Homemade Hot Chocolate

This homemade hot chocolate is creamy, thick, and flavorful, made with both melted chocolate and cocoa powder. It's a perfect cozy treat for a cold day!

This hot chocolate recipe is so much better than a powdered mix! Made with two types of chocolate—a chopped bar and cocoa powder—it’s deliciously rich, creamy, and just the right amount of sweet. It’s super easy to make too—it comes together with 5 simple ingredients in under 10 minutes. We’ve already made this homemade hot chocolate a few times this December, and I have a feeling that it’ll stay on repeat all month long. It’s the perfect warming treat for a cold winter night, especially if you have a kid (like ours) who loves cozying up under the Christmas tree…

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25 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes

Ready for holiday baking? Find our best Christmas cookies below! They include easy recipes for sugar cookies, spice cookies, cut outs, and more.

I’ll be baking Christmas cookies on repeat for the next few weeks! They’re one of my favorite parts of the holiday season—sweet, festive, and perfect for making with family and sharing as a gift. If you ask me, there’s no better way to spread holiday cheer. In case you’re ready for holiday baking too, I’ve rounded up my best easy Christmas cookie recipes below. They include traditional Christmas cookies like gingerbread as well as fun shortbread variations, classic chocolate chip cookies, and more. They’re all great for holiday parties, cookie tins, and baking with loved ones (kids included!). I hope…

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Pignoli Cookies

Learn how to make pignoli cookies! These Italian pine nut cookies are chewy, nutty, and full of rich almond flavor. They're perfect for the holidays!

These pignoli cookies are a new addition to my holiday cookie lineup, and I already can’t get enough of them. A toasty, crunchy pine nut crust surrounds the chewy cookies, which are bursting with almond flavor (my favorite at Christmastime). They’re easy to make with 7 ingredients, but I think they’d be the star of any holiday cookie plate. I first tried pignoli cookies on a trip to Italy years ago, and I re-discovered them more recently at a bakery near our cottage in Michigan. I bought so many over the last few summers that I knew I had to…

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Christmas Sugar Cookies

I make these Christmas sugar cookies for the holidays every year! Cut into festive shapes, they're perfect for decorating with icing and sprinkles.

Let’s make Christmas sugar cookies! My family loves breaking out our cookie cutters to bake these cookies for the holidays every year. They’re classic cut-out sugar cookies, with crisp edges, soft middles, and a warm, buttery flavor from vanilla and almond extract. Made with a simple 8-ingredient dough, they hold their shape in the oven, which means that you can cut them into all kinds of holiday shapes. While you could enjoy these Christmas sugar cookies plain, we think half the fun of making them is decorating them. Top them with icing, plus sprinkles, colored sugar, and/or candies for a festive…

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Spritz Cookies

This spritz cookie recipe has been in my family for years! Buttery, tender, and decorated with sprinkles, they're our favorite Christmas cookies.

This spritz cookie recipe comes straight from my mom’s recipe box! My family has been making it every Christmas for over 40 years—my first kitchen memory is of baking these spritz cookies with my mom and sister for the holidays. Made with a 6-ingredient dough, these spritz cookies are buttery, tender, and scented with almond extract, not unlike sugar cookies or shortbread. What sets them apart from other cookies is how they’re made. Spritz cookies get their festive shapes from a cookie press. Their name comes from the German word spritzen, which means “to squirt,” which describes how the dough…

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Top 10 Kitchen Gadget Gifts

You don't have to break the bank to find the perfect gift for the cook in your life! Fun, unique, and useful, these kitchen gadgets all cost under $50.

Good things come in little packages, and these kitchen gadget gifts are here to prove it! They include unique gifts for vegetable lovers, bakers, and home cooks of all kinds. Though they all clock in under $50, they’re some of the most-used items in my kitchen. Perfect for stocking stuffers or standalone gifts, they’ll surprise and delight the cooks in your life. (Disclosure: I earn a small commission on items purchased. This post is not sponsored – these are kitchen tools we’ve selected because we love and use them every day. We hope you like them too!) Prices were accurate at…

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Creamy Potato Soup

Warm up on a cold day with this easy potato soup! Thick, creamy, and loaded with toppings like green onions and cheese, it's the ultimate comfort food.

winter / soups

This potato soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food for a cold day! It’s like a loaded baked potato in soup form—the thick, creamy, savory soup is piled high with toppings like sour cream, shredded cheese, and green onions or chives. Jack loves it so much that he can polish off half the pot in a single night. Luckily, this potato soup comes together in one pot with simple ingredients, so it’ll be easy to keep in our rotation this winter. It’s one of those recipes that’s so much more than the sum of its parts. You start with humble…

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The Best Holiday Gifts for Cooks

Searching for the perfect gift for someone who loves to cook? Our gift guide has you covered! Find stunning cookware, fun appliances, and more.

Our 2025 holiday gift guide is here! If you’re looking for gifts for the cooks in your life, you’ll find some amazing options in this post. I’ve included my favorite pots and pans, the BEST storage containers, an unbeatable immersion blender, and more. When I make this gift guide every year, my goal is to recommend gifts that the cooks you know will use and love. Every item is something I reach for regularly in my kitchen, and each one has stood the test of time through years of consistent use. As a recipe developer and cookbook author, I’d be thrilled…

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Stuffed Mushrooms

This stuffed mushrooms recipe is a delicious, easy party appetizer! The filling is a crispy, savory combo of breadcrumbs, garlic, herbs, and cheese.

appetizers / winter

This stuffed mushrooms recipe is one of my favorite party appetizers, especially for the holidays. Instead of making a typical cream cheese filling, I stuff the tender mushroom caps with a crispy, garlicky breadcrumb mixture. Sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese make it rich and savory, pine nuts add crunch, and parsley adds freshness. Grab two while you’re at the snack table—these bite-sized apps disappear fast. Another reason to love these stuffed mushrooms: they’re easy to make! They come together with 10 simple ingredients and about 15 minutes of hands-on prep. If you’re looking for a quick, crowd-pleasing appetizer for your next party, I…

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50 Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Whether you're seeking classic Thanksgiving recipes or something totally new, you're sure to love one (or more!) of these 50 Thanksgiving side dishes.

vegetarian / side dishes

Can we agree that Thanksgiving side dishes are the best part of the holiday meal? No offense to roast turkey and pumpkin pie, but the stuffing, mashed potatoes, and other sides are what I look forward to most. I’m sharing 50 of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes below. They include all the classics (think green bean casserole and dinner rolls) as well as inventive veggie sides, crowd-pleasing potatoes, and more. If you’re still planning you holiday menu, check them out! You’re sure to find some recipes you love. Our Best Classic Thanksgiving Sides Best Stuffing Based on my mom’s classic recipe,…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.