Who knew somethings as simple as baking cookie dough on top of brownies could be so amazing? And these brookies have soccer ball chocolate morsels for the World Cup!

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Sometimes I make over the top recipes like chocolate chip cookie and peanut butter Oreo fudge brownies and other times I just smash together two store-bought items and it still creates something equally as magical. I am usually on team homemade but sometimes you just need something super quick and easy – like when I decided to bake these brookies in time for the USA vs Turkey game tonight.

Originally when I saw the limited edition Nestle Toll House cookie dough with soccer ball morsels I did not buy them because I was convinced there was no chance for the little soccer balls to maintain their soccer ball texture. But I caved when I realized they would be cute made into a soccer brookies.

Yes I know I have already shared recipes for soccer cookies and a soccer ball cookie cake but this is clearly different. Grab a box of your favorite brownie mix, prepare the batter as indicated on the box, spread into a greased and lined 9×13-inch baking pan, top with cookie dough, add some flair via sprinkles, and bake. That’s all it takes to get these adorably fun brookies on the table in time for the game – assuming you can find the cookie dough.

I hope you are not tired of World Cup soccer recipes because I am not finished. My next recipe is a savory one so we will take a break from all the sugar if you are tapped out and move on to chopped cheese stuffed pull apart bread that looks like a soccer ball!

WORLD CUP SOCCER BROOKIES

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Yield: 24 Servings Prep Time: 40 Minutes Cooking Time: 25 Minutes 25 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 (16.3 oz.) box brownie mix, plus indicated ingredients
• 1 (14 oz.) package of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough*
• Sprinkles**

Directions

1. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, prepare the brownie batter as indicated on the box.
3. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Top with crumbled cookie dough, pressing down slightly.
4. Add sprinkles on top if desired** and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20-25 minutes.
5. When center is set, remove to cool completely on a write rack. Once cool, use the overhanging parchment paper to lift the brookies from the pan and slice into 24 squares.

Notes

*I used the Tollhouse limited edition cookie dough with the soccer ball shaped morsels. **I used colors for USA for the the World Cup game today but any color can be used based on the occasion.

Source: Adapted from various sources across the internet.

Make a soccer ball cookie cake worthy of the 2026 World Cup that resembles the new Trionda soccer ball design.

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While watching soccer for a week straight I realized something – the classic soccer ball shape we all associate the sport, the 32-panel truncated icosahedron originally introduced by Adidas for the 1970 World Cup, was updated to a 14-pannel ball by Adidas for the 2006 World Cup improve accuracy and hasn’t been seen since in professional play. And yet we still all envision that 32-panel black and white ball when we think of a soccer ball. To be fair it is still used for recreational use so it’s not completely gone.

Now that you’ve had a little soccer ball history lesson, I will explain why it is relevant to this recipe. At first I was looking to create homemade soccer cookies since a few people have been having trouble finding the Pillsbury soccer ball cookie dough that I used in my World Cup Soccer Cookies. But then I thought about making a jumbo soccer ball cookie cake that would essentially look like a life-size, albeit flattened, soccer ball!

But then while scrolling Instagram I saw that Kelly of Just A Taste had already beat me to it! I could have gone ahead and still done mine but I decided to give myself a challenge and make a soccer ball cookie cake that looks like the Adidas Trionda used in the 2026 World Cup. It’s not that much harder to make but it was much harder to describe in the directions as you’re not just simply creating round balls of dough and pressing them flat. I hope you are able to figure it out based on my photos.

If I wasn’t in such a hurry to get this done in time for the USA vs Australia game today I should have hunted down Canada and Mexico flags to pair with USA for my photos as they are the three North American hosts this year. Instead I used Italy (whom isn’t even at the World Cup this year) and a Czechia hat because I was working with what I had at the moment. This is what happens when I bake on a whim at 6am before my day job.

