• Creamy Skillet Mac & Cheese

    My oldest daughter is learning a hard lesson this week.  She’s found her independence a bit, and has used her new-found “power” to voice her opinions rather loudly and forcefully to her Dad and me. In other words, she’s a back-talking fool. We’ve noticed it more lately, the back-talking with a twinge of sassy-attitude, and it’s just gotten worse.  She’s particularly offended by chores it seems, and when her Dad told her to go “pick up the office a little bit before lunch,” she did…

  • Tiramisu Cupcakes

    This past weekend I hosted a “Girl’s Night Out” at my house for a group of my friends, which was awesome because not only did I get to spend some time with some of my girlfriends, it also gave me an excuse to bake!  I’ve been eager to share several of the recipes I made for the party, but I have to start with my newest cupcake creation, the Tiramisu Cupcake.  I’ve been researching different ways to make this cupcake for a while now and…

  • Mini Peach Cobblers

    While we were out and about yesterday, my husband and I both noticed that things are finally starting to turn green – the pastures are now more green than brown, the trees all have little buds on them, and daffodils and hyacinths are starting to poke out of the ground. SPRING! Spring is finally, finally, finally here. {I should note that I checked the weather earlier, and we actually have a slight chance of snow tomorrow morning, but I’m just going to pretend like that’s…

  • Spiced Apple Coffee Cake

    SERIOUSLY, what is with the ridiculous winter this year?  If I hear the term “Polar Vortex”  one more time, I just might lose it. Listen, I get that I live in the Midwest, and normally I am all about the changing seasons, but this winter has been particularly brutal and un-lovely. If it’s going to be minus umpteen million degrees, could we at least have a bit of snow?  And maybe ease up on the wind?   Please, Mother Nature? {Speaking of winter, I took…

  • Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

    I feel like we are a couple of weeks behind everyone else, but it’s finally back-to-school week at my house.  We’re getting back into the swing of things, painfully shedding our summertime schedules and trying to remember what it’s like to set alarm clocks and adhere to bedtime routines.   Since I’m totally a creature of habit, I look forward to this time of year.  I love having my daughter home with me all summer long, but I thrive on schedules and routines. Plus, do…

  • Cookie Dough Brownie Cake | www.lemon-sugar.com

    Cookie Dough Brownie Cake

    You know when you make an awesome dessert, take it to your Mom’s house for Sunday dinner, and only eat a tiny piece because you’re too full from dinner to eat more?   And then you find yourself sitting on the couch at 9pm wishing you brought a piece home with you? I’m there. I ALWAYS do that.  I’m all like, “Nah, I don’t need a big piece of cake, I’m good with one little bite.”  And then at 9pm I’m trying to figure out…

  • Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

    Hey, ya’ll!  It’s been a little bit since we talked last, no?  So much has happened in the last month.  I’ve been sick, twice.  Like, fever-bronchitis sick.  We got a puppy.  The girls had two weeks of double dance classes, followed by recital.  Weekends have been full of family gatherings and weekdays have been full of yard-work, work-work, and lots of coughing. Life. I feel like I’m always writing about how busy we are, but I don’t mean to.  Everyone is busy, and my busy…

  • Almond Snowball Cookies

    I’m back!  It’s been a long couple of weeks, starting with my daughter’s 7th birthday party, then Thanksgiving, then a week of refreshing the look here at Lemon Sugar.  Throw in a couple of cases of bronchitis and let’s just say I haven’t had much time to spend in the kitchen.

  • Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Bars

    You can actually SEE how delicious these are.  You can see the powdery sugar stuck to the gooey, chocolaty graham cracker cookie.  You can SEE it, can’t you? And yup – they taste just as good as they look.  Maybe better. I broke all of the July-in-Kansas rules today and turned my oven on.  Yes, I turned my oven on even though it was exactly 900 degrees outside today.  And with the heat-index, it felt like 950 degrees.  But I just had to make these…

  • Neapolitan Layer Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

    How fun is this cake?  If you’ve been reading my blog, back in February I talked about my sister and her trouble making a decision for her birthday treat.  She ended up choosing the Key Lime Cupcakes which turned out to be a fabulous decision because they were wonderful.  This was the contender, the cake that made her decision so difficult that week.  I knew I had to make this one, but needed the perfect excuse because it’s so time consuming.  We celebrated Easter at…

  • Chocolate & Coconut Cream Cupcakes

    My days as a morning person are numbered.  Every year about this time, when the overnight temperature starts to drop and it’s still dark in the morning when I get out of bed – that’s about the time I that stop jumping up  eager to face the day. My girls are the same way, it seems.  My mornings are slowly shifting from wide-eyed, happy, smiling little girls to grumpy, piddling, sleepy-heads who have to be prodded along every step of the way. By the time we…