Peppermint Essential Oil Cookies

Who doesn't love chocolate peppermint anything? We can't get enough of it, especially during the holiday season! I decided I wanted to try out baking with my peppermint essential oil from doTERRA® for the first time and it turned out SO well! I highly recommend this super easy recipe - it's cute, simple, and absolutely delicious!

To make these cookies, I purchased a pre-made sugar cookie mix from Betty Crocker, followed the instructions to a tee, and then mixed in 5 drops of doTERRA's peppermint essential oil. I rolled each cookie into a one-inch circle and baked as directed. The small amount of peppermint oil added huge flavor to the cookies - Tim and I both definitely overindulged. ;) Once they came out of the oven, I let them cool a bit and then placed candy cane Hershey's Kisses in the center of each one. Warning: allow the cookies to cool completely before trying to move them or you'll have melted candy cane kisses spread across the batch.

Full disclosure: I made two batches of these because the first ones didn't turn out so well! I took the first batch out of the oven, immediately placed the candy cane Hershey's kisses in the middle of each, and then left them on top of the hot oven while we were cooking dinner. I quickly found out that's a no-no ;) The kisses melted all over the cookies and ruined what I thought was going to be quite the photogenic batch. Luckily the second batch turned out much better!

If you try out this recipe, let me know what you think! Make sure to bake extra because they'll go fast. ;)

Recipe // Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

YOU GUYS. These are the BEST pumpkin chocolate chip cookies you will ever taste! They're so light and fluffy and full of the flavor of fall. No, this is not the healthiest recipe to feature, but it is great for your happiness ;) This is the second weekend in a row that I've made these for Tim and I. Tim is a cookie connoisseur and these are husband-approved, so you know they're good. This weekend I made a few extra so some lucky coworkers will get to try them tomorrow (and, let's be honest, so we could have a few extra as well).

You can find the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe on Creme de la Crumb. If you're like me and can't get enough of everything pumpkin in the fall, you will not regret making these! Happy baking!

Recipe // Winter Minestrone Soup

This past weekend, we were hit with a pretty big storm in the Pacific Northwest. While the city didn't get hit too hard where we're at, there were some pretty crazy stories over by the coast! We still stayed inside since we weren't sure how bad it was going to get and decided to make some delicious minestrone soup. We followed Ina Garten's Winter Minestrone Soup recipe, but customized it just the slightest bit.

Here's how we customized (and it was still just as delicious!):

• We didn't include the pancetta

• We used vegetable broth instead of chicken stock because it's what we had on hand

• We skipped the white wine

• Instead of the garlic bruschetta, we made our own garlic bread using whole wheat buns, olive oil, and garlic salt. All you have to do is throw it in the oven and broil it on high for just a few minutes - it's delicious!

One of the best parts? It's almost a one-pot meal with the exception of cooking the pasta and making the bread. It was the perfect choice for a cold and stormy night in.