Cincinnati and Dreamsicle Cookies

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A couple weeks ago I got to enjoy some time in Cincinnati.  I rode up with my husband and his friend who were attending a conference. While exploring around the city, I got to visit one of my favorite foodie places - Jungle Jim's!  Among other things, I stocked up on orange cake mix, which is hard to find at our local grocery stores.  You may recall my last trip to Jungle Jim's, which inspired the Orange Dreamsicle cake.  Though, I've mentioned the store before on my blog, once is just not enough! Don't worry, I will get to the cookie recipe (shown at bottom of the post).

Inside the front entrance of store

Jungle Jim's is amazing and a must go place for any foodie!  I can honestly say I've never enjoyed spending two hours in a grocery store before Jungle Jim's. But their 200,000+ square feet of store is full of anything and everything food related.  They have all your typical grocery aisles, but with hard to find flavors and unique items mixed in with your regulars.  Then you get to the specialty sections.  Among them are a honey section with local honeys from all over the country, a soda area with hard to find and specialty drinks from all over, and a massive hot sauce and spices section. My favorite is the soda section as they have a brand of cream soda that I love, but can't seem to find where we live. They also have groceries from all over the world and have them arranged by region and country. It's like you are traveling around the world going down the aisles. Then you get to the section that I spent the most time in - the kitchen and baking tools.  They have a large selection of unique and creative kitchen tools and baking supplies. I walked away with just a few items, but a huge wish list for next time!

As if that wasn't enough to excite the foodie in me, I then heard that Bobby Flay was in town! Apparently he was in Cincinnati for the opening of Bobby's Burger Place at the casino.

My favorite food network chef - Bobby Flay!

Now let me just say, I'm a huge Bobby Flay fan. My husband and I enjoy all his shows on Food Network.  Whether it's a show where he's a judge or a cook, we love it! We went to his Mesa Grill restaurant in NYC on our honeymoon.  I was worried we had such high expectations that maybe it wouldn't live up to them, but the food was just as amazing as we had hoped! Standing in the aisle in Jungle Jim's, I had to remind myself that I needed to leave and go pick up my husband and his friend. I should probably not leave them stranded and take a detour to try to meet Bobby Flay.  But, his new restaurant just gives us yet another reason to return to Cincinnati!

Do you have a favorite item at Jungle Jim's, or a favorite Bobby Flay show/restaurant?  I'd love to hear about it!

Ok, enough of my gushing on Bobby Flay and Jungle Jim's! The real reason you checked out my page was for my recipe.  These cookies are light and delicious!  The cookie is a citrus twist to the popular Cool Whip cookie. I've seen tons of Cool Whip cookie recipes all over Pinterest.  The Cool Whip and orange cake mix combination gives a Dreamsicle-like flavor and something you have to try! You won't believe how light and fluffy these cookies really are.  This recipe is SO easy, but packed full of delicious and creamy orange taste!

Dreamsicle Cookie ingredients (makes 24):

• 1 box orange cake mix
• 8 oz Cool-Whip
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)

Dreamsicle Cookie instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Mix together cake mix, Cool-Whip, and egg

• Form balls with a spoonful of batter and roll in powdered sugar

• Place parchment paper on cookie sheet
• Arrange dough on cookie sheet (I ran out of parchment paper)

• Bake 10-12 minutes

Don't forget to watch for my Elephant cake sneak peaks this weekend on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook! I'm also participating in my first blog link party as a co-host this weekend.  Make sure and come back to link up to Pamela's Heavenly Treats Sunday Link Party.  The party will go live at 6 AM on Saturday, March 23.  I'd love to have you join in!