Lunchtime Links for December 23rd, 2015

• Crazy for Crust: Flourless brownie cookies.
• Creme de la Crumb: Firecracker shrimp wonton tacos.
• Handle the Heat: Peanut butter brownies.
• Buzzfeed: Food pun cards.
• My Baking Addiction: Indoor s'mores kit.

Lunchtime Links for December 22nd, 2015

• Warm Vanilla Sugar: Double chocolate slice and bake cookies.
• The Pioneer Woman: Mashed potatoes.
• Handle the Heat: DIY cookie butter.
• Brown Eyed Baker: Nutella pretzel truffles.
• My Baking Addiction: Sugar cookie cheesecake.

Lunchtime Links for December 21st, 2015

• Oh Sweet Basil: Santa hat brownies.
• Gimme Some Oven: Cashew chicken curry.
• Smitten Kitchen: The browniest cookies.
• Kirbie's Cravings: One skillet Lasagna.
• Averie Cooks: No-bake mini cheesecakes.

Georgetown Cupcake - Christmas Butterscotch Cheesecake

Here we have Georgetown Cupcake's Christmas Butterscotch Cheesecake - What a cute and festive way to celebrate the holidays - and hey, cheesecake is always a good idea! This flavor consists of a "Callebaut butterscotch cheesecake with a graham cracker crust topped with a butterscotch frosting and fondant holly".

I always enjoy Georgetown Cupcake's cheesecakes and this one was extra rich with a double dose of butterscotch.  I especially loved the tiny little holly decoration to add a pop of color to the butterscotch layers.  Even if you're not a huge fan of butterscotch, this is a decadent and creamy treat for anyone that is a fan of sweets and cheesecake :o)

Lunchtime Links for December 18th, 2015

• Two Peas and Their Pod: Peanut butter chocolate swirl bark.
• How Sweet It Is: Cheesy Bucatini pie with mini meatballs.
• Oh Sweet Basil: Reese's marshmallow frosted cookies.
• Crazy for Crust: Creme Brulee cookie bars.
• Brown Eyed Baker: Homemade marshmallows.

Lunchtime Links for December 17th, 2015

• Dessert for Two: Skillet Lasagna.
• Averie Cooks: Soft frosted chocolate-chocolate chip sprinkles cookies.
• How Sweet It Is: Pretzel peanut butter stuffed chocolate bark.
• Cookies & Cups: M&Ms wreath cake.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Single serving cookie butter cake.

Anthropologie & Starbucks Gold Mugs

I love these metallic gold coffee goods that Anthropologie and Starbucks has out this season - so cute and festive for the holidays!  Anthropologie has had the gold monogram mugs out for a few years now I think, but I finally caved and bought one recently.  The Starbucks gold heart cup ornament has little gold hearts all around, and is a super cute addition to my growing collection.  If you're looking for some nice holiday gifts for someone, or some affordable gold accents for your home, be sure to check these items out! 

Lunchtime Links for December 16th, 2015

• Cookies & Cups: Oreo cheesecake cookies.
• Dessert for Two: Vanilla steamer.
• The Kitchn: Nutella skillet s'mores.
• Averie Cooks: Soft batch no-roll holiday sprinkles cookies.
• I Heart Naptime: Reese's Pieces blondies.

Target- Brunch Pajamas

I loved these brunch-themed pajamas at Target as soon as I saw them, and then they happened to go on sale which was even better! Who wouldn't love pajamas with pancakes, waffles, and bacon strips throughout, haha.  These would be a perfect gift for anyone that loves brunch, breakfast, or carbs in general :o)

Lunchtime Links for December 15th, 2015

• Kirbie's Cravings: Oreo lava cakes.
• Handle the Heat: Hot chocolate cupcakes.
• I Heart Naptime: Reese's no bake chocolate peanut butter cheesecake.
• Warm Vanilla Sugar: Funfetti birthday cake.
• This Week for Dinner: Chocolate chip pie.

