Today, I’m sharing photos from our intimate wedding dinner overlooking Lake Toxaway at the Greystone Inn. In my mind, it was exactly what I had dreamed it would be. Since it had been raining all day, the trees were extra green, the skies were purple, and fog hovered over the mountains. It was the most romantic spot! This wasn’t where we were initially going to have our dinner, but it was our backup plan since the rain decided to show up. But for a backup plan, it was surely beautiful!

Photography by Amanda Castle
It was a blast designing this wedding table. Since I only had twelve guests, it was much easier to be hands-on. I kept a lot of the decor budget-friendly by shopping at Hobby Lobby, Amazon, Etsy, Homegoods, and a few antique stores. 
When I first saw the dinner table with all the details together, I wanted to try. It was my dream!
The wedding cake was so elegant and simple. I found this beautiful blush pink cake holder at Homegoods, and it felt like I had hit the jackpot! Kyle and I had traveled up to our venue a few weeks before the wedding to drop off our wedding decor so the vendors could use them. This cake was one of the most delicious cakes I have ever eaten. I’m ordering a mini version of this exact cake for our anniversary this year! It’s from Blue Ridge Bakery in Brevard. It was my favorite flavor, almond!
Ivory Taper Candles / Pink Taper Candles / Crystal Candle Holders / Clear Crackled Candle Jars / Pink Mandala Glass Candle Jars/  Small Candles / Chargers (I hand-painted the dots with shimmery rose pink acrylic paint)/ Napkins / Name Placements/ Chiffon Ribbon / Chiffon Table Runners

If you’re interested, I can write up a blog post about how I went about designing these table settings. I have so many photos documented from the process! I couldn’t share them before.

When the glass chargers arrived in the mail, I loved them! The only problem is that the pink was more of a coral/reddish color! I decided to dedicate an entire Saturday hand-painting each dot on the chargers to match my wedding decor. It was worth the neck pain and hand cramps! I loved how they turned out.

As it got later into the evening, the glow from the candles set the most romantic mood.
As a coffee lover, I ordered adorable espresso cups and chargers to go on the dessert table. I figured ending the evening with cake, custom treats, and espresso was right up my alley.

I spent weeks searching for the perfect set that fit my budget. I couldn’t believe it when I found these on Amazon! I bought two sets, and I plan to use these in case we ever have guests over. They look adorable in my pantry on my dish shelf.

I loved the idea of having custom cookies and macaroons made for the dessert table. I had a local baker, Made By Megan Jayne, create these, and they were delicious and so beautiful sitting next to the cake. I loved having pops of blush everywhere.    
We kicked off the dinner with champagne and appetizers. We did a farm-to-table style menu, and everything tasted amazing! If I could eat this meal all over again, I would. The chefs at Greystone Inn knocked it out of the park by designing this menu.

Farm to Table Wedding Menu

hors d’oeuvres

amuse bouche- foie gras mousse, pistachio
granola, caramelized citrus supreme, grilled brioche
house pappardelle- truffle egg yolk jam, shaved pecorino

salad

salad- baby arugula, micro aromats, lemon cured figs,
thyme infused chèvre, roasted macadamia, elderberry vinaigrette

entrée

salmon- sugar snaps, caramelized baby carrots,
vegetable ash ravioletti, sweet pea purée

dessert

almond wedding cake, vanilla
buttercream frosting, espresso, & champagne
Floral Design / Party Rental
 We had the best night.  If you plan to do taper candles, make sure to purchase double if your dinner goes on longer than a few hours. The staff went above and beyond and would change the candles once they got low. I also highly recommend shopping Hobby Lobby candles when they are 50% off, which is often! They were under $1 when I purchased them all. They have so many colors, so you’ll be able to match them to your wedding. I also paired them with mini candles to tuck into the flower garland.  Speeches are my favorite!  My dad made these boxes for the wedding ceremony, and I purchased the beautiful large honeycomb vases at Ballard Designs. A few cell phone shots! The guests were at the cozy bar located inside the Greystone Inn, next to our ceremony spot, before heading to dinner!  Kyle’s Tux / Leo’s Tux / Wedding GownMy mom looked absolutely stunning. (her gown)
    
The salmon entree was the star of the show and cooked to perfection.
Kyle and I did the first dance together after dinner.

We had spent almost a year creating the perfect wedding dinner playlist, so let me know if you’d like me to share it with you!

Even though we didn’t do a traditional reception with dancing, I think this moment was special, and I’m happy we didn’t leave it out.
Dancing with my dad was one of the most memorable moments. We danced to the song “The Way You Look Tonight” by Tony Bennett. It’s been one of my favorite songs since I was a little girl watching My Best Friend’s Wedding repeatedly.


I loved these photos our Photographer captured. After dancing, we cut into the most delicious wedding cake.
We had a no-smashing cake in the face agreement. After several servings of cake and the most delicious espresso, we headed back to the Inn for the night.

The forks said, “I do,” and the other fork said, “Me too.”Sparkler send-off!  I took some time after dinner to take off my wedding dress, my makeup, and get my cozy pajamas back on! We headed down to the lobby to enjoy a glass of wine with family by the fireplace. June 9th was the best day of my life, and it was even more magical than I had ever imagined.

Questions for you!

1. Let me know if you’d like me to add a few other wedding posts (welcome bags, wedding dresses I tried on but didn’t buy, decor planning, etc..)
2. What was your favorite memory at your wedding?
3. Did you freeze your wedding cake?

This is one of the oldest yet most popular recipes on my blog! It’s been up for about eight years, but I figured I’d give it a little update since it’s been shoved into the deep and dark archives of this blog. I am going to make these cinnamon rolls tomorrow with a new video, too! You can look out for that. I made these cinnamon rolls again on Christmas morning for a few neighbors, us, and my parents. I only make them a few times a year, but every time it’s pure magic! They taste almost identical to Cinnabon Cinnamon rolls!

The best part about these cinnamon rolls is that they don’t require a lot of ingredients. I love recipes that you can make with what you most likely already have in the house. I bet you could probably make them without going to the grocery store right now! I can’t wait to continue this cinnamon roll tradition when I have kids of my own. My mom always had cinnamon rolls for us on the first day of school and Christmas morning. It’s the small things in life that bring the most joy. I’ve never been a big lover of cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. I prefer them with buttercream, and that’s why I love these cinnamon rolls so much!

Customize them!

Gluten-free- I have made these cinnamon rolls many times using all-purpose gluten-free flour. They take a few more minutes for the dough to rise, but they turn out just as fluffy.

