Skinny Sugar Cookie Bites

January 23, 2016 Amanda Plott

If there's one thing that we all know and love, it's raw cookie dough. I know that when I was little, I must have eaten my weight in the stuff. And I couldn't even begin to tell you the amount of beaters that I licked or bowls that my mom let me scrape the remnants out of.

These days though, it's a whole other story. I rarely ever let my daughter 'lick the beaters', especially when there's raw egg involved. The thought of it just sends my head spinning. Thank goodness she doesn't like the texture of raw cookie dough or cake batter or I'd be in a lot more trouble!

Even so, every time that I make baked goods that childhood inclination comes creeping in.

To eat and risk it, or not to eat and be sad...

Skinny Matcha-Monster Smoothie (Sponsored)

January 14, 2016 Amanda Plott

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BestBlendsForever #CollectiveBias

My mom is not only one of my friends, she's really my very best friend and she has been for as long as I can remember. Of course, just like any other set of besties, that doesn't come without our occasional squabble. She's my complete opposite in almost every way, even down to our hair color.

I stuck out like a sore thumb as a child. A perfectly blonde and blue-eyed fair-skinned child among a gaggle of dark brown hair and beautiful olive complexions. And although it sounds like it, I wasn't adopted. That's just how things turned out as my mom remarried when I was four years old.

All of my life I've known my mom to be one of the softest and sweetest souls out there. She's the sort of person that would give any of her friends and family anything and everything just to see them smile and be happy. She's kind, generous, easy-going and all about fun. On the other end of things, I'm independent, stubborn, and sometimes rather brash. I'm a perfectionist to the core and entirely a homebody. See? She's my complete opposite, hah!...

Skinny Dark Chocolate & Cherry Scones (Sponsored)

January 11, 2016 Amanda Plott

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MeAndMyTea #CollectiveBias

So, I'm kind of in love with scones. They're easy to make, delicious, and extremely versatile. Today I wanted to make some scones that would help me bring in the New Year and help me reach my goals while also getting me into the spirit of Valentine's Day (because you know that's just around the corner too!) What better way to achieve both other than with dark chocolate and some cherries? Yum, yum.

I used one of my older scone recipes to start out as the base for this one. And it worked out beautifully with the few changes and new additions that I made to it.

What can I say? It's fun to sometimes go back to revisit older recipes while also adjusting them to my ever changing taste and desire...

Champagne Soaked 'Drunken' Gummy Bears

December 30, 2015 Amanda Plott

It doesn't get much better than this!

For part of my New Year's celebration I wanted to include as much champagne as I could and in as many ways I as I could imagine. One of the first things that I got my hands on was some champagne flavored gummy bears. Yep. True story. My gummy bears were created using Dom Pérignon Vintage Champagne too! So they're extra fancy in two flavors, Brute and Rose.

I knew right away what I wanted to do with them, soak them in champagne. Now... I've seen gummy bears soaked in lots of things, mostly hard liquors and never in merely champagne. So, I decided it was my duty to attempt such a luxury...

Skinny 'Soft Batch' Chocolate Chip Cookies

December 24, 2015 Amanda Plott

So, every year my mom and I get together before Christmas to spend a day baking up some of our most favorite cookies. This year a request was put in, by another health-nut in the family, for some extra special chocolate chip cookies - soft and full of dark chocolate goodness; chunks and chips alike. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige!

These cookies are soft, fluffy, and full of the good stuff that I know my father-in-law loves. To make them even more special, I topped a few with festive sprinkles, others with dark chocolate candies, and some were just left perfectly plain...

Skinny Nog Pecan Blondies & Nog Cream Cheese Sauce

December 8, 2015 Amanda Plott

As we're getting into the thick of the holiday season, I wanted to step out of the box again and create a lighter take on one of my most favorite desserts in the world, a blondie! Any blondie just won't do. It had to be full of pecans, white chocolate, spice, and topped off with a decadent cream cheese sauce.

Yes, I went there. And I brought my 'Egg Nog' with me.

I wanted this blondie to have more of a holiday twist, so I infused with the flavors of egg nog while omitting (most of) the guilt. I am all about small indulgences, especially around the holidays...