Lemonhead Cookies {Repost}

We used to have a grocery store here in Midway called (get this) The Store.  I won't go into all the details of the confusion the name caused, but they did sell these amazing cookies.  They're Ruby Snap cookies.  

My husband got several of the cookies for his birthday one year, and fell in love with the lemon one.  He came home and  told me all about the cookie.  He was convinced I could try to recreate it with my lemon cake cookie recipe.  The secret was to add crushed Lemonheads to the recipe.    

I followed my husband's instructions, and made the cookies.  I also added a lemon glaze on top (you can never have too much lemon).  I was quite impressed with the results!  Not the original Ruby Snap cookie, but a new cookie in and of itself.  All thanks to my husband!  

The crushed Lemonheads add the perfect zing and chewy, crunchiness.  My only complaint about them is how terrible they stick to the pan.  I've tried spraying the pan between every batch, but it doesn't seem to help.  I don't own one, but maybe a Silpat would work.  I have found that if I get the cookies off of the baking sheet as quickly as I can,  then the Lemonheads don't have time to harden, and they come off easier.  

The recipe is really simple.  I got the basic cake cookie recipe from my cousin before I was even married.  You can use any flavor of cake mix, but for this recipe we're using lemon (obviously).

I put in 1/2  cup of crushed Lemonheads, but you can adjust it to your liking.  I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want less, but the more the merrier!  

Click here to print your recipe.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Valentines for Goldilocks and the Three Bears {Fun Story for Valentine's Day}

This is my post I shared at Or So She Says last year during the month of February.  It's a simple story based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  I do it with my boys every year, and they don't ever seem to tire of it.

You simply read the story and cut out some hearts along the way.  At the end you have a great big valentine for Papa Bear, a medium-sized valentine for Mama Bear, and a small valentine for Baby Bear.   Click here to see my entire post.  I have a printable version of the story, and pictures of each step you'll need to do to cut out the hearts while reading the story.  So easy, and yet so surprising.  

This would be the perfect little activity to do at a class valentine party, or just at home with your own kids. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Triple Chocolate Valentine Brownies

I have my sweet mom and adorable five-year-old to thank for today's recipe.   These brownies came to be when my five-year-old had a complaint about the "smelly beans" grandpa was using in his famous ham and bean soup, which by the way, is delicious and there's nothing wrong with the beans.

 

 

  Well, of course grandma couldn't have a smelly smell in her house that was bothering one of her grandsons, so she told him they'd bake something good to smell up the house, and get rid of the "smelly beans".  She had a boxed brownie mix and asked if the should put chocolate chips or M&Ms in them.  His answer,"both!".  Grandma couldn't argue with him there.  The more chocolate the better!  So, they ended up mixing the chocolate chips (we liked the semi sweet best, but milk chocolate works too) into the brownie mix, and adding the Valentine M&Ms on top.  And let me tell you, in the course of 2 days, we went through three 8x8 pans of these!  They would make a batch, and have to turn around and make another because they were so good, they were gone before anyone had had enough.

 

They used a Lehi Roller Mill brownie mix, but if you're not a local here in Utah you may not be able to find them, so use any brownie mix you'd like- from scratch or a box.  I'd just say the cakier the mix the better.  That way the chocolate chips will mix in and stay well, and the M&Ms will stay on top well.  The trick to the M&Ms on top is to let the brownies cook for about half their baking time (we did 15 minutes) before putting them on top.  We had a batch or two of melted M&Ms on top.  They still tasted delicious, but not quite as pretty.

 

So, if you're a chocolate lover, and are in need of a simple, sure to be crowd-pleasing dessert, you need to make a batch (or two or three) of grandma and Logan's now famous triple chocolate valentine brownies!  And the great thing about M&Ms?  They come in colors for all holidays, so these could easily become triple chocolate Easter, Halloween, Christmas, or whatever-holiday-you-fancy brownies. 
 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style. 

Garage Door Heart Attack {@ OSSS}

Happy Valentine Week!  I always love the days leading up to holidays just as much as the actual holiday.  The anticipation that builds, and the preparation are always so much fun!

I'm over at Or So She Says today with a fun, unexpected valentine surprise that is perfect for dad, or anyone else who drives the car into the garage at the end of the day.

You can check out my entire post here.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

DIY Glittered Heart Marshmallows {Repost}

 I'm glittering up some food, yet again.  I've done it before with my Halloween cookie ornaments, and my glittered chocolate Easter bunny.  Well, today it's marshmallows.  I really hate to eat marshmallows, but I can't resist buying them.  They come in all varieties these day.  So instead of eating them, I craft with them.

