🎃 Halloween Cookies

Halloween's just around the corner, and you know what that means. Costumes, candies, celebrations and cookies galore! 

If you're one of those parents (or kids) who either gets invited to a lot of parties, or hosts a lot of parties, these are the easiest Halloween Cookies you can make! No need to make them a few days before... these bake so fast, you can make them 30 minutes before your guests arrive!

(or you can just bake and eat them by yourself... I won't judge 😉)

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Halloween Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Cook time: 10-12 minutes
Yield: depends on cookie cutters

Ingredients:

170 mL flour 

40 mL cocoa powder

1 mL baking powder

60 mL margarine, softened

100 mL sugar

1/2 of an egg OR 1/4 banana

2 mL vanilla extract

Decorating materials - icing, sugar, sprinkles, frosting etc. (optional)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350℉

2. Line cookie sheet w/ parchment paper

3. In a bowl, whisk flour, cocoa and baking powder

4. In a separate bowl, cream margarine with sugar. Add banana and vanilla extract. Beat well.

5. Gradually add the flour mixture to creamed mixture

6. Knead dough on lightly floured surface. Roll dough into 1cm thick circle, and cut shapes

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until firm around edges

8. Let cookies cool and...

9. Decorate!

Notes:

• Want to decorate with frosting? Click here for an easy recipe!
• You can use an electric mixer to cream the margarine or a whisk
• Depending on the thickness and size of your cookies, you may need to keep them in the oven for more or less time

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Eggless (and vegan) Banana Bread

Have you ever had one of those days when NOTHING goes your way? Yep, that was today... WORST DAY EVER (but I say that on every bad day 😛)

Starting off, I lost my most favorite cap ever...literally the best hat I have ever owned!

Then, it turned out I forgot my bus money so I had to *beg* the driver to let me on for free (he did, btw)

I lost my $10 bill and then, when I got home, it turned out I had run out of all-purpose flour... why do I even have a baking blog if all-purpose isn't always in my house??

Anyways, I decided to bake this delicious banana bread because I really needed it. Think of it as a "pick-me-up". 

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Banana Bread
Cook time: 45-50 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:
2 bananas (mashed)
3/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup any flavorless oil (I used olive oil)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
5 chopped walnuts (optional)

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350℉
2. Mash the bananas (you can use a fork or blender)
3. Add the sugar, vanilla and oil
4. In a medium bowl, stir so the sugar dissolves and the oil is thoroughly mixed with the banana purée
5. Sieve the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt (you can add it directly to the purée, or sieve them separately and then add to the wet ingredients)
6. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients
7. Add the walnuts and fold again (you can also use raisins or chocolate chips, anything you'd like)
8. Pour the batter into a lined loaf pan (7.5 x 4 x 2.5 inches)
9. Gently shake the pan or tap it on a counter 
10. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean

Notes:

• If you don't want to use oil, you can also substitute it with butter
• If you want a larger loaf, feel free to double the recipe
• Depending on your oven, the loaf might take more or less time than mentioned above
• Don't know how to fold ingredients? Click here!

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Smoothie Saturday: Banana Avocado Smoothie

Welcome to my new series: Smoothie Saturday! I'm gonna give this a try for a while and see how I like it 😋 Anyways, today I'm going to introduce you to my all-time favorite smoothie: The Banana Avocado Smoothie! This isn't just my favorite because of how thick and creamy it is (which is a big bonus), but also how quickly I can make it! It's great for breakfast, lunch, brunch... you name it. And honestly, I don't even like avocados, but in this smoothie, I wouldn't use anything else. 

Now, just in case you're skeptical, let's go over some of the health benefits of the main ingredients in this smoothie: avocados.

1. High in essential vitamins and minerals, including Vitamins C, K, B5, folate and potassium.

Did you know: Avocados contain 35% more potassium than bananas!

2. Helps maintain bone health and reduces risk of osteoporosis.

3. Contains all 9 of the essential amino acids (promote healthy and strong muscle)

4. Low in sodium and fructose (sugar)

5. Helps in weight loss - contains fiber, which makes you feel fuller for longer, so you snack less

6. Highest protein content of any fruit!

And I've barely even scratched the surface! Not only this smoothie great for those of you who are health-conscious (me included), you can drink it on a hot summer day... trust me, this will cool you right down.

I garnished my smoothie with a small handful of honey-flavored granola. This makes it feel more like a treat than a breakfast. I mixed all the ingredients in my amazing, new Ninja blender and it was ready in about 10 seconds.

Banana Avocado Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 medium, ripe avocado

1 ripe banana

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tbsp honey (optional, for sweeter flavor)

granola (optional)

Steps:

Give all the ingredients a twirl in a blender for about 10 seconds

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*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I will earn a small commission, if you choose to buy anything. This will come at absolutely no cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and my blog :)

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The BEST Buttercream Frosting

Have you ever had those days when you make a delicious cake but don't have a quick icing recipe? Well, this is for those days. This recipe takes about 5 minutes in total.... and to be honest, the hardest part is controlling yourself and not licking the spoon as you're making it (which I've obviously never done...) So, let's get on with this recipe! 

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EASIEST Buttercream Frosting (white)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

2 tbsp milk

3 drops food coloring, any color (optional)

Steps:

1. Cream the unsalted butter with an electric or handheld mixer. GRADUALLY beat in sugar until fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla.

2. Pour in milk; beat 3-4 minutes. If using, add food coloring and beat an additional 30 seconds.

And that's literally it! Enjoy!

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EASY Chocolate Mug Cake

For some reason, today I had an insatiable craving for chocolate. I ate a piece of chocolate and even a bit of a chocolate chip cookie, but nothing worked. I decided to make my chocolate mug cake and let me tell you, this hit the spot. It's delicious and best of all, it takes less than 5 minutes (literally)! 

Chocolate Mug Cake

Cook time: 90 seconds

Yield: 1 mug cake

Ingredients:

2 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 an egg (or 1/2 a banana, as substitute)
2 tbsp oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp milk

Steps:

1. Mix and microwave for 90 seconds

That's how easy it is!

Want to top it off with frosting? Click here for the QUICKEST Buttercream Frosting recipe!

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