150 Stocking Stuffers: The 2013 Edition!

It's here. It's officially Christmastime.

As I finish up my fifth and final week of work training, it's all I can do to stop myself from figuring out a way to bake sugar cookies and gingerbread in this  hotel room. There's a Christmas tree waiting at home, Hershey Hugs waiting in my freezer, and newly-bought Christmas ornaments in my car. At this point... I am literally fueling my Christmas obsession with daydreams, Pinterest, and peppermint iced coffees.  

A few years ago I wrote a post packed FULL of 150 stocking stuffer ideas. It was one of my favorite things to write... and everybody everywhere is pinning it right now (that and these peanut butter reindeer cookies).

This November, I've kept myself busy while work-traveling with an updated 2013 stocking stuffer gift guide. Stockings are a tradition in my family and our absolute favorite thing to shop for and open at Christmas... and today I'm sharing that obsession with you. 150 fun, creative ideas that men and women will actually want. You know. Like not oranges.

P.S. Links to the photos are in italics in the list below.  

For Women...

• Mason jar shot glasses.
• Trader's Joes cocoa-swirled cookie butter.  
• French macarons. 
• Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake stationary.
• Homemade salted caramel vodka (or any infused vodka!) 
• This owl make-up bag.
• The cutest ever elephant ring holder or upside-down umbrella ring holder.
• Ceramic owl teaspoons.   
• A set of bracelets... like these (for the Harry Potter lover!), these, or this (for the Hunger Games lover!). 
• Scrabble refrigerator magnets.
• This adorable little white bird portable speaker. 
• Chocolate-covered Oreos. 
• A pink "Life is short, eat dessert first!" spatula.  
• Glittery bow winestopper.
• Rhinestone USB charger.
• A homemade marshmallow-making mix.
• A narwhal screwdriver.
• Birthday cake chocolate bark.  
• A pink rhinestone corkscrew. 
• Small votive candleholders. 
• A smartphone wristlet. 
• Beaded headbands.
• Corksicle wine chiller. 
• This lavendar crystal-filled cellphone stylus.  
• A new cellphone case (or screen protectors). 
• The Great Gatsby (the book). Or if she hasn't read it, trust me: Divergent.  
• A Diamond Candle. 
• A travel-sized hair straightener or curler.  
• Holographic nail polish. 
• Cupcake bath bomb. 
• Cloud USB port. 
• Cushioned running socks. 
• Message in a Bottle flashdrive.
• Cellphone charms. 
• Running headbands. 
• A wine lock. 
• Blueberry bourbon jam or Drunken Monkey jam (bananas + rum + lime).  
• A banana slicer.  
• An infinity scarf.  
• Truffle oil/truffle salt.
• Silpat baking mat.
• Keurig coffee cups (stock up on pumpkin spice, gingerbread, and peppermint!)
• Starbucks Via packets.  
• Flower-shaped make-up holder.
• Burt's Bees tinted chapstick. 
• Chocolate-covered honeycomb.
• A Camelbak water bottle. 
• Sports armband for iPhone/iPod. 
• Sephora brush wand. 
• A fancy clutch purse.   
• A new work-out top... like this purple "Train Like a Beast, Look Like a Beauty" shirt. Want!
• Star temporary tattoo applicator pen. Need.
• Reusable caps for wine. 
• Flower-shaped paperclips.
• Wine cork candles.
• Peppermint candy curls or chocolate curls. 
• Stainless steel wine pearls. 
• A set of glittery bangle bracelets.  
• Wine cork trivet. 
• Heart-shaped ice cream scoop.   
• Two-tone cupcake baking set.  
• Touchscreen gloves.  
• A Stickygram phone case or magnets.
• Any wallet or wristlet from Bungalow 360 (I have this one!).  
• Heart-shaped pancake rings. 
• A set of plastic reusable holiday straws from Starbucks.  
• Ice Ball Flavor-It glass water bottle.
• Happy hour coasters.  
• Jane Austen band-aids.
• Travel case for curling or flat irons. 
• Popping sugar (like Pop Rocks without the flavor).
• A wine journal. 
• Cocktail napkins.
• Kate Spade Big Secrets Small Notepad. 
• Sock bun maker. 

