Tag: Christmas Baking

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Snowballs

This time of the year peppermint is the star flavor in many beverages, candies and baked goods. And if you are a fan of the flavor, you are going to love today’s Snowball cookies. Snowballs, also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies and/or Russian Tea Cakes, are typically flavored with vanilla extract and have finely chopped pecans, but today’s version takes a festive approach with peppermint extract and chocolate chips for a Peppermint Chocolate Chip Snowball.

These buttery cookies will melt in your mouth and have you begging for a cup of hot cocoa. A few things to note, while I added 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract you could reduce it to 1 teaspoon. You will still get the peppermint flavor, but it won’t be as pronounced. Also, if you want to make the appearance of these cookies festive for the season you could add a few drops of red food coloring to give them a nice pink hue.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Snowballs

  • Servings: 24 Cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

2 cups flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lines 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and 1/2 cup of the confectioners’ sugar with hand mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the peppermint extract. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the flour and then the chocolate chips.

Scoop tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball and then place on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are a light golden brown.

Place the remaining cup of confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl.

Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes roll the cookies in the confectioners’ sugar to coat them. Return them to the wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies have completely cooled roll them in the confectioners’ sugar once again.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies

If you’ve never thought of using cake mix to whip up a batch of delicious cookies let this be your PSA to do so. I’ve shared a recipe using a chocolate cake mix – Chocolate Salted Caramel Chip Cookies – a yellow cake mix – Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies – and today I am sharing one using a red velvet cake mix to make Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies (how original!).

These cookies are perfect for the season with their deep red hue and little effort required to make them (let’s be honest, most people’s to-do list around this time can seem never-ending). While it is nice to bake something that is “fancy” and a tad bit involved it’s just as a nice (and less stressful) to make something that is easy and quick. The most stressful part of these cookies is having to wait one hour to bake them while the dough chills.

But after waiting for the dough to chill, and baking and cooling you’ll have delicious cookies that will be a great addition to any other cookies you are baking for the holiday’s or perfect just on their own. 

One quick thing to note, to mimic a traditional Red Velvet Cake I used Hershey’s Cream Cheese Chips in these cookies, if you are unable to find them you can use white chocolate chips instead.

Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies

  • Servings: 24 Cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:

1 15.25oz box Red Velvet Cake Mix

1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules (optional)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cream cheese chips*

*I used Hershey’s Cream Cheese Baking Chips, if you cannot find them white chocolate chips can be used instead.

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the cake mix, instant coffee (if using), oil, eggs and vanilla extract and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until well combined. Stir in the cream cheese (or white chocolate) chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a cookie scoop drop the dough about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes. The cookies will look slightly underbaked. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store cookies in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula. 

Brownie Cookies

‘Tis the season for cookies, cakes, treats and all kinds of sweets! And today’s treat is a take on a classic sweet that won’t have anyone fighting for the middle, edge or corner piece – everyone has a preference – it’s a Brownie Cookie!

The dough for these cookies involves a few steps. First up, chocolate and butter are melted together, stirred until smooth and then cooled to room temperature. Once cooled, the chocolate mixture is then added to a mixture of eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and coffee granules. And finally, dry ingredients and mini chocolate chips are added into the dough. Although, the dough won’t look like dough at this point, more so like brownie batter. So, it’s necessary to refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes so it can firm up and be perfect for scooping and baking.

And once baked, you will have delicious chocolaty cookies that are reminiscent of a brownie with a shiny crackly top and a soft chewy inside, perfect for any chocolate or brownie lover in your life. 

Brownie Cookies

Ingredients:

2 4oz. semi-sweet chocolate baking bars, chopped

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

In a microwave safe bowl melt the chopped chocolate and butter together. Heat for 20 second intervals, stirring between each until the mixture is smooth. Cool to room temperature.  

In a large bowl beat together both sugars, eggs, vanilla extract and coffee granules with a hand mixer on medium speed until the mixture is well combined and has increased slightly in volume, 2-3 minutes. 

Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat until well combined.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until just combined. Add in the mini chocolate chips and continue stirring until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-13 minutes, until the cookies are set. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Sweet & Salty Christmas in July White Chocolate Bark

Merry Christmas in July! Have you been indulging in any holiday activities to get you into the holiday spirit super early? I’ll admit, I have watched a few Christmas movies thanks to Hallmark Channel’s Christmas in July stunt. Nothing too crazy though. If you are a crafter, now is the perfect time to start on any Christmas crafts/gifts you plan on making. And of course, there have been sales, but instead of calling them Christmas in July sales retailers have been terming them Black Friday in July sales. Not everyone is keen on celebrating or even mentioning Christmas before Thanksgiving!

