Since we're 10 days into the new year and those New Year's resolutions are still underway, I thought I should share a tasty healthy snack alternative. Tired of carrot sticks and celery?

How about a bowlful (proportionately sized of course - sorry, no gallon sized containers), of sweet and crispy Baked Apple Chips? These tasty treats are tossed in a cinnamon-spice mixture, with just a hint of sweetness.

They're great on their own, but they get even better when dipped in a Honey Spice Cream Cheese Dip, like the one I made with these Grilled Peaches and these Patriotic Fruit Parfaits. Crunchy deliciousness + creamy goodness = the perfect afternoon snack. Yum.

Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips
Yield: 2 servings   Printable Recipe

4 gala apples
1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 200 F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and sugar.

Cut the ends off of each apple. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice the apple into very thin slices, about 1/8" inch to 1/16" inch. If you use a mandolin, make sure you use the protective holder that keeps you from slicing your fingers to shreds.
Dip the apple slices into the cinnamon mixture, and tap against the edge of the bowl to remove the excess. Coat both sides. Repeat until all of the apple slices have been evenly coated with the cinnamon mixture.

Arrange the slices on the baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Flip the slices over and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the apples are a bit crispy. The apples will still be flexible when they come out, but will crisp up after a few minutes.

Enjoy! Amber

I experimented in the kitchen this weekend. Sometimes my experiments turn out...and sometimes they don't...but they always end up with my kitchen looking like it hosted an elementary school food fight.

I still haven't mastered the skill of clean cooking.  Is there such a thing?

I don't mind the mess though...when my experiments turn out something as drool-worthy as this Hot Blueberry Mocha. You just need some tasty homemade syrups, a little coffee, and don't forget the whipped cream.

Everything tastes better with cream, right?

Don't like coffee? One, you're just weird. There I said it. Two, it's easy to replace the coffee with some steamy milk and turn it into a Blueberry Hot Chocolate. I've made it both ways, and both are equally delicious!

I've included the recipes for the homemade syrups at the bottom, but I'll feature those in a post soon. Enjoy!



Brew 2 cups of coffee. Pour 1-2 tbsp of blueberry syrup in the bottom of a mug. Add 1-2 tbsp of chocolate syrup. Pour 1 cup of hot coffee over the syrup and stir to combine.

Homemade Blueberry Syrup
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup sugar
fresh squeezed lemon juice

For the blueberry syrup: Place the blueberries in a blender and puree until smooth. You may need to add a tablespoon of water to the blender if using fresh blueberries. Place the pureed blueberries and the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Now pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pulp and seeds. Pour syrup into a container and store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the chocolate syrup: Place the water, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow to cook until thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour into a container, allow to cool, and store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years, I know we did.  Well, we had a great Christmas, but New Year's was questionable.

If you enjoy sniffling colds, fevers, coughing, and just generally feeling like crap...then we had a blast! :) The little man has been pretty sick the last few days, so I've been a bit delayed in re-sharing my cinnamon rolls with you that we ate inhaled Christmas morning. The last time I shared these my youngest niece was just born, and since she just had her second birthday I thought it was good time to re-share!
Apparently they were pretty tasty, if the empty pan is any indication. This is my go-to cinnamon roll recipe, and whenever I've tried to stray and make a different one, my husband nicely requests that I just stick with this one. So I guess this has his vote as the favorite.

The roll is a soft, pastry like cinnamon roll - not your average giant, puffy Cinnabon-clone. Not that there is anything wrong with giant, puffy, Cinnabon-clone rolls. These are just different, but equally as delicious.
So delicious in fact, my kiddo just told me he needed one, because his cold was making him feel like his hands were pancakes. ??? Because the solution to cold-induced Pancake Hand Syndrome is a gooey, delicious cinnamon roll of course.

The addition of mashed potato and sour cream in the dough helps to make the dough soft, tender and super yummy. So here you go, enjoy my cinnamon rolls!

I hope you all had a great holiday with your loved ones. I know we did! Christmas may be over, but with New Year's coming up, the need for good party food isn't over. I've got a delicious dip here that not only tastes great, is actually HEALTHY. Well, healthy insomuch that is uses creamy Greek yogurt and light mayonnaise to avoid added calories.

Throw in some ranch seasoning, hearty artichoke hearts, and spicy jalapenos, and you've got a deliciously decadent dip (now say that as fast as you can), that will be a great addition to any New Year's party spread...or football party.

Have I got you drooling yet? No? Well, head on over to the Tasty Kitchen blog for my full step-by-step recipe post. You can grab the super handy printable recipe while you're at it!

This is going to be a super quick post, I'm sure you're all neck deep in holiday baking, last minute christmas shopping, and wrapping mountains of presents.

But I just had to share a great recipe I tried today for cut-out sugar cookies. This recipe is by the awesomely talented Laurie, at Simply Scratch, and it's the best recipe I've tried for cut-out sugar cookies.

Usually my doughy men resemble some kind of Frankenstein mutation, turning into those cookies you stuff out of sight, never to embarrass you by actually being seen, let alone offered to company. But these babies had the perfect consistency making them super easy to roll out all pretty. Did I mention they taste awesome too? So buttery and light, and when you slather them with Laurie's Vanilla Frosting...oh man!
Watch out Santa! Your Christmas cookies might be mysteriously missing tomorrow night...or at least missing a limb.

My little guy had so much fun making these, and was very proud of his army man sugar cookie he created.

Do you remember my Homemade Iced Mocha Frappe's? I love being able to make my own coffee drinks at home, without having to kill my wallet by going to Starbucks. It's so easy to make your own, and you can customize them any way to want.

Not a fan of cold drinks in the winter? Not a problem, just leave out the ice and keep your coffee hot instead of chilling it...now you've got yourself a snuggly, warm version.

Some of my favorite versions are Pumpkin Spice, White Chocolate Peppermint, Caramel, and Cinnamon. I just make a homemade syrup to flavor the mocha's how I want. For a Pumpkin Spice Mocha, I like to use the Pumpkin Spice Syrup I used in the Pumpkin Spice Hot Apple Cider.

So, here's a remix on my homemade Mocha Frappe's - holiday style!

I've got a really unique Christmas cookie in my archives. It was just sitting there....all lonely...thinking it would never again get to share its Christmas deliciousness with food lovers again. So, I decided to dust it off and share it again. It's been a couple of years since I first posted this one, so I thought it was time to give it some love.

This cookie is kind of time consuming to make, but the results are so pretty it's worth it. It's a crisp, slightly buttery cookie with a mild cinnamon flavor. Perfect for eating with a hot mug of cocoa or cup of coffee.

Want the recipe? You can get it in my original post for Cinnamon Bark Cookies.