Shake Shack - Holiday Shakes

Instead of a custard calendar this month, Shake Shack is offering 3 decadent shakes that are perfect for the holidays:

- Gingerbread : Gingerbread spiced frozen custard topped with whipped cream and cinnamon cookie crumble
- Chocolate Peppermint: Chocolate frozen custard blended with peppermint and topped with whipped cream and crumbled chocolate covered candy canes.
- Christmas Cookie: Sugar cookie frozen custard topped with whipped cream and red and green sprinkles.

Be sure to try these out while they're available through January 3rd!

Lunchtime Links for December 14th, 2015

• Picky Palate: Cream cheese iced red velvet waffle rolls.
• Averie Cooks: 30-minute Lasagna soup.
• I Heart Naptime: Chocolate dipped Reese's pretzel bites.
• The First Year Blog: Gingerbread men slice and bake cookies.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Red velvet lava mug cake.

Anthropologie - Pumpkin Card

I'm a big fan of buying cards to use as decoration for my apartment, and as soon as I saw this one at Anthropologie I knew I had to add it to my collection! It's the perfect way for a PSL fan like myself to show how much I love them, haha.  It has the perfect amount of metallic details to make it totally display-worthy! 

Lunchtime Links for December 10th, 2015

• Kirbie's Cravings: Oreo stuffed cookies and cream cookies.
• How Sweet It Is: Puffy tacos.
• Warm Vanilla Sugar: Nutella cheesecake.
• Handle the Heat: Chocolate peanut butter caramel mousse pie.
• Gimme Some Oven: Chicken pot pie soup.

Georgetown Cupcake - December Flavors

There are a TON of December-only flavors at Georgetown Cupcake currently, and they're the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season!

- Chocolate Eggnog: Valrhona chocolate egg nog cupcake topped with a (non-alcoholic) rum-infused frosting, a dusting of nutmeg and a light blue fondant snowflake

- White Chocolate Peppermint: White Callebaut chocolate peppermint-infused cupcake topped with a candy-cane striped white chocolate buttercream frosting

- Chocolate Peppermint: Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a rich peppermint-infused Callebaut chocolate ganache icing topped with crushed peppermint candies

- Gingerbread: Gingerbread cupcake topped with a cinnamon-infused cream cheese frosting and a fondant gingerbread man

- Snowball Coconut: Georgetown Cupcake's holiday inspired coconut cupcake topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting and coconut flakes

- Rudolph Red Velvet: Classic red velvet cupcake with a vanilla cream cheese frosting topped with a fondant red-nosed reindeer

- Reindeer Munch Crunch: Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a peppermint chocolate ganache center, frosted with Callebaut white chocolate peppermint buttercream frosting, and topped with crushed peppermint and a drizzle of peppermint chocolate ganache

- Snowy Vanilla and Buttercream: Classic Madagascar Bourbon vanilla cupcake topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting, sparkling sanding sugar, and a shimmering light blue fondant snowflake

- Christmas Caramel: Caramel cupcake with a salted caramel-infused buttercream frosting topped with a caramel drizzle and a green fondant Christmas tree

- Holiday Lava Fudge: Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a rich fudge core topped with a vanilla icing, a fudge star drizzle, and a green fondant Christmas tree

- Christmas Butterscotch Cheesecake: Callebaut butterscotch cheesecake with a graham cracker crust topped with a butterscotch frosting and fondant holly

- Santa's Chocolate Chip: Vanilla chocolate chip cupcake with a whipped Callebaut chocolate frosting topped with a fondant snowflake

- Sticky Toffee Pudding: Georgetown Cupcake's modern twist on the traditional English sticky toffee pudding - Toffee cupcake with a caramel core, topped with a toffee-infused frosting, and a caramel star drizzle and fondant holly

