Kicking off the World Cup with these sweet earth soccer cookies that are perfect no matter who you are cheering for – we are all on this planet together!

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Today marks the first day of the 2026 World Cup and to celebrate the occasion I whipped up these soccer ball cookies last night after seeing the Pillsbury soccer balls cookie dough at the grocery store. Nothing like a last minute recipe to keep the blog alive. But sometimes spontaneity is necessary for my creative baking juices to flow. Although in this case spontaneity also paired with a desire to be quick and easy as this bake was not part of my regularly schedule program last night.

Originally I thought I would make a chocolate chip cookie cake topped with the soccer cookies but then I remembered I basically already did that with my skillet football cookie cake. Further brainstorming brought me to cupcakes topped with green frosting piped to resemble grass but I had zero desire to process two separate bakes, let alone to make frosting and deal with a piping bag. So I decided to make a World Cup version of my double decker cookies.

I had hoped the patriotic Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix would be available in stores since Memorial Day just past and July 4th is on the horizon but alas it was not. Halloween decor has been spotted but not patriotic Funfetti? Maybe they aren’t coming out with it this year? Either way I decided it was for the best because even with the sprinkles, Funfetti cake mix cookies would have been too similar in color to the soccer cookies on top. I wanted a pop of color and a pop is what we got!

Dyed to resemble our sweet Earth (round) instead of just one country to honor all of the humans living on this planet together – which also means they are perfect no matter which team you are supporting. I considered using matcha and blueberry pea flower to dye them instead but again I wanted something easy. Maybe you will appreciate that as well when you go to make these for yourself!

Looking for ideas for a USMNT watch party that are more patriotic/red+white+blue themed? Feel free to dye these red and blue instead. My USA soccer ball cake is also super fun but does take a bit more skill as it has a surprise inside. To take advantage of all those seasonal summer berries you could made red white and berry shortcakes or hand pies.

Alternatively, if you are already sweltering in the heat this week and don’t want to turn on your oven, some great no-bake options are a patriotic dessert lasagna or patriotic rice krispie treats. And I even have a recipe for a red white and blue sangria!

WORLS CUP SOCCER COOKIES

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Yield: 20 cookies Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 box (15.25 oz.) white cake mix
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder*
• 2 eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• Green and Blue food coloring
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (9.2 oz.) package of Pillsbury soccer ball shaped cookie dough

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, lightly mix together the cake mix, cocoa powder, eggs, and vegetable oil. Divide evenly into two bowls, add a few drops of green food coloring to one and blue food coloring to the other. Blend dough until thoroughly mixed and no dry pockets remain.
3. In a small bowl, place the granulated sugar; set aside.
4. Portion the dough into 3/4-inch balls (I used a small cookie scoop, size 60) then combine one of each color into one medium-sized dough ball.
5. Roll dough balls in sugar, shaking of excess, and place on the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick. Place a soccer ball cookie dough ball on the top of each.
6. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until just barely golden on the edges. Let cool 5-10 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

*This helps the food coloring be richer/darker rather but it is optional.

Source: Adapted from my Red Velvet Thumbprint Cookies and Holiday Double Decker Cookies.

Don’t be fooled, these deviled egg cookies might look like your standard party eggs on the appetizer table but they are meant for the dessert table!

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My original plan was to share these deviled egg cookies on April Fools’ Day because I legit fooled people into thinking they were deviled eggs, but alas I lost track of time and missed it by 2 days. Over the years I’ve not been the best at catching this holiday but I have shared plenty of silly-fun food recipes of the years.

For example: my recent carrot cake crepes, new ways of thinking of deviled eggs in the form of deviled potatoes and deviled strawberries, disaster turned fun holy crap cookies, rice krispie sushi for a nephew’s birthday, buckeye AND chocolate deviled eggs, and my every growing collection of Halloween and Cheetos recipes.