I used a lot of fun different glitters on these marshmallows, and I'm loving the variety.  You can click here {over at twelveOeight} to see my entire post, and get a list of all the glitters and marshmallows I used.  I can't tell you have fun these are!!  They take just seconds to make, and they are so sweet!  I want to put them EVERYWHERE!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Printable Valentine Love Notes {Repost}

We have a tradition at our house of writing little love notes to each other during the month of February.  In the past, we've just used plain pieces of paper.  This year I decided we needed to make our notes a bit cuter.  With a husband and three boys, Valentine's is the only time of year I can get away with cute, so I do!  This is what I came up with.

(As I stated in my post title, this is a repost.  Please excuse the dark photos from here on out.  I've learned a thing or two about photo editing since I originally posted this :)).

It's so fun to see how excited my boys are to write notes to everyone.  They're so secretive about it, and they write the sweetest things.  I'm always sneaking a look into their mailboxes (a box or tin where we leave each other's notes) to see what they've written to each other.  It really is a great way to reflect on and remind each other of the many reasons we love one another.

I made four notes on one page, so it will be easy to print out LOTS of notes.  We have five of us in our family, and we sometimes go through 20 notes a day.  I always make sure to have plenty on hand, so we don't run out.

  I hope you'll enjoy this fun tradition as much as we have!  Click here to print your valentine love notes.

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Valentine Playlist {Repost}

Another holiday is approaching, and for me that means another playlist.  I've gotten into the habit of having a playlist for just about every holiday.  I love music!  I love the emotions, memories, and ambiance it creates.

I know there are thousands and thousands of love songs out there, but with three boys in the house,  I like to keep some of the songs a bit more playful than lovey.  So if you're looking for a mushy, gushy valentine playlist, I'm afraid I'll disappoint you (a bit, there are a few mushy, gushy ones I guess).  But give the list a try.  There's plenty of love here, and a lot of fun!

I've got a lot of Disney songs (my favorites are Love from Robin Hood, and So This Is Love from Cinderella), some Frank Sinatra (for my Grandma Rae), Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, a lot of oldies, I guess. Valentine by Jim Brickman and Martina McBride (I could listen to her sing forever!) probably qualifies as one of the mushy, gushy ones, but I couldn't leave that one out.  It's title is Valentine for goodness sake.  And the song Unforgettable by Nat and Natalie King Cole will always remind me of when my mom won a local radio Valentine's Day contest.  She didn't even remember entering, and was a bit taken back when they had her on the radio.  For some reason I remember the  song Unforgettable playing the a heart-shaped box of chocolates she won.

One of my VERY favorite songs is not showing up here on the Spotify widget.  It shows up when I pull up my Spotify account, so if you go to  Spotify (it's free to sign up for an account!) to listen it should show up.  The song is A Bushel And A Peck by Doris Day.

I need to get a 'Playlists' tab for my header so you can easily find all of the playlists I've posted here at Blissful Roots.  In the meantime, you can type 'playlist' in the search box in my sidebar, and you should be able to find them all there.  I've got three Christmas playlists, my current running playlist, a Thanksgiving one, and even a patriotic one.  Keep coming back for more, too.  I have some great ideas swimming around in my head for more playlists.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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No Roll Sugar Cookies {Repost}

Do you have a few recipes that you LOVE, but only allow yourself to make once in awhile because they're, well,  less-than healthy (to put it nicely)?  We all need a few of those, don't we?  Today's recipe fits the bill perfectly.  I love the line in this recipe that states, "the batter will be greasy".  It makes me laugh (and cringe a bit) each time I read it.

So, if you don't mind indulging in a great dessert for a special occasion, like Valentine's Day, then you have to give these cookies a try.

I love sugar cookies, (click here for our favorite Kneaders sugar cookie recipe) but the time they take to roll out and cut can be a bit much sometimes.  These sugar cookies are fantastic because they're so yummy, but even better, you don't have to roll them out.  You just roll small pieces of the batter into balls, put them on your pan, and smash them gently with a glass.  Super easy!

So, are you ready for the recipe?  I'm probably making it sound a lot more terrible than it is.  But a cup of margarine (one of the only times I do use margarine) and a cup of oil, then  a half a cup of butter and a block of cream cheese in the frosting kind of adds up.  But they're totally worth it!

Click to Print

This recipe makes a ton of cookies, so I usually half it.  Same with the frosting.  However, the frosting is so good that you really could make the whole batch of frosting, frost your cookies, and then just eat the left over frosting by the spoonful.

These cookies would be the perfect treat for those special people you want to show some love to this Valentine's Day.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.