Add custom spices– You can add nutmeg, cloves, orange zest, and other spices to add a sophisticated taste to your cinnamon rolls. In the fall, you can add pumpkin purée to the frosting.

Make it fruity – You can totally make these cinnamon rolls perfect for summer months by adding blueberries to the filling, lemon zest, and even white chocolate chips!

Make them dairy-free – That’s right! You can use oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk with this recipe! The Earth Balance vegan butter works as a great substitute in the frosting and the dough.

Make then savory- You’re thinking what? Yes, make them savory! Swap out the cinnamon sugar filling and add mozzarella cheese, chives, garlic, sea salt, and olive oil! Perfect for dipping in marinara sauce. You can use this recipe to impress the guest during the Superbowl.

If you’re team extra icing, definitely double up the recipe! It tastes so good that you’ll want to dip your fingers right into the bowl before getting to the actual cinnamon roll. I made a few batches of cinnamon rolls using baking sheets and also using casserole dishes to bring over to the neighbor’s house on Christmas morning.

Print

The BEST Homemade Cinnamon Rolls that are EASY to Make!

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cinnamon rolls, breakfast, baked goods, baking, breakfast rolls, frosted, frosting, homemade, the best cinnamon rolls,

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Warm Water
• 2 Packages Active Dry Yeast 1/4 ounce packets
• 1 Tsp Salt
• ½ Cup Sugar
• ⅓ Cup Melted Butter for Dough unsalted
• 6 Cups Flour
• 2 Large Eggs
• ¼ Cup Melted Butter for Filling unsalted
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbsps Ground Cinnamon

Ingredients for Frosting

• ½ Cup Butter
• 4 Cups Powdered Sugar or more
• 5 Tbsps Milk or more
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• Pinch of Salt

Instructions

Cinnamon Roll Dough

• Mix yeast and warm water in a large bowl. Once the yeast is dissolved, pour in the sugar and combine well. Mix in ⅓ cup of melted butter and only 3 cups of the flour.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together, and then add them to the yeast mixing bowl with the yeast. Once the eggs are mixed in, add the remaining flour and salt.

  ^{If you are having trouble mixing the flour in, add a tablespoon of warm water one at a time.}

  Cover the dough with a sheet of wax paper and a towel on top. Place the dough in a warm area for about 45-minutes to rise.

  ^{If the dough doesn't rise, the area is not warm enough. I placed mine by the fireplace.}
• Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees

  Lay down a pastry cloth. (or use your counter with flour) Sprinkle flour on top and roll out the dough.

  Once the dough is rolled out, melt ½ stick of butter and brush it onto the dough layer. Spread the brown sugar and cinnamon over the buttered layer.

  ^{You can add more brown sugar and cinnamon if you feel like it needs it. I like there to be about a 1 cm layer. I add extra cinnamon every time!}
• Tightly but gently, roll the dough layer up. Cut the rolls about 1 inch thick. Use floss to cut or gently with a knife.

  Place the rolls on a greased or non-stick baking sheet 3 inches apart if baking on a cookie pan.

  Place the rolls an inch apart in baking in a casserole dish.
• Bake 14-16 minutes.

  ^{Keep an eye on them. All ovens bake differently. The outside should be lightly brown. They’ll continue to bake once they are taken out of the oven, so don’t hesitate to take them out if the middles are gooey and the outsides are brown.}

Perfect Cinnamon Roll Frosting (tastes like cinnabon!)

• In a mixing bowl, add melted butter (if you don't want to melt the butter, use an electric mixer), powdered sugar, and stir lightly.

  Slowly mix in the milk, salt, and vanilla.

  If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add more milk.

  You can frost the cinnamon rolls when they are warm or when they are cooled down! Both taste delicious.

I cannot wait for you to try these out (& maybe again for some of you!) I’ll make sure to let you know when the video is live tomorrow.

Questions for you!

1. Have you ever made cinnamon rolls from scratch?
2. What fun twist do you have for these?
3. What is one breakfast tradition you had as a kid?

The wedding week spent with family couldn’t have been any more perfect.
A Castle Photo
Kyle and I had traveled to the Greystone Inn several times before the wedding. Look at how gorgeous the Greystone is just sitting on the hill overlooking the beautiful lake. I never imagined getting married on a lake, but we fell in love when we saw the Greystone Inn in person. Not only was it a cozy and romantic setting, but it also had everything to entertain our guests. While they stayed, they could horseback ride, kayak, swim, paddleboard, play tennis, golf, hike, get a latte from the bar in the middle of the afternoon, sit by the fire, and the list goes on. Kyle and I plan to come back as much as we can.

We headed up to the Greystone Inn the afternoon before the wedding. We had our welcome bags packed (let me know if you’d like me to do a post on those), all of our wedding decorations, some gifts, and Leo in the backseat. We always stop in Brevard and Hendersonville on the way up. It wouldn’t be a trip to Lake Toxaway without a Caesar salad wrap, a pastry, and a cappuccino from Black Bear Coffee in Hendersonville!
It was so nice to see all the greenery back since we last visited in early spring. After Kyle and I dropped our stuff off, he headed to the Asheville airport to pick up his mom. I didn’t feel like staying in the car another hour, so Leo and I stayed behind and walked around the property. We also sat on the deck, looking out at the mountains. This was Leo’s first time at the Greystone Inn. I love that the Greystone Inn is pet-friendly. After Grumple’s passed, we knew we wanted Leo to be a part of our big day.
We booked the Rockefeller Suite for the wedding weekend. The two-story room is huge and filled with giant mullioned windows! It features a massive stone wood-burning fireplace, king bed, two bathrooms, second-floor loft with double-sized bunk beds, private entrance on both the main and second level, and a private balcony overlooking the lake. If you plan to get married or stay at the Greystone Inn, it’s totally worth the splurge.

On the way back from the airport, Kyle surprised me with an oat milk iced latte since I was on the phone telling him how tired I was. In fact, I ended up taking an hour’s nap while he was out, and it was the best! The bed in the Rockefeller Suite is like sleeping on a cloud.
 Around 4 pm, we got ready for our boat ride with our photographer Amanda, and Les Rue, the caption of the wooden boat!


I fell in love with wedding boat photos like those off the coast of Italy or in Lake Como. When I saw that Lake Toxaway had a wooden boat club, I just had to recreate a moment like that. Our wedding event planner and coordinator, David, set the whole thing up with Les, and it couldn’t have been any more perfect. Our photographer was so excited to capture the boat photos, and we had the absolute BEST captain. Les showed up in the best captain outfit (which his sweet wife picked out for him), and he picked us up right off the dock at the Greystone Inn. He even drove us to his house and switched up boats to have photos in both of them. It was one of the best nights! I will be sharing all of the pre-rehearsal photos from the boat ride in the next blog post. 
A Castle Photo
A Castle Photo

The “boat hair don’t care” look!