WORLD CUP TIRONDA SOCCER BALL COOKIE CAKE

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Yield: 8-12 Servings Prep Time: 2 Hours 45 Minutes Cooking Time: 20 Minutes 20 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Blue, green, and red gel food coloring
• Blue, green, and red sanding sugar (optional)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until just combined. Slowly beat in flour mixture until it comes together into a dough.
3. Divide the dough into sixths (I used a kitchen scale). Wrap three dough balls in plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
4. Place the remaining 3 portions into three separate small mixing bowls. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to one, green to the second, and red to the third. Mix until blended. Wrap each color in plastic wrap and refrigerate all of the dough for at least 2 hours.
5. When ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and coat a 10-inch springform or cake pan with nonstick spray; set aside.
6. Take out the 3 undyed dough balls and place on a clean, floured work surface*. Roll each into approximately 1/2-inch thick and 12-inch long log; set aside.
7. Take out the 3 dyed dough balls and shape each into a lowercase "b" shape** (see photos), about 1/2 inch thick.
8. Place colored sanding sugar into separate bowls. Coat each colored dough with its corresponding color. Shake off the excess and return to the work surface.
9. Pair one white log with each colored dough, wrapping the log around the long outside edge and tucking into the short edge (shaped like a 6 around the b - see photos).
10. Arrange the three doughs in a circle so that the long arms on the outsides, underlining the "b" of the adjacent color (see photos). Lightly press together. Using a cake lifter or large spatula*, transfer dough to the prepared baking pan.
11. Press cookie dough evenly into the pan to fill the spaces, but be careful not to disturb the sprinkles***. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until center is set and dough is very lightly golden.
12. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Serve and slice as desired.

Notes

*Alternatively you could work on a sheet of parchment paper and use it to lift and place in the bottom of a springform pan, cutting off the excess. **If you want to get fancy, I pinched off the tail of each and swapped them to the tails of the adjacent one to try to emulate the pattern on the real soccer ball. ***I recommend placing a piece of wax or parchment paper on top to help spread evenly while not disturbing the sprinkles.

Source: Adapted from my Cut Out Sugar Cookies and Pizza Cookie Cake.

Get the party started with this easy no-bake funfetti dessert lasagna. Tastes like my childhood, licking funfetti batter off the beaters.

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All these years of blogging and I’ve only missed posting on my birthday once. It was 2019 and I was in Italy for our belated honeymoon. I was too busy eating gelato for breakfast – good enough excuse right? For 41, I decided that every new recipe I share this month will be inspired by one of my favorite things. I started with a Hawaiian SPAM pizza because I love a fruited pizza, especially the OG.

Since my birthday is also May the Fourth be with you I often post a Star Wars-inspired recipe today for my actual birthday but decided to take my Funfetti stuffed cookie for one into a multi-serving dessert instead. No-bake dessert lasagnas are one of my favorite desserts in general especially the first one I ever made – peanut butter cup dessert lasagna. I have made several variations over the years and it was finally time to make a funfetti dessert lasagna.

I debated using birthday cake Oreos instead of graham crackers but I didn’t want this to be an Oreo and Funfetti desert lasagna because the grocery only had the classic chocolate Oreo version, none of the vanilla Oreos. Although Oreo Funfetti would be delicious I wanted the cake batter flavor to shine – and if I’m being honest I find the cake batter creme in those Oreos is extra artificial tasting. I’d rather a classic Oreo than the birthday ones and that defeats the purpose of using the Oreos in the first place. But I digress.

This Funfetti dessert lasagna is pretty simple but has all the birthday vibes. Layers of graham cracker soften overnight between layers of a filling reminiscent of Funfetti batter/cheesecake Finished with a layer of whipped toping and lots of sprinkles! And yes I did eat a slice of this for breakfast this morning.

FUNFETTI DESSERT LASAGNA

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Yield: 2 dozen Prep Time: 6 Hours 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 (3.4 oz.) package vanilla instant pudding
• 3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup white or yellow dry cake mix*
• 1 tsp cake batter flavor (or vanilla extract)
• 24 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 1 (14 oz.) box classic graham crackers
• 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles**, plus more for garnish

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whip together the heavy cream and instant pudding mix. Add cream cheese, cake mix, and vanilla. Whip for 2-3 minutes until fully combined and smooth. Add 16 ounces of the thawed whipped topping, 1 cup at a time. Continue to whip until fluffy and light. Fold in the rainbow sprinkles. Set aside.
2. In a 9 x 13 inch dish place one layer of graham crackers (I used 7-1/2 per layer). Spread 1/3 of the filling mixture over the graham crackers. Gently press the next layer of graham crackers into the filling and repeat, ending with the final third of the filling.
3. Cover and chill for at least 4-6 hours (overnight for best results). When ready to serve, top with remaining 8 oz. of whipped topping and decorate with more rainbow sprinkles before cutting into 24 squares.

