Yep, it’s been one of those weeks. As in: Awesome.
It started off with a fantastic weekend when we surprised Smudge and her 7 y.o. bestie with a trip to Vegas for the Tour Concert Debut of her fave Nickelodeon band Big Time Rush. I think I liked the concert as much as she did—hello boy crush? It was hilarious when she put two and two together and figured out—and was SHOCKED—to learn that her “teen idols” were all of 23 years old. Oh, show bizness.
Our visit to the Neon Boneyard was beyond our expectations and a weekend stay at the incredible Loews Lake Las Vegas was followed by an amazing food buffet—and I mean GOOOD as in crab legs, shrimp and champagne galore—at M Las Vegas—a Best-Of suggestion from one of my L.V. resident besties. Thanks Chan!
And then it was straight hone to the big project that’s been filling my weekends and night-times with even more love, more food—definitely not the diet kind—and more laughter.
I’m so excited to announce that I’ve partnered with Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod to photograph, design and co-publish their first e-Cookbook, Cookie Cravings.
Maria, who the Pioneer Woman herself affectionately calls “The Cookie Queen”, and I met over three years ago and we’ve done several fun projects together, including Maria’s contributing editor duties for Foodie Crush magazine. And I can verify first-hand that the girl can bake cookies.
Maria and Josh have been asked to do cookbooks before but for some reason or another it just didn’t work out. But now they’re sharing their very favorite cookie recipes as well as some delicious, never before published cookie creations.
And lucky me! Maria curated her favorite cookie recipes, and then created some amazing, brand new recipes, and I got to take pics of all of them, design the e-Cookbook and lend my years of publishing expertise to get the project rolling.
We’re so excited to share Cookie Cravings with you. And of course, Maria’s first cookbook is all about cookies, SHE IS THE COOKIE QUEEN, RIGHT?
So what is an e-Cookbook? It’s a budget-friendly, eco-conscious, downloadable cookbook delivered right to your inbox. No waiting for it to arrive in the mail or crazy trips to the bookstore.
Yes there will be an e-Cookbook, but we’re not stopping there. We’ll also be offering downloadable, printable gift tags, recipe cards, Maria’s top cookie baking tips, behind the scenes photos, easy how-tos and a few more special goodies.
And one of the the things I’m most excited about? We’ve created a bonus e-Cookbook featuring some of Maria’s fave food blogger baking buddies’ cookie recipes in an additional, e-Cookbook all of their own showcasing Maria’s favorite cookie recipes from Picky Palate, Brown Eyed Baker, Kevin and Amanda, Eat, Live, Run, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, How Sweet It Is, and Recipe Girl.
Cookie Cravings will go on sale this March. To stay up to date on all of the cookbook details, just sign up for our cookbook e-mail list so you don’t miss the discount information we’ll be sharing with you, plus all of the extras we’ve planned. It’s seriously jam-packed.
As a thank you for signing up we want to give you a brand new recipe Maria created for the cookbook. It’s waiting for you to download, for free, along with a printable recipe card. Once you sign up, a link will be sent to you to download the recipe and you’ll be baking in no time.
So sign up, download, and start baking!
In honor of Maria’s cookie prowess, I created this recipe in homage to “The Cookie Queen.” Okay, it’s no-bake, but please! As if I can compete!
No Bake Cookies are some of my favorites, and you’ll find me scraping the bowl for every oatmeal and nutty morsel like a squirrel harboring the final eats of fall. And yes, I’m a dough eater, unlike Maria who doesn’t like cookie dough but loves the cookies intstead. Wha wha? Look at what you learn in these projects!
I dreamed of a tasty upgrade to the basic standard No-Bake recipe and meandered right on over to the love that is mine—hazelnutty-ness of Nutella. Since these cookies always remind me of my grade-school, lunch-time ‘haystack’ cookies, I threw in some coconut for good measure. Omit if you’re not a coconut fan, not sure why you wouldn’t be…
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Nutella No-Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¾ cup Nutella
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt or 2 good pinches
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup hazelnuts chopped plus 2 tablespoons reserved
- ¼ cup flaked coconut
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring butter, sugar, cocoa and milk to a boil and cook for one minute.
- Add Nutella, vanilla and salt and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
- Combine oatmeal, hazelnuts and coconut into a medium-sized bowl. Add chocolate Nutella mixture and mix to combine.
- Spoon 1 -inch balls onto Silpat or parchment paper and top with sprinkle with reserved hazelnuts. Cool for 20 minutes.
Thanks for making this week an already bestest, possibly beating out last week’s Vegas shenanigans.
Thanks for letting us share our e-Cookbook, Cookie Cravings, with you! Sign up, tell your friends and thanks for being part of our Cookie Cravings.
