• Cannoli Poke Cake

    There is a darling little restaurant in Kansas City called Cupini’s that I just adore – it’s cute, authentic, family-owned and operated and has some of the best pasta in the city.   The pasta is all homemade and totally delicious, but I think my favorite part of visiting the restaurant is the FABULOUS dessert case.  It’s full of beautiful pastries, cakes, tiramisu, creme brulee – you name it. And the cannoli – oh, the cannoli. The shell is delicate and crispy, and the filling is…

  • Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake

    I totally bought an electric throw blanket last weekend.  I am SO dreading the cold weather that I actually took my 30-something year old tushie to Target and bought an electric blanket. It’s like I woke up and was like, “How can I be MORE like my mother today?” Sorry, Mom. I dread the winter.  I love the holidays, but I dread the cold, the wind, the leaf-less trees and dormant grass.  I hate always being cold.  I don’t like high heating bills and the…

  • Firecrackers & Football Cookies

    This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ScoreMoreFans#CollectiveBias Can you believe the big February football game is almost here again?  I mostly can’t believe it because January just flew by – which is really ok because as you know, I’m not a winter kind of girl – I’m counting down the seconds until warm weather. I really shouldn’t complain about this time of year though, because it’s actually pretty fun.  With all of the football…

  • Superbowl Recipe Roundup

    Can you believe we’re already gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday?   My team is nowhere near Super Bowl status (ever), but it’s really about the parties and the commercials anyway, isn’t it?

  • 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…

  • Your favorite posts of 2012 and a giveