cut-out halloween cookies

Oh my goodness, can you believe it's already Halloween tomorrow? I honestly can't. This is crazy! It seems like just a couple weeks ago it was the end of summer and school was just starting and then I blinked... and it's been more than two months. Where is all the time going?! Before I know it, it's gonna be Christmas. Not that I mind though, I adore Christmastime, it's my absolute favorite. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This post is about Halloween!

To tell you the truth, I realized this was Halloween weekend just two or three days ago. My first thought: "Oh, cool, it's almost Halloween!" And then immediately after: "Oh my gosh, I can't not have even ONE Halloween recipe on my blog, I am a disgrace to my family and everyone associated with me." So I whipped up some easy-peasy cut-out cookie recipes that can be adapted to any occasion just by using different cookie cutters. I thought these were both good standard recipes for both white sugar cookies and (whole wheat) cocoa cookies. To keep things fast (and fun if you're getting kids to help you), I kept the decorating to a minimum by using white pearl sprinkles for the eyes on my cocoa cookies, and using food markers to draw on my white cookies.

Belle doll cake

I am finally revealing my big project I had been working on! Well, when I say "big," I just mean big for me. My first paid order and my first birthday party cake and my first time making/working with fondant and my first time sticking a barbie into a cake. Also my first time baking a cake in a giant measuring cup. Anyway, this cake was a lot of hard work... but I was seriously so pleased with how it came out! It wasn't like the picture I got my inspiration from, but I still think it was so awesome in it's own way. Wanna see? :)

I made a Beauty and the Beast Barbie cake! Ta-daaa! Please excuse those lovely candle holes on her dress... This was a big, big project for me, and I couldn't have done it without help from my mom :) She is my one and only baking helper if I ever need one! And she is great. She helps me so much because she knows I'm so stubborn and I'm a perfectionist, so I get discouraged really easily if things don't work out right away. So, yep, she is the best and I love her. :)

ricotta chocolate chip "cheesecake"

I admit... I am a huge fan of Italian desserts. How could I not be?! I love showing off my baking skills AND my Italian heritage at the same time. And obviously all Italian food is absolutely delicious, so I don't know what's not to love about that combination. I try my hardest to showcase my Italian roots on this little blog I've got here, but I have to say that it's tough to find Italian desserts that don't ask for local ingredients that anyone outside of Italy could never find. Trust me, I've tried! And it's also difficult to have a recipe with measurements in grams and then trying to figure it out with my (broken) kitchen scale and then converting... oh, I don't even want to think about it. ANYWAY. This recipe was absolutely delish, and Italian, and with measurements in cups and ounces. Wanna see this glorious cake? Alright, can't argue with that. :)

Now this may not be the most exciting picture you've ever seen, but at least now you see why I put the word cheesecake in quotations in the title. It's not quite a cheesecake.. it's basically a crumbly dough pressed in the bottom of a springform pan, topped with a delicious mixture of ricotta and chocolate chips (plus a couple other things), with more of the dough crumbled on top to make a sort of streusel. It sounds and looks kind of strange, but it is out of this world delicious! It's super rich, thick, and creamy, and your thighs absolutely disapprove. Or, well, they should be. But since it's (FINALLY!) getting cooler around these parts, I'm sure you can sneak a slice and then conceal it under your jeans, no? ;)

red velvet cookies

Yes, you read that correctly... red velvet cookies! I don't know why, but since I've moved to America, I've always had a fascination with the unnaturally red dessert that is Red Velvet Cake. I have to say, once I tasted it, I wasn't too crazed, but we all know everything is better made from scratch. :) So here are these cookies! I saw the recipe in the latest Cooking Club magazine (which is, btw, a huge waste of money, seriously. Don't get a membership, they will NEVER leave you alone), and they just sounded so delicious! And seeing my less-than-fantastic experience with box-mix red velvet cake, I reasoned these cookies could only taste better. Glad to say I was right! These cookies are deeeelicious. And the bright red color makes them fun. :)

peanut butter and jelly cookies

You'd be lying if you said you've never had a classic PB&J sandwich... at least, if you live in America you would be. If you grew up in Italy and England like myself, there would be a pretty good chance you had never tried one of these American classics til you were... like... 16. And babysitting. And the kids you were babysitting would beg you to make them PB&J for lunch everysingleday. I grew up on Nutella sandwiches, but even if I do snob a good ol' peanut butter jelly sandwich most of the time, I actually like them. Like, ALOT. But I will never admit it. Because peanut butter is super calorie- and fat-dense. And I am a big health nut! I mean, not that you would ever think that lookin at this here blog, but I am a nutritional nazi. I am ALWAYS trying to find tasty healthier alternatives to foods my family and I like to eat. I eat a ton of fruit and vegetables and I take my vitamins every day. And then, I come home, and bake, and eat like, one thing. I make cookies? I seriously eat one. My brother always complains that I make a ton of stuff and never eat it. :) Ehehe. I gotta keep my girlish figure. 

What I find very ironic about my peanut butter snobbing is that it has never stopped me from doing things like slathering ultra-rich chocolate brownies with peanut butter frosting, and topping that with chocolate ganache. Hm. I am a strange one. ANYWAYS, what am I even talking about right now... The other day, I was tired and pressed for time and I had plenty of homework, and yet, I wanted to bake. SO BADLY. I even posted on Twitter that I wanted to bake but I was probably not going to bother taking pictures and blogging about it. Then, these delicious babies came out of the oven and they were so cute and delicious that I couldn't help myself and took pictures of them anyways. And now, here I am, sharing the recipe with you! They're so good. I couldn't keep these locked up.

chubby pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

I just figured I'd go right to the point. Hi, it's October, and these are AMAZING. Oh my holy goodness. I have never baked with pumpkin before because I thought "I didn't like it." But I've been an idiot, because I've totally been missing out! Like I promised in my last post (or perhaps the one before?), this is a recipe that is seasonally appropriate and contains chocolate. So, everyone is happy! My younger brother tried one fresh out of the oven and I swear his eyes rolled back in his head. He told me, "Valentina, I think these may be the best cookies you've ever made. And the best cookies I've eaten... in my entire life!" Well, dang! But I do admit these were really super delicious. And this dough... don't even get me started. I could've eaten the whole bowl cause it was so good!