• Chocolate Cream Pie

    Dear Chocolate Cream Pie, I love you. xoxo, Everybody Right?  Who doesn’t love a good chocolate cream pie?  Crumbly, buttery, chocolaty crust.  Creamy, silky chocolate pudding, topped with lightly sweetened, homemade whipped cream.  And chocolate shavings. It’s the best thing, ever.  And really, its very easy – a bit time consuming, but very easy.  You guys, if I can make this stuff, seriously anyone can.  Do it!

  • Easy Creme Brulee

    I won’t make you listen to any more stories about my rough week.  If you remember from a recent post, my daughter starts 1st grade tomorrow.  And since I don’t have a time machine or (apparently) the ability to will time to slow down, I have put on my best happy face and hopefully hold back tears until I’m out of the school parking lot. OK, one more story.   But technically, this isn’t a story, it’s really just information that you need to know…

  • A Beach Birthday Party

    Well, I survived.  I survived my first party since I’ve gone back to work in an office environment, and it was a success.  Now, I didn’t cook – it was catered, I just did the baking, and I had a little help from the candy aisle at the grocery store, but somehow I pulled off a cute little beach party in the middle of November and lived to talk about it. My Madeline turned eight years old this week, and as much work as it…

  • Glazed Doughnut Muffins

    I first saw this recipe on Pinterest several months ago.  They claimed to taste exactly like a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut.  I pinned them and forgot about them (isn’t that what usually happens on Pinterest?) but came across them again recently and haven’t been able to stop thinking about them.  First of all, let me assure you that they taste absolutely NOTHING like a Krispy Kreme doughnut.  They do, however, taste like a cinnamon and nutmeg infused cake doughnut.  They are a wonderful morning treat,…

  • Friends of Lemon Sugar: Reese’s Cake

    Today’s guest poster in the Friends of Lemon Sugar series comes to us from BAKE ; a great foodie, lifestyle and photography blog by Jenny.  I love to read her posts because they make me happy, and I feel like I’m right there with her.  One of my favorite posts of hers is her Neopolitan Cupcakes, a recipe which has inspired me to follow suit!  Head over and check out her site, today.  You won’t be sorry!  Thank you, Jenny for stopping by to share your fabulous…

  • Three Layer Oreo Bars

    So my life goes like this:  yesterday my husband was out with his buddies, so I had an evening to myself.  The girls went to bed at 8pm, and I marched right now the stairs, made a big glass of iced tea, bought the girliest-chick-flick ever, and pulled out my big stack of neglected magazines.  It was awesome…for about three minutes. Precisely three minutes into my chick-flick, my youngest daughter was calling from the top of the stairs.  It was “fundering” and she was scared.…

  • Erin’s favorite recipes from 2012

    As we say goodbye to 2012, it’s fun to reflect on everything that happened during the year.  My family had a wonderful year full of blessings.  We celebrated my parent’s 35th wedding anniversary in May.  We traveled to the beach with our extended family, filling up three beach houses.  My oldest daughter completed Kindergarten and started 1st grade.  We coached T-ball, we celebrated 1st birthdays for my niece and nephew, and found out my brother and sister are expecting again.  We attended dance recitals, hosted…

  • Dark Chocolate Shortbread Tart

    Is it me, or does this just scream Valentine’s Day?  It’s decadent and indulgent, a dark chocolate custard atop a buttery, shortbread crust.  Oh, and if that wasn’t enough – how about the heaping mound of sweet whipped cream right on top? I’m pretty sure this is why we have Valentine’s Day.  So we can eat things like this. Let’s just have another look, shall we?  I’m a big fan of a standard graham cracker crust, and even a good chocolate wafer crust – but…

  • Fried Pickles with Spicy Ranch

    You know when you get a craving and it just won’t go away? Yep, you guessed it.  I’ve been craving fried pickles for about six months now.  I’m not really sure why.  I don’t really crave fried foods, ever…but something about warm, battered pickles dipped in cool ranch dressing just does it for me, I guess. I’m just exuding classiness, aren’t I?

  • Blueberry Muffins with Maple Butter

    Isn’t it funny how food can take you back in time?  My freshman year in college, my husband and I still lived at home with our parents and traveled back and forth to the neighboring town to attend classes together every morning.  (Yes, we were super cool.)  On our way to class, we frequently stopped at our local convenience store/gas station and grabbed something to eat and drink for breakfast.  I used to get a blueberry muffin and chocolate milk, warming the muffin up in the microwave and trying…

  • Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Cookie Frosting

    So, close your eyes for a minute, and imagine with me. Wait, don’t close your eyes yet.  You have to read this first. Ok, in a minute, you’re going to close your eyes and imagine a soft, perfectly-chocolate cupcake.  It peels away from the wrapper in one piece, and is just strong enough to hold the weight of the frosting without being too dense or heavy. You bite through a soft, sweet layer of peanut butter “cookie” nestled atop a generous layer of dark, slightly-sweet…

  • A Fairy Party

    Ready for a photo-heavy post?  ‘Cause that’s what you’re gonna get.  It’s Fairy Party time! Last weekend, my daughter Mia turned six years old.  For those of you who have been Lemon Sugar readers for a while, you know that my daughter and my niece were born just 17 hours apart, so my sister and I always combine their family party.  I look forward to planning this party every year, and we’ve had some fun themes in years past.  This year we went with a fairy-inspired…