circus animal cookie cake

In our family we have a tradition of making ice cream cakes for birthdays. We've done all sorts of concoctions. For Elle's birthday I wanted to do something fun. For you Utahans, if you haven't tried Red Button ice cream you are missing out. One of our favorite flavors is  Sprinkled Animal Cookie. Mister and I decided to get creative and use that as the base for Elle's cake. It was quite delightful, and absolutely perfect for a sweet little girl's birthday party. 

Circus Animal Cookie Ice Cream Cake 

Ingredients

1 bag of Circus Animal Cookies, finely chopped (about 3 cups)

1 1/2 cups butter, melted 

1 container of Red Button's Sprinkled Animal Cookie ice cream 

1 jar of marshmallow cream (I used Smuckers)

1 - 8 oz bag white chocolate mini Kit Kats (roughly chopped)

Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Finely chop the Circus Animal cookies. Combine the cookie crumbs with the melted butter, and press to the bottom of a greased spring-form pan. Bake for 7 minutes. Once the crust has cooled, warm up the marshmallow cream in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Spead marshmallow cream over the crust and top with the chopped Kit Kats. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Scoop ice cream on top and spread with a spoon to evenly disperse. Top with sprinkles. You'll need to lightly press the sprinkles down with your fingers to get them to stay put. Freeze for at least one hour before serving. Serve with leftover marshmallow cream. Enjoy!

twix cookies

Shortbread cookies are Mister's absolute favorite. For me, they are probably a one on a scale from 1 to 100. I want my cookies soft; I want them chewy. I found this recipe for Twix cookies on Chef in Training. Since I had all of the ingredient in the pantry, I decided to give them a go. I needed a last minute treat for the youth activity I was in charge of and I thought I'd get some brownie points from my husband for making shortbread cookies. I had no idea I was forming a new love connection.

These cookies are heaven sent. They taste exactly like a Twix candy bar, and they are incredibly easy to make. The girls in my youth group raved about them all night, and I saw Mister sneaking some to work this morning. I'm telling you, once you make these cookies your life will never be the same.

Twix Cookies

Ingredients

Shortbread Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel Layer

15 oz caramel (use directions on packaging for melting)

Chocolate Layer

2 cups of chocolate chips (I used semi sweet)

2 teaspoons shortening

Instructions

Head to Chef in Training for the baking instructions. Enjoy!

caramel apple pie: it's even more amazing than it sounds

Let's just take a minute to talk about this recipe. I don't care for apple pie, it's just not my fave. I'm not a fan of pie crust (I know, I know, I'm crazy), and apple pie usually has a lot of crust. Mister loves anything with apples and is a math nerd, so when Pi Day came around during our first year of marriage I knew I needed to be a good wife and make him some apple pie. That is when I came across this recipe from designeddecor.com. It is ah-mazing! Also, it is incredibly easy to make. It is my Pi Day go to recipe, but it is also perfect for autumn. Enough blabbing, here's the recipe.

Caramel Apple Pie

1 pie crust for a 9" pie tin
1/2 c sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
6 c peeled & thinly sliced apples (I like to use Granny Smith)

Crumbly Topping
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 c quick oats
1/2 c butter (softened)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Caramel syrup

Preheat oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Add apple slices, and toss until coated. Transfer the apple mixture to the pie shell. Sprinkle crumbly topping over apple mixture, making sure to cover all the apples. Cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to avoid overcooking it. Place a cookie sheet on the lower rack of the oven to catch drippings and bake the pie for 35 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with chopped pecans and drizzle with caramel topping. Serve with some delicious ice cream, and enjoy!

flag cupcake toppers

 I was asked to make some cupcakes for a carnival themed party. What goes better with a carnival than Funfetti cupcakes? After making the cupcakes I felt like they could use a little something special, so I came up with these extremely easy and adorable cupcake toppers. 

These were super simple to make. All it took was some washi tape and toothpicks..

First, measure out a 1.5" long strip of washi tape.

Then, fold the tape in half over the top of the toothpick.

Finally, cut out a small triangle from the edge of the tape.

Ta-da! You have mini flags to put in our cupcakes. Easy, huh!

super soft lemon coconut cookies

This is one of my go-to recipes when I need something delicious and quick. It is a crowd-pleaser and hard not to have seconds, or thirds, or fourths.

Lemon Coconut Cookies

1 box white cake mix

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

2 tsp coconut extract

1 can of store bought lemon frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Add oil, eggs, and coconut extract. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Once cool, top with lemon frosting.

**If you are lucky, and can find a coconut cake mix you can use that instead. Make sure to leave out the extract.