Notes

*Heat treat raw flour before consuming. Toast it in the oven at 350F for about 5 minutes, or microwave for 1 minute, stirring every 15 seconds, until an instant thermometer reads 160F. **Use jimmies as the nonpareils color bleeds easily.

Source: Adapted from my No-Bake Peaches and Cream Dessert Lasagna.

Make hearts literally melt with these chewy chocolate blossom cookies coated in festive sprinkles and topped with Reese’s mini hearts peanut butter cups.

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After successfully finding the Reese’s mini trees shaped unwrapped peanut butter cups for the holidays, I failed to ever make a fun recipe utilizing them. So when the Reese’s mini hearts hit the shelves I made sure to grab them and whip something up in time for Valentine’s Day.

While a peanut butter blossom cookie would have been a classic option, I have done something similar with the full-sized Reese’s hearts on peanut butter cookie bars in the past. With Valentine’s coming up I figured chocolate blossom cookies were in order.

February is also Chocolate Lovers Month so it seemed fitting to make a chocolate version of a classic blossom cookie even if I technically do not consider myself to fall into the category of a “chocolate lover”. The addition of peanut butter is what gets me through life as made evident by my many peanut butter cup creations.

I also ended up rolling these chocolate blossom cookies in three different types of sprinkles and everyone who tried them had their own preferences between them as some sprinkles were a bit crunchier than others. Yes that means they tried all three. It was like the Golidlocks of sprinkles.

Do I have to roll the chocolate blossom cookies in colorful sprinkles or sugar?

Not at all! While myself and many who tried them loved the texture of the sprinkles in contrast to the chewy cookie, that may not be you. Regular granulated would work as well for slightly less texture but if you prefer these cookies to be as soft as can be you can skip it altogether. They will spread a tad more – just fair warning.

REESE'S MINI HEARTS CHOCOLATE BLOSSOM COOKIES

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Yield: 4 dozen Prep Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 8 Minutes 8 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2-1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup festive sprinkles, or coarse sugar
• 1 (7.6 oz.) bag Reese's mini hearts unwrapped peanut butter cups

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a stand mixer or large bowl with electric hand mixer, blend together the butter and cream cheese until incorporated. Add sugar and beat for 2 minutes. Add egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla, beating until incorporated. Slowly add the dry flour mixture and mix until combined.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls (I used a medium cookie scoop). Roll in sprinkles to coat and place on a wax paper-lined tray. Cover and chill dough in refrigerator for one hour or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
5. Place cookie dough balls on prepared cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes.
6. Immediately after removing from oven, lightly press a Reese's mini heart-shaped candy into the center of each cookie.
7. Let cool slightly before transferring to wire rack to cool completely (2-3 hours)*. Once the chocolate is set, enjoy or store in an air-tight container.

Notes

*Place in the refrigerator to speed up the process of the chocolate resolidifying.

Source: Adapted from my Double Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.

When it’s your birthday you can eat whatever you want, right? This birthday girl is eating a giant peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie stuffed with cheesecake – Funfetti cheesecake!

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Today is my 40th birthday!

Leading up to this day my husband did something extraordinary and made me a jumbo sized birthday advent calendar. At first it was cute but useful things like leaf-shaped clips for my climbing house plants, but then he stuck an 8-inch All-Clad frying pan in there to replace our previously abused pan. Then on the second to last day he went even bigger with tickets to the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets! After that I told him he was setting the bar awfully high for the final spot and he simply replied “no comment”…

I have all the comments. In the last spot contained a shirt that read “There goes the sun – Total Solar Eclipse Iceland August 12, 2026”. It took me a second to realize what that meant – we are going to Iceland next year for the solar eclipse! He has owed me a trip there since he went without me right after our wedding in 2018 and not only are we going but when there is also an eclipse! As luck would have it we will also be there for our 8th wedding anniversary.