Some might say I have a thing for deviled eggs and deviled egg-like food. Some might be right, because obviously today is yet another silly deviled egg creation. This time instead of testing peoples limits by making a dessert filling for a real hard boiled egg white (it’s not that weird I promise, the egg white is just a mostly bland vehicle anyway) I went for something less scary for those that are not as adventurous – sugar cookies.

I baked these deviled egg cookies in an egg-shaped silicone baking mold a friend gifted to me for the sole purpose of making these (thanks Beth!). We had seen others online baking similar things but I had an idea – what if I dipped the tops in white chocolate to make them look like true egg whites? Sure enough if you dip them in white chocolate and lay them face down on wax paper, once they set and you peel them off they really do look like little egg white cavities ready to be filled with deviled egg filing. All that remained was a little lemon curd frosting for the filling and red sanding sugar for “paprika” to lock it in.

I do have to admit I was a little distressed that the white chocolate coated eggs weren’t perfectly shaped despite my best efforts to remedy the fact that the cookies obviously weren’t perfectly flat. However several people said they are more realistic to the struggles of peeling eggs to make deviled eggs which was hilariously accurate.

So instead of trying to make these again but *prettier* I decided to just go for it and share them in all their imperfect glory. The internet needs a little more reality even if it’s just in the chocolate coating of a cookie to make it look like a deviled egg. Even if deviled egg cookies are a bit of a distortion of reality – whoops!

DEVILED EGG COOKIES

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Yield: Approximately 20 Prep Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 15 Minutes 15 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

SUGAR COOKIE

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

TOPPING

• 6 oz. white chocolate candy coating
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp lemon curd
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• Yellow and red food coloring
• Red sanding sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat three 8-cavity egg-shaped silicone baking molds with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Blend in the egg and vanilla just until incorporated.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture 1/3 at a time until incorporated.
4. Place a 1-1/2 tablespoon ball of dough into each cavity (I used a medium cookie scoop). Place silicone trays on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until the tops are slightly golden.
5. Remove from oven and immediately press an small indentation (where the egg yolk would have been if it were an egg) using the back of a measuring spoon. Allow to cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. While the cookies cool, prepare the white chocolate. Line a flat tray with wax paper; set aside.
7. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler (or metal/glass bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water). Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.
8. Dip the top (flat side with indent) of the egg cookies into melted chocolate letting excess drip off. Place on wax paper, chocolate side down. Repeat with remaining cookies then refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. 
9. While the chocolate sets, prepare the frosting. In a small bowl, beat together the butter, lemon curd, and powdered sugar until creamy. Add a couple drops of yellow food coloring and the smallest drop possible of red, mixing into the frosting to create a rich yellow color. Add a little milk or powdered sugar to reach desired consistency, but should remind you of deviled egg filling.
10. Spoon or pipe into the indentations of the cooled, white chocolate topped egg cookies. Sprinkle to red sanding sugar to resemble paprika. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Source: Adapted from my Sugar Cookie Spoons.

Have Lucky Charms cereal milk in your bowl? Save it to make cereal milk pudding cookie cups. Made with vanilla pudding, sugar cookies, and marshmallows.

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Today’s recipe is pretty simple once you get past the sorting of the Lucky Charms cereal from the marshmallows. Otherwise, you’re mostly using pre-made and semi-made ingredients.

What you need to make cereal milk pudding cookie cups:

• Lucky Charms cereal, sorted
• Milk
• Instant vanilla pudding
• Sugar cookie dough
• Green food coloring, optional

Before making the pudding, I soaked just the cereal in the milk while the sugar cookie cups baked. After straining out the cereal milk, it was then used to made cereal milk pudding. Dye it green if you want to be festive or leave it as is because those marshmallows you sorted out will be used as the decorative topping.

In case you don’t want to just eat the remaining Lucky Charms you can also use it to make lucky buckeye cookies, lucky lemon pie, lucky cheesecake bars, lucky seven layer bars, or even lucky crispy treats.

