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It's easy to see why Epicurious ranked these as their favorite chocolate chip cookies!

Epicurious Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

It’s easy to see why Epicurious ranked these as their favorite chocolate chip cookies!

It's easy to see why Epicurious ranked these as their favorite chocolate chip cookies!

It’s been a little while since I posted a chocolate chip cookie recipe. A month, to be exact (but who’s counting??). So it feels like a good enough time whip out another recipe in the Chocolate Chip Cookie experiment.

Is there ever a BAD time to make chocolate chip cookies? I submit that there is not.

Speaking of a good time to make chocolate chip cookies, wanna see a picture of the house we’re building?? She’s so pretty…

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And if you’re wondering… that’s pretty much how all of my conversations go these days. Talk, talk, talk, talk– wanna hear about my house??? Talk, talk, talk, talk– did I tell you about the house??

We’re just so excited, and it’s moving along so quickly that it’s hard to not be obsessed. I was prepared to be super patient in the beginning, but that went out the window as soon as they got the walls up. When I saw how fast it could happen, I started toe tapping.

Anyway.

It's easy to see why Epicurious ranked these as their favorite chocolate chip cookies!

I’ll pretend to think about something else.

Like chocolate chip cookies. If anything could distract me from the house, it would be warm chocolate chip cookies. You know this about me by now.

So let’s talk about these chocolate chip cookies. In case you’re not familiar, Epicurious is an online food community full of “expert” recipes and cooking advice. Truth be told, I’ve never spent too much time on their site, but I do enjoy their social media posts. And I was pretty confident they’d have a more than decent CCC recipe.

Some of what sets this cookie apart from other recipes we’ve tried:

???? This recipe calls for baking powder in addition to baking soda. The cookies aren’t puffy, like I’d expect a cookie with baking powder to be. But they don’t spread too terribly much, despite the lack of chilling the dough. And I think I’d attribute that in part to the baking powder.

???? There is a little less fat in this recipe. 10 tbsp instead of the 1/2 cup you would normally find in proportion to the amount of flour and sugar called for. This might also contribute to the cookies not spreading as much as I expected them to. I think it also contributes to the nice, crispy edges.

???? Two eggs instead of one. More eggs = more moisture and more fat = more chew!

It's easy to see why Epicurious ranked these as their favorite chocolate chip cookies!

In regards to how I would rank this recipe agains the other cookies I’ve tested, it gets a solid two thumbs up. That being said, I don’t think that particularly stands out as anything outrageously different than most other CCC recipes. But it’s a very good, very solid, worthwhile chocolate chip cooke recipe to hang on to!

You’ll enjoy the crispy edges, the chewy centers, and most of all– LOTS of chocolate! This recipe calls for chopped high quality chocolate– which always makes for a most excellent chocolate chip cookie 🙂 .

Enjoy!

If you like to lick the brownie batter bowl, you'll love this healthful alternative!

Single Serve Brownie Batter Dip Recipe

If you like to lick the brownie batter bowl, you’ll love this brownie batter recipe made just for one!

If you like to lick the brownie batter bowl, you'll love this healthful alternative!

 

This brownie batter dip is INSANE you guys. It’s thick and rich, right on the money for texture and flavor. If you’re a bowl-licker, you’ve come to the right place my friend.

Not only does this brownie batter dip taste just like brownie batter, and not only is it a perfectly scaled down recipe meant just for one, guess what else? It’s actually kinda, sorta healthy!

WHAT?!

If you like to lick the brownie batter bowl, you'll love this healthful alternative!

This recipe’s key to success and star ingredient is ALMOND BUTTER. And everybody knows we need those healthy fats! Plus, this is what makes the brownie batter thick and so much like the real stuff. I was worried that the almond butter taste would be overpowering, but not so. The other ingredients balance out perfectly.

The sweetener? Honey. Also a major player in the texture game.

If you like to lick the brownie batter bowl, you'll love this healthful alternative!

And, of course, we’ve got flour, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. All major components to real brownie batter. I also added mini chocolate chips and walnuts, because I need a little crunchy ????.

PS- If you’re concerned about eating raw flour, you can heat treat it in the oven before using it.

If you like to lick the brownie batter bowl, you'll love this healthful alternative!

Eat it as a dip with apples, pretzels, graham crackers, and strawberries. Or just grab a spoon and dig in. I won’t judge ????.

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Hostess Cupcake Cake Recipe

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you’ll love this cake version that’s all grown up!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

OH my gosh. This cake. YOU GUYS! Where to even begin?!? Because, honestly, this cake was all kinds of ridiculous. In the very best way…

I remember back when my mom would pack my lunches and would on a very rare occasion send me to school with a Hostess Cupcake in my lunchbox. I tried to not let my friends see me geek out over a cupcake in (but seriously, how come none of the other 5th graders ever seemed as fall-over-yourself excited about cupcakes as I did?? Was I truly alone in that feeling?!). So I’d carefully set it aside until I had finished my lunch. I wanted it to be the very last thing that I tasted before going back to class.