- Hanukkah: Baby blue-tinted traditional sweet vanilla buttercream frosting on a madagascar bourbon vanilla cupcake with a silver fondant Star of David

- New Year's Sparkling Vanilla: Classic Madagascar Bourbon vanilla cupcake topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting, sparkling sanding sugar, and a shimmering silver fondant snowflake embossed with "2016"

Lunchtime Links for December 9th, 2015

• Averie Cooks: 30-minute Minestrone soup.
• Creme de la Crumb: Christmas fudge.
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Grilled peanut butter Nutella and banana sandwich.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Molten Nutella lava cakes.
• Cookies and Cups: Nutella hot fudge sauce.

Shake Shack - Hanukoncrete

Shake Shack always does a good job with holiday and limited edition items, and this year there's a fun Hannukah-themed concrete to enjoy!

The Hanukoncrete (yes, that's really the name, haha) consists of vanilla custard, strawberry puree, and a glazed doughnut - all of the components for a delicious dessert. This is perfect for anyone that loves sweets in general, but even more so for anyone that loves jelly doughnuts.  If the idea of a doughnut in ice cream sounds like too much, don't knock it until you've tried it - soooo totally worth it, haha.  This special concrete is available at Shake Shack until December 14th!

Lunchtime Links for December 8th, 2015

• Oh, Sweet Basil: Soft pumpkin cinnamon rolls.
• The Kitchn: Bacon-wrapped dates.
• A Beautiful Mess: Ice cream pie with a sugar cookie crust.
• Joy the Baker: Chicken spinach meatball soup with broth and rice.
• Averie Cooks: Soft frosted holiday sprinkles cookies.

Starbucks - Mini Cup Ornaments

I always love seeing what new designs Starbucks comes out with for their holiday mug and ornament collection, and this year they did not disappoint!  I love collecting the mini travel cup ornaments, and they have lots of cute designs this year.  Two of my favorites so far are the ones pictured above- a confetti design and a DC-specific design.  I'm not exactly sure how many cities are included in the special holiday ornament collection as they're not sold online, but I am glad that DC made the list! I really like that there are so many different patterns and colors to choose from, and these mini cups would make a great gift for anyone that loves Starbucks! 

Lunchtime Links for December 7th, 2015

• Picky Palate: Creamy garlic chicken rice bake.
• Serious Eats: Sugar cookies.
• The First Year Blog: Chocolate chocolate cake.
• Oh, Sweet Basil: Baked potatoes with loaded broccoli bacon cheese sauce.
• Crazy for Crust: Mini marble cheesecakes.

Sugar Paper x Target

I first got a few of the Sugar Paper LA x Target planners last year and have loved using them throughout this year.  This year, I was super excited to find out that they were coming out with another set of planners, calendars, and journals for 2016 AND holiday wrapping supplies!  Everything is super cute and comes in a wide range of colors and patterns.  As you can see I definitely leaned more towards the light peachy pink, gold dot, and mint items but there are also lots of bright-colored items as well.  I love how they all coordinate perfectly with each other and will be very helpful in keeping my organized!

Lunchtime Links for December 1st, 2015

• The Pioneer Woman: Nutella wontons.
• Damn Delicious: Cajun chicken pasta.
• Creme de la Crumb: Microwave peanut brittle.
• Handle the Heat: Loaded mashed potato balls.
• My Baking Addiction: Mini sweet potato pies.

Gingerbread Oreos

I was pleasantly surprised to come across a display of Gingerbread Oreos at Target a few weeks ago, because I hadn't really heard too much about it online beforehand.  I have to admit I don't normally seek out gingerbread foods, but the smiling Gingerbread man got me, haha. 

Right off the bat the filling smells like a warm spice-blend frosting, and it pairs perfectly with the golden Oreo cookies.  Taste-wise it doesn't have quite the punch that some true gingerbread cookies have, but there's enough to let you know the gingerbread roots.  These were great with a cup of coffee at work!