LUCKY CEREAL MILK PUDDING COOKIE CUPS

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Yield: 2 Dozen Prep Time: 45 Minutes Cooking Time: 12 Minutes 12 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 cups cold milk
• 1 cup Lucky Charms cereal only
• 1 (16.5 oz.) tube Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 (3.4 oz.) box vanilla instant pudding
• Green food coloring, optional
• 1 cup Lucky Charms marshmallows

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, add milk and cereal. Stir to coat and mash down a bit. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the sugar cookie cups. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan (or two with 12).
3. Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls (roughly 1 tablespoon each) and add to each cavity in the muffin pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Cookie cups should sink but if not, using a round teaspoon, press down into the center of each cookie cup, making an indentation deep enough to fill later. Cool completely before removing from the pans and filling.
5. Strain cereal milk into a large measuring cup*, squeezing out as much as you can from the cereal. Add 1-1/2 cups of the milk** to a large bowl, along with the pudding and beat with a wire whisk or electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add food coloring and beat until just combined, if using.
6. Immediately scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of pudding and place in the center of each cookie cup (you may have extra). Top with cereal marshmallows*** and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready.

Notes

*Or another medium bowl. **You started with 2 cups but some will have soaked into the cereal. ***If you want the cereal marshmallows to stay crispy, only add right before serving.

Source: Adapted from my Funfetti Pudding Sugar Cookie Cups.

Swap the strawberry for peanut butter in the classic Neapolitan trio and you get Peanut Butter Chocolate Neapolitan Cookies!

This content contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Neapolitan ice cream is 2/3 good – I dislike the 1/3 that is chocolate. I know that’s a polarizing opinion, but I am picky about my chocolate. I don’t dislike it, but it has to be done right. The only time I’ve liked Neapolitan ice cream was actually when my brother convinced me to get the Neapolitan milkshake from In-N-Out.

With that lead in, you’d think that I would be introducing you to a version of Neapolitan ice cream that doesn’t involve chocolate. Au contraire, I kept the chocolate and instead replaced the strawberry component with the best chocolate pairing there is – peanut butter! Enter Peanut Butter Chocolate Neapolitan Cookies.

Using the base of my chewy sugar cookie recipe I divided the dough into thirds, adding cocoa powder to one 1/3, peanut butter powder to another 1/3, and keeping the final 1/3 plain vanilla. Then you scoop small tablespoons of each dough into balls, then combine one of each into a larger trio dough ball. Roll in sugar as per usual and chill until ready to bake.

Even though the raw peanut butter dough was significantly darker than the plain sugar cookie dough, when these Peanut Butter Chocolate Neapolitan Cookies baked up they were difficult to tell apart. Which made me worried that the peanut butter wouldn’t shine enough but I forget how much punch a little peanut butter powder packs. You might not be able to see the differences, but you can definitely taste it!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE NEAPOLITAN COOKIES

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Yield: Approximately 2 dozen Prep Time: 45 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 Tbsp, divided
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to almost room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups sugar, plus more for rolling
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp powdered peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp chocolate extract (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, Whisk together 2 cups of flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
3. Divide dough into 3 equal portions in separate bowls. Add extra tablespoon of flour to one, powdered peanut butter to the second, and cocoa powder (and chocolate extract if using) to the third. Mix each until just combined.
4. Place extra sugar in a bowl; set aside.
5. Using a small cookie scoop, roll a scant tablespoon of each dough into balls. Combine a ball of each three doughs together by rolling in your hands to form one large cookie dough ball. Roll in the sugar, shake off any excess, place on a wax paper lined plate or tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges of cookies are just starting to brown and centers are set. Let cool on sheets for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Adapted from my Chewy Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Sugar Cookies, and Butternut Bakery.

This layered candy corn cookie cake is made with three 6-inch sugar cookie cakes decorated to resemble Halloween’s iconic candy corn.