For Men...

• Beer savers.  
• A sound enhancer for his phone or tablet... like this SoundJaw Unlimited.
• Camera level cube.
• A leatherbound pocket edition of The Hobbit.
• Chocolate-covered cherries. 
• Invisible ink spy pen. 
• Kinetic sand. 
• Autobot cufflinks.  
• Sports earbuds.   
• Rhythm & Booze drink stirrers. 
• Jack Daniel's praline pecans. 
• AquaNotes waterproof notepad. 
• A phone wrist wallet. 
• Lightsaber chopsticks. 
• Hammer of Thor bottle-opener.
• Power Stick Battery Charger. 
• Carzor-Card Shaped Razor and Mirror. 
• Ninja-darts earphone winder. 
• Avengers-themed USB flashdrives (Thor, Captain America, Hulk, & Ironman)    
• Travel tools. 
• A whiskey ball.
• A ticket-stub diary. 
• A new wallet.  
• A Mandle (Man Candle)... like Monkey Farts (banana + kiwi)!
• Star Wars Moleskine notebooks. 
• Jam Wireless portable speaker (I have this and LOVE it).  
• Magnetic Poetry (like geek, pirate, or obscenities).  
• A bigger camera card. 
• Grill charms. 
• Solar charger for phone/iPod.  
• Mini marshmallow gun. 
• Chrome liquour spouts. 
• Locking gas cap.  
• Army Man or Captain America bottle opener. 
• Rice Krispie treats.  
• A mini bottle of booze. 
• Facebook like/dislike stamps.
• Cocktail layering tool.  
• Metallic gold playing cards.  
• Unique flavors of Kit Kats (I've found Cookies & Cream, Mint, Dark Chocolate, & Orange at World Market). 
• A Sombrero Juicer.  
• Origami sticky notes. 
• Corkcicle Beer Chiller. 
• The Mac + Cheese Cookbook: 50 Simple Recipes from Homeroom.
• Gift card to the movies. Be real... you know he always pays.
• Coffee bean-scented pen. 
• Homemade fudge. 
• A pedometer or Fitbit.  
• An extra cell phone charger.  
• Chocolate cereal bars. 
• Punctuated page markers.
• 6-in-1 Utili-Key Multi-Tool. 
• A keyboard for their iPad or tablet. 
• A mini emergency radio. 
• A homemade s'mores kit.
• Extra rechargable batteries for Xbox controllers.  
• Fortune cookies.
• A Macaroon earbud-holder. 
• An electronics cleaning brush. 
• Cable twisters. 
• Alcohol-infused whipped cream.
• A Jazz Touchpen & Stylus. 
• A digital luggage scale. 
• A password directory. 
• Wright's pink popcorn (my boyfriend's obsessed). 
• EMF detector for iPhone.
• Wood ballpoint pens.  
• ClampLights. 
• A LifeHammer.
• A Netflix or Hulu Plus subscription.
• Star Trek Enterprise pizza cutter. 
• Crunch Mallows (cereal marshmallows! JUST the marshmallows). 
• iPad musical shower curtain. 
• Coconut pancake syrup. 
• Zoom camera lens for iPhone. 

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies {with Sno-caps!}

These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies. 

For the longest time, they've been hidden away on my blog, nestled inside this Cheesecake Cookie Sandwiches Two Ways: Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk & Strawberry Shortcake post. How have I never just written about my go-to, most-baked, most boyfriend-demanded chocolate chip cookies? 

Probably the same way I missed National Bundt Cake Day. 

P.S. Do you need a bundt cake? I got you. Try my Buttermilk Banana Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Icing, Zebra Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache Icing, Pumpkin Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Icing, or my favorite: this Cheesecake-Filled Gingerbread Bundt Cake. It's never too late to celebrate... or too early for gingerbread.

Today we're baking Sno-caps into our chocolate chip cookies... because there are red cups and wrapping paper and twinkle lights in the world and Sno-caps (semi-sweet chocolate chips covered in white nonpareil sprinkles and resembling snow-capped mountains) are the perfect holiday twist for easing ourselves into Christmastime baking.