Initially I was stumped on what to make to celebrate. I toyed with the idea of a Peppermint Shake along the lines of last year’s refreshing No Churn Peppermint Chip Ice Cream. And then I thought of forgoing the whole thing and not making anything. But then I remembered I had a bag of red & green mini M&M’s I bought during the holidays last year that I was planning on using to decorate Gingerbread Cookies that I never made. Thankfully they hadn’t expired – it’s scary sometimes how long candy can last – so I decided to make a super simple and festive chocolate bark with them.

Along with the M&M’s I used chopped pretzels and nonpareils to decorate melted white chocolate. If you are not a fan of white chocolate, you could easily swap it out for either semi-sweet or milk chocolate. Making chocolate bark is one of the simplest things you can make, and the M&M’s and nonpareils can be swapped out for any holiday. After melting white chocolate chips in the microwave, I spread the chocolate on a parchment lined baking sheet about 1/4-inch thick and then sprinkled it with the M&M’s, chopped pretzels and nonpareils. I lightly pressed everything into the chocolate and then placed it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes so the chocolate could harden.

And then I just haphazardly broke it apart and stored it in the refrigerator for an occasional sweet treat! Come the holidays though this would be the perfect treat to serve guests or to gift.

Sweet & Salty Christmas in July White Chocolate Bark

Ingredients:

1 12oz. bag white chocolate chips

1/2 cup green & red mini M&M’s

1 cup mini pretzel twists, chopped

Holiday nonpareils

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and melt in 30-second intervals, stirring between each until chocolate is melted and smooth. Spread on the prepared baking sheet to about a 1/4-inch thick.

Sprinkle the M&M’s, chopped pretzels and nonpareils over the chocolate and lightly press into the chocolate.

Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, or until the chocolate hardens, and then break into pieces.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*If you want your bark saltier sprinkle with sea salt before refrigerating.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Cookie Palooza: Blueberry Crumb Cookies

I’ve saved my favorite cookie for last… A Blueberry Crumb Cookie. I got the idea for this cookie while baking one of my favorite summer desserts, a Blueberry Crumb Cake. Granted you can make it anytime of the year, but it tastes best when the blueberries are at their sweetest. Initially I was thinking of using fresh blueberries in the cookie, but for a few reasons I didn’t think it was the right move. I was concerned that some of the blueberries would be sour (not a good thing for a cookie), inevitably different sizes (you kind of want uniformity in a cookie) and that they might turn the cookies blue during baking. Since cookie dough is a lot thicker than cake batter, I thought that there was good chance of the blueberries being slightly decimated while folding them in. Thankfully I was able to find dried wild blueberries that eliminated all those concerns I had from using fresh ones.

For these cookies I made two mixtures… The cookie dough and the crumb topping.

Once both were ready, I rolled scoops of the dough in the crumb topping and then placed it on my baking sheets. And in case you are wondering, no, the crumb topping won’t burn and yes it will stick to the cookie even after baking.

And yes, the cookies will spread a bit while baking, but I don’t suggest refrigerating the cookie dough prior to scooping and rolling them in the crumb topping. You want the cookie dough to be slightly sticky so the crumb topping will adhere to it. And there’s no harm in a larger cookie. They don’t flatten and are slightly thick so it’s all good!

And I must say that while these cookies are delish the day they come out of the oven, the blueberry flavor gets stronger each day after so you may want to make these a day or two ahead of time and keep them stored in an airtight container prior to serving, sharing or giving. Because of this these cookies are the perfect cookie to mail to someone. They stay moist and the flavor only gets better.

I hope you have enjoyed this year’s Cookie Palooza and hopefully one, two or maybe all of these cookies will earn a spot on your cookie trays this holiday season!

Happy Holidays (and Happy Baking!)

Blueberry Crumb Cookies

  • Servings: 30 Cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried blueberries*

For the Crumb Topping:

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

*I used dried wild blueberries from Trader Joe’s

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

For the cookies: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and both sugars with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat until just combined. Add in the lemon juice and sour cream and continue beating until well combined.

With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture. And then fold in the blueberries.

