Holiday Gift #4: Blurb

"What will your book be?" Blurb is a sweet little site where you can create sweet little bookstore-quality books of your own. It takes scrapbooking and photo albums to a whole new level. You can use their BookSmart® software, or your own fave designing program from which you simply upload a pdf. Long gone are the days of paying millions for a wedding album. Long gone are the days of shoving 4x6 glossies into plastic sleeves. You can use your own creativity to make a gift even more unique and personal.

But I don't take photos...I just write short stories and poems.

They print those too!

This sounds crazy expensive!

Not necessarily. The aforementioned strictly B/W text book at 20-40 page, softcover, 5"x8" book costs a mere $4.95. And a 7"x7" softcover photo book is just $12.95. It's really pretty comparable to buying a book in a bookstore, only it's a book YOU FREAKING MADE YOURSELF!!!

A photo album is practically instantaneous. I'll have to wait like two months for my book to print.

Nope, 7-10 biz days.

Omg but Christmas is like TOMORROW!! I don't have time for this!!

Oh you'll MAKE time. Pull an all-nighter, pay the pretty high shipping costs, and order your book tomorrow and you'll get it by Christmas Eve!

No, but seriously just think of the possibilities! Make a family cookbook complete with recipes and photos! Scan in your kids' drawings and keep them forever in one fabulous place! Put together a sappy story of your relationship and be sure to include "Will You Marry Me?" on the last page!

Seriously...endless. I've been eyeing up Blurb for quite some time now. I could do anything, I have so many super rad ideas! But I'm sure my first stab at it will commence the addiction.

Even after Christmas is long over, keep this one in your back pocket. It'll be absolutely perfect for those far-too-frequent moments where you sigh and shrug: "What the heck am I going to get YOU this year?!"

As Blurb so rightly states:
Best. Gift. Ever.

Holiday Gift #3: Cake Cookies Yum!

After last week's slightly complex gift (but no really, it's easy!), I give you the easiest cookie recipe of all time.

Cake Cookies

1 box cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. veggie oil

Roll the dough into golf sized balls.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Done and done.

[Check at 8 and see how the bottoms are doing. If they are a golden brown, take them out! Then transfer them off of the baking sheet as soon as you can. You'll get a perfectly chewy cookie every time. Leave them in too long and they'll be good, but nowhere near the cakey consistency you really love.]

My own experience with this recipe started with Lemon Cake Cookies.


So I used lemon cake mix, but also added some lemon zest and juice 'cuz I'm fancy like that. I rolled the balls in some powdered sugar pre-baking, and dusted the cookies with more powdered sugar post-baking.

I took these cookies to an even greater level when I made a batch of Big Fat Faux'reos.

I used a dark chocolate cake mix and then whipped together the following Faux'reo Filling:

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 c. Crisco
2 c. confectioners’ sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract

Beat the butter and shortening on low.
Gradually adding the sugar and vanilla.
Switch on over to high and beat for a couple minutes until frosting is fluffy and scrumptious.

Even if you don't have a piping bag thing, I spooned the frosting into a large ziplock, cut off the bottom tip, and piped the dreamy and delicious cream onto the cookies that way.

Seriously, these are like Double Stuf Oreos to the max.

So yep! The possibilities are endless! Chocolate cake cookies with peanut butter chips. Red velvet cake cookies with white chocolate chips. Get crazy and add a can of pumpkin puree to a box of spice cake mix and throw in a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg! Not only are these cheap (sometimes cake mix is a dollar, c'mon!), talk about your easy way out of Christmas cookies this year. I mean EVERYONE makes those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey kiss on top. Snore!