Tis the season, I know.. but I'm totally not ready just yet for candy canes and peanut butter blossoms. Let's start with festive chocolate chip cookies!      

What makes these my favorite chocolate chip cookies? 

n  Brown butter. You know about my love for baking everything ever with brown butter and these chocolate chip cookies is where that love all started. Besides adding a nutty, caramel-rich depth of flavor, it gives these cookies a soft chewiness that can only found when you're baking with melted butter.    

n Molasses + dark brown sugar. Molasses adds a warm, just-slightly gingerbread flavor to the dough, while keeping the centers of these cookies just-baked soft for days. The dark brown sugar (which is just light brown sugar with even more molasses) works with the molasses to create one perfectly-soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie.

 Fact: No matter what I'm baking, I almost always reach for the dark brown sugar over the golden brown.  

n  Cinnamon. I'm almost always adding a little something extra to my cookie dough and that something is either in the form of cinnamon or bourbon. Bourbon accents the vanilla/caramel flavors from the brown butter and molasses and cinnamon makes the chocolate flavors really pop.

But be honest: who really keeps bourbon in their baking cabinet? I just don't have that kind of faith in myself.

  n  Triple chocolate chips. These cookies are similar to my Triple Chocolate Chip Cake Batter Cookies... they're full of semisweet chocolate, white chocolate chips, and crispy, sprinkle-covered Sno-Caps. My weakness? White chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies! 

Now if Nestle would just make a white chocolate version of their semisweet chunks.

Crispy edges. Soft, chewy centers that stay just-baked for days... if they even last that long. Plus those golden specks of brown butter I can't stop talking about, cinnamon, dark brown sugar, molasses, and as many types of chocolate chips as I can possibly bake into a cookie? 

It almost makes up for not having bourbon.

Almost.

P.S. I made these cookies Saturday. They were gone within four days. 

Brown Butter Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Printable Recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon molasses

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips 

1 (3.1-ounce) package Sno-Caps

Brown butter. Brown 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon of butter by heating over medium heat, whisking constantly, until golden brown. Once butter is browned, remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool slightly. For more information on how to brown butter, see this post. 

Mix. In a stand mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the other stick of butter with the granulated sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and molasses and beat until incorporated. Add the slightly cooled brown butter and the brown sugar and mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until fully incorporated. 

Whisk. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add all at once to the butter mixture and mix on low until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate, white chocolate, and Sno-Caps with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Chill. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Tip: The longer you chill the dough, the thicker they will become when they bake!) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop dough into balls using a small cookie scoop and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet.

Bake. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are just starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Source: Adapted from the Joy the Baker cookbook.

Vanilla Bean Latte Cupcakes with Mocha-Vanilla Swirled Buttercream.

Happy National Vanilla Cupcake Day! It's totally a thing.

Earlier this year I made the softest, fluffiest, most very-vanilla cupcakes ever from cupcake batter spiked with real vanilla beans. These cupcakes had me dreaming of wedding cake, with their light, delicate vanilla flavor all while still being perfectly sweet and rich (... or maybe it was their peanut butter cup centers!). Either way, they instantly became my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe... and made me fall in love all over again with simple, classic vanilla cake.

They also got me hooked on baking with vanilla beans. I've even started making my own vanilla extract!

Those black specks... it's pure vanilla love. 

To celebrate Vanilla Cupcake Day (P.S. October 18th was National Chocolate Cupcake Day. Did you celebrate?) I baked a batch of my favorite vanilla bean cupcakes with a coffee-shop twist inspired by one of my favorite cold, blustery fall afternoon pick-me-ups: Starbucks' vanilla lattes.

Is there anything more comforting than vanilla, hot milk, and dark, rich espresso on a cold November day?

The answer is yes: cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate.

The answer is also cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate AND vanilla and espresso. 

And we're celebrating today by putting it all together in a cupcake. 