Thanks for reading and please keep in touch. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest and check out Foodie Crush magazine
This cookbook blog is fantastic. The calculus homework help expert is happy to discover this blog.
I think it’s a typo, but there’s a “1” at the end of the first line of the recipe. Does that mean the second line should ready 1 1/2 cups sugar? Or is it just an extra character? Thanks, it sounds delicious!
hi! can i replace old-fashioned oats with instant oats? thank you :D
Yes, old fashioned oats will work too!
What an interesting and exciting project……… the cookies you have posted shows it all. I can’t wait to see the cookie cookbook you will make……. More Power and Success for you and Maria!!
Congrats to all of you! What a success Foodie Crush Magazine has been, and now Maria’s Cookie Cravings will be wonderful as well. Can’t wait to read it!
I’m happy for you and Maria, I know it will be fantastic. I’ll have no more excuses for not being the cookie baking Grandma.
Congratulations! You have a lot to be proud of. These cookies are making me seriously hungry. I look forward to the book.
Congrats! I’ve been following you on Instagram and it occurred to me that I am yet to follow your blog journey.
Well, better late than never! Came across from Maria’s blog, and love that you both are collaborating in such fun projects. Good luck :)
Congratulations…what an exciting project!
Congratulations…what an exciting prodject!
Heidi this project is so exciting & I can’t wait to get my hands on this wonderful book. Gorgeous photos + styling! Happy birthday to your sweet girl ~ sounds like a super special weekend of FUN!
Heidi this project is so exciting & I can’t wait to get my hands on this wonderful book. Gorgeous photos + styling!
I’m SO excited about this ebook – can’t wait to get my hands on it! Congratulations :-) And those cookies look gorgeous – anything with Nutella gets my vote…
Congratulations on the cookbook, Heidi! All of the photos are fabulous. What a fun project to collaborate on with such a talented fellow blogger.
Congratulations on the cookbook, Heidi! The photos are fabulous and I can’t wait to browse through it for myself. What a fun project to collaborate on with such a talented fellow blogger.
Can NOT wait for this cookbook! And I am so super happy you did the food photography. It’s bound to be gorgeous, I have no doubt. Totally subscribed so I can stay up to date. Yay!
Congratulations to you and Maria! Two great minds in one awesome ebook! I’m counting the days :)
I love cookies and the idea of an E-cookbook is fantastic! Congratulations! Hope to buy it soon as it’s available! This no-bake Nutella cookies sound amazing. Thanks for the recipe, too!
I can’t wait for Maria’s cookbook! I love that you two have combined forces to make this happen.
It sounds as though you had an amazing time in Vegas! I haven’t been there in ages and really need to explore some of the restaurants that have opened.
As for the cookie cookbook – well, I am so excited for you and Maria. It is a great pairing of talents! I’m all signed up and can’t wait to here about the release of the cookbook.
What a wonderful combination of talent! I’m sure the photography and recipes will be amazing. Congratulations!
Congrats! Maria IS SO lucky to have you!!
Congrats, Ladies! Can’t wait … I was thinking about cookies today when I filled up my oatmeal dispenser. Cookies make teenagers REALLY happy! lol. :)
Okay, LOVING the kosher salt or sea salt or whatever salt it was cookies that you two made for the cookbook! I can’t wait for it to come out! Thanks for the sample!!! xo
Congratulations H! This book looks awesome… definitely signing up and my girls and co-workers are going to be very glad to enjoy the outcome of my baking from this book!
I’m so excited for the two of you and can’t wait to see the cookbook!!
These are stunning cookies, yourself, Heidi! And I can’t wait to see more of what you have done for Maria’s cookbook. What a partnership, I’m sure it will be nothing short of absolutely amazing!
I don’t even know what to say! We are thrilled to be working on this project with you. Your talent and vision has made this cookbook happen and I am beyond thrilled with the results. You make my cookies look SO good! I can’t thank you enough for all of your hard work. We’ve had so much fun working with you. You truly are amazing! And hello, your cookies look fabulous! I think I have some stiff competition:) Again, thank you for everything! The 3 peas just adore you! Yay for cookies!!! xoxo
What fun! I love baking cookies and this idea is just dreamy to me!
Congratulations to you and Maria. I have no doubt that you and Maria as a team will be a smashing success. You too are great alone but together will be unbelievable, Heidi!!
I saw Maria’s announcement on her site and I am so happy for her. And congrats to you for helping take beautiful images and for you two to team up…how exciting and wonderful. The pics you took of her are just stunning. The cookies are pretty, too, of course :)
Big Time Rush…lol When I am editing and have my 5 year old jabbering in my ear and need to concentrate…guess what I put on, Big Time Rush. And she’s glued to the tv! In concert? Can’t even imagine!