Here are some of her favorite holiday recipes:

Peppermint Mocha Milkshake

serves 1

1 cup chocolate milk (almond, rice or soy works too!)

4 ice cubes

1/2 cup greek yogurt (ice cream works too, I just didn’t have any)

1/2 tablespoon instant coffee powder (this can be adjusted given your coffee tastes)

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/4 teaspoon sugar for some sweetness

whipped cream for garnish

1 candy cane

Throw all ingredients into a blender except for whipped cream and candy cane. Bread the top off of the candy cane and crush. Pour shake into glass and top with whipped cream and crushed candy cane. Throw the remaining candy can stick in the shake!

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

[adapted from the giant rainbow cookies]

makes about 24 cookies

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, melted and cooled

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup chocolate chunks + 3/4 cup chocolate chips + 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the flour, salt, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the melted butter and sugars until they are combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed. Stir in pumpkin puree until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until a dough forms – it will look crumbly at first, but it will come together. I even used my hands to help at one point. Fold chocolate chips and chunks.

Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then roll into golfball-sized balls. Bake for 8-11 minutes, then let cool completely. If you keep these in the fridge for even longer, you may get a more cakier cookie.

Snickerdoodle Cookie Cupcakes

makes 12-14 cupcakes

cookie layer

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup  brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cups all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon milk, if needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combine, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is crumbly, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it comes together.

Refrigerate dough while you make cupcake batter.

cake layer

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 whole eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients.

Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and add about 1 1/2 tablespoons (or however much you’d like for thicker cookie bottoms) of cookie dough in the bottom of the liner. Even out the dough with the back of a non-stick sprayed spoon. Using an ice cream scoop, drop batter (about 2 heaping tablespoons worth) on top of cookie dough mixture. Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Add butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until fluffy and combined. Gradually add in powdered sugar and vanilla, mixing on medium speed and scraping down the sides of the bowl for 4-5 minutes. Finish with adding cinnamon, then mixing until combined once more. Frost cupcakes as desired and sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar. Cupcakes should be refrigerated after about 1-2 hours of sitting out.

*All recipes and photographs from How Sweet Treats

It’s a beautiful weekend and you’ve got no plans, get on your bike, or put some use to those legs. Head about 2 1/2 miles down the Katy Trail and you’ll hit the Katy Trail Ice House. It will be no surprise to see the outside tables packed with people sipping on beers, enjoying their burger and cheering on their sports teams. Not only is the Ice House stocked with all types of drafts, spirits, and special house margaritas, their dining menu is almost as good. Feel like a burger along with that beer you just ordered? Don’t worry, the Ice House has got a 2x meat, 2x cheese, 2x jalapenos and 2x the chili burger called “Man vs Food” for those who feel the need for some serious chow. Their smaller bite include nachos, quesadillas, fries and many other tasty deals.

Based on the killer vibes of Ice House, I’m sure they would love to see SMU students in their best Halloween costumes this  weekend, so join the fun on Saturday to cheer on our Mustangs in the SMU vs. Tulsa game!

*Must be 21 to drink alcohol

Photo Credit / McKenna Cottam

As the weather starts to cool down, sitting outside to enjoy a nice Saturday brunch is something that actually sounds appealing these days. Cruise on uptown to The Common Table before the Boulevard, or maybe to revive you on Sunday after a long day of  showing your SMU spirit. While your sitting under their giant red umbrellas, sipping on your Tropical Mimosa, the only thing making you the slightest bit upset would be picking what you want to eat! Are you feeling the BCT breakfast sandwich, maybe some southern comfort Chicken & Waffles? No doubt, any of The Common Table options will be satisfying to your taste buds. Open for lunch, dinner and brunch on Saturday and Sundays, this comfortable and tasty spot is the perfect place for everyone.

The Common Table is located at 2917 Fairmount St.

Red Velvet Cake

Chocolate Cake

Kayla Nadzam

Looking for a tasty jolt to get your day going? Head down Henderson to The Pearl Cup Espresso Bar to get your morning fix. This espresso bar has different sorts of coffees, drinks and teas to choose from, but they are known for their signature Pearl Cup Latte. Voted best latte by D Magazine, it is a secret blend of ingredients that only the owners know. Maybe it’s Vanilla? Chai? Dulce de Leche? Who knows! But it’s a kick in a cup worth trying.

Not only does Pearl Cup serve up delicious drinks, but they also have a small, but satisfying menu of yummy pastries and sweets worth munching on. Stop in and you’ll likely find customers chowing down on a Nutella Banana Panini (yum!) or a veggie breakfast wrap.

With delicious drinks and treats, this hot spot coffee shop is a darling little place to post up on a Sunday to relax, eat or maybe even do some studying.

Taste for yourself at 1900 Henderson Avenue or visit The Pearl Cup for more details. 

Sarah Bray

SMUStyle Dine Dish: Smoke

When was the last time (if ever) you ventured over to Oak Cliff? That’s what I thought, which is why you should make tracks to Smoke, chef/co-owner Tim Byres’ new grub stop at the Belmont Hotel. Because stepping outside the SMU bubble always does a body good. Especially when it involves comfort food.

Imagine this equation: The Belmont’s retro vibe + old-fashioned cooking with hickory, oak, mesquite and pecan woods + a cold smokehouse, barbeque pit, and hardwood grill + all the BBQ you can imagine + lead designer Mike Thompson’s Texas-style decor.

What does this all equal? A great dining adventure — a reason to finally make that trip to Oak Cliff.

Head to 901 Fort Worth Avenue, Dallas, 75208 or call 214.393.4141 for details.

Christina Geyer

SMUStyle Dine Dish: Tasti D-Lite

What is a Paleta you ask? Close your eyes. You’re years younger, sitting on the porch at your Newport Beach summer house — not a care in the world. Your mom hands you a homemade Popsicle.

Now pause and come back to earth. We’re in Dallas, it’s been raining for what feels like months. Is that the sun peeping through the clouds? Nope. But it is one of Tasti D-Lite owner Lydia Ludwig’s new Popsicles. Enter Paleta. The gourmet frozen treats are giving fro-yo a run for its money. At 50 calories a pop and made in-store with all natural ingredients, I’m prone to sinking my teeth into one of these babies.

Flavors include: Watermelon lime, blueberry lavendar, mint lemonade, hibiscus cherry, pineapple chili, spicy cucumber cantaloupe, and blood orange.

Did I mention they cost a cool $1 to $2.25? Yep. Take that fro yo!

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Tasti D-Lite is located on Hillcrest at Snider Plaza, 6601 Hillcrest Avenue. Just close enough to walk while on a break from class.

Christina Geyer