June 2024

2024 is the year that Cole and I discovered the joy and wonder of Crumbl Cookies. Every Monday, I look at the weekly menu, and if there is a cookie both Cole and I want, we stop on Thursday before going to our D&D session. This means we go to Crumbl about once a week. It is rare for a weekly menu to disappoint us. Crumbl is always delicious, but last week, I had the most exceptional cookie of all time: a hazelnut sea salt cookie. It was perfection. Since their menu is only a weekly thing, this left me with no idea when I would next get this amazing cookie, so I decided to try and replicate it myself. The additional benefit of making these cookies at home is that each one comes in at 300 calories per cookie instead of the 700+ per cookie that Crumbl provides. Now, don’t get me wrong, these homemade cookies are still huge, and not healthy, but there is a little less guilt involved, and they are way cheaper to make at home too. 

*This recipe makes 15 extra large cookies

*Special Tools Required: 3 inch biscuit cutter or circular cookie cutter and a rolling pin

¾ cup Granulated Sugar

¾ cup Brown Sugar

1 cup Softened Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

2 ¼ cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Nutmeg

7 ½ tbsp Nutella

Sea Salt for sprinkling

1. Cream the sugars, softened butter, vanilla, and egg together. 

2. Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until the cookie dough is combined. 

3. Sprinkle flour on the counter, use floured hands to form the dough into a large ball, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough into an ⅛ to a ¼ inch thick layer. 

4. Use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut circles into the dough. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all of the dough is used up. This should be enough for 30 circles. 

5. Lay out 15 of the circles on either parchment lined cookie sheets or on baking stones. They will get even larger while cooking, so make sure to leave at least an inch between each one for plenty of baking space. 

6. Use a ½ tbsp measuring spoon to scoop a dollop of Nutella in the middle of each circle. This will not look like much, but do not add extra. If too much Nutella is placed, the cookie won’t seal.

7. Place the other 15 circles on top of the Nutella layer. DO NOT SQUISH DOWN! Lightly seal the edges together to avoid Nutella seeping out during the baking process. 

8. Sprinkle each cookie with a dash of sea salt. 

9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and cook for 14 minutes. 

Kitchen Tip: Let the cookies rest for at least 20 minutes before trying to move them. They will be very soft, so if you try to move them too early, they will crack and the Nutella will spill out. 

If you are looking for a unique cookie to serve, this should be your go to recipe! The Nutella in the middle is a delicious surprise to what looks like a normal cookie! The only con of this recipe is it only makes 15 cookies since they are large, but you can always double the recipe if you want more!

I love eating pasta, and I know many families use pasta as a protein-free-night to cut down on the grocery bill; however, I’ve found that protein-free-pasta-night always leaves me hungry and snacking a couple hours later. I am a very frugal person though, so I get the appeal of cutting down on the grocery bill. For this reason, I created my Large Batch Homemade Meatball recipe as a way to have a meal with lots of leftovers, even leaving enough meatballs to freeze for another week in the future. This recipe makes about 45 meatballs. Cole and I have typically found that five meatballs is enough to add some substance to spaghetti night, meaning this meal can serve up to nine people! A bonus perk of a large batch meatball recipe is the meatballs could be served without pasta as a party hors d’oeuvre. This recipe is pretty simple to whip up and could make for a delicious appetizer! 

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef

½ lb Ground Pork

⅔ cup Panko Bread Crumbs

15 oz Tomato Sauce (Divided – see directions for details)

2 Eggs

1 tsp Dried Basil 

½ tsp Dried Onion Flakes

½ tsp Garlic Salt

¼ tsp Oregano

Optional Parmesan Cheese for Sprinkling

1. Combine 5 tbsp of tomato sauce, eggs, and seasonings in a small mixing bowl and whisk together to make a liquid mix.

2. Put the ground beef, ground pork, panko, and liquid mixture into a larger bowl and mix thoroughly together. 

3. Roll the meatballs into 1 inch balls and place into baking pans so the meatballs are not touching each other. 

Kitchen Tip: I like to use a 1 inch cookie scoop to form the meatballs to make sure they are all the same size. This recipe should make about 45 meatballs. 

4. Use a ladle to spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the top of each meatball. 

5. Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees for 26 minutes. 

Once the meatballs are out of the oven, you have the option of sprinkling them with parmesan cheese and sticking them back in the oven for another 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Personally, I would only do the parmesan sprinkle as a garnish if I were serving these meatballs as hors d’oeuvres at a party. If I’m serving the meatballs as a topping for a pasta dish, realistically I’m going to be sprinkling my whole plate with parmesan, so topping the meatballs alone with cheese seems like an unnecessary step.