Nutella Hot Chocolate Plus Maple Sweetened Marshmallows

I think we can all agree that snow is what makes winter so magical. I love being at my family's home and playing in the snow with my sisters (Yes, we still do that!). On snow days, we would go sledding with my parents at the best hills in our area. My dad would pack a thermos of hot chocolate and always have treats for us in his pockets. This past Saturday, there was about a foot or so of snow when we woke up! Magic! We spent the day shoveling (aka snowball fights while my dad actually shoveled) and sledding. We tested out a new hill at a nearby park and brought Rex. He pulled Kelly around in a sled and chased us as we sped down the hill. It was perfect. Puppies + snow = happiness. After sledding, we played cranium and drank this hot chocolate.

At a local coffee shop near my apartment, you can find Nutella lattes and hot chocolate. So so dreamy but easy to make! My favorite milk to do this with is almond milk. I've tried coconut, cashew, and whole. 

Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies

Seeing as how there is a blizzard outside, baking cookies is definitely necessary. These are nice and crunchy. It's safe to say they're actually healthy. They balance out the decadent hot chocolate I'm about to blog next! The recipe is from Bob's Red Mill's site. 

3 cups Almond Meal (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup Coconut Oil

1/4 cup Maple Syrup

2 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (best invention ever) or silpat liner (which I gifted to myself). 

Mix dry ingredients in small mixing bowl with wire whisk.

Whisk together coconut oil and maple syrup in a medium sized mixing bowl. Then add the eggs and mix. Finally add the vanilla extract. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until incorporated. Add the chocolate chips. 

Place rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Press the cookie down with palm of your hand if you want them a little flatter. If not, they'll retain their shape. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. 

These are best eaten right away (like all cookies) but will still be good for 2 days.

Fresh Cranberry Scones

I still had some fresh cranberries in the freezer leftover from the holidays. Now they are in these scones, which are really easy, flavorful and smell like Christmas is coming all over again.

The recipe includes a rum glaze - I would go for that in a brunch scone, but it doesn't seem like the right fit for a weekday breakfast scone. I'm opting for butter and honey instead.

Fresh Cranberry Scones

Recipe from the Kitchn

Makes 12 to 18 scones, depending on size (I made pretty huge ones and I got about 9...)

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 small orange or clementine, zested
2 1/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup milk
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling, optional

Brown Butter Banana Bread

I've made a few dry, plain, not that tasty banana breads, so I don't really agree with what most blog entries about banana breads say - that it's so easy and foolproof. My past few attempts have been extra good, though, including this one with brown butter, so it makes me want to make banana bread a lot more often.

My all-time favorite banana bread is the Nutella-swirled one I posted way back in March 2013. Also, if you want to do the opposite of this brown butter version and not include butter at all, you could try Michelle's vegan version with homemade vegan Nutella. And Julia posted a whole wheat flour version almost exactly two years ago! 

When Joy the Baker's posted this recipe, it was made with cranberries - I have fresh cranberries in the freezer and was fully intending to put them in the batter but decided not to at the last minute. Even though I really like baking with fresh cranberries, I just wanted a more simple banana bread this time. In Joy the Baker's recipe, she adds 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries to the batter, folding it in right before turning the batter into the loaf pan. 

Brown Butter Banana Bread

Adapted from Joy the Baker

For the bread

6 ounces unsalted butter, melted and browned to just over 1/2 cup of butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 large eggs

3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 1/4 cup mashed banana (from about 3 medium bananas)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain yogurt

For the crumble

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup oats