We got fortunate because the rain was on and off all week. It rained just before we got on the boat, and the sun was out shining for our ride!
 
A Castle Photo
The Lake Toxaway Country club is only a two-minute walk from the Greystone Inn. I loved that about this venue. We had a catered dinner right outside on the Vanderbilt porch. It has the most beautiful view of the golf course and mountains.
 
A Castle Photo

I am so in love with these photos Amanda took. I have another blog with all the links if you want details about my dress, shoes, and other wedding-related items! Here is the link!

A Castle Photo
When we got to the table, a few beautiful charcuterie boards were laid out for the guests to eat while getting settled in.

A Castle Photo
 We had one of the most powerful rainstorms roll in while sitting down for dinner, but watching it from the porch was somewhat relaxing. The storm cooled everything down, and it made for the most beautiful summer skies.
First up, we had the field green salad with grilled peaches, goat cheese, walnuts, and elderflower vinaigrette. It was delicious and fresh!
The dinner was absolutely delicious. Everything on the plate tasted magical! The guests had the option of steak or jumbo scallops. I went with the scallops since Kyle went with the steak. We always end up doing the “here try this” with our meals. The scallops were served with herb butter buerre blanc and sun-dried tomato risotto & asparagus. Everyone was talking about how good the food was!


The scallops deserved extra photos since they were perfection on a plate. A Castle Photo
We had the best night kicking off the wedding together! This was actually the first time some of our families met each other, so it was even more special.  For dessert, we had signature Lake Toxaway buttermilk pie with brown sugar sauce. I know it was the night before the wedding, and I had a dress to fit into the next day, but it was worth every bite! And it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t end our evening with coffee with dessert!

A Castle Photo
After dinner, we headed back to our room; I quickly washed my face, threw my pajamas on, and headed straight to bed! I was so excited for the wedding day

My next blog post is going to be filled with photos from our boat ride! STAY TUNED! & Thank you, Amanda Castle, for capturing so many great shots the night before our wedding! Not only did she take amazing photos and help us out in so many ways during the wedding, but she also took Leo back to bed and breakfast with her during the rehearsal dinner so he wouldn’t be alone since he wasn’t feeling very well. She truly is the best! I can’t recommend her enough if you’re looking for a photographer. She truly is the best.

Questions for you!

1. Did you have more than 20 people at your wedding?
2. What made you choose your wedding venue?
3. What questions do you want me to answer in the next blog post about the wedding?

If you’re looking for a post on how I edit my photos and what cameras I use, you can check that one out here!

Which film camera did I buy?

I purchased the Pentax 6×7 67 – Medium Format Camera – Takumar 105mm 2.4 Lens.

Pentax 6×7 67 – Medium Format Camera – Takumar 105mm 2.4 Lens – SLR film Photography

I learned a lot about this camera on YouTube and Reddit before purchasing. 

How much did the Pentax 6×7 with 105mm 2.4 lens cost?

The camera with the lens came to around $1600, but it feels as though it’s never truly paid off with a film camera. I didn’t factor in how much the film itself would cost as well as developing.

How much does the film roll + developing and scans cost?

With my other cameras, I can have instant photos without the cost of film or developing/scanning, but with the Pentax camera, it costs me about $12 per roll, which only takes around 9-12 photos. To have them scanned in high-res was $29 per roll. So I had to drive 25-minutes to the only place where I live to have them done, and after shooting over 10+ rolls over the weekend, I ended up spending around $400 for only 70 photos that came out usable, and the rest were flops or never showed up in development. I’m sure there are much cheaper ways to process film, but this was just the most convenient.

Shooting with 120 film, you only get 12 shots and plan to have maybe half of those turn out ok. You’re definitely taking a chance with the film if it’s for something important! Now, if you’re shooting with 35 film, you’ll get more exposures, and it won’t cost as much.

My black and white rolls will be developed within the next few days. Those take up to ten days to develop. I’ll keep you posted on how those turned out. 

Is film time-consuming?

Yes. It takes a couple of minutes to reload the film, wrap up the old roll, store it in a bag, and continue shooting. I love that my canon is just always ready to go!

What is the downfall of the Pentax 6×7?

It is SO SO SO HEAVY! It feels like you’re holding a twenty-pound baby. You will definitely have to purchase an attachment for your hands to save them from cramps. It’s definitely not a camera I want to be holding for hours.

What do you like about the film camera?

Kyle and I went out to lunch on Sunday, and I loved that I had to be picky about what photos I could take. I only brought one film roll, and I didn’t want to take any photos with my phone. I would spend a few minutes looking into the lens and then decide if it was worth it or not worth it. I also loved that I took a photo and then didn’t go through my camera roll picking apart how I looked. I just had to deal with whatever photo popped up when it developed. The photo we took downtown is a photo I would have deleted immediately if it was on my phone, and then I would have felt bad about how I looked the rest of the outing. The camera is actually better for your mental health in a funny way. It also teaches you patience.

I took the camera out to the Bush-N-Vine farm and The Peach Tree located in York, SC.

This was a fun spot to shoot photos because of the flower fields, ice cream, produce, and gorgeous countryside. The first time I went out there, I shot on two film rolls. When I went to have them developed, nothing from the farms turned up. I’m assuming I loaded the film incorrectly, but it’s moments like that when it can be a little frustrating. You can make so many errors with a film camera that won’t show up until you get the photos back. With a regular camera or cell phone, you can see the errors and make changes right away.
Even though I had a lot on the film roll that didn’t show up on the second visit, some of the photos really turned out nicely. I also included a photo of this taken on my cell phone so that you can compare the two.

I absolutely love the artistic look of the film with its blur, fine grain, and attention to detail.
   If you’re looking to edit your photos similar to these, make sure to head over to my preset shop. I use all of my presets for editing these photos! Editing makes a big difference in how your photos turn out. When my photos are not taken on film, I add a ton of grain to give them that look. I loved how these ice cream photos turned out! It was so hard to capture this shot since it was 100+ outside with the worst humidity. I included a photo taken on my cell phone so that you can compare the two. I use the same presets on the film shots as well as the cell phone shots.
The sad part is when you get a photo back that you thought would look amazing when you shot it, and then it just turns out awful, or it doesn’t show up at all.  The zinnias are always so much fun to capture out at Bush-n-Vine. Speaking of zinnias, my garden post will go up soon! I absolutely LOVED how the peach photos turned out! The peach color with the teal blue was worth printing for a bedroom!  Whenever my dad and I stop at Peach Tree, we always get a Cheerwine, an egg sandwich, and a peanut roll. I still need to try their ice cream.    A photo like this makes me want to keep the film camera, but my canon still can take a similar photo.