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It’s officially October which means it’s time for #HalloweenTreatsWeek !

Have you started decorating yet? I actually started in September because I am traveling a lot in October and wanted to be able to fully appreciate it while I am here.

Probably the most iconic Halloween treat is candy corn, which is also my least favorite Halloween treat and yet it is one of my favorite inspirations for other treats – such as this candy corn cookie cake.

This may look like a regular layer cake from the outside, but inside it’s actually three layers of sugar cookie cake and frosting, dyed to resemble the colors of candy corn. Orange cookie cake topped with orange frosting, followed by yellow and white.

Essentially you take what would normally be one sugar cookie cake and divide it into three smaller 6-inch cookie cakes. Yes, that’s a little layered candy corn cookie cake you are looking at! For an even more miniature version, try my candy corn sugar cookie bars.

This small but mighty cake is the perfect way to kick off this week, and there’s plenty more where that came from. Scroll down to get this and many other Halloween recipes.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Welcome to 2023’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event!

If you’re new here, Welcome! If you’re a returning haunt, welcome back!

#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife . You’ll find that this fun and spooky event is an online, week-long event that is filled with some frightfully fun Halloween treats and recipes from some fantastic Halloween loving bloggers!

For this years 6th annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 18 hauntingly talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week! You can following the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media to collect all of these frightful recipes to use at your own Halloween parties and events!

Make Sure to check out all of the fun Halloween recipes that we’re sharing this week!

Today’s Halloween Offerings:

• Evil Dragon Deviled Eggs from Big Bear’s Wife
• Chocolate Cherry Skull Cakes from Semi Homemade Recipes
• Witch Hat Garlic Bread from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Wicked Good Apple Cider Muffins from Our Good Life
• Spooky Spider Decadent Cupcakes from For the Love of Food
• Monster Mash Cereal Cheesecake from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites from It’s Shanaka
• Halloween Brains Cupcakes from An Affair from the Heart
• Breadstick Snakes from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Jack O’Lantern Tostadas from Palatable Pastime
• Witches Broom Cookies from Best Cookie Recipes
• Baked Intestine Pie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Spooky Roasted Potato Skulls from Savory Moments
• Mummy Donuts from The Redhead Baker
• Caramel Apple Bark from Best Dessert Recipes
• Mummy Dogs from Savory Experiments
• Halloween Taco Dip from Jen Around the World
• Easy Spider Cupcakes from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
• Creamy Pumpkin Hummus from Jolene’s Recipe Journal

CANDY CORN COOKIE CAKE

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Yield: 8 servings Prep Time: 45 Minutes Cooking Time: 18 Minutes 18 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

COOKIE CAKE

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• Red and yellow food coloring

FROSTING

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Red and yellow food coloring
• Sprinkles and candy corn, for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of three 6-inch cake pants; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat melted butter and sugar together until creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture until combined. Dough will be thick and sticky.
4. Divide evenly into thirds into three separate small bowls. Keep one white, while blending food coloring to the others to make them orange and yellow.
5. Spread cookie dough evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until center is set.
6. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
7. While the cookie layers cool, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Continue beating until very light and fluffy. Add heavy cream and vanilla. Add more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency. Divide evenly into thirds into three separate small bowls. Keep one white, while blending food coloring to the others to make them orange and yellow.
8. Place the orange layer on a tray, frost the top and sides with orange frosting. Add the yellow layer and frost with yellow frosting. Finally top with the white layer and white frosting.  Decorate with sprinkles and candy corn.

Source: Adapted from my Pizza Cookie Cake.

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

Get down with all the flavors in these lime, mint, rosemary and lavender sugar cookies. Then choose your own adventure by rolling them in granulated or turbinado sugar.

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Savory recipe inspiration is lacking lately. Sure I’ve spruced up several old recipes lately, but not new ideas are developing in my brain. I think I am just distracted with other goings-on in life. Nothing bad, just busy. As a result dinner-time ideas suffer and instead I turn to sugar.