These cupcakes are made up of three easy, irresistible parts: 

1. Vanilla bean cupcake batter.

2. A swirl of cinnamon-sugar and espresso powder.

3. And my favorite vanilla buttercream, divided in half. One half is left pure, rich vanilla, one half is spiked with chocolate and coffee and then both are swirled together. It's even easier than it sounds! A medium bowl, a tablespoon of cocoa powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of espresso powder. Easily one of these best frostings I've ever licked off a spoon.

Optional/totally not optional: a fat chocolate-covered espresso bean on top.

1. Baking these cupcakes couldn't be easier. The cupcake batter comes together in minutes and is packed full of rich vanilla flavor. And it's no wonder! They're spiked with vanilla beans, vanilla extract, AND vanilla yogurt. Triple vanilla flavor = one rich, perfectly-vanilla cupcake. 

2. Next, the cake batter is spooned into cupcake liners and sprinkled with a teaspoon a cinnamon-sugar-espresso mixture. Without the smallest addition of espresso powder, these might have baked into snickerdoodle cupcakes or coffee cake cupcakes. Just the smallest spoonful of espresso and vanilla bean latte cakes are happening.

Tip: Don't completely cover the espresso-sugar layer with cupcake batter. Those sugary edges peeking out will bubble up with cinnamon-coffee goodness when baking. This is totally a thing you want. Also, be sure to only fill the liners 3/4 of the way full... they will rise when baking!

You can't even imagine what my apartment smelled like while these were baking. Like cinnamon-sugar, buttery, crumbly coffee cake, snickerdoodle blondies, wedding cake, and strong, freshly-brewed coffee.      

3. And we're not done! I couldn't decide whether to top these with vanilla frosting or mocha frosting... so I made both! I used my standard vanilla buttercream (the same frosting that tops my Cut-Out Sugar Cookies), spiked half with espresso & cocoa powder, and then swirled them both together using a Wilton #1M piping tip and the same method as my three-tone chocolate cupcakes. 

I frosted another one of my favorite cupcakes like this too: my chocolate-vanilla-swirled Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcakes. If you haven't tried those yet, then I think it's just best if we make November 11th National Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcake Day. 

Vanilla Bean Latte Cupcakes with Vanilla-Mocha Buttercream

Printable Recipe

Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (or sour cream)
3/4 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean

Espresso Swirl

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder 

Vanilla-Mocha Frosting 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 cups powdered sugar 

2-4 tablespoons milk 

1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Prep. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.

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

Melt. Melt the butter in the microwave in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar until combined. Stir in the egg whites, vanilla yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract. 

Vanilla bean. Using a sharp knife, cut one vanilla bean in half length-wise, from top to bottom. Gently scrape the seeds from the whole bean into cupcake batter. Whisk until combined, making sure to break up any vanilla seed clumps if necessary.

Make your cupcake batter. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth and no lumps remain. 

Cinnamon & spice. In a small bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder. Set aside. 

Scoop. Fill cupcake liners a scoop with batter, about 1/3 of the way full (tip: use a cookie scoop!). Sprinkle a teaspoon of the espresso-sugar over the batter, then scoop cupcake batter over the top until liners are 3/4 of the way full.

Bake. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake tests clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting. 

Frost. To make the frosting, beat butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt. Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add 2 tablespoons of milk; beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Add additional milk until desired piping consistency. 

Make it mocha!  Transfer half the frosting to a small bowl and stir in espresso powder and cocoa.  

Swirl. To frost, place each frosting in a separate piping bag. Place both bags together in one piping bag fitted with a Wilton #1M piping tip. Top each cupcake with swirls of frosting and a chocolate-covered espresso bean. For more help on piping with two-tone frostings, see this post.   

Source: Adapted from my Vanilla Bean Cupcakes, originally adapted from The Cupcake Project. 

Candy Bar Bundt Cake with Chocolate Fudge Icing.

It's October. Now is the time to spend way too much money on fun-sized candy bars, smash them into chocolate chunks, and bake them into a candy bar bundt cake. Because you can... and you can get away with absolutely anything in October. Pumpkin spice cookies for breakfast, pumpkin lattes for dinner, candy bars and cinnamon in your popcorn (I can't even) , "just one more" pumpkin spice candle because I'm in love and obsessed/just try and stop me, and spending hours pinning all things pumpkin and then baking absolutely nothing because The Walking Dead is on. This is real life and we're living it!

