These Valentine’s Day peanut butter cookie bars are one of our favorite Valentine’s Day treats in our house. Peanut butter cookies with all of the best Valentine’s candies cut into perfect squares. Scroll down for my recipe.
Valentine’s Day Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
Valentine’s M&Ms
Valentine’s sprinkles
Reese’s hearts (about 6)
White chocolate hearts (about 6)
Directions:
1.) Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
2.) In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar, and egg until smooth.
3.) Beat in the flour until a soft dough forms
4.) Fold in the M&Ms.
5.) Spread dough into a greased baking dish or one lined with parchment paper. Firmly press the dough down. (I used a 9×9 baking dish).
6.) Top with sprinkles and add some more M&M’s on top.
7.) Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. You want to remove it when the edges are golden and you can stick a butter knife or toothpick in and it comes out clean.
8.) Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool but not completely.
9.) Unwrap the Reese’s and chocolate hearts and press into the top of the cookie bars.
These are the best pistachio thumbprint cookies and will easily become a favorite Christmas cookie! Sweet pistachio topped with a cheesecake filling or raspberry jam are the perfect bite and look festive for your Christmas cookie swaps or platters.
And I’m sharing 15 other delicious Christmas treats for you from some of my most favorite bloggers. Scroll down to see all of their recipes.
If you’re coming from Michele at Vintage Home Designs, welcome! I hope you will stick around here and continue to follow along. Also how delicious do her shortbread cookies look?
The best pistachio thumbprint cookies
One of my favorite things that I used to have every Christmas is my grandmother’s pistachio ambrosia. I loved it so much and it just wasn’t Christmas without it. This recipe combines my favorite flavors of pistachio with my favorite Christmas cookie – my sister’s almond raspberry thumbprints.
I made a yummy cheesecake filling for these cookies but you can also fill with raspberry jam too!
Ingredients
1 cup butter softened (I used unsalted)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 package instant pistachio pudding mix
2 cups nuts chopped (I used walnuts/pecans)
For the filling
1/2 cup cream cheese.
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
or raspberry jam (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Directions:
1.) Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
2.) In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
3.) Beat in the eggs, salt and extracts.
4.) Add in the flour and pistachio pudding mix, beating together until combined.
5.) Roll the batter into individual balls, about 1 inch. Roll some or all of the balls into the chopped nuts and place on a prepared baking sheet.
6.) Using your thumb, make a thumbprint in the center of each cookie.
7.) Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. You want to take them out just before the edges start to get golden.
8.) Using a spoon or your thumb, re-shape the thumbprint if necessary as sometimes it changes shape after baking.
9.) Allow the cookies to cool.
10.) While the cookies are cooling, start to prepare the cheesecake filling. In a mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar.
11.) Beat in the vanilla and make sure there are no lumps.
12.) Fill in each cookie with either the cream cheese filling or raspberry jam. I chose to do some of each.
13.) In a microwave safe bowl, melt some chocolate chips, stirring at 30 second intervals.
14.) Once melted, use a fork to drizzle some chocolate over each cookie.
15.) Allow the chocolate to cool before eating.
These also freeze really well so you can make ahead of time! I line some parchment paper in an airtight storage container and freeze until the day of.
Warm and gooey pumpkin baked brie is an easy appetizer that you’ll want to make all fall long and through the holidays!
If you’ve been following for awhile you know that the way to my heart is with cheese. In fact, bread and cheese are my love language. This past weekend it was in the high 70s/80s but it was the first football Sunday and I was craving all the fall comforts. So I lit a candle, played my autumn playlist (click here for the playlist) and made myself a gooey wheel of baked brie filled with warm pumpkin apple butter.
So what is baked brie exactly? First you bite into this crispy, flaky puff pastry that is filled with oozing brie cheese, melted to perfection. It’s really good paired with some crackers or apples and the addition of the warm pumpkin butter makes this perfect for the fall or the holidays. Scroll down for my delicious pumpkin baked brie recipe.
Crispy flaky puff pastry dough is filled with warm pumpkin butter and brie cheese melted to perfection. This makes a great fall or holiday appetizer served wtih some crackers, fruits and nuts.
It is Thirsty Thursday and I’m coming to you with THE drink you need in your hand all Christmas long. I’m sharing my recipe for my Peppermint Espresso Martini aka My Jingle Jangle Cocktail.
I fell in love with espresso martinis one time when I was out and needed a little pick me up so that I could rally with friends (home girl can’t hang like she used to). Espresso and vodka – I mean it’s the sophisticated version of a Four Loco.
Chocolate and peppermint give this traditional espresso martini some festive holiday flavors. And it looks really pretty too! Scroll down for my Peppermint Espresso Martini aka My Jingle Jangle Cocktail.
Peppermint Espresso Martini – My Jingle Jangle Cocktail
Ingredients:
2 shots freshly brewed espresso or 1 cup dark roast coffee
2 shots Rumchata
2 shots Peppermint Vodka
1 1/2 tsp coffee liqueur
Ice
chocolate syrup
crushed candy canes
Directions:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
Add to your cocktail shaker the espresso or coffee, Rumchata, vodka and coffee liqueur.
Shake well so that it gets nice and frothy!
On a plate, spread out the crushed peppermint.
On a second plate, pour the chocolate syrup so that it fills the plate.
Take your martini glass and dip in the chocolate syrup covering the rim.
Then dip the chocolate syrup lined glass into the crushed candy canes.
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Peppermint Espresso Martini - My Jingle Jangle Cocktail
Chocolate and peppermint give this traditional espresso martini some festive holiday flavors. And it looks really pretty too! Scroll down for my Peppermint Espresso Martini aka My Jingle Jangle Cocktail. This is the drink you need in your hand all holiday season!
