Chocolate Chip Macaroon Cookies

So I haven't really posted in like 10 days.  Oops.  It's so hard to sit at your computer when it's finally 70 degrees, you're sort of in the peak of your house hunting season, oh and you've been to Cincinnati, Iowa and Pittsburgh in the last 6 days while working your 40 hour work week on top of it.  True story, I'm practically superwoman, right?!  So obviously I took this day of rest to come up with the most amazingly delicious cookies I think I've ever made.  The recipe sort of happened on accident.  I whipped up some chocolate chip cookie dough for a little weekend treat and had already put a batch in the oven when I realized that I was craving coconut!  Instead of just stirring coconut and pecans into the dough like normally do, I made a creamy "macaroon" filling that I sandwiched between 2 pieces of cooking dough before baking!  How did I not think of these before?!

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal

Ever since I first discovered the convenience of microwavable oatmeal my freshman year of college, I've been hooked on the stuff.  Luckily, the microwave phase only lasted through my dorm years, because the real stuff is so much better tasting and better for you!  It's kind of like a blank canvas with unlimited topping possibilities!  On a normal day, I'll jazz it up a bit with some cinnamon sugar, raisins and walnuts.  But on the weekend, when my heart says blueberry pancakes but my brain tells me egg whites and a smoothie, I can compromise and make blueberry banana oatmeal!  With sweetness from fresh blueberries, banana, coconut and brown sugar, a little crunch from walnuts, some spice from ground cinnamon and a boost of protein, calcium and omega-3s from chia seeds, I have the perfect breakfast to satisfy my sweet tooth while staying on track.  It's seriously SO GOOD!

Hawaiian Fruit Dip

The big Ohio State vs. Oregon game is on tomorrow night, and it seems like almost everybody I know is throwing or attending a party!  Definitely not a bad way to spend a Monday night!  I wanted to post a good recipe that you can easily whip up after work with minimal effort or ingredients.  Though I can think of about 25 deliciously unhealthy recipes that could please a crowd, I want to share one of my favorites that's fairly health conscious when compared to buffalo chicken dip or potato skins.  That's right, I got your back all you followers that are trying to eat healthier, work out more, drink less, etc!  It's called Hawaiian Fruit Dip, and it's my go to recipe for summer barbecues, brunches, and birthdays.  5 ingredients, 5 minutes, and you have yourself a great recipe that EVERYBODY will ask for.  When they do ask "where'd you find that recipe?", be sure to send them my way!

Coconut Thumbprint Cookies

Christmas at the Schill house would not be complete without dozens and dozens of cookies.  From good old-fashioned sugar cookies, to butterballs, to cranberry biscotti...we bake up quite the storm!  Though I love cookies in any form, my absolute favorite recipe around the holidays is for our coconut thumbprint cookies.  When I say they're to die for, I'm not even kidding...the recipe has been in my family for over 100 years!  My great-grandma passed the recipe down to my mom, and we've been baking them together every Christmas for as long as I can remember.  The hardest thing about the recipe is making enough to keep everyone satisfied!  I swear once you bring them to somebody, they keep asking for them year after year!

The Best Banana Bread...Ever

The recipe I'm about to share with you is a very special one.  I've actually been sitting on my couch for the last twenty minutes debating if I should share it publicly because it's taken so long for me to make it perfect...but the smell of warm banana bread with a hint of cinnamon is wafting into my living room and bringing out my soft side, and I feel like it would be morally unjust not to spread the happiness that this recipe brings around to everyone!  I'm going to start by saying that banana bread is one of my all-time favorite desserts.  It's just so comforting, light, fluffy, it somehow feels healthy (even though it isn't), and tastes great anytime of the day, even for breakfast!  Usually, I make a recipe once, and if I like it, and then other people like it, I consider it a keeper.  This recipe, however, is a combination of 2 family recipes, a helpful tip from my friend's mom, and a new twist I added on my own...COCONUT!  I've baked this recipe close to a hundred times, experimenting with different additions each time, and can honestly say it's finally perfect...every single batch I share with people yields at least one response saying "this is the best banana bread I've ever had!"