So will I keep the film camera?

I don’t think so! Overall, I think it’s a costly hobby, and I feel more satisfied with the photos I take with my canon. I may try another film camera model soon, though! The Pentax 6×7 is not for me.

 I do love how most of the photos turned out, but I don’t think it’s necessarily worth the money when I can imitate the style of a film shot by using lightroom.
    

Let me know your thoughts on how you like the film results and your experience with film! I also took my cell phone out for some shots using the same filters as the film so that you can see the difference. Even with a cell phone, you’ll get great shots without the anxiety (or maybe that’s the beauty of it) of wondering how the photo will turn out.
  

I actually prefer a lot of the cell phone shots! I’ll include more later this week in a recap blog.

My absolute FAVORITE camera I own is the Canon EOS Mark IV SLR Camera. It’s high quality and a great investment if you are looking to GO BIG with your photography. I alternate two lenses with this camera. I use a Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM  for lifestyle photos and a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM for more detailed shots.

Canon EOS Mark IV SLR Camera.

I thought I would love the film photos better, but it made me realize that I like my Canon WAY BETTER! The convenience, the cost (it was a lot pricier, but I don’t have to purchase film/develop) and it’s reliable. Below are all the photos I took with this camera.

Let me know what you think of this camera! Do you like it over the film shots?

Fujifilm X-T30 Mirrorless Digital Camera

Next up on the cameras is the Fujifilm X-T30 Mirrorless Digital Camera w/XF18-55mm lens. It’s the BEST lightweight travel camera, and most of my travel guides are shot with this camera. The photos are so sharp, colorful, and it gives my canon a run for its money for how small/less expensive it is.
   
Let me know what you think of this camera!
 

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark ii

The last camera I have is the vlogging camera, the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark ii. Not only does it record amazing videos for being so compact, but it also takes great lifestyle shots. I used it to capture 90% of the photos in this travel blog to the Biltmore. It takes amazing photos for how small/inexpensive it is, and it’s also amazing for a video! Questions for you!

1. What questions about my cameras do you have for me?
2. Which camera of mine do you like best for photos?
3. Have you ever used film for your photos?

I haven’t done a blog post like this in a while. For the past few months, my anxiety has been on the high side. And if you’ve ever experienced anxiety, you know it’s awful, and it can just take over your body at the most random times. I was out watering my flowers a few weeks ago, and out of nowhere, my body started shaking, and I felt like I was going to start crying. It’s one of those things where no matter how great everything is around you, anxiety will hop in at any moment. I try to make my blog a happy place, so it’s not often I share this side of my life. I feel it’s important to share a little about what has been going on today to help someone else struggling with the same.

I have been working to really control my anxiety the past few months, and some of the things I’ve been doing have definitely helped out a ton. With that being said, if you are going through any anxiety or depression, it’s in your best interest to talk to your doctor. They’ll have the best plan for you, but I’m sharing some small changes I made that have helped me control anxiety on my own. You don’t even have to be in your 30’s to follow this list. If I would have started following these things in my 20’s it would have helped me a lot.

When I turned 30, I promised myself that I would put my self-care and mental health first, and that’s what I’ve been doing. You would think that putting yourself first is easy, but it’s not. And if your love language is acts of service, you know what I mean.

Fifteen Ways to Be Happier in your Thirties

1.  Get rid of clothes that don’t fit anymore. 

This was a hard one for me. Not only because I thought my older clothes were cute, but I didn’t want to give up hope that I might fit them one day. After years of eating healthy, drinking water, my coffee black, counting macros, exercising, going to bed early, and not losing one pound, I realized my body was content with where it was at. Every doctor told me that I was healthy, so why did I still think I needed to be a certain BMI? There are days when I hate how I look but doesn’t everyone have those days?  The best thing I ever did was toss out the clothes I’ll never fit into anymore. It helped me take away the pressure to lose weight, and it helped me love my body’s set weight. It does feel good to wear clothes that fit, and sizing is nothing but a number. It’s important to accept that your body/metabolism does, in fact, change as you get older, and it is out of your control. No one cares what you look like as much as you care what you look like.

2. Accept that not everyone is going to like you.

This was a big one for me, especially after spending more than a decade in front of the internet. If you worry too much about what others think, you’ll lose who you are. You’ll alter your personality or thoughts to please others, and that is exhausting. Being yourself is hard when you’re worried about how others will think of you. The best thing is to accept that not everyone is going to like you. It doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong or that you should change anything you’re doing. The people that do like you will like you for your authentic self, and those are the types of people you should surround yourself with in life. And it goes the other way too, you are not going to like everyone, and that is ok!

3. Don’t waste your time doing things that you don’t want to do.

I’m trying to get better at this. I’m a yes person, but also an introvert at times. I get excited when it’s doing things that bring me joy, like visiting coffee shops, walking around a cute town, planting flowers, playing tennis, picnic, or sitting at the beach. Things like going to bars, football games, or parties bring more dread than anything. It’s hard to say no when you don’t want people to be upset with you or think you’re a flake, but at the same time, don’t waste your time doing things that don’t bring you joy. This doesn’t mean you don’t like the person for saying no; it’s just you’d rather be doing something else with that person. It would be best if you gave a little here and here, but you don’t always have to say yes.

4. Let go of friendships that don’t bring purpose to your life. 

This is one of the toughest ones. You can love a person but also know when it’s time to let go. Friendships, even best friends, sometimes have an expiration date. It doesn’t mean either did anything wrong; it just means that people grow into different people as the years go on. If you find yourself clashing with a friend or not finding joy in the same things anymore, just let go. I have love and respect for every relationship, past and present, in my life, but moving on and growing separately can be one of the healthiest things. Some people linger in friendships because they feel like they have invested so much, but maybe it’s time to cash out on your investment and put your energy into something different. And the best thing to do when letting friends go is to hold no hate in your heart, not anger, no regrets, and to remember the amazing moments spent together.  5. Fix what you don’t like

From a vanity standpoint, I have absolutely hated my teeth for twenty years. I have finally started the process of having them fixed. I hated smiling in photos on my right side because of the gap; I felt like my teeth were smaller than a toddler’s, and having them fixed has made me so much more confident. It’s something I wish I would have done in my twenties. This two-hour dentist appointment should have been scheduled years ago (let me know if you want a post about it!), but people go through life-hating things that are so easy to fix. Right now, I’m in the process of removing my tattoo (it doesn’t serve me anymore, and I regretted it), and I also had a few moles removed. Why spend years hating things that you can fix within minutes. I know it doesn’t seem like it’s important to fix things, but if it makes you happy, do it!

