Winter Lemon White Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Welcome, 2015!

 These are all things I should have said weeks ago--but you know how it goes. I made these cupcakes for Christmas at my parents' house, and they went over well. I like the idea of lemon during the winter because it's a bright, fresh change of pace against some of the heavier, nuttier, cinnamon or chocolate-laden holiday dessert offerings.

Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you ever been the recipient of kindness from a total stranger? I'm talking about a situation where someone you didn't know did something totally unexpected for you, and you were surprised and overwhelmed by their good-hearted actions. This happened to me this week--and these cookies are a thank-you gift.

White Chocolate Chip Lemon Blondies

Okay. Before we begin, you should know that these blondies are the result of scattered thinking and a kind of "pick your own adventure" baking idea. The trouble is: everything I thought of sounded delicious!

I knew I wanted blondies, definitely, so I started searching for recipes. Then I thought, "Oooh, white chocolate would be PERFECT in these!" Of course, THAT thought reminded me of a Snickerdoodle White Chocolate Blondie recipe I saw on Sally's Baking Addiction, which sounded too good to be true...and then I remembered that I still had half a lemon left from garnishing the Lemon Cupcakes I made earlier this week. I love lemon in desserts! How much more so in these blondies?!