So yea, that escalated quickly. Here I was thinking it was just going to be a very thoughtful cute but giant birthday advent calendar, which I was more than happy with as it was, but he took it to the max and now I don’t think any other birthday from now on can compare. Or maybe now he’s set the bar too high – ha! He did say he thought about saving the Iceland surprise for next years birthday but said 40 is better than 41.

With that, I leave you with a non-SEO friendly recipe combining several of my favorite things into one: funfetti cake, cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies, and peanut butter. So this is a recipe for a giant multichip cookie (dark, white, peanut butter chips) stuffed with Funfetti flavored cream cheese, and lots of sprinkles on top. It’s the 40th birthday version of my peanut butter birthday bites or funfettinutter cupcakes.

You could divide it up into 4 smaller cookies, but it’s my birthday… and it’s Single Serving Sunday (for all you long timers)! I may not be single anymore but I can make a recipe just for me from time to time still.

FUNFETTI CHEESECAKE STUFFED GIANT MULTI CHIP COOKIE FOR ONE

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Yield: 1-4 Servings Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 25 MInutes 25 MInutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

COOKIE

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp beaten egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
• Rainbow sprinkles

FILLING

• 2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp white cake mix
• 1 tsp rainbow sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees* and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and white cake mix. Stir in sprinkles just until distributed. Shape into a 4-inch round disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in fridge until ready.
3. In a medium mixing bowl whisk the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla mixing until well combined. Add flour, soda, and salt, mixing until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips just until distributed.
4. Scoop one half of the dough onto prepared baking sheet, shaping into a 5-inch round disc. Unwrap the cream cheese disc and place on top in the center of the cookie dough. Shape remaining half of cookie dough into another 5-inch round disc, place on top, and seal the edges. Top with rainbow sprinkles.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until no longer shiny on top. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk all by yourself!

Notes

*I cooked mine in my toaster oven. No sense heating up the entire oven for one cookie!

Source: Adapted from Giant Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookie for One.

Birthdays are better with Oreo Cheesecake Bars, especially when they are made with sprinkles and birthday cake creme flavored Oreos.

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Over the years I have realized how strange it is that the majority of my close friends are still those that I met in high school. I’ve made close friends since but that core group from back home remains. Despite life changes and distance, we have been able to maintain our friendships which I cherish, because evidently that is not common.

Add to this fact that my husband is a year older than me, who is part of another group of high school friends, and as a result many of our friends turned 40 this year or are about to next year (Bob’s was this past July, mine is May 2025). All of the birthday celebrations!

Speaking of celebration, for my friend Adrienne’s 40th birthday, her partner and another mutual friend schemed to send her up to Columbus, OH this past weekend so that we could celebrate together. Of course, dessert had to be involved but what kind? Since she’s a fan of both cheesecake and The Golden Girls I checked out The Golden Girls Cookbook from my library and started brainstorming.

I have a confession – Until this past weekend I had never seen a single episode of The Golden Girls. Maybe I spent too much time watching Nickelodeon and Nick and Nite, but also it came out in September of 1985, the year I was born, and ran for 7 seasons so I wasn’t exactly the right age when it was on air.

But I digress. While flipping through The Golden Girls Cookbook, I was bookmarking quite a few until I landed on Blanche’s Fortieth Birthday Cheesecake Squares recipe. Between the festive flair of the sprinkles and the reference to a fortieth birthday, it felt like a no-brainer. But of course I made them a little extra by giving them an Oreo crust with even more chopped Oreos mixed in. And I used the Oreos with birthday cake flavored creme, of course.

This recipe also doubles as not only Adrienne’s 40th birthday cheesecake but The Spiffy Cookie’s 14th birthday! It wouldn’t be my blog’s anniversary if I didn’t almost forget about it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have to double check the date every time.