6. Don’t talk about other people.

This is something I have been trying to do. Gossiping is easy, and pointing out other people’s flaws helps you forget about your own. Talking about other people may feel good at the moment, but it’s toxic and brings absolutely no value to your conversations in the long run. I mean, Cady Heron said it best “Calling somebody else fat won’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn’t make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George’s life definitely didn’t make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you.” If you don’t know that quote, you need to close his computer and watch Mean Girls. This goes with the understanding that you’re not going to like everyone, but try not to show it. It doesn’t cost anything to be kind. I think it’s important to mention that talking bad about yourself is also a horrible habit to get yourself into. Manifest good thoughts about yourself and don’t talk bad about yourself to others. It will have them questioning those same thoughts about themselves. 

7. Make time for self-care.

This is a big one. It’s easy to push off appointments and ignore things that bring you joy, but make time for yourself. Take hot baths, read a book, watch a movie, don’t cancel your doctor appointments (yearly physical, dermatology, dentist, eyes, obgyn), get a massage, and do things that help your mental health. Sometimes, I’ll lock myself in the bathroom and do a hair mask, face mask, listen to a podcast, take a hot bath, paint my nails, pluck my eyebrows, shave my legs, and I always feel like a million bucks after. Another essential self-care thing you can do is start going to a therapist a few times a month. This can benefit anyone! You don’t have to have anxiety, experience anything dramatic, or feel sad to talk to a therapist. Believe me; they’ll find something that you’ve been bottling up. Counseling is so important for mental health, and it’s helped me so much in my life during the hardest times. I don’t always like talking to family/friends about deep-rooted issues, and it’s better to have a professional and unbiased person there for you.

8. Start eating more vegetables and drink more water.

I don’t know what happened, but I’ve gravitated towards more cheese and frozen chicken nuggets this past year. I’ve been trying my best to drink more water and eat more vegetables. They have the best source of vitamins, and they do great things for your skin/health! I feel better when I fuel my body with better nutrition, but it is also important to treat yourself to the chicken nuggets and cheesecake now and then! I’m always an advocate of intuitive eating and moderation. But vegetables and hydration do help! My doctor actually told me that staying hydrated could reduce anxiety levels, and I think she’s right! Water is good for your skin, organs, and brain function.  9. Travel

I used to think that traveling was for your twenties. It’s not. Travel as much as you want and as often as you can. You don’t have to spend thousands flying to Mexico or Italy. Take a little road trip to the town over, go to the beach, sit at the lake, get out of town and see something new. I always feel happy and refreshed after taking a trip. I can’t wait to travel more this summer!

10. Exercise

Not a day goes by where I don’t exercise. You don’t have to do anything big or strenuous, but one hour of movement every single day is one of the best things you can do for your body. My form of exercise is walking and tennis. I know that my anxiety levels are so much better after a long walk or a dose of endorphins. And as Elle Woods said, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands.” To me, gardening is also a form of exercise. It’s a lot of hard work, and I’m always getting my steps in and my heart rate up while walking around the house. I am also going to get back into yoga next week since our yoga studio has opened up.

11. Go make up free

I’m a huge advocate of makeup-free days. Putting makeup on is actually my least favorite thing to do. I enjoy cleaning more. 6 out of 7 days are makeup-free for me. I think it’s important to embrace yourself without mascara or foundation covering up beautiful freckles, spots, and who you are. It’s also important to let your skin breathe. I don’t know what it is, but having no make-up makes me feel so much freer. Sometimes it’s easy to hide behind makeup, but you need to love every part of you.  You can forget how naturally beautiful you are if you hide it too often.

12. don’t compare yourself to others (beauty/work life)

There is no timeline for where you need to be when you’re thirty. You don’t need to be married, you don’t need to be on your second or first child, and you don’t even have to have your career figured out yet. Don’t stress over a timeline just because the people in your life are ahead or behind you. Comparing your looks to others can also be dangerous, which is why I love the no-makeup days. Don’t look at others and think they have better hair, plumper lips, and no wrinkles,  better cheekbones because honestly, you are made beautiful the way you are. I bet people are looking at you saying the same things about your beautiful traits. There isn’t much transparency online either, so comparing yourself to a highlight reel is pointless. Someone may now look at my photos and go, “wow, she has no gap in her front tooth” Well, we all know now that it was fixed, and it wasn’t something I was born with. We are not all made to look like each other or have the best of the best. When you stop comparing yourself to others, you’ll feel a rush of freeness.  13. have social media free days.

These are so important. If you feel like you’re comparing your life, wanting more, or feeling down about social media, take a break. Most days, I take a photo of my food or something I’m doing, post it on my story, and immediately get off the app. I don’t spend time scrolling, and I always have much better days. I don’t want to feel bad about not hustling, not having the newest clothes, or not sitting on a beach in Tulum. Break free from social media as often as you can.

14. Less alcohol 

This is something I’ve never had a problem with. I think it’s nice to sit on the porch with a glass of wine or a frozen cocktail by the pool now and then, but it’s never anything I crave. I never end a day going, “dang, I need a glass of wine.” I don’t drink wine to celebrate, and I don’t find joy in getting drunk. I hate how it makes me feel the next day, and I would rather drink a gallon of Kombucha or sparkling water over wine. I think having to have a drink every single day is problematic, and I stand by that. I think alcohol causes more problems than good in life. I’m not against it, just not dependent on it. Now, coffee, you won’t take that away from me. Cutting back on alcohol will help your mood, sleep, your skin, and energy.

15. Organize your surroundings 

I’m still trying to be better at organizing my surroundings, but I let things go now and then. Keeping your spaces in your home, finances, and work-life organized can reduce so much stress. Every week, I work to organize one thing in my life. It may be a closet, a drawer, or even writing my events in my calendar. Staying organized keeps me feeling more grounded and less scatterbrained.  I hope you can take a few of these tips from this blog post and apply them to your weekend. There are so many things I know I can be better at, and each day I thrive on being just a tiny bit better than before.

Questions for you

1. What is something you’ve been doing to be happier?
2. What is one thing on the list you could apply to your life?
3. What are you currently struggling with right now?

