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It’s cookie exchange day, friends! Every year my blogger besties and I host a virtual cookie exchange, going so far as referring to ourselves as the Christmas Cookie Squad. In short, below I’ve linked up every single Christmas cookie recipe you could possibly want this season, perfect for hosting or bringing to your own cookie exchange parties. I’m jumping into the game with these fudge dipped double chocolate peppermint cookies. They are melt in your mouth good and worth the tiny bit of effort it takes to crush up some candy canes! Join in the fun on Instagram with our hashtag #christmascookiesquad!

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Back in October (actually just a few days after our wedding), I joined a group of my fellow bloggers at the Food52 test kitchen in New York as guests of Delta® Faucet. It was an amazing day of food, design and camaraderie where we got to try our hand making a few fun appetizers and check out some gorgeous faucets from Delta Faucet featuring their new ShieldSpray™ Technology. You may even remember seeing a sneak peek on Instagram while I was there! Today I am sharing a trio of easy fondue recipes that I created in partnership with Delta Faucet to (a) help inspire a little food fun at your next cocktail party and (b) to give you a look at the beautiful new faucet that now lives in my kitchen and how it has seriously elevated the game of my nearly 60 year old sink. Be sure to watch to video too, where you can see these fondues in action! (This is one of my favorite party appetizers to date, and that’s saying a lot.)

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I had a very sick two year old on my hands all of last week. High fevers, a cold, a touch of a stomach bug. It was also sub zero temperatures most of the week, with wind chills hitting -30 far more than once. It was a long week, for sure. The kind of long week that always seem to fall during the darkness of winter when you’re resisting the need to take down your holiday decor and already longing for spring. One of those. Basically, it was a “warm bowl of soup and all the wool blankets” kind of week, a week that practically begs for my favorite homemade veggie soup with vegan dumplings. This is the very best “chicken soup” recipe for those of us who don’t eat chicken, but still need that warm, yummy hug of a dish to make you feel better on crappy winter days when your kid’s fever won’t break and the air outside hurts to breathe.

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In the little village nestled in a valley where I went to college, there was a coffee shop where we used to flock on crisp fall nights for big cups of steamy, creamy chai tea latte. In truth it was probably the first “real” coffee shop I ever frequented and it smelled of good coffee beans and freshly made espresso in a way that makes me nostalgic just thinking of the place. Not a fall season has gone by since where I haven’t longed to be there with a big mug in hand. Today I’m once again teaming up with the folks at Truvia, this time to bring you the most delicious homemade chai tea latte recipe you’re ever going to try. After a few years of attempting it, I think I’ve finally settled on the right mix of spices and tea and milk to make a seriously solid cup of chai. Because it’s sweetened with Truvia Natural Sweetener it also has delightfully less sugar and fewer calories than the chai you pick up at the drive-thru and is far more delicious.

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An alternative title to this post could easily be, “Best Ever Vegan Tomato Soup.” Because it is indeed the best ever and it is indeed vegan. It’s also about the easiest thing to make that there ever was, even if you wanted to make a big pot on a weeknight. The basis is a bunch of roasted tomatoes, onions and garlic. Drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and bursting with flavor. I like a variety of tomatoes (such as tomatoes on the vine, cherry tomatoes and little heirloom tomatoes) for little extra depth of flavor, but truly you can use whichever kind of tomatoes you have on hand or that look good in the grocery store. A big bowl topped with French bread croutons makes a meal unto itself or the perfect accompaniment to a grilled cheese sandwich. (I’ll be sharing one of my favorite grilled cheese recipes next week! Yum!)

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Give this four bean veggie chili recipe (that is also a vegan chili recipe) a try for your next tailgate party – it’s the best veggie chili recipe you’ll ever try! It’s Super Bowl week and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m completely excited. For one, we’re hosting the festivities this weekend and I …

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This post was sponsored by Cuties. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help make The Sweetest Occasion possible! With zero contest, brunch is our favorite meal in this family. Every single one of us is crazy about breakfast foods in general so on the weekends and on holidays, the kids get really excited to hang out …

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This post was sponsored by Lindt. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help make The Sweetest Occasion possible! Last year around Valentine’s Day, I teamed up with my friends at Lindt to bring you some super cute printables inspired by my undying love for my favorite Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles. (Can’t stop, won’t stop, guys. The love affair is …

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This post was sponsored by Skinnygirl® Cocktails. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help make The Sweetest Occasion possible! Back in March when I was in New York at the Skinnygirl® Cocktails Influencer Summit along with a bunch of other awesome ladies, we had the opportunity to take a really fun cooking class and enjoy lunch together …

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I’m jumping up and down excited to welcome back Melina of Sugary & Buttery today with her monthly recipe. Today Melina is sharing these amazing chocolate cheesecake Christmas trees, which I’m convinced are actually too cute to eat! But surprise, they are entirely edible and promise to be insanely delicious. I love this recipe, because it’s the type …

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