When it comes to sugar, my go-to is obviously cookies. I suppose there’s no harm in the fact that I have posted more cookie recipes than anything else lately, being The Spiffy Cookie and all, but I’m certain I’ve posted more cookies than anything else in 2023. This will be eight in case you were wondering.

These lime, mint, rosemary and lavender sugar cookies are another version of my classic chewy sugar cookies. I did a little experiment with them as I could not decide whether to stick to rolling them in granulated sugar or to get fancy with some turbinado sugar, so I did half and half and had friends taste-test.

As you might expect, the turbinado added more texture and crunch to the exterior of the cookies. It also may have mellowed out/masked some of the lime, mint, rosemary and lavender flavors. So if you prefer less crunch and a more herb-forward cookie, then stick to the granulated sugar.

While you are literally “sugar-coating” them, in my opinion you can’t go wrong with either sugar coating for these lime, mint, rosemary and lavender sugar cookies. Maybe you could also go half-and-half and do your own taste-test!

If you love these herb sugar cookies, check out my chewy mojito sugar cookies, lavender white chocolate chip cookies, lemon-rosemary white chocolate chip cookies, and orange-lavender white chocolate chip cookies.

LIME, MINT, ROSEMARY, AND LAVENDER SUGAR COOKIES

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Yield: 2 dozen Prep Time: 35 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to almost room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp lime zest
• 2 tsp minced fresh mint
• 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp dried lavender
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Turbinado sugar, for rolling*

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in lime zest and herbs until evenly distributed. Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
3. Place extra sugar in a bowl, roll tablespoons of dough into balls, roll in turbinado sugar*, and shake off any excess. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges of cookies are just starting to brown and centers are set. Let cool on sheets for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

*You can also substitute for regular granulated sugar if you prefer.

Source: Adapted from my Chewy Sugar Cookies.

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

No matter your feelings about candy corn, these candy corn sugar cookie bars are sure to please! It’s a cookie cake decorated to look like candy corn when cut.

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I know October just started, but today is the first week of #HalloweenTreatsWeek! Even though I hate real candy corn, I still enjoy coming up with treats inspired by this iconic Halloween candy. So as you can see I am starting the week with candy corn sugar cookie bars.

Basically ,think of a sugar cookie cake dyed with food coloring and cut into wedges to resemble candy corn. It’s pretty simple and spruces up an otherwise classic sugar cookie.

To assemble the three colors that make up a candy corn, I made them similarly to my Candy Corn Rice Crispy Treats, with a ball of white dough in the middle, a tube of orange dough circling around it in the pan, followed by the yellow – a bull-eye effect.

Then once they are baked and cooled, slice like a cake or pie and you have sugar cookie bars that looks like candy corn – but thankfully they don’t taste anything at all like candy corn. If you actually like candy corn, then feel free to eat a handful at the same time.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Welcome to 2022’s #HalloweenTreatsWeek event!

#HalloweenTreatsWeek is a yearly Halloween blogging event that is hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife . This event is an online, week-long event that is filled with some amazingly wicked Halloween treats and recipes from some fantastic Halloween loving bloggers!

For this years 5th annual #HalloweenTreatsWeek event we have 20 hauntingly talented bloggers that are sharing their favorite Halloween recipes throughout the week! You can following the hashtag #HalloweenTreatsWeek on social media to collect all of these frightful recipes to use at your own Halloween parties and events!

Make Sure to check out all of the fun Halloween recipes that we’re sharing this week!