Good, morning, everyone! I woke up at 5 am, so excited to get this recipe up today. I tried to lay in bed and listen to a podcast, but my mind kept saying, “go to your office and blog those pancakes!”A few nights ago, I made the most delicious low-carb pancakes for dinner. I couldn’t make them fast enough because whenever one came off the stove, Kyle or I would hurry up and eat it. I didn’t know if they would work out because I just threw the ingredients together, but they were so fluffy and perfect. I had many of you ask for the recipe on Instagram, so I hurried up and tested out the recipe again to make sure I could get it right before posting. I think you’re going to LOVE these pancakes, even if you aren’t trying to cook low-carb. They are so fluffy, flavorful, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

Only Two grams of carbs per pancake!

Look how perfect and fluffy that stack is!

I love having all the extra pancakes in a container in the fridge. When I’m hungry and want a snack, I’ll head over to the fridge and grab a pancake. You can toast it in the toaster or eat them cold. I’ve always been a fan of eating pancakes cold! I don’t know why that is. Anyone else?

This recipe makes 20 fluffy pancakes! If you’re looking to make less, just half the recipe. I love adding butter, almond butter, or sauteed blueberries on top of my pancakes. Of course, nothing beats maple syrup! I’ve wanted to try the Stevia Keto maple syrup, but I’m afraid it’s going to have a weird taste. Have any of you tried it?

This will sound so crazy, but the consistency of these pancakes reminds me so much of the Mcdonald’s Hotcakes! Honestly, those were my favorite growing up. My parents used to take us to McDonald’s on Saturday mornings to have the pancakes and sausage and then play in the play area. Are those still a thing? To make these pancakes, you sift the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl. Next, you’ll add in the almond milk and the eggs! It’s seriously that simple. The texture will be just like regular pancake batter!

I use Raw Fusion vanilla plant-based protein powder, but if your protein powder makes the batter too thick or watery, add more almond milk or more almond flour, depending on the texture.

You can mix in chocolate chips, blueberries, bananas, coconut, or any pancake filling you’d like! I always go for blueberry pancakes. You’ll want the non-stick skillet to be pretty hot! Pour 1/2 cup of batter onto the pan and cook each side for about 90-seconds. Don’t flip too soon! If the spatula can easily slide under the pancake, then it’s most likely ready to flip. If the middle of the pancake starts to split down the middle, it’s way too soon! It would be best to cook these a bit longer since you’re working with almond flour and not regular flour. 

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Low Carb Pancakes - Only 2grams of Carbs (Gluten & Dairy Free)

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword pancakes, no carb, low carb, carbless, 2g carbs, gluten-free, dairy-free, breakfast pancakes, protein, healthy recipe,

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Almond Flour
• 2 Scoops Vanilla Protein Powder I used Raw Fusion
• 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8 Tsp Salt
• 2 Cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 3 Large Eggs

Instructions

• Sift together the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
• Mix in the almond milk and the eggs.
• Heat a non-stick skillet on medium-high and pour 1/2 cup of the pancake batter onto the pan.
• Cook each side for approximately 90-seconds.

Notes

Watch the video to see how easy these pancakes are to make! 

After writing this post, I’m excited to head into the kitchen and toast up some leftovers! I can’t wait for you to try these!

Questions for you!

1. What’s your favorite flavor of pancakes?
2. Where was your favorite place to eat pancakes growing up?
3. Are you team maple syrup?

The good part is that I get to watch Bachelor after logging off here. Honestly, I did not think I would love this Matt guy as much as I do. I think he’s so genuine, and his laugh is contagious. I don’t have any favorite girls yet, but I usually start getting attached during the fourth or fifth episode!   Last Monday was another gloomy one. After a morning project, I took Grumples out for a walk. Now that the construction is done on our street, I can finally walk them! Leo goes on my four to five-mile walks, but Grumples goes a mile around the block. We are actually going to be painting our porch concrete this weekend! It looks funny with the cement color, but we are thinking either sage green or beige. Eventually, we’d like to have someone install tile that looks like wood planks. The painting will be a quick fix for now!  It’s officially week five of eating low carb. I love that it has forced me to cook more, eat completely different than I used to (I was eating a lot of frozen processed foods), and it’s opened up my eyes to how much-processed sugar I was eating on a daily basis. I never thought I’d be eating a low carb diet, but after my doctor told me to see how my body/hormones responded to it, I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s not that hard or as miserable as I thought it was going to be. Luckily there are a lot of products out there now that make it easier. And to be completely transparent, I’ve lost five pounds, I’m eating way more than I used to, and I think I’m going to stick to this for a while. I have fewer mood swings, I’m not as tired in the afternoon (could also be because I reduced my coffee to one cup a day for over a month), and I do not crave the sugary and high carb snacks anymore! I did at first, but that went away after a week.

After my long walks, I usually have two slices of low carb bread with avocado. I also have a protein shake about an hour afterward.  I eat a ton of vegetables with a protein source for dinner now. I love the Siete taco seasoning! It goes perfectly with ground chicken, peppers, onions, cabbage, and thrown into a lettuce wrap. These are the types of dinners that take about 20-minutes to make, and they are perfect the next day for leftovers. One food that does get me through when I feel like I need chocolate is my almost no carb chocolate barks! You can find the recipe here. This time, I used peanuts and walnuts.  I usually have these in the afternoon with a decaf coffee or after dinner.  My camellias are still blooming!  I know this isn’t very pretty, but leftovers have been my favorite lunches lately. I always use Tessemaes dressing on top! The habanero ranch is so good.   A delicious dinner we made recently was roasted red peppers with tessamae’s dressing, roasted balsamic brussels sprouts, onions, and kielbasa.  Morning walks!  Hardboiled eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning is my new favorite.  I added a new plant to the family!  30-degree early morning five-mile walk with sweet Leo! I love that my neighbor and I hold each other accountable for our morning walks.  My mom and I had such a fun day on Thursday while shopping for her mother of the bride dress. We started our morning at First Watch! I can’t believe how big their menu is. Dangerous, they are only a few miles from my house! I can’t wait to go back. I saved my first cup of coffee for breakfast. I ordered the egg white omelet with peppers, onions, tomatoes, spinach, kale, and bacon.  A day after shopping! I actually found my wedding shoes, so it was a win for me! They are everything I was looking for in a wedding shoe and from one of my favorite designers!  And my mom actually found her dress! It looks so dang pretty on her, and I can’t wait to see her wear it this summer. It’s one of the dresses in the black and white photo. Such a fun day! I will share more wedding style blogs later this summer. I will be answering a few of your q&a questions on my Instagram later this evening!

I had some of you asking about this top! It’s this top from the LOFT!