For the Crumb Topping: In a medium bowl whisk together both sugars, the cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. You may need to use your hands to really get the mixture combined well and to form the crumbs.

To make rolling the dough in the crumb topping easier (and less messy), first scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, then roll in the crumb topping and then return to the baking sheets. Place the dough 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are set and beginning to brown around the edges. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store cookies in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn Spatula.

Cookie Palooza: Brown Sugar Vanilla Cookies

Cookies are my least favorite dessert to photograph. Sometimes they just don’t look as appealing in a picture as they do in “real life.” As is the case with today’s Cookie Palooza cookie… Brown Sugar Vanilla Cookies. They taste great, but that’s just not coming across in the pictures since there are no add-ins to give the cookies dimension.

They are essentially a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips. They get their flavor from, you guessed it, brown sugar and vanilla. While most chocolate chip cookie recipes call for using a combination of white and brown sugar which produces a cookie that is crispier, only using brown sugar in these cookies leaves you with a cookie that is chewier and denser. Something a little more comforting during these cold winter months. They are also the perfect cookie to make for anyone on your list who likes a simple cookie without much fuss.  

Brown Sugar Vanilla Cookies

  • Servings: 30 Cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time and then add in the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture until combined. The dough will be very soft. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up so the cookies won’t spread as much while baking.

Use a cookie a cookie scoop to drop the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges of the cookies begin to brown. Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Cookie Palooza: Big Island Oatmeal Cookies

If you are dreaming of being somewhere warm during the colder months today’s Cookie Palooza cookie may help transport you there mentally. It’s an oatmeal cookie loaded with coconut, pineapples and macadamia nuts. All standard things you will find growing in Hawaii, hence the name, Big Island Oatmeal Cookies.

On my first attempt at making these cookies I used dried pineapple and I quickly learned that baking with dried pineapple is not like baking with dried cranberries or blueberries. The pineapple pieces dried out so instead of being chewy and adding flavor to the cookie they were a bit hard and had no flavor. On my second attempt I switched these things up and decided to use canned pineapple tidbits in pineapple juice that I drained. I also added in coconut extract to amp up the coconut flavor and opted not to chop the macadamia nuts. Also on my first attempt I chopped the macadamia nuts and they pretty much got decimated since they are so soft. When you bit into the cookie you really weren’t getting the crunch or taste of them.

So, with my tweaks, my cookies were perfectly loaded with pineapples, macadamia nuts and coconut in two forms. And the taste was exactly what I had hoped for. Not too sweet, the perfect amount of coconut flavor, a little crunch from the macadamia nuts and some added sweetness and taste from the pineapples. Also, because of the pineapples the cookies were incredibly moist. One of the reasons why it’s necessary to let them rest on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire to cool completely.

While these cookies may not have any of the standard flavors of the holiday season, they will be a welcome addition to your holiday baking menu. Yes, peppermint, sugar cookies, chocolate, etc. are delicious, but a little something different is good as well.

Big Island Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1 1/2 cups flour

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup macadamia nuts

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup pineapple tidbits in juice, drained

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and both sugars with a hand mixer on medium speed. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Add the vanilla and coconut extract and beat until everything is well combine.

With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture.

Fold in the macadamia nuts, shredded coconut and pineapple tidbits.

Use a cookie scoop to drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are set, and the edges begin to brown.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Cookie Palooza: Cranberry Pecan Cookies

While peppermint gets all the glory during this time of the year there are other flavors and ingredients that are reminiscent of the season. Cranberries for one. While the sweetened dried ones and the canned jellied version can be found in your supermarket year-round, it’s this time of the year when those fresh tart berries pop up in your grocery section. And while most nuts are popular around this time due to gift baskets, those roasted chestnuts and so forth it’s pecans that really make the rounds thanks to Pecan Pie.  So, I decided to combine the two – cranberries and pecans – for today’s Cookie Palooza cookie with a Cranberry Pecan Cookie that also has some chocolate in it.

These cookies are pretty straightforward to make. Start off by creaming together the butter and sugars, add the eggs and then the vanilla extract. Whisk the dry ingredients separately and then add it to the butter mixture and finally stir in the add-ins; the dried cranberries, chopped pecans and chocolate chips. If you like your cookies to be a little nuttier feel free to add in more pecans. And one thing I have started doing is refrigerating my cookie dough before scooping and baking. I didn’t want to struggle to scoop my dough, so I refrigerated it for only 30 minutes. Enough to get it chilled, but still soft enough to easily scoop with a cookie scoop.