Check out all of these great #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes for today

• Mummy Apple Slices from Big Bear’s Wife
• Skull Cherry Pies from Semihomemade Recipes
• Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies from Fresh April Flours
• Voodoo Doll Hand Pies from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Rolo Pretzel Eyeballs from An Affair from the Heart
• Gideon’s Frankenstein Cookie Copycat from Best Cookie Recipes
• Halloween Charcuterie Board from Devour Dinner
• Sheet Pan Halloween Confetti Cookie Bars from Savory Moments
• Candy Corn Poke Cake from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Harry Potter Witch Hat Tarts from Simply Inspired Meals
• Wicked Witch Icebox Cake from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Easy Graveyard Hill Cake from Pastry Chef Online
• Halloween Nougat from Our Good Life
• Candy Corn Fudge from Take Two Tapas
• Halloween Pretzel Rods from Sweet Beginnings
• Halloween Pretzel Mummies from The Speckled Palate
• Graveyard Brownies from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ghosts from Jen Around the World
• Witch Finger Dipped Pretzels from For the Love of Food

CANDY CORN SUGAR COOKIE BARS

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Yield: 8 servings Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 20 Minutes 20 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Red, Orange, Yellow food coloring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch round baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Blend in the egg and vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture 1/3 at a time until just incorporated.
4. Divide the dough in half, and then to one half, divide into 1/3 and 2/3, so that 3 portions are in separate bowls.
5. Add yellow food coloring to the largest portion, orange or red+yellow to the second largest, and keep the smallest white. Blend the food coloring until evenly distributed.
6. Roll the white dough into a ball and place in the center of the prepared pan. Roll the orange dough into a log just big enough to surround the white dough ball. Repeat with the yellow dough. Evenly press into the pan until flat, trying your best to keep the rings even.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until center is set. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Slice into 8 wedges and serve.

Source: Adapted from my Sugar Cookie Pumpkin Pie Bars.

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

Eat like the Harfoots, the ancestors of the Hobbits, with these cinnamon sugar cookies spiral snail cookies. Easily made without any special tools.

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There may not be any hobbits in the the new Rings of Power show, but their harfoot ancestors are! So for Hobbit Day, I am sharing a recipe for spiral snail cookies.

Snails are a staple of the harfoot diet but never fear, no snails were harmed in the making of these cookies, it’s just sugar cookie dough. Although, it would add some umami :-P.

In order to make them resemble snails, 3/4 of the dough has a bit of cocoa to darken it slightly for the shell (figured that was better than food coloring) and it all has a little cinnamon for overall deliciousness.

Once you let the dough balls chill, all you have to do is roll the dough into logs, spiral up on itself, and attach the heads. No cookie cutters or rolling pins required!

I had considered make antenna, and did test a few with almond slivers or chocolate, but ultimately decided they looked better in their simplest form. Besides, simpler means you could also enlist the help of any little harfoots you have running around your house.

Kids not into baking or don’t have kids (like me)? My coworkers LOVED these. Granted I do work with a bunch of nerdy scientists.

Originally this recipe was made to help promote the new show, by sharing a reel with how they were made. To be honest, reels are not my favorite, both as a viewer and as a content creator, but it was rewarding to work on something nerdy and fun! If you watched until the end you get to see me made up just like a harfoot.

These would also be a great alternative to scones or biscotti during Afternoon Tea if you are following the Seven Hobbit Meals Diet. After all, who wouldn’t want some snails with their tea!?

SWIRL SNAIL COOKIES

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Yield: 12 Servings Prep Time: 3 Hours Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dark cocoa powder

Directions

1. 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, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until it comes together into a dough.
2. Remove 1/4 of the dough and set aside. To the remainder, add the cocoa powder until incorporated. Form 12 balls of each down, wrap doughs in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
3. When ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
4. On a floured surface, using your fingers, roll the chocolate dough into 6-8 inch logs, then roll up into a spiral shape. Repeat with remaining  chocolate dough balls, and set aside.
5. With the smaller dough balls, roll into 3 inch logs, then attach to the base of the spiral to form the neck/head. 
6. Place on prepared cookie sheets 1 inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set but not yet turning golden on the bottom edges. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Adapted from my Cut Out Sugar Cookies and Eggs.ca.

