White Chocolate Cake Batter Cookies With Sprinkles!

For a few days now, I've had a craving for something reaaaalllllly sweet and I finally decided to give into the craving today. I wanted something sweet, but not necessarily "chocolately", so these white chocolate cake batter cookies with sprinkles were perfect! They were soft, dense, and oh so delicious. The recipe was slightly adapted from: Sally's Baking Addiction

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of white cake mix (432 grams; I used French Vanilla by Betty Crocker)

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/3 salted butter, melted

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and either line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter (cool slightly), vanilla, and eggs until well mixed. Add in the cake mix and baking powder, and stir until combined, then stir in the white chocolate chips followed by the rainbow sprinkles. Don't stir in the sprinkles too much because they might dye your cookie dough. 

The dough is SUPER sticky, so using a spoon, drop balls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. My dough balls were about the size of a golf ball. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies shouldn't be brown on top, but this is okay because they will harden up a bit once cooled —plus you want the cookies to be soft and gooey. Let the cookies cool for 5 or so minutes on the baking sheet before placing them on a wire rack to finish cooling. 

Enjoy! :)

ps. I'm sure you could do all kinds of variations of this recipe —vary the kind of cake mix (chocolate,  rainbow, lemon, etc.), chocolate chips (milk, dark, butterscotch), and sprinkles (add them, don't add them, chocolate sprinkles). 

Finley Hugh: 15 weeks old

Our little boy is 15 weeks old. It's crazy how time has flown by so quickly. He's growing like a weed (He's wearing 9-12 month clothes —what?! How did this happen?!). It seems like he's learning something new or surprising us with something new, each and every day. We feel truly blessed to have Finley in our lives. He is such a amazingly sweet little boy who brings big smiles to our faces and tears to our eyes. 

My absolute favourite time with Finley is first thing in the morning. He's a morning person like his mama, so he's usually happy, smiley, and full of energy. I love going to get him from his crib and being greeted with his beautiful smile. No matter how "rough" our night was, his smile just starts my day off on a positive note.

I also love our story time together. For the past few weeks, Finley has shown more and more interest in books while we're reading to him. Usually, he is content to sit through 2-4 books at a time. Lately, we've been reading a lot of the classic Robert Munsch books (e.g., Paperbag Princess; Boy in the Drawer; Purple, Green, and Yellow; Moira's Birthday) and Leslie Patricelli books (e.g., Toot; Huggy Kissy; Potty; Tubby) who our friends Jenn and Isaac introduced us to.

Sleep is getting better. We've had a few 5-6 hour stretches now, but for the past week, Finley has started teething (!!!), so he's been waking up a bit more frequently. I think our sleep routine has really helped. Between 7-7 30, we feed Finley, change him, put his jambes on, and read him a couple of stories, then kiss him goodnight before putting him in his crib. It seems to work like a charm (knock on wood) and he always goes to sleep on his own without much (if any) fussing. In terms of napping, they aren't really happening that much or at least not with any predictibility haha Usually Finley will have a couple of random cat naps in the morning, and one or two longer naps in the afternoon, but as I mentioned, they're really unpredictable. Also, he won't nap in his crib. He'll only nap on either Dan or I in the Baby Bjorn.

Finley rolled over for the first time on the day Dan proposed (February 20th). He rolled over three times, but he hasn't done it since. I'm wondering if he just liked the soft carpet at Nanny and Grampy's house, and felt like he could explore more safely. Finley also went swimming for the first time last week (February 25th) at the Canada Games Centre. Because he enjoys the bath so much, we thought we would give swimming a try. Well, it was a success. We were in the pool for about 20 minutes and although Finley didn't smile a lot, he didn't cry. I think he was a bit ambivalent to the whole thing, but I bet it will grow on him as we keep going each week.

Recently, Finley has been enjoying playing with a few of his toys. He especially likes Ted the turtle, Sophie the giraffe, and Arnold and Elli the elephants (yes, we may have named all of his toys;))! We seriously take Ted with us everywhere because it's his absolute favourite. Finley really enjoys chewing on his head and shell, and exploring all of the different textures on Ted. Our little boy also lovvvves looking at himself in the mirror haha It's actually super cute. He's really interested in himself, especially his feet (I think he just discovered that they're part of his body). Finley has been enjoying tummy time and sitting up more and more. In fact, I think he actually prefers to sit up rather than lay down because he can see more of his surroundings this way. He's able to bear his weight on his legs and stay standing when I hold his hands. We just did this this morning and he giggled the whole time —he was really impressed with his standing posture ;)

A Day in the Life (With a 2-month old)

So, life with a 2-month old is a lot of fun, but it can be super busy and challenging sometimes. While every day is unpredictable and very different, I thought it would be nice to keep a little journal about what an actual day can be like.

12:45am: We hear Finley on the monitor (3rd night in his "big-boy" crib). Dan's turn to feed him a bottle. Get up with Dan. Help warm up bottle and put bib on Finley. Use the washroom. Crawl back in bed.

3:30am: Hear Finley stirring on baby monitor. Check the video and see that his eyes are open. Get up to warm up bottle. Eat a half of a banana with peanut butter (Finley eats, I eat haha —horrible habit). Feed Finley, change him, burp him, soothe him, then put him down in his crib. Go back to bed.