And there was no just shoveling the whole thing in my mouth. Oh no. I took my time and savored each component separately. First, I peeled (yes, peeled, you know what I’m talking about!) off the chocolate icing and ate that first. Next I scooped out the cream filling. And finally, I’d eat the remaining cake. If I was lucky enough to get a Hostess Cupcake in my lunchbox, you can darn well believe I made it a full-blown experience when it came time to eat it!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Being the mature adult that I am today, it’s been long, long time since I’ve sampled fine packaged delicacies such as a Hostess Cupcake. But that doesn’t mean I hold it in any less regard. In fact, I made this cake as an ode to my favorite lunchbox treat!

Basically, if a Hostess cupcake grew up to be a full-blown layer cake, this is what it would be. And it’s nothing short of OMG SO GOOD. To use my most eloquent terminology there.

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Today’s cake recipe combines layers of my all-time favorite chocolate cake with a copycat Little Debbie cream filling (that I also used in these Oatmeal Cream Pies), and it’s topped with a sinfully indulgent chocolate ganache.

It’s literally a larger-than-life Hostess Cupcake with better chocolate frosting, a better cream filling, and much better chocolate cake.

So, what I’m say is pretty much this: if you were that child geeking out in the cafeteria over a Hostess Cupcake… this one’s for you ????.

The ultimate soft baked, super chewy cookie loaded with hearty oats and Snickers candy bars!

Snickers Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

The ultimate soft baked, super chewy cookie loaded with hearty oats and Snickers candy bars!

The ultimate soft baked, super chewy cookie loaded with hearty oats and Snickers candy bars!

I get asked this question all the time: what’s your favorite recipe??

And, honestly, I have a few. Definitely my mom’s frosted brownies. And this peanut butter apple dip is a daily snack in our house. M&M Brownie cookies, obviously. And omg these Baked Chocolate Donuts. I love them all, and any one of them is worthy of being my most top-notch favorite recipe.

But, as my frequent readers know, my heart will always and forever belong to chocolate chip cookies. As of now, I have 21 chocolate chip cookie recipes on my site (not including all the variations of those recipes). Some of my favorites have included these DoubleTree Hotel Cookies, AllRecipes.com #1 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe,  and these King Arthur Chocolate Chip Cookies.

The ultimate soft baked, super chewy cookie loaded with hearty oats and Snickers candy bars!

One of my very, very favorite recipes I’ve found as I’ve dug around for new chocolate chip cookie recipes has been this King Arthur Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I have used it over and over and over again (here with M&MS and here with Reese’s Pieces), and it is consistently phenomenal.

And the recipe couldn’t be more straightforward.

Butter.

Brown sugar

Sugar.

An egg and an egg yolk (for extra thick and chewy cookies!).

Oatmeal and flour.

Aside from a few littles teaspoons of this and that, that’s really all there is to the recipe!

The ultimate soft baked, super chewy cookie loaded with hearty oats and Snickers candy bars!

Oh, and today, Snickers OF COURSE!

I couldn’t resist taking my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe and adding my current candy bar crush to it.

You know the best part about adding Snickers to cookies? The ooey, gooey melted caramel and nougat. It’s THEE best, and I don’t know why we bother eating cookies any other way.

The ultimate soft baked, super chewy cookie loaded with hearty oats and Snickers candy bars!

The ultimate soft baked, super chewy cookie loaded with hearty oats and Snickers candy bars!

Take it from me: happy people eat warm cookies stuffed with Snickers.

So go out there and make some people happy!

An easy recipe for gooey rice krispie treats with M&MS and a white chocolate drizzle.

White Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats with M&Ms Recipe

An easy recipe for gooey rice krispie treats with M&MS and a white chocolate drizzle.

An easy recipe for gooey rice krispie treats with M&MS and a white chocolate drizzle.

Since the beginning of summer vacation, my kids and I have been on a major rice krispie treat kick. We buy the mega box at Sam’s club, and lasts us about a week (although, I suspect my husband is going through them faster than the kids are).

Basically, we really heart rice krispie treats.

An easy recipe for gooey rice krispie treats with M&MS and a white chocolate drizzle.

And this is the MacDaddy recipe of them all. Insane gooey-ness. M&Ms. And a white chocolate drizzle on top. This is my hands down favorite rice krispie treat of all time (and that includes, Biscoff RKT, Toasted Marshmallow RKT, and Butterfinger Butterscotch RKT— all of which are hard to beat).

There is something about this flavor and texture combo that is just so right, know what I mean?