 I made a yummy chicken and veggie lettuce wrap for dinner on Thursday night. If you follow me on Instagram, I post a lot of the recipes as I go. This one had peppers, onions, bok choy, chicken, freshly squeezed orange, pepper, onion salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onion on top. So tasty!  Kyle and I went to our favorite spot, Killington’s, on Friday night for Caesar salads and chicken wings!  They have one of the best caesar salads!  I made French onion soup on Saturday night. Kyle was craving it, and then I started craving it!  I will have to post this recipe soon! I finished it off in the oven with mozzarella and croutons.  We had such a random dinner night. I made zucchini pizzas for my side, and Kyle had leftover Udi’s pizza. Oh, and Caesar salads!Random, but it worked. On Sunday, I spent the entire day filming recipe videos and working on old popular recipes that needed a makeover on the blog. I have the carbless chicken nuggets and peach frosé recipe coming up this week!   Don’t forget to try out the new recipes I posted last week! Cinnamon rolls, the best blueberry muffins, and cranberry chocolate chip cookies!

I hope you all had an amazing weekend!

Questions for you!

1. Do you ever get the winter blues?
2. Are you going on morning walks?
3. Have you been cooking more at home or less?

This recipe has been on my blog for about six years now. I decided to remake these cookies over the weekend because so many of you tagged me in your pictures after making these cranberry chocolate chip cookies. I forgot how delicious they were, so thank you for inspiring me to make these again! Whether you’re looking for a delicious chocolate chip recipe or love all things cranberry, you will adore this recipe. It would be these cookies if I had to pick the perfect chocolate chip cookie consistency! The insides are soft and gooey, but the outsides are crunch and chewy! This recipe is perfect for a late-minute dessert. I used to bring them to backyard BBQs and parties when I needed a last-minute dessert dish. You can make these faster than stopping at a grocery store to pick them up. Plus, fresh homemade cookies are so much better! They take about 20-minutes to make! You can make them mini or jumbo! There’s something so delicious about a jumbo chocolate chip cookie.

I first made this recipe when I had a ton of cranberries left over from Thanksgiving. Eventually, it became a staple cookie all year round. They’re even more sophisticated when you add a few sprinkles of orange zest on top.

Just look at the inside of that cookie! The hardest part is trying not to eat the whole batch.

The cranberries add such a fun addition to the cookie because they are a bit sour and tart, but when mixed with the cookie’s chocolate and sweetness, they transform into a candy-like flavor. Adding a touch of pink to a cookie makes them even prettier. The ingredients are simple! Like my other recipes, you can make swaps to fit your dietary needs!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (1 teaspoon)
• 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries

Chocolate Chip Cookie Substitutes

Flour – All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
Butter – Earth Balance Unsalted Butter
Sugar – Monk Fruit
Cranberries – Dried Cranberries, Chocolate Chips, Walnuts, White Chocolate Chips, or anything you think will taste amazing thrown into the cookie!
Eggs – Egg Substitute 

The recipe is so simple. I LOVE SIMPLE.

1. Heat the oven to 350!
2. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. In an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together.
4. Lightly mix in vanilla and egg.
5. Gradually spoon in the flour at a low speed.
6. Fold in chocolate chips and cranberries.
7. Line a baking sheet and place the oversize tablespoon dough balls two inches apart. Place them 3 inches apart if you’re doubling the size (3 tablespoons!)

Try your best not to eat all the batter…it’s pretty much cookie dough heaven. For this batch, I doubled the size. I usually always make miniature cookies, but for these, I wanted to make them jumbo. I used about three tablespoons of the dough and placed them 3 inches apart on the baking pan. You’ll know when they’re done because the cookies’ edges will look lightly golden, but the middle will look soft. Even if the middle doesn’t look done, but the edges are golden, take them out! They’ll continue to cook on the baking sheet for the next five minutes. The soft and gooey middle is the best part of the cookie, so make sure not to overcook them! For the jumbo size, I cooked them about 10-12 minutes long. The recipe makes about 22 jumbo cookies!  These are seriously the best chocolate chip cookies ever! The cranberry is a delicious addition, but you cannot go wrong with this recipe!  Don’t forget to pin this recipe to make later!

If you want, make a big batch of this dough and freeze it for emergency bake moments! This recipe is saved in a folder in front of my family recipe binder. Let me know if you want to see which recipes I have saved in my binder! I started saving recipes (even printing ones like this out) to place in my binder just in case my family later on in life wanted a list of recipes that are my absolute go-to. I remember my grandma always keeping a recipe box, and I’d snap photos of them to add them to my binder. 

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Perfect Chewy and Gooey Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies

Course Dessert

Keyword cookies, gluten-free, dairy-free, healthier dessert, healthy eating, oatmeal, chocolate chip, coconut, cranberry cookies, cookies, chocolate chip, vanilla, baking

Servings 24

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour also works with gluten-free
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1 Stick Softened Unsalted Butter Works with vegan butter
• 1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Sugar or monk fruit
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 1 1/2 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 Cup Cranberries (fresh or dried)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside in a separate bowl.
• In an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy.
• Add in the sugar and brown sugar.
• Lightly mix in the vanilla and egg.
•  Scoop the flour mixture into the wet ingredients gradually (you don’t want it flying everywhere).
• With a spoon, fold in the cranberries and the chocolate chips.
•  Scoop oversized tablespoon dough balls onto a baking sheet two inches apart.

  I also made jumbo cookies with this recipe using 3 tbsps sized doughballs
•  Bake for approximately 8-12 minutes. The edges should be slightly brown, and the middles will still be soft.

  The middles will continue to cook on the baking sheet, so make sure to take them out as soon as the edges are golden.

I hope you enjoy this perfect chocolate chip cookie with cranberry recipe! Don’t forget to watch the video to see how easy they are to make!

Questions for you!

1. Do you like when I include videos in these recipe posts?
2. Do you want me to share what recipes I keep in my binder?
3. If not cranberries, what would you add to these chocolate chip cookies?

Please excuse the cellphone pictures for this recipe post, but these blueberry muffins needed to meet the internet asap. I’ve made about five batches, and each time, they were better and better. On Sunday night, I perfected them. I’m sure I’ll take more professional photos of them, but I wanted to get this recipe out to you immediately. Now, these are not healthy muffins. Gluten-free? Yes! (can also be made with regular flour) but these are more of an impress-the-guest style muffin. You can make some swaps if you’d like, but this muffin will bring you so much joy! These would be my staple if I ever had a bed and breakfast or coffee shop! They are completely fool-proof and don’t require any electric mixers. You can make these in about 25-minutes! I first made these muffins for my guest on Friday morning. They tasted wonderful, but I wanted to add a few things to make them even better. I made them again on Saturday, twice on Sunday, and then again on Monday. The Sunday batch was the best, and I brought them over to a new neighbor! At first, I tried a crumbly streusel, but my mishap turned my streusel into the flakiest topping that tasted candied. Do you know the top layer on a creme brulee? That’s what it tasted like, but softer. I had no interest in making it crumbly after the first bite. You could almost do that spoon thing to the top of the muffin as they do to the creme brulee!