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Homemade Meyer Limoncello is worth the wait. With just four ingredients, simple steps, and lots of inactive time, you’ll be rewarded with an end product that is smooth and refreshing.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

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Would you believe me if I told you that I started making this limoncello about 7 months ago? Because it’s the truth. Now, don’t be scared off just yet because it could take as little as 3 weeks, I just kept getting side-tracked/forgot – whoops! I understand that 3 weeks is still a bit of an investment, but it’s a great set-and-forget project, with minimal effort and a great payoff.

While three weeks is the minimum, this is the sort of thing that really gets better with age, so if you have the patience let it hang out for a little longer if you can. There are two waiting periods that accomplish different things and both can be extended if desired. Or if you just forget like me.

How to make Meyer Limoncello:

The original recipe I used is from Love & Olive Oil and her post covers a lot of great tips so be sure to click over there.

Ideally start with organic Meyer lemons (or regular lemons). Can’t find organic? Try washing the lemons first to remove any wax or pesticides. Once you have your lemons, first you need to peel the lemons. But don’t just go hog wild on them, you need to avoid as much of the white pith as possible because it will make the end result bitter.

Once you have all those beautiful peels ready to go, you are ready for extraction. (Don’t waste all those lemons! You know… make lemonade ;-) )

You are basically making a lemon vodka by soaking the peels in high-proof vodka. You could use Everclear instead which will produce the more typical cloudy limoncello, while the vodka in mine made it clearer, but it will obviously also have a stronger alcohol flavor.

Then, after at least 1 week (or almost 6 in my case), strain the peels from the newly minted lemon vodka, discard the peels, and add simple syrup. I let my simple cool down to room temperature before adding it because I thought it would be neat to make a clear limoncello, while supposedly warmer simple would made it cloudy.

Warm or cold, whichever you choose, another 2 weeks allows the flavor to mellow (or a little over a month because I forgot again) and then you’re ready to bottle and enjoy your homemade limoncello!

I have to admit, even though I know it could be made in a shorter amount of time the end result was so smooth without a harsh alcoholic burn that I am wary of shortening the process. Clearly more time does not hinder the end product, so have a little patience my friends!

Shout-out to Melissa’s Produce for supplying the Meyer lemons and Dixie Crystals for the granulated pure cane sugar. I don’t doubt that the ingredients played an important role in this process. You can also snag some swag from our sponsors by entering the giveaway at the end of this post. But first, check out the list of #SpringSweetsWeek recipes below.

Tuesday #SpringSweetsWeek Recipes

• Almond Buttercream Frosting from Devour Dinner
• Blood Orange Spiced Cake from Cookaholic Wife
• Carrot Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Cookie Truffles from Eat Move Make
• Eggless Blood Orange Mini Bundts with Pink Glaze from Magical Ingredients
• Goldenberry Jam from Family Around the Table
• Little Chick Easter Sugar Cookies from Sweet Beginnings
• Lime Curd from Art of Natural Living
• Meyer Lemon Bundt Cake from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Meyer Lemon Pudding from Jen Around the World
• Strawberry White Chocolate Bark from Blogghetti

We share recipes from #SpringSweetsWeek on Pinterest! Make sure you follow the board to see all the delicious recipes shared this week.

MEYER LIMONCELLO

Print

Yield: 2 liters Prep Time: 3 Weeks Cooking Time: 5 Minutes 5 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 12 organic Meyer lemons*
• 1 Liter 100-proof vodka
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups filtered/bottled water

Directions

1. Peel or zest the lemons, being extra careful to only peel the outermost yellow part (the white pith will make a bitter limoncello).
2. Place the peels in a large glass mason jar (or other airtight glass container). Cover with vodka. Tightly close the lid and place in a cool, dark location for at least 1 week or more**. When the liquor turns yellow and peels begin to turn white, it is ready.
3. Strain lemon vodka through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into another large, clean glass jar - discard the lemon peels and set lemon vodka aside.
4. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar and water. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Once cooled, pour into the jar with lemon vodka. Tightly close and return to a cool, dark location to mellow, at least 2 weeks or more***.
5. Once limoncello has mellowed, use a funnel to divide into four half-liter (or similar sized) glass bottles with tight sealing lids. Chill for at least 24 hours before serving.