An easy recipe for gooey rice krispie treats with M&MS and a white chocolate drizzle.

If you like rice krispie treats, you are going to flip for these! Added bonus: *NO BAKING*

Because it is waaaaaaaaaay too hot for that nonsense. Turn off the oven and dig into these instead! Woot!

Enjoy 🙂

Strawberry Shortcake Donuts | www.somethingswanky.com @driscollsstrawberries #strawshortcake

Strawberry Shortcake Donuts Recipe

 Dricoll’s has been the strawberry in everyone’s shortcake for more than 100 years, which makes them the perfect inspiration for this recipe! I worked in collaboration with Driscoll’s Strawberries to develop a unique strawberry shortcake recipe and have received compensation accordingly. Opinions expressed are always my own.

Strawberry Shortcake Donuts | somethingswanky.com @driscollsstrawberries #strawshortcake

Summertime is practically here! Can’t you just feel it?? This time of year is just so intoxicating, so full of sunlight and flower buds. It’s like walking into a big hug after a long and dreary winter, followed by a very wet spring.

In between packing what must be thousands of boxes (okay… it’s closer to, like, 12) and move prep, we’ve been trying to soak up every moment of this new found sunshine! We’re taking nature walks, catching butterflies, running in the sprinklers, and eating lots and lots of strawberries.

Like…. gazillions of strawberries.

Strawberry Shortcake Donuts | somethingswanky.com @driscollsstrawberries #strawshortcake

I think strawberries may be the real reason I fight to get through the winter at all. And when strawberry season comes, I’m eating them with every meal and every snack in between.

Like every other strawberry lover on the planet, I’m pretty crazy about strawberry shortcake. Besides being utterly delicious and a versatile flavor combo, strawberry shortcake is also classic and timeless. It’s an iconic American dessert, and I find the sheer patriotism of it as appealing as anything else. Did you know that Americans have been feverishly eating strawberry shortcake for over 100 years? And Driscoll’s has been growing beautifully plump, ruby red strawberries for just as long!

Strawberry shortcake has taken on many forms throughout the decades. Sometimes the variations are as simple as switching up the cake part and using a spongecake (like the ones you see in the grocery stores by the strawberries) or pound cake instead of a traditional sweet biscuit. Others are more creative and incorporate the flavors into desserts like ice cream or crepes!

Strawberry Shortcake Donuts | somethingswanky.com @driscollsstrawberries #strawshortcake

I wanted to get a little creative with this recipe but also incorporate some tradition at the same time. Classic, old-school, southern-style strawberry shortcake is made with a biscuit (sort of like this blueberry shortcake I posted). Using biscuits happen to be my favorite way to eat this dessert, so I knew I didn’t want to deviate from that route.

As I started thinking about the different ways you can use biscuits in dessert-making, strawberry shortcake donuts became this blaring, neon sign in my mind as the perfect way to combine both tradition and creativity! By simply frying the biscuit dough, instead of baking, a classic strawberry shortcake goes rogue and becomes a donut. You can fry made-from-scratch biscuit dough or use refrigerated biscuit dough like I did for a delicious shortcut!

One more thing before you head to the kitchen… it’s a little obvious, but it’s worth saying anyway: be sure to buy the very best strawberries for the very best tasting donuts. Driscoll’s has been the strawberry in everyone’s shortcake for over 100 years, and there’s a reason– they’re the best!

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

Super Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

I’m going to be really honest with you… the weight loss thing isn’t really my strong suit in life. I haven’t quite cracked the code on that one.

Do I love Weight Watchers? You betcha.

I love to exercise too, believe it or not.

And I can whip up healthier versions of dessert recipes all day long (like Skinny Chocolate Donuts, Skinny Brownie Batter Dip, and Banana Pancakes).

But when it comes to actually dropping the pounds… not so much.

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

However, I fully anticipate that I will one day eat my way through enough Halo Top Ice Cream to discover that it’s finally made me skinny.

At least that’s what I tell my husband every time I spend 5.99 on a pint ????.

Good man that he is, I never actually see him roll his eyes.

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

Anyway. The point that I’m trying to make here is… I may not be very good at the actual losing of the weight. But I’m very, very good at breakfast on day one of a new diet. Ahem, er, “lifestyle change.” ????

Side note: how irritating is it that no one is allowed to “diet” anymore. The PC way to say diet these days is, “lifestyle change.” But… what if I just want to lose 30 pounds? Do I really have to change my mindset and my pantry for the rest of forever. Is that really totally necessary?? Is it???? *hysterics*

But back to breakfast on day one…

How about a ridiculously decadent smoothie WITH 35 FREAKING GRAMS OF PROTEIN that tastes like peanut butter cups? Works for me.

Enjoy!

