Ma'amoul ~ Date Stuffed Cookies - #CreativeCookieExchange

Easter is fast approaching and I have to admit that it makes me a little sad that my girls are grown up and we don't do an annual Easter Egg Hunt any more. It was always so special to watch my older girls share the eggs, pointing out to their younger sisters where they might find a treat-filled surprise rather than taking it for themselves.  Fortunately I still get to bake yummy treats for us all to enjoy. The theme for #CreativeCookie Exchange this month is Traditional Spring Holiday Cookies from around the world.  I love when we get to go around the world and try something new, and the cookies I choose are called Ma'amoul.

Lava Flow Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers

Ah, the tropical vacation.  Toes in the sand, beautiful aqua-blue water, tiki drink in hand - perfection. I am extremely lucky to call Hawaii home, so I guess in some ways I am always on a tropical vacation.

Ballymaloe Irish Brown Bread - #Twelve Loaves

This month's theme for #TwelveLoaves is Irish Breads.  I'm pretty sure the Irish made a few of breads and said, lovin' this bread, we're good, because there really isn't an abundance bread recipes from this part of the world.  I choose a brown yeast bread recipe that originated at Ballymaloe House - a bread that has been baked there for over 60 years.

Cinnamon Dolce Coffee Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers

Cinnamon invokes such a warm and comforting feeling. Sitting in front of the fire, drinking hot chocolate, eating a piece of Cinnamon Dolce Coffee Bundt Cake while the snow gently falls outside......well that is not going to happen here, except the eating cake part. I was still excited when I found out that the theme for this months #BundtBakers was cinnamon.

Hawaiian Raincoast Crisps - #CreativeCookieExchange

This time of the year many people in the Northern Hemisphere are looking to get away from the dark and relentless winter.  It has been many years since I experienced a true winter, but I remember quite well the feeling of it being bitterly cold and needing to go somewhere that the sun was shining at full strength to thaw out for a while.  Not everyone has the luxury of being able to do this so maybe some tropical treats will hit the spot. This month the #CreativeCookieExchange is taking us all on a virtual tropical vacation via cookies. It is true that a taste of a food can transport us to another time, so why not a tropical island getaway?