Today’s Date: December 21st.

What I thought the date was: November (basically).

There’s some kind of sorcery going on here because the fact that Christmas is in 4 days completely blows my mind. I swear last week was Thanksgiving, 2 days ago was Roberto’s birthday, tomorrow can’t be Thursday…

I can keep going!

Between lots and lots of work, some afternoon naps, and my marathon training—just to keep in shape while I eat so many croissants at work—I have lost track of time completely. It’s wonderful that my work schedule is so crazy compared to almost anyone else’s (4am start time, random weekdays off, etc.) because it keeps me relatively busy and I absolutely love Trader Joe’s runs at 10am on a Monday, no one is there! Then there’s the flip side, I’m rather tired about 90% of the time I’m not at work, so this whole baking outside of work thing gets tough.

The month of December for KBB has consisted of about 10 failed attempts at a cake that I insisted I make work—the recipe seemed flawless! But alas, I decided that a new cookie recipe was needed, one that almost screams “Katie,” and of course it turned out to be magically delicious (cookies are definitely my strong suit!).

So below you have another game changing, swap-out-the-gingerbread-men-for, sprinkle loaded cookie.

All brown sugar? Check!

Oats for “health?” Check!

Sprinkles galore? Check!

Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate? Check check check!

You’re probably thinking Girl, those oats aren’t doing a damn thing! WELL, listen up, this cookie is so soft, like your teeth just sink right in, it’s an incredible thing, so I wanted to add oats because not only do I love the taste of a toasty oat, but a fun texture piece is brought, too.

And then there’s sprinkles, and chocolate…and if you decided to dip the cookies in chocolate and throw on more sprinkles, it’s just a glittery, wonderful winterland of a cookie you have created!

I did all of the above, and I must say it was the best decision this month. As posted on my Instagram, we had a little work outing where we went to Beautiful Briny Sea and make sprinkle blends! My boss, of course, was doing it for the shop for our peppercorn meringues, but the rest of us spent the hour or two making bags and bags of colorful, crazy little blends to bring home!

My Holiday Sprinkle Mix is featured on these cookies—and yes, this activity was even more fun than you can imagine! I’m thinking this is what I want my adult job to be…

ANYWHO! Back on track…got sprinkle distracted…

After a crazy month of work, being a new(ish) dog mom, still adjusting to life in Atlanta and then, surprise!, it’s Christmas, this recipe is exactly what we all need in our lives.

It’s quite simple, yet will bring ease to anyone’s day, especially if you’re as unprepared for this upcoming weekend as I am!

ingredients

Butter, room temperature—12 oz, or 3 sticks

Brown Sugar—16 oz, or 2 ¼ C

Vanilla Extract—1 tsp

Eggs—3

Baking Soda—1 tsp

Salt—1 tsp

Flour—26.25 oz, or 5 ¼ C

Oats—3.75 oz, or ¾ C

Chocolate Chips—14 oz, or 2 C

Sprinkles of choice—3-4 TBL

process

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time.

Once all combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add in the oats.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to your creamed mixture.

Add in your chips and sprinkles.

Either transfer your dough to another bowl or use the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat your oven to 350˚ F.

Scoop out tablespoon sized cookies, or I do 1.5 oz, and place on a baking sheet lined with either parchment, a Silpat, or spray with nonstick spray.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, until the outside edges are just slightly browned and the centers are still very light—makes for a nice soft cookie!

Allow to cool and enjoy!

*Note: If you want to dip them in chocolate—over a double boiler, melt about 1 cup of white chocolate until smooth, dip half in the chocolate and cover in sprinkles before the chocolate firms up!*

Bon Appétit!

Happy New Year, my friends!

I hope that everyone’s end of the year was as spectacular and restful as mine. A two-week break from work, spending some much needed time with my family in Maine, snuggling my two dogs, and ringing in the New Year with my fiancé, I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful vacation! Another plus? It snowed a lot while I was home! Well, one day and one blizzard, but enough for us to be stuck in the house for most of it! The dogs absolutely loved it (see Instagram) and it gave us all an excuse to lounge around for the day.

So, while Christmastime is by far one of my favorite times of the year, cue Michael Bublé and Elf and Gingerbread houses, I am pretty excited for 2016! I mean, I’m getting MARRIED this year!

What?!!?

Yes. Eight and a half months away!! You could say that I’m kinda sorta super duper excited about it!—even had my first dress fitting and met with our wedding cake maker over the holidays…which included over an hour of stuffing my face with multiple kinds of cake/buttercream/filling combos…

So 2016 is going to be amazing with just the wedding alone! What else is new about this year? Oh, well I started a KBB Dessert of the Month Club! (Inquire if interested!) Each month I’ll be sending out a lovely package full of homemade baked goodies, my own recipes, and many not posted to the website (just yet), but some will be—including the recipe below!

How did I decide to start the DOTM Club? While I believe that anyone can truly bake anything, posted on my site and others, sometimes you really just 1. Don’t have time, 2. Just aren’t too into baking, but love to eat desserts, or 3. Love to get yummy, homemade goodies sent to you! And so was born this fabulous little club. (For January, I am sending out some to die for coconut macaroons as well as these simply delectable Oatmeal Raisin Truffles! )

To me, January is all about two things: getting back into your healthy habits (aka less gingerbread, more kale) and staying cozy while the temperature drops to -10˚F. The Oatmeal Raisin Truffles are more on the guilt free end of the spectrum of many of my desserts. They are bite size (so try and restrain yourself from eating the entire 4 dozen batch) and they are relatively low in the fat and sugar department, because, to bind properly, I’ve loaded them with a LOT of oats and a TON of raisins! And to finish, coating them in a dark chocolate is optional!

Yes, it’s cookie dough, yes it’s a dessert, but you really only need to eat 1, maybe 2, to feel satisfied! While this recipe may not be a beet-kale protein smoothie, it is a spice-packed, fiber-filled oatmeal raisin cookie truffle that’ll satisfy the start to your amazing 2016!

ingredients

Butter, room temperature—4 oz, or ½ C

Brown Sugar—5.25 oz, or ¾ C

Vanilla Extract—0.2 oz, or 1 tsp

Milk—2 oz, or ¼ C

Flour—4.25 oz, or 2/3 C

Salt—0.1 oz, or ½ tsp

Cinnamon—0.1 oz, or 1 tsp

Nutmeg—¼ tsp

Oats—6 oz, or 2 C

Raisins—4 oz, or ¾ C

Chocolate—8 oz

Butter—1 TBL

Sprinkles—optional

process

Cream together the butter and brown sugar.

Add the milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, oats and raisins.

Slowly add into your creamed mixture.

Once you have combined all of the ingredients, and a dough has formed, scoop out into whatever size truffle that you’d like.

You may either use a small scoop or a scale, like I prefer to do. I weigh each ball into 0.5 ounces, just the right size to pop into your mouth!

Place all of your scooped dough onto a sheet tray lined with parchment or a Silpat and put into the refrigerator to firm up, for about an hour.

When you’re ready to dip your truffles, make a double boiler using a medium sized pot filled with about an inch of water, and then a heat safe bowl on top. Make sure that the water is not directly touching the bottom of the bowl; you do not want to scorch your chocolate!

Turn the burner onto medium-low heat.

In the bowl, place your chocolate and butter, making sure to stir every few minutes so that the chocolate melts evenly.

Once melted, begin to dip your chilled cookie dough truffles.

You may either dip the entire ball, or just half, whatever you’d like!

I then put a little bit of sprinkles on top of each truffle before the chocolate sets, because, well, why not!

Allow the chocolate to firm up, and enjoy!

Bon Appétit!