Loved these Birthday Cake Oreo Cheesecake Bars? Check out previous Spiffy Cookie birthdays:

• One year ago: Peanut Butter Macaroon Blossoms
• Two years ago: Earl Grey Snickerdoodles
• Three years ago: Chocolate Golden Oreo White Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Four years ago: Baby Yoda Cocktail
• Five years ago: Cinnamon Pecan Snowball Cookies
• Six years ago: 8 Go-To Recipes for the 8th Year Blogiversary
• Seven years ago: Buckeye Cheesecake Cake
• Eight years ago: Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
• Nine years ago: Five Year Blogiversary
• Ten years ago: Greek Yogurt Thumbprint Cookies
• Eleven years ago: The Bee’s Knees Peanut Butter Pie
• Twelve years ago: Funfetti Cheesecake White Chocolate Brownies
• Thirteen years ago: Funfetti Truffle Chocolate Cupcakes
• Fourteen years ago: And so it begins

BIRTHDAY CAKE OREO CHEESECAKE BARS

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Yield: 16 Servings Prep Time: 3 Hours 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 53 Minutes 53 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

CRUST

• 1-1/4 cup Oreo birthday cake creme cookies* (approximately 12)
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

FILLING

• 2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 Tbsp dry white cake mix**
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 6 Oreo birthday cake creme cookies*, chopped
• 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan*** with parchment paper, leaving overhang on opposite sides, and lightly grease. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs and melted butter until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and cool completely.
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, flour, and vanilla until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed just until blended. Fold in the chopped cookies and sprinkles until distributed.
4. Pour batter into crust and spread evenly.
5. Bake 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight before serving.

Notes

*Can use classic chocolate sandwich cookies. **Can substitute for plain all-purpose flour. ***You could also bake this in a greased 9-inch pie or springform pan

Source: Adapted from my Peanut Butter Oreo Cheesecake Bars, inspired by The Golden Girls Cookbook, Blanche’s Fortieth Birthday Cheesecake Squares recipe.

Dressing up my Halloween chocolate chip cookies as mad scientists with the help of festive M&Ms and sprinkles.

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Yes, I am still making new variations of my favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies. All I did to make these mad scientist Halloween chocolate chip cookies was to add mad scientist M&Ms and a mad scientist mix of sprinkles. Does it require it’s own blog post? Probably not, but sometimes seeing is believing when it comes to recipe modifications. I already did one for the winter holidays, so why not Halloween?

If you cannot find the specific “mad scientist” M&Ms to make these Halloween chocolate chip cookies, you can obviously use whatever festive mix they are selling this year. Same goes for the sprinkles. Mine had eyes and fingers mixed into the orange, green, purple, and white jimmies but any festive combo will do.

Now that my favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies are dressed up for Halloween, I need to decide on a costume for myself. I spent so much time decorating the inside and outside of our house that I forgot to ponder costume ideas.

At one point I suggested Jean and Gene from The Umbrella Academy Season 4 for Bob and I, but I feel like I can do better. I bet there will be plenty of Australian break dancers and Beetlejuice people already. Maybe Inside Out 2 characters?

One year ago: Peanut Butter Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Five years ago: Cranberry Sweet Tea Sangria

Seven years ago: Peanut Butter Mississippi Mud Brownies

Nine years ago: Pumpkin Corn Spoon Bread

Ten years ago: Slow Cooker Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili

Eleven years ago: Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Thirteen years ago: Stuffed Flank Steak with Potato Cakes and Amaretto Chocolate Cheesecake

MAD SCIENTIST HALLOWEEN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

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Yield: 2 Dozen Prep Time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 12 Minutes 12 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg + 1 yolk, room temperature
• 2 cups Mad Scientist Halloween M&M’s
• 1-1/2 semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup Mad Scientist Halloween sprinkles*

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats (or parchment paper); set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended (1-2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients in three batches until just blended. Fold in the M&M, chocolate chips, and sprinkles by hand.
4. Roll 1/4 cup of dough** into a ball that is slightly taller than wide and place on a plate or tray. Cover tightly and chill for at least 2 hours, overnight for best results (can refrigerate up to one week).
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats (or parchment paper); set aside.
6. Place cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes (will look underbaked). Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Notes

*Can add extra on top once dough balls formed. **For smaller cookies, roll 2 Tablespoons and bake for 8-9 minutes.