6:30am: Finley's awake and hungry. Fed him, change him, burp him. He falls back to sleep, so I lay him down in his crib.

7:00am: I clean bottles, tidy up the living room, lay on the couch.

7:20am: Can't fall back to sleep, so I get up and do a core work-out in the den.

8:20am: Finley is STILL sleeping!! Crazy. I thought that he would be up by now for sure. I pick him up from his crib and lay down with him on the bed in his nursery. We cuddle. After the horrendous day we had yesterday, I made sure to enjoy every moment of his peacefulness.

8:45am: I hear Dan get up. I go out and chat with him. Brush my teeth, wash my face.

9:00am: Finley must have woke-up because Dan is soothing him while waiting for a bottle to warm-up.

9:05am: Dan feds Finley while I walk up to Starbucks to grab us two Grande Americanos. Need something a big stronger than coffee today everyday.

9:30am: I get back home. We relax, chat,  and enjoy our coffees together. Finley falls asleep in Dan's arms.

10:00am: Tidy up around the house a bit more: Make beds, pick-up clothes, sterilize bottles, etc.

10:15am: I go out for a walk while Finley sleeps in Dan's arms.

10:45am: I stop to Shoppers on the way back from my walk to buy baby wipes (we're out/they're essential!) and shampoo.

11:00am: I get back home. Finley is still sleeping with Dan. Mom calls. I talk to her. Her and Bridget offer to come over and watch Finley for a bit this afternoon so that I can have a break and get out of the house.

11:15am: Finley is fussy. I put him on my chest in the Baby Bjorn. I jiggle and walk around with him. Eventually he falls asleep. I get out the swifter and clean the floors while tidying up a bit more.

11:45am: Dan leaves for work :( I re-heat my coffee and check my e-mail, read blogs, etc. (Finley is still asleep in the Baby Bjorn)

12:15pm: Finley wakes-up crying. He's hungry. Get bottle ready. Fed him, change him, burp him.

12:50pm: Finley's been super gassy during/after feds lately, so he's fussy now. I put him back in the Baby Bjorn on my chest. We walk around. I read him a book. He falls asleep. I do some squats and lunges while waiting for mom and Bridget to get here haha

1:25pm: Mom and Bridget arrive. I chat with them a little bit.

1:35pm: I brush my teeth and put on "real clothes" (jeans, clean shirt).

1:45pm: I say good-bye and go out to do some errands. I go to bulk barn to get the ingredients for Energy Bites; Chapters to get a baby/new mom gift; Michaels to get a felt pen to write in Finley's baby book (line-up was ridiculously slow so I left... I knew I had limited time); Lawton's to return breast pump; Sobey's to get cheese for supper.

3:15pm: I get home and put away the things I bought. Finley is asleep in mom's arms. I chat with mom.

3:35pm: Finley wakes up hungry. I get a bottle ready so that mom can feed him. He's fussy and looks uncomfortable during the feeding. This breaks my heart. I hope it passes.

3:50pm: Mom and Bridget leave. I feed Finley the rest of his bottle and burp him. Finley falls asleep in my arms.

4:10pm: I lay Finley down on our bed. I eat a muffin, some fruit, and a handful of crackers with dip. Dan calls and I chat with him. It's nice to eat in peace for once!

5:00pm: Finley wakes up and he's fussy. I try playing with him on his play mat, but he's not having it.  I strap him to my chest in the Baby Bjorn.

5:15pm: I get supper ready and put it in the oven. I also make energy bites. I talk to Finley as I do things in the kitchen. He is content in the Baby Bjorn and eventually falls asleep.

5:30pm: I clean up the kitchen, look up a few recipes, answer a few e-mails, and start to type this post.

6:00pm: I take supper out of the oven. I roll the energy bite dough into balls and store them in the refrigerator.

6:15:pm: Finley starts to get hungry, so I jiggle him a bit while getting a bottle ready.

6:20pm: I feed Finley, burp him, change him.

7:00pm: Dan gets home. He takes Finley, so I can eat supper (salads topped with goat cheese and chicken).

7:30pm: We switched roles. I take Finley and Dan eats.

7:45pm: Finley still seems hungry so I feed him two more ounces.

8:15pm: Dan walks around with Finley on his chest in the Baby Bjorn to try to get him to sleep. It doesn't work. Maybe he's still hungry? Dan feds him two more ounces.

8:45pm: Still wide eyed and bushy tailed. I strap him in the Baby Bjorn and walk around with him. I brush my teeth, wash my face, do some dishes, have a snack.

9:10pm: Finley falls asleep. I put him down in his crib.

9:20pm: Finley is making all kinds of noises (not crying, just grunting) and kicks his blanket off.

9:30pm: I go in and pick him up. We snuggle in the spare bed in his nursery. We fall asleep.

10:30pm: I wake-up, get a snack (almond butter and crackers + an energy bite).

10:45pm: I go back to bed with Finley.

12:45pm: Finley wakes-up. Dan and I tag-team this feeding and each do half.

THE END! Repeat haha