These cookies are perfectly chocolaty, just the right amount of crunch thanks to the pecans and have a little tangy sweetness to them thanks to the cranberries. The perfection addition to any cookie platter this holiday season!

Cranberry Pecan Cookies

  • Servings: 36 Cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and both sugars with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and then the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Add the chocolate chips, pecans and cranberries and beat until combined.

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are set.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn Spatula

Cookie Palooza: Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies

Welcome to Cookie Palooza 2022 on Bead Yarn Spatula. I am quite excited this year because all the recipes I will be bringing you this week are original ones. To kick it off I am sharing a recipe that is perfect for all your pumpkin spice loving family and friends and for those that enjoy pumpkin even after the Fall season is long gone… A Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookie.

I’ve been searching for a good pumpkin cookie recipe for a while now. Some I made tasted good, but the texture just wasn’t appealing to me. When pumpkin puree is added to any recipe it adds a lot of moisture to it. And if you add too much pumpkin puree to a dessert recipe that isn’t well balanced with other wet ingredients you end up with a very odd texture. As was the case with my first few tries of my Pumpkin Tiramisu Cake. So, how did I finally achieve a good pumpkin cookie recipe? To get these Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip cookies just right I started by using a cake mix as the base.

If you are wondering, cake mix cookies are an actual thing. It’s an easy way to make a red velvet, strawberry, lemon and /or carrot flavored cookie since those flavors are readily available in box cake mixes. While I am sure around this time of the year there are pumpkin cake mixes, I opted to use a yellow cake mix as my base and added some spices that are reminiscent to pumpkin pie spice (this is the recipe I used for the cake portion of my Bourbon Caramel Apple Upside Down Spice Cake) and to get real pumpkin flavor I added in a can of pumpkin puree. And that was it for my wet ingredients… no butter, eggs or anything else.

The result, a pumpkin cookie with just the right amount of spice and sweetness. And the perfect texture… Not too moist and nowhere near dry.

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Servings: 30 Cookies
  • Print

Ingredients:

1 15.25oz. box of yellow cake mix

1 15oz. can pumpkin puree

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the yellow cake mix with the spices. Add in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and stir to combine. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes. Cool the cookies 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store cookies in an airtight container.

Some notes:

-The dough will be soft, but there is no need to refrigerate it prior to baking. The cookies won’t spread much while baking.

-If you want a flatter cookie, after scooping the dough onto the baking sheets press them down slightly with a glass bottom sprayed with cooking spray.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn Spatula.

Cannoli Cake

Happy Holidays! Are you in the throes of holiday baking and eating your way through more sweets than you would like to admit? Well, today I am bringing you a cake that you would be a nice addition to your holiday dessert table and to be honest is my favorite cake flavor… A Cannoli Cake! And it doesn’t skimp on the flavors and ingredients of the delicious handheld dessert… Ricotta and chocolate chips.

The cake itself is made with a French Vanilla box mix (I used a Duncan Hines mix) and the cannoli flavors comes from the filling made with ricotta cheese, cinnamon, three different extracts, confectioners’ sugar and of course chocolate chips. It’s all topped off with a mascarpone cheese frosting and sliced almonds and mini chocolate chips are used to decorate it. It sounds like a lot, but, trust me it’s not. All of the flavors/ingredients work well together and you won’t feel guilty for enjoying a slice because it’s just so good!

Cannoli Cake

Ingredients:

1 package French Vanilla Cake Mix, plus additional ingredients to prepare per packaging

Filling:

2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon rum extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Frosting:

2 8oz. packages mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 cup sliced almonds

mini chocolate chips, for top of cake

Directions:

Prepare and bake cake mix per package directions using two 8-inch round baking pans sprayed with baking spray. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Make the filling: In a large bowl fold together the ricotta cheese, confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, and all extracts until well incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

Make the frosting: In another large bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the mascarpone cheese, confectioners’ sugar, almond & vanilla extracts and milk until creamy.

Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving plate and spread 1 cup of the filling over it. Top with the other cake layer and spread the remaining frosting over the top of the cake within 1inch of the edge. Frost the sides and top edge of the cake with the frosting.

Press the almonds on the sides of the cake and the chocolate chips around the edge of the top of the cake.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe from Taste of Home