The Perfect SNOW DAY Treat: Chocolate Chip Pecan Snowballs

This is the perfect snow day cookie recipe. These chocolate chip pecan snowballs are crispy on the outside… and the insides melt in your mouth. I even made a video to show you how easy they are to make!

You’ll need: 1 cup salted butter (softened) 3/4 cup powered sugar (plus an additional 1 cup for coating the cookies after they are baked) 1 tsp vanilla 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 3/4 cup chopped pecans (toasted ... on a cookie sheet at 350 for 5 minutes) 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup powered sugar (plus an additional 1 cup for coating the cookies after they are cooked) 1 tsp vanilla 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 3/4 cup chopped pecans (toasted) 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

And here's a video showing you how to put them together...

 

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Mix butter and 3/4 cup icing sugar with a hand mixer (on medium for about 1 minute)... just until light and fluffy.

3) Stir in vanilla and almond extract.

4) Add 1 3/4 cups of flour and mix on low (just until incorporated).

5) Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.

6) Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refridgerate for 20-30 minutes.

7) Remove from fridge, and roll dough into 1 tbsp balls. Bake on parchment lined cookie sheet for 15 minutes.

8) As soon as cookies are cool enough to touch (but still warm), roll the cookies in powdered sugar.

9) Allow to cool completely, and sift another layer of powered sugar to the top.

These cookies are soooooo good with a warm mug of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate!!!

If you give them a try, let me know what you think!

💗 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also be interested in these easy and inexpensive winter DIYs on my YouTube channel. Don't forget to like the video and hit the subscribe button. It really helps my channel. 😃

Simple and Delicious HOMEMADE Ice Cream Cake... with an ice cream sandwich base

I love a simple dessert... and an ice cream cake is perfect for summer. My boys put this one together earlier this week, and it turned out great. You won't believe how EASY this 5 ingredient cake is to make.

To make this cake, you'll need:

• a box of ice cream sandwiches
• chocolate sauce
• Cool Whip (frozen dessert topping)
• Oreos
• mini M&Ms (candy coated chocolate candies

Then: layer the ice cream sandwiches on the bottom of a baking dish, add a layer of chocolate and crushed cookies, ice with softened Cool Whip, sprinkle with more crushed cookies, drizzle with chocolate sauce, and top with mini M & Ms.

For more detailed instructions, check out this 3 minute video.

Seriously... this recipe is a "must try"!

It tastes even better than it looks.

Let me know if you make this recipe, and let me know what you think. I know it was a hit with my husband and sons. 😀

♥

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also enjoy the recipe here.

Chocolate CHRISTMAS Crackle Cookies

Who doesn't love a good Christmas cookie recipe? Baking (and eating) cookies is one of my favourite parts of the holiday season. This year, my boys and I are loving these chocolate Christmas crackle cookies. They are simple to make, fudgey in the middle, crispy on the edges... and they look great on a Christmas cookie tray.

To make Chocolate Christmas Crackle Cookies:

 

Gather your ingredients:

•         ½ vegetable oil
•         2 cups granulated sugar
•         4 eggs
•         2 tsp real vanilla
•         2 cups flour
•         1 cup unsweetened cocoa
•         2 tsp baking powder
•         1 tsp salt
•         1 tsp cinnamon
•         Approx. ½ icing sugar for coating

Then:

1.      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.      In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3.      In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
4.      Combine the wet and dry ingredients, and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
5.      Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (using a cookie scoop), and then completely coat each ball by rolling it in icing sugar.
6.      Place the balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet (leaving room for spreading), and bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should be crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. Cool on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

I think a cookie chacuterie board is wonderful for holiday entertaining, and these cookies make a great addition to a tray of goodies. 

Check out the cookie board I made for my boys this year. I filled a couple of dishes with chocolates, stacked my chocolate Christmas crackle cookies in the middle, and filled the extra spaces with store bought cookies. Cute, right?