Aren't you glad too? I'm in love with this Etsy print... and with October. It's the calm before the storm. You know... before we have to deal with candy canes and mistletoe and tangled-up Christmas tree lights.

And a month away from home, at training, where I'm expected to run three miles, study the law, and excel at ground-fighting. Do not major in criminal justice.

In the mean time, we're celebrating that calm by putting down the pumpkin spice and baking a cake. A soft, fluffy, tender, brown sugar-vanilla bundt cake filled with chunks of our favorite chocolate Halloween candy and then completely covered in the thickest, most pure fudge chocolate icing ever.  

And sprinkles. You should never miss an opportunity to use sprinkles. It's the best life advice I could ever give you.

My real life isn't always as sweet, styled, and covered in pumpkin-shaped sprinkles as you would think. Maybe I stress-bake bundt cakes sometimes... because it's who I am, they're a cake-walk to bake, and let me feel completely in control of things for at least 50 minutes.

P.S. Are cake walks even a thing anymore? They were my favorite part of my town's annual Halloween fair growing up. I mean, why try and win a Pixy Stix at the ring-toss when you could when a WHOLE CAKE for walking in a circle?

... this is probably why I run today.

  This bundt cake is the perfect place to start for Everything Ever Baking. As in... this batter smells like chocolate chip cookie dough... and anything can be baked into a chocolate chip cookie! What do you have hiding in your cabinets? Oreos? Chocolate-covered pretzels? Seventeen opened and forgotten bags of chocolate chips?

If you're reading this in November... the answer is probably leftover Halloween candy.

Into this cake went all of my favorite fun-sized chocolate things... 

❤ Reese's peanut butter cups

❤ Rolos

❤ Hershey's Cookies & Cream bars

❤ Almond Snickers 

I love a good suspenseful cake. With this bundt, each slice was different! The slice above was full of chopped almond Snickers and Rolo halves... making it taste like a rich, moist caramel-vanilla cake with unexpected chunks of chocolate.

My boyfriend ate this slice for breakfast full of nothing but peanut butter cups. He totally thought I'd baked him a peanut butter pound cake.

The secret to this cake's fluffy softness? I almost always swap out the light, golden brown sugar in any cookie or cake recipe for dark brown sugar. Besides adding a deeper and richer brown sugar/caramel taste, it leaves my baked goods so much more tender, soft, and moist.

P.S. This cake came THIS close to having a brown butter icing (my second best life advice tip? Follow that link to my buttermilk pumpkin cake & immediately make it a part of your life). This chocolate icing though? Pure fudge + a good decision. It was similar to the stovetop icing used to ice one of my favorite go-to chocolate cakes: Texas sheet cake.

There's just too many things going on here that I love.

It's fall. Let's smash chocolate and bake cakes!

Candy Bar Bundt Cake with Chocolate Fudge Icing

Printable Recipe

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour + more for dusting
1 cup vegetable oil + more for greasing
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups assorted candy, roughly chopped & tossed in 2 tablespoons of flour (I used Rolos, Reeses peanut butter cups, and fun-sized almond Snickers and cookies & cream Hershey bars)- 

Chocolate Icing
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 tablespoons evaporated milk
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-3 tablespoons evaporated milk or heavy whipping cream, if needed

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan generously with oil and dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.

Mix. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the oil and brown sugar. Add the eggs and mix well. Next, mix in the vanilla extract and vanilla Greek yogurt until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the chopped candy bars (tossed in 2 tablespoons of flour).  Pour cake batter into prepared bundt pan and spread evenly.

Bake. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake tests clean. Remove cake and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make icing. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, cocoa powder, and evaporated milk to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, and whisk continuously until smooth, about 30 seconds. If icing is still to thick, add extra evaporated milk or heavy whipping creaming one tablespoon at at a time until icing is a pouring consistency. Immediately remove from heat and pour icing over the top of your cake. Work fast- the icing will harden quickly once it's removed from heat!

Source: Candy Bar Bundt Cake inspired and adapted from Scarletta Bakes. Chocolate icing from Brown Eyed Baker.