Did You Make This Recipe?

I want to see! Tag me on Instagram at @TheSpiffyCookie and hashtag it #TheSpiffyCookie.

Source: Adapted slightly from my Chewy Holiday M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies.

These Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars start with a chewy peanut butter cookie base which is topped with heart-shaped Reese’s peanut butter cups and festive sprinkles.

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What’s better than a peanut butter cookie in bar form? A peanut butter cup cookie bar topped with a peanut butter cup! Just load up on the peanut butter, that’s what I say.

I chose to use heart-shaped pink Reese’s peanut butter cups because I made these around Valentine’s Day, but you can use any shape or flavor peanut butter cup you prefer – even the classic ones. Just change up the color/style of sprinkles to fit the occasion.

As you can see below, I’ve also made these for Halloween!

In the end, these turned out to be a peanut butter lover’s dream. Does it get much better than a chewy peanut butter cookie topped with a peanut butter cup on top?

The only thing that might make them better (IMO) would be to combine with cheesecake to make cheesecake peanut butter cup cookie bars, but I digress.

REESE'S HEART PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIE BARS

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Yield: 15 Servings Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 18 Minutes 18 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 15 unwrapped heart-shaped peanut butter cups*
• Festive sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan. Grease the sides.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture until combined. Dough will be thick and sticky.
4. Spread the cookie dough out evenly into the pan. Top with evenly spaced out peanut butter cups and sprinkles. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
5. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes before using the parchment paper overhang to lift bars out of the pan.
6. Set on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, cut into 15 bars.

Notes

*Can also use standard peanut butter cups

Source: Adapted from my Buckeye Peanut Butter Cookie Bars and White Chocolate Reese’s Pumpkin Blondies.

Did you make this recipe? I want to see! Tag @THESPIFFYCOOKIE on Instagram and hashtag it #THESPIFFYCOOKIE

These No-Bake Buddy the Elf Spaghetti cookies have all his favorite toppings: marshmallows, M&Ms, sprinkles, maple syrup, chocolate Pop Tarts, and more chocolate!

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Back in December of 2018 , shortly after our lab moved from Ohio State to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, we were told about a Center tradition where each lab comes up with a themed holiday treat cart to sell goodies for charity. The key point was that we were told it was also a competition which they take very seriously.

We busted out of the gates with a Hogwarts Express Trolley, complete with all the items you read about in the books and saw in the movies and then some, including cards inside the handmade chocolate frog boxes with our Center professors on them. Apparently we took it up a level and not only raised the most money, but won best cart as well!

In 2019, we kept the streak alive with our “Have a Typhoid Merry Christmas” cart which included Merry Christmice chocolate covered cherries, petri dish cookies, “raw hamburger” rice crispy treat patties, “unfinished courses of antibiotic” jelly beans, and chocolate covered raisin “gallstones”.

But then we all know what happened in 2020 and continued through 2021, so the cart festivities did not occur. However, this year I took it upon myself to revive it! The turnover is pretty high in science research, at least for staff, so not many people had experienced the holiday treat carts – they did not know about my intensity haha.

We struggled a little bit to come to a consensus but ultimately we went with an Elf themed cart this year. On the menu we had the Lincoln Tunnel of Fudge Cake, Seven Levels of the Candy Cane Forest Bars, Don’t Eat the Yellow Snowball Cookies, Eat a Whole Roll of Cookie Dough Balls, Candy-Candy Canes-Candy Corns-Maple Syrup Fudge, the World’s Best Cup of Coffee, and of course Buddy’s Spaghetti Cookies.

Originally I had Santa I know Him Brownies and Swirly Twirly Gumdrop Punch on the menu as well, but we ran out of room on the cart as it was! I did also dress up like Buddy while I pushed the cart around to everyone’s offices, with a green cardigan cinched with a big black belt, yellow leggings, and hat. Sure enough we won again this year!

The star IMO was these no-bake Buddy the Elf spaghetti cookies which are great fun to make and remind me of my mom’s haystack cookies (I’ve also made a chubby hubby version). Get the kids involved and let them go wild with the toppings!