My goal for this week is to make these muffins again but with all the healthier swaps. I love seeing how recipes turn out with all the swaps! Sometimes, they’re just as good.  

I found these tall liners at Homegoods, but you can also purchase them on Amazon. Whenever I go to Homegoods, I get inspired to bake with all the cute sprinkles and holiday-themed cooking utensils.

I love recipes that don’t involve the mixer. I don’t know why since the mixer doesn’t take much cleaning.

The first thing you want to do is heat the oven to 350 degrees!  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg lightly.

Mix in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix, but don’t over-mix. Fold in the brown sugar! It’s ok if there are a few chunky pieces of brown sugar in the batter. It adds pockets of candied pieces in the muffins.  When I made my first batch, my blueberries sunk to the bottom. I decided to coat them in the flour streusel the second time, and they floated right to the top!

For the streusel, mash flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, and salt together. Mash with a fork! Top the muffins with the streusel and bake for 20-25 minutes. It depends on how big the muffins are! With the taller liners, you can fill the batter to the top. If you use regular muffin liners, fill it about 3/4ths full.

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Blueberry Muffins with a Flaky Streusel

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword bluberry muffins, dessert, breakfast, muffins, best recipe ever

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 23 minutes minutes

Servings 9 Muffins

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour I used bob's red mill gluten-free
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/3 Cup Butter melted
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar not packed
• 1 Pint Fresh Blueberries

Streusel

• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 1/2 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Pinch Salt
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 3 Tbsps Cold Butter

Instructions

For The Muffins

• Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and line the muffin pan muffin liners, or apply cooking spray.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside.
• Melt the 1/3 cup of butter.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg lightly. Add milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
• Add the egg mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix lightly and slowly fold in the brown sugar.
• Coat the blueberries in flour (or use the streusel mixture to coat) and fold into the batter.
• If you're using tall liners, fill the muffin almost to the top of the pan. If you're using standard-sized muffin liners, fill about 3/4 full with batter.

Make the Streusel

• Mix the flour, sugar, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter together in a bowl. Use a fork to mash the butter into the dry ingredients. Sprinkle about a tablespoon on top of the muffins before going into the oven.
• Bake 20-25 minutes. Use the toothpick method to determine if they're done.

I cannot wait to hear what you think of these muffins!  They are so worth making and way too easy not to make! Make sure to tag me in your muffin pictures so I can share!

Questions for you!

1. What is your favorite muffin flavor?
2. When was the last time you had a muffin that blew you away?
3. Should I make an orange cranberry or double chocolate muffin next? Oh…or a carrot cake muffin?

Valentine’s day, Christmas, Easter, or whatever holiday you’re celebrating, these lemon poppy Linzer cookies need to be on the menu! They look super impressive but easy to make, and they taste like Pop-Tarts! I know that’s such a strange comparison, but it’s true! And if you don’t like Pop-Tarts, well…I cannot wait to make these cookies with a heart cutout and a strawberry filling for Valentine’s day. I won’t stop there either; I plan to make these with a lemon custard filling this summer. It’s such a diverse cookie recipe! It took me a few attempts to get this recipe just right, but on the tenth batch, I got it! Now, this recipe is a fools proof one, so don’t worry about going through any trial and errors as I did! Apparently, really cold butter doesn’t work for these. If you’re planning to make these, take the butter out of the refrigerator right now! I made these cookies with gluten-free flour and with regular flour. The gluten-free flour took about a minute longer to cook, but both made a delicious cookie. When I used vegan butter, they were a tad softer, but still worked! I thought I’d share those swaps just in case you’re planning to make these cookies. These cookies have zero eggs in them, so making them vegan would be a super simple swap. If you don’t like raspberry jam, use any flavor jam you want! Don’t like jam at all? Try filling these cookies with Nutella…wait, I need to do that ASAP!! If you do plan to use Nutella, leave out the lemon juice and add vanilla. I’m not sure lemon and Nutella would be a great match? But then again, some people eat pickles and peanut butter together. The raspberry and lemon combo were born to be together. These sweet Linzer cookies hold up perfectly outside of the refrigerator for about a week! We finished our last one last night. I ordered the stainless steel round biscuit cutters on Amazon. They come in five sizes, so you could also make mini versions of these! I am going to make Valentine’s day ones small. I think they’ll be so cute when they are bite-size. They were the perfect addition to my Christmas dessert boxes I put together.

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Lemon Poppy Linzer Cookies

Course Dessert

Keyword linzer, cookies, lemon, poppy, austria, shortbread, cookie recipe

Servings 24 Cookies

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter at Room Temperature or earth balance vegan butter
• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar add more if batter is too soft
• 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Tsp Almond Extract
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour or gluten-free flour
• 3 Tbsps Poppy Seeds optional

Filling + Topping!

• 1/2 Cup Rasberry Jelly or any filling
• 1 Tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar

Instructions

Lemon Poppy Linzer Cookies

• Preheat Oven to 370 degrees
• Add the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and almond extract to an electric mixer on medium speed. Mix together until smooth.
• Sift the flour and slowly add it to the mixer with the salt on a very low speed. Mix in poppy seeds.
• Scoop the dough out of the mixer and place it onto a floured surface. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until 3/4 a cm thick.
• Use the biscut cutter to cut out an even amount, but add in the extra cutout for the other half.
• Transfer to a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet
• Bake 6 to 7 minutes. Do not let them brown and allow them to sit on the pan for about five minutes before transfering them to the cooling rack.
• Mix the lemon juice and raspberry jelly together for the filling.
• Once the cookies are completely cooled, add one tbsp of jelly filling to the center of the bottom cookie (but leave 3/4 cm around the edges uncovered or itll pour over) and add the cutout cookie layer on top.

  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I cannot wait to hear how these cookies turn out for you! I may have to make the Nutella ones with a speck of gold dust for NYE today!  I hope you all have a wonderful NYE!

Questions for you!

1. What flavor filling would you do?
2. Have you ever made Linzer cookies before?
3. What is your favorite holiday to bake for?

Update: I made them with Nutella! Omg so good. I left out the lemon, added vanilla, and filled them with Nutella! YOU MUST TRY THEM!