Skinny 'Soft Batch' Chocolate Chip Cookies

December 24, 2015 Amanda Plott

So, every year my mom and I get together before Christmas to spend a day baking up some of our most favorite cookies. This year a request was put in, by another health-nut in the family, for some extra special chocolate chip cookies - soft and full of dark chocolate goodness; chunks and chips alike. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige!

These cookies are soft, fluffy, and full of the good stuff that I know my father-in-law loves. To make them even more special, I topped a few with festive sprinkles, others with dark chocolate candies, and some were just left perfectly plain...

Skinny Nog Pecan Blondies & Nog Cream Cheese Sauce

December 8, 2015 Amanda Plott

As we're getting into the thick of the holiday season, I wanted to step out of the box again and create a lighter take on one of my most favorite desserts in the world, a blondie! Any blondie just won't do. It had to be full of pecans, white chocolate, spice, and topped off with a decadent cream cheese sauce.

Yes, I went there. And I brought my 'Egg Nog' with me.

I wanted this blondie to have more of a holiday twist, so I infused with the flavors of egg nog while omitting (most of) the guilt. I am all about small indulgences, especially around the holidays...

Skinny Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies

December 3, 2015 Amanda Plott

Thank you Splenda for sponsoring this post.

We all know that the holidays are all about the sweet stuff. I know that in my family, my mom and I get together once a year (close to Christmas) and spend a day baking up some of our most favorite holiday cookies.

The two of us each have several of our own favorites that we bring to the table; and tend to rotate between a few each year. These butterscotch cookies have been in my deck for a good long while now. I think the first time that I made them was many years back now when I was in search of a soft gingerbread that wouldn't be too spicy for my toddler at the time.

These definitely did the trick. They are perfectly spiced with just enough of that gingerbread flavor that we all know and love while being softened with the sweetness of the butterscotch morsels...

Skinny Chocolate Ginger Bat Cookies

October 16, 2015 Amanda Plott

I've made these particular cookies for a few years now. It all started when we first moved to Austin and my mom made us all take the trek down to the famous Congress Street bridge around Halloween to watch the millions of bats fly out from under it once it was dark. It's a pretty cool thing to watch, especially when leading up to my favorite holiday, Halloween!

When we go to see the bats, and we usually do every year, I always like to take some wine and a snack. We always take the guided bat boat tours which can last a good hour or two while we wait for it to get dark enough for the bats to surface.

I had seen ginger-bread skeletons before, so one year I got smart and thought it would be super cute to make these cookies over in a healthy way while also packing them up for a 'bat night' treat...

Skinny Boo Bites (Sponsored)

October 8, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #CelebrateLosMuertos #CollectiveBias

A while back now I had made these yummy little cookies for my daughter's birthday, and called them 'Fairy Bites'. They were more so a snack on the trip that we were taking to her fairy themed birthday destination. With Halloween and Dia de los Muertos coming up soon, I wanted to take those cookies and make them again with a few special changes!

Halloween is actually my favorite holiday. I think it has to do with the cooler weather and the fact that people get to prance around in costumes and pretend to be someone or something else for a while. Here in Texas, Dia de los Muertos or 'The Day of the Dead' is a pretty big holiday too. In fact, my mom is in love with sugar skulls. They seem to be becoming quite trendy, not just here either. There's even a neat little shop in down town Austin here that actually sells full sized sugar skull inspired skeletons year round. They are amazingly intricate while being bright and colorful too...

PB&J Cups (Sponsored)

October 1, 2015 Amanda Plott

This post was brought to you by Collective Bias, Inc. and it's advertiser. I received compensation to write this post … but, all opinions expressed are my own. #SpreadTheMagic #CollectiveBias

Peanut butter is my jam. Pun totally intended.

I know that when I think of peanut butter, I immediately think of peanut butter and jelly. It's a timeless classic that we all know, love, and appreciate. There's just something about the sweet and the savory/salty notes coming together that instantly take you back to a simpler time. Childhood.

Another thing that comes to mind with peanut butter is that age old question, creamy or crunchy? It seems as if though such an easy question could completely divide the world. Well, what if I told you that you could have both? What if I told you that we could all live in peace and harmony, never being forced to choose sides again?...