NO-BAKE BUDDY THE ELF SPAGHETTI COOKIES

Print

Yield: 2 dozen Prep Time: 45 Minutes Cooking Time: 5 Minutes 5 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 12 oz. white chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup mini marshmallow bits, divided
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup (or 1 tsp maple extract)
• 5 oz. chow mein noodles
• 1/2 cup mini M&Ms
• 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
• 1 chocolate Pop Tart, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup milk chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper; set aside.
2. In a double boiler, melt white chocolate, stirring frequently.
3. Once completely melted, remove from heat and stir in the maple. Immediately add half the marshmallow bits and chow mein noodles, gently mixing until fully coated.
4. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet*. Immediately top with remaining marshmallow bits, M&Ms, sprinkles, and Pop Tart pieces.
5. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave milk chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. Drizzle over haystacks and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.

Notes

*Yield will depend on how large or small you make them.

Source: Adapted slightly from Cravings of a Lunatic and my Chubby Hubby Haystack Cookies.

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Two cookies are always better than one. These holiday double decker cookies have a festive sugar cookie baked on top of a chocolate chip cookie.

Jump to recipe

I know, I know, Halloween was literally a week ago and I’m posting a recipe for Christmas cookies? Trust, I’m not forgetting about Thanksgiving (after all, I shared side dishes all last week) but this is part of a blogger event where we are all collectively sharing holiday cookies this week. Aka they made me do it.

These double decker cookies are about as Santa-approved as they can get because not only are they my favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies dressed up in festive sprinkles but they are topped with a Pillsbury holiday shape sugar cookie! They are a little bit extra, just like your neighbor with the landscape of decorations (or maybe it’s you – get it).

The new pre-sliced versions of these iconic sugar cookies mean these cookies require hardly any more work than without. But sometimes I miss he challenge of slicing the cookie dough. If you pressed too hard you would end up with a squat snowman and you’d have to delicately reform the disk into a circle. Kids these days don’t know how easy they’ve got it!

• Bear Paw Cookies by Best Cookie Recipes
• Best Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies by Magical Ingredients
• Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Toffee Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love, and Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Chocolate Mint Pizzelles by Blogghetti
• Christmas Light Sugar Cookies by Jen Around the World
• Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cream Cheese Cookies by That Recipe
• Devil’s Food Thumbprint Cookies by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Double Ginger Oatmeal Cookies by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies by Christmas Tree Lane
• German Rum Balls by Red Cottage Chronicles
• Gingerbread Cookies by Hostess At Heart
• Gingerbread Sandwich Trees by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Hot Chocolate Cookies by Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog
• Hot Cocoa Cookies by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Italian Sweet Taralli by Shockingly Delicious
• Macadamia Mint Meltaway Cookies by Palatable Pastime
• Merry Grinchmas Cookies by Sweet Beginnings
• No-Bake Flourless Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies by Frugal & Fit
• Peppermint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies by Family Around the Table
• Shortbread Pecan Bars Without Corn Syrup by Art of Natural Living
• Twix Cookie Bars by Cheese Curd in Paradise
• Vanilla Crown Royal Cookies by An Affair from the Heart

HOLIDAY DOUBLE DECKER COOKIES

Print

Yield: 20 Cookies Prep Time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 12 Minutes 12 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg + 1 yolk, room temperature
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup festive sprinkles
• 1 pkg. Pillsbury Holiday Shape Sugar Cookie Dough

Directions

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended (1-2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients in three batches until just blended. Fold in the chips by hand followed by the sprinkles.
3. Lightly coat a 1/4 measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop cookie dough, roll into a ball that is slightly taller than wide, and place on a plate or tray. Place a holiday sugar cookie on top and lightly press to adhere. Cover tightly and chill for at least 2 hours, but overnight for best results.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats (or parchment paper); set aside.
5. Place cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, about 3 inches apart.
6. Bake for 12 minutes or until edges are barely golden (will look underbaked). Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Source: Adapted from my Sprinkle Chocolate Chip Cookies.

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