Elf Cookies

December 8, 2016 Amanda Plott

A few years back now we had a silly little Elf on the Shelf named Candy Cane show up at our house shortly after Thanksgiving. And oh-what-a-joy it has been to see what shenanigans Candy Cane get's into every night after returning from her quick trip to the North Pole. She's got an important job, you know. She's in good with the big jolly man.

It's been even more interesting, the older my daughter has become. I don't know how in the world Candy Cane manages to come up with these things sometimes... ahem. Today I caught her in my kitchen making her famous Elf Cookies! Apparently she wants to surprise my daughter with them in the morning. Of course, you know I had to suggest to her that she make the cookies healthified and asked also if she would be so kind as to leave me the recipe to share! She's very nice that way...

Dinosaur Snack Mix

June 21, 2016 Amanda Plott

Eee! I'm so excited to be sharing one of my most cherished childhood movies with my little girl this week that I just had to celebrate with the perfect movie night snacks! The Land Before Time movies are ones that I watched regularly when I was about my daughter's age. I've been spinning my wheels trying to come up with some fun movie night ideas and popcorn recipes to tie into the theme and The Land Before Time characters. We're all about themes in my family, if you haven't noticed.

This Dinosaur Snack Mix is full of sweet and salty add-ins to make those little (and big) mouths happy during the movie! Plus, I've added in some better-for-you tidbits that make for a great blend of what you want and what you need for yourself and your little ones alike...

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 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 Fairy Bites

April 1, 2015 Amanda Plott

I'm about to head off for a few days of vacation for my little girl's 5th birthday and for Easter! We're only going about 2 hours away, but... with an overly excited almost 5 year old in the car, that's like an eternity. Since we're going on a small road trip, and the birthday is going to be 'fairy' themed, I decided we need a tasty treat to take with us to snack on!

My tinker fairy is absolutely in love with sprinkles, and I happened to come across this great idea for short bread fairy bites a while back. Of course, I had to put my little spin on the cute little magic treats.

Faith, trust, and little bit of pixie dust!...