Red Velvet Pancakes

IT'S SNOWING IN GEORGIA.

So you know what that means...no school! :) It has been a pretty crazy 12 hours around here. Snow and ice covered the roads starting around noon yesterday. So many people have been stuck on the roads for 8+ hours, or even overnight! We are so thankful to be home and safe. 

Even Bailey loved her first time playing in the snow!

I love breakfast. I love pancakes. This morning was the perfect chance to try out these red velvet pancakes. I just love red velvet anything. 

These pancakes are soft and fluffy, with just the perfect amount of sweetness. I don't normally use a mix when making pancakes, but we had some left over so I didn't want it to go to waste. These are super easy to make and using the baking mix just takes out a few extra steps and ingredients. 

They are absolutely perfect with a dollop of cream cheese (you can't have red velvet without cream cheese!) and a drizzle of warm maple syrup. 

Looks like the perfect surprise for breakfast in bed on Valentine's Day! :)

Red Velvet Pancakes

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick mix

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon red food coloring

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together baking mix and cocoa powder, set aside. Measure out milk into a liquid measuring cup and whisk in vinegar, allow mixture to rest for 2 minutes. Pour milk mixture into a separate large mixing bowl and add in sugar, eggs, red food coloring, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk mixture until combined. While whisking, slowly add in your dry ingredients and combine. Do not over mix! 

Depending on how big you want your pancakes, pour about a 1/4 - 1/3 cup batter at a time onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles begin to appear on the top surface of the pancakes then flip and cook opposite side until pancake is cooked through.

Serve warm with a dollop of cream cheese and a drizzle of maple syrup. :)

Hugs Chocolate Cookies

These are rich and chewy chocolate cookies with a little surprise inside! They are insanely good, especially with the gooey white chocolate melting inside. I highly recommend you make these for that special someone this Valentine's Day! :)

Hugs Chocolate Cookies

Recipe adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (10 ounce) bag Hershey's Raspberry Hugs candy
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.

3. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla extract. Mix until blended.

4. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix until flour disappears. Unwrap the Hugs candies. Take a spoonful of cookie dough and wrap the dough around the Hug candy. Make sure the entire Hug is covered. Place cookie onto prepared baking sheet. Continue wrapping cookies until dough is gone. Make sure the cookies are 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

5. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Don't over bake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

6. Place white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and melt. Drizzle chocolate over the cookies. Let cookies sit until chocolate hardens, about 10 minutes.

M&M Blondies

You'll never guess where I found this recipe...Pinterest! :)

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner I just couldn't resist making them! 

I have a great toffee blondie recipe I made during the holidays, but I found this recipe at Baked to Perfection.

I love the flakiness of the top of the blondies and the richness and chewiness of the inside of the blondie. It’s a perfect marriage of sweetness and chewiness…brown sugar, butter and chocolate…amazing!

M&M Blondies

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup to 1 1/3 cup M&M's

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. Melt 1/3 cup butter. Add 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar and mix well. Cool slightly. Add egg (beaten) and vanilla and blend well. Add flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing well. Mix in 2/3 cup M&M's. Spread in 9 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Sprinkle 1/3 to 2/3 cup M&M's on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

Valentine's day is right around the corner, and these sandwich cookies are the perfect little treat. They're also really, really good! 

This cake mix recipe is so easy and the texture of the cookies are perfect. This is the same recipe I use in my Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're a little bit chewy and just the right thickness. The icing recipe is from the latest issue of Food Network Magazine. They have some other really good recipes, so be sure to check it out!

You could probably recreate this cookie with just about any flavor of cake mix, but the red velvet version is definitely my favorite!

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:
Cookies
1 box red velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour

Filling
4 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  To make cookies, mix together cake mix, eggs, oil and flour.  Scoop onto lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until tops look cracked.  Cool completely.  Meanwhile, make the filling by beating the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer.  Mix in coconut and vanilla, then beat in powdered sugar until smooth.  Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling in the center of a cookie.  Top with a second cookie and press together until the filling reaches the edges of the cookies.  Makes about 15 sandwiches.