Notes

*You can use regular lemons as well. If you cannot find organic make sure to wash them first. **Mine extracted for almost 6 months and was still perfect. The longer it steeps the stronger the lemon flavor will be. ***Mine sat for 6 weeks. The longer you let it mellow, the better your final limoncello will be.

Source: Adapted slightly from Love & Olive Oil.

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This classic sweet macaroni salad is a must have for any backyard BBQ or cookout this summer. Don’t let the ingredients deter you!

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Today is the start of #BBQweek! I’m virtually gathering with 19 other bloggers to share all the recipes you’ll need for hosting a fantastic backyard BBQ. First up it a recipe I got from my mom – sweet macaroni salad.

Never had sweet macaroni salad before? Prepare yourself for this ingredient list:

• Macaroni
• Carrots
• Green bell pepper
• Red onion
• Mayonnaise
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Sugar
• Apple cider vinegar

Never would I have thought to add sugar, let alone sweetened condensed milk, to mac salad. My mom gave me this recipe in 2009 from who knows what source, but this was actually the first time I made it. Bob threw me a BBQ birthday party with our vaccinated friends so I took the opportunity to whip this up for the first gathering we’ve hosted in over a year.

Do you need to make it the day before?

It’s not required, but I did taste it both immediately upon mixing and after an overnight rest and there really was something magical about the flavors after they slept in the fridge overnight. I found it to be too sweet at first, but once the flavors married it mellowed out and tasted like a classic old school mac salad.

And the proof is in the pudding because this vat of mac salad did not last long at our BBQ party! But if you’re still not convinced, another great option is my BBQ pasta salad.

Monday #BBQWeek Recipes

Appetizers and Drinks

• Cherimoya Margarita by Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Side Dishes

• BBQ Macaroni Salad by Making Miracles
• Cool Beans Salad by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Creamy Pea Salad with Bacon by House of Nash Eats
• DIY BBQ Potato Chips by Palatable Pastime
• Homemade Barbecue Sauce Recipe by SueBee Homemaker
• Honeydew Cucumber Salad by Kate’s Recipe Box
• Sweet Macaroni Salad by The Spiffy Cookie
• Warm New Potato and Pea Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Main Dishes

• Cuban Marinated Chicken Tacos by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Grilled Citrus-Marinated Pork Chops by Sweet Beginnings
• Grilled Flounder Tacos with Peach Jalapeno Salsa by Our Good Life
• Sausage and Peppers by Devour Dinner
• Teriyaki Chicken Skewers by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• The Best Grilled BBQ Pork Ribs by Daily Dish Recipes

Desserts

• Elvis Presley Cake by Family Around the Table
• Grilled Pineapple with Maple Syrup Glaze by Blogghetti
• No-Bake Kumquat Creamsicle Pie by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Be sure to follow our Pinterest board for more summer BBQ ideas. Thank you to Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures and Ellen from Family Around the Table for hosting the event.

Four years ago: Braided Apple Ginger Danish

Five years ago: DoorDash Review

Nine years ago: Italian Dressing Mix

Ten years ago: Pineapple Chicken Kabobs

SWEET MACARONI SALAD

Print

Yield: 16 Servings Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 16 oz. uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium red onion*, diced
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions, but 2 minutes past al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a large bowl combine macaroni, carrots, pepper, and onion.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper.
4. Pour sauce over the macaroni mixture and toss to evenly coat.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled.

Notes

* My mom liked to use yellow onion

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