Soft French bread stuffed with a cinnamon roll filling, baked to perfection, and topped with cinnamon roll icing. Make ahead so all you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven!

Cinnamon Roll Stuffed Baked French Toast Recipe

Soft French bread stuffed with a cinnamon roll filling, baked to perfection, and topped with cinnamon roll icing. Make ahead so all you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven!

Soft French bread stuffed with a cinnamon roll filling, baked to perfection, and topped with cinnamon roll icing. Make ahead so all you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven!

This recipe combines two of my favorite breakfasts: french toast and cinnamon rolls!

I’ve literally stuffed the inside of french bread with cinnamon roll filling, soaked it in an eggy custard overnight, baked it to golden perfection, and smothered it with cinnamon roll icing.

Comfort food at it’s finest ????.

Soft French bread stuffed with a cinnamon roll filling, baked to perfection, and topped with cinnamon roll icing. Make ahead so all you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven!

I used about half of a french bread loaf in a 9×9 baking dish. But you could use the entire loaf and fit it into a 9×13 baking dish just fine. Just be sure to double the milk and egg portion of the recipe as well.

The best way to make stuffed french toast is to simply cut a large slit in a thick piece of the bread– not cut it all the way through. This way you can literally stuff the inside of the piece of bread instead of sandwiching it together. It’s a lot easier to prep, cook, and serve if you do it like this. That way you don’t have the filling falling out all over the place!

Speaking of filling…

This filling is pretty simple, but extremely delicious. Brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter– the makings of a perfect cinnamon roll filling. I also added pecans, because I love pecans in my cinnamon rolls. But that’s totally up to you.

As it bakes and the butter melts into the sugar, it becomes ooey and gooey and perfect.

Soft French bread stuffed with a cinnamon roll filling, baked to perfection, and topped with cinnamon roll icing. Make ahead so all you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven!

Soft French bread stuffed with a cinnamon roll filling, baked to perfection, and topped with cinnamon roll icing. Make ahead so all you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven!

Drizzle my favorite cinnamon roll icing over top, and you are in for a real treat! You could also totally add maple syrup to this… I wouldn’t judge.

If  you’re looking for the perfect Mother’s Day breakfast… this is it. I promise.

Soft French bread stuffed with a cinnamon roll filling, baked to perfection, and topped with cinnamon roll icing. Make ahead so all you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven!

Melt in Your Mouth Buttermilk Pancakes and Homemade Buttermilk Syrup from Something Swanky

Melt in Your Mouth Buttermilk Pancakes + Buttermilk Syrup Recipe

You will fall in love with these fluffy buttermilk pancakes with a homemade buttermilk syrup. They make the perfect weekend breakfast!

Melt in Your Mouth Buttermilk Pancakes and Homemade Buttermilk Syrup from Something Swanky

Oh you guys, have I got a post for you today!!

A lot of cookbooks come across my desk– er… my kitchen table ????– over the course of a year. And I like them every one. I love collecting cookbooks, especially cookbooks from my friends.

But I have to tell you, there is something special about the one I’m sharing with you today.

My sweet friends Carrian and Cade Cheney (the husband-and-wife blogger duo at Oh Sweet Basil) just released their very first, very beautiful, mouth-watering cookbook: Our Sweet Basil Kitchen.

And this book is no ordinary cookbook. It is absolutely slam-packed with recipes that you will fall in love with. Every single recipe is a home run with gorgeous photography and a list of ingredients you probably already have on hand.

Each and every recipe was something I could imagine feeding my family on a regular basis. Dinners like Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Buttermilk pie or Biscuits, Smoky Sloppy Joes, and Fiesta Chicken and Rice could easily become regulars at our house.

And don’t even get me started on the desserts. I mean, Churro-Style Bread Pudding?! Come to mama!

I think what I love most about this cookbook is the combination of good, solid classics alongside recipes that venture outside the box. For example…

Caramel Brownies, Carolina Pulled Pork with Sauce, Double Chocolate Banana Muffins?

Classic.

Deep Fried Peaches, Chicken Cordon Bleu Lasagna, and Sweet Potato Apple Turkey Chili?

Outside the box, my friends. And totally amazing.

Despite all the amazingness in this cookbook, it only took flipping through 5 pages to know exactly which recipe I wanted to share with you from Cade and Carrian’s new cookbook.

Because if there’s one recipe that says Oh Sweet Basil to me, it’s these Melt in Your Mouth Buttermilk Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup.

I’m obsessed.

Melt in Your Mouth Buttermilk Pancakes and Homemade Buttermilk Syrup from Something Swanky

And that homemade buttermilk syrup? Ohemgee. Hold me. ????

So what are you waiting for?? Get your hiney in gear and go order Our Sweet Basil Kitchen right now!

And then make these pancakes. Pronto!