Do you have a favourite cookies? I highly recommend giving these chocolate Christmas crackle cookies a try. If you make them, let me know what you think.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

You might also enjoy the awesome Christmas cookie recipes here.

Father's Day Cookie Jars

It's always fun for a child to make a special gift for their Dad on Father's Day, and there is no better gift than a sweet treat. I love this tasty alternative to socks, ties and underwear! Today, I am sharing the recipe and instructions for making this adorable Father's Day cookie mix in a jar.

To make a Father's Day jar of cookie mix:

1) You'll need to start with a clean 1L mason jars.

2) Then, you'll need to layer the ingredients below (patting down each layer before adding the next one):

First layer: 1 3/4 cups flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon salt
Second layer: 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
Third layer: 1/2 white sugar
Fourth layer: 1 1/2 cups quality, semi-sweet chocolate chips

To make the process easy: use a wide-mouthed funnel to fill the jars, and make a tool to press down the layers. I attached a round piece of cardboard to the end of skewer and covered it all with tin foil.

3) Then, print off the cookie tags below and attach it to the cookie jar with twine or yarn.

To download the instruction tag: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print.

To download the gift tag: click on the photo below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print.

Here is one that my son made. Isn't it cute?

What Dad wouldn't love this personalized treat?

This would be a fantastic DIY Father's Day gift for the special man in your life. Kids will love making it, and dads will love receiving it! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

♥ 
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more Father's Day celebration ideas here.

How you can challenge yourself (and your kids) to learn something new

I am a big advocate of life-long learning... but sometimes it's a struggle to find the time to learn something new. So for March break, I decided to challenge my boys to learn something new, and I decided to challenge myself too. With some literary inspiration from DK Books*, my boys are going to learn to cook/bake a few things, and I am going to learn a bit of embroidery and knitting. You can read more about my "learn something new challenge" (and our book choices) below.

*Disclosure: I was given these books (at no cost) by DK books in exchange for my truthful review. I have also included Amazon links in this post. If you purchase one of these books using my link, I will receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you). Thank you!


My plan is to have each of my boys choose a recipe from the cookbooks I ordered for them, shop for the ingredients, and follow the recipe (with only a small amount of supervision from me). The boys can serve their creations to the family, and when they have all completed their recipes, they can choose something for me to make for them. Fun, right?

These are the two books I chose for my boys: 

1) Bake It: More Than 150 Recipes for Kids from Simple Cookies to Creative Cakes! 

2) Kids' Fun and Healthy Cookbook Canadian Edition

I have been wanting to get my boys cooking more, and I think this "learn something new" challenge is a great way to do it.

I think my boys will enjoy following the recipes in these books (with their simple instructions and pictures).

These are the two books I chose for me.

1) The Knitting Book: Over 250 Step-by-Step Techniques
2) Embroidery: A Step-by-Step Guide to More than 200 Stitches

I have all four of our new books sitting on my coffee table, and as soon as we have the time, my boys and I are going to work on completing our challenges. I believe that you can learn new things at any age, don't you?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

10 Fantastic Crafts and Activities for GRANDPARENTS to do with their Grandchildren

I have a lot of wonderful grandmothers that follow my blog. They are always telling me about how my blog inspires them to engage and make wonderful memories with their grandchildren. Grandparents really are a special gift, so today I thought I would write a post just for them! Here are 10 of my favourite easy and inexpensive crafts and activities that are perfect for grandmothers and grandfathers to do with their grandchildren.

For an activity to be "grandparent friendly", it needs to be simple, it has to be fun and you should be able to do it with a small number of materials. All 10 of these crafts and activities fit this criteria, and they are sure to delight children of all ages.


1) Make a Skittles Rainbow - This is a super-EASY activity, and kids love it. You literally just pour water onto a plate and watch a rainbow appear. Find the simple instructions for making a skittles rainbow here. 

You can find additional ideas for science experiments here.


2) Craft Drums from Tin Cans - This idea is awesome because it is a craft AND a toy. To make this one, you just need some cans from the recycling bin, a few dollar store supplies, and the instructions for making drums from tin cans that you can find here. 

3) Paint Fairy Houses - Crafts that capture the magic of childhood are always wonderful... and who doesn't love fairies? Turning dollar store bird houses into fairy habitats is easy with the instructions you can find here. 

4) Make Birdfeeders - Kids will love making simple birdfeeders and hanging them in the trees for their feathered friends. The simple instructions for making three different kinds of birdfeeders can be found here.

5) Paint Rocks - Kids love collecting rocks, and painting rocks turns plain rocks into treasured keepsakes. You can find the instructions for painting rocks here. 

6) Have a Teddy Bear Picnic - Picnics are always fun, but a teddy bear picnic is extra special. When packing your picnic basket, you are going to want to make delicious and adorable teddy bear cookies using the recipe you can find here.

7) Grow Grass-haired Friends - Planting something and watching it grow is easy and educational... and these adorable grass-haired friends are fun to make and totally adorable. You can find the instructions for making grass-haired friends here. 

8) Paint Jersey Wall Art - Kids that are into sports will love painting personalized "jerseys" for their rooms. You can find the simple "how to" for this jersey canvases here. 

9) Bake Something - Baking with kids is a good way to spend time together making memories... and it teaches them an important life skill. Brownie pops are simple and fun to make with kids, and they totally delicious. Find out how easy it is to make brownie pops (from a mix) here.

10) Celebrate the Holidays - Making crafts and engaging in activities with kids is always fantastic... but it is even more special during holidays. You can find all my favourite holiday crafts and activities here.

My blog is full of many more ideas for fantastic crafts and activities for families, but these 10 should get you started. Don't forget to follow me on Facebook (here) so that you don't miss out on my latest ideas, projects, and adventures.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS - If you have preschool aged grandchildren, you might want to check out the hundreds of ideas here.

DIY Ice Cream Pie (with easy to follow instructions and recipe video)

There is nothing like a cold, homemade treat on a hot summer day. Am I right? My boys and I always enjoy baking together, so I thought it would be fun to let them try making their own ice cream pie. It's a great way to enjoy summer baking without turning on the oven! Today I am sharing the instructions for making a SIMPLE summer dessert. You are definitely going to want to try this DIY ice cream pie.

To make a DIY ice cream pie:

1) Gather your supplies. You'll need: a pre-made chocolate crust, ice cream, cookies, and chocolate sauce.

2) Soften your ice cream. Leave it out of the fridge for approximately 15-20 minutes.

3) Crush the cookies in a ziploc bag. Use a rolling pin until they are all crushed. (Kids will love helping with this part!)

4) Add a layer of ice cream. Add the softened ice cream until it covers the bottom of the pie.

5) Add the crushed cookies.

6) Add a second layer of ice cream. Add the ice cream gently so that you leave the cookie layer intact. Smooth it out (using a warm knife if necessary).

7) Decorate the top with cookies.

8) Drizzle with chocolate sauce.

9) Place pie in the freezer for about an hour (to allow the ice cream to harden again). Cut with a warm knife, and drizzle with chocolate sauce (if desired).

Check out the recipe video I made to see how easy it was to make!

Everyone in my family loved this DIY ice cream pie... and it was as fun to make as it was to eat. If you love ice cream cake, you are going to love this. You can use any kind of ice cream, cookies, and sauce. You are only limited by your own imagination.

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Last Minute Valentine's Day Treat To Make With Kids

If Valentine's Day is busy for you, and you don't have time to make homemade treats, I have the perfect short cut for you. You won't believe how easy it is to make this "no baking required" last minute Valentine's Day treat with your kids!

All you need are store bought little round cakes. Use a cookie cutter to cut a heart out of the middle of the treat, and finish by dipping the edges in sprinkles.

It doesn't get much easier than this... and the kids will really feel like they baked a special Valentine's Day treat.

Check out the video we made when we created our treats.

Do you have a sweetheart that would enjoy this simple last minute Valentine's Day treat? Happy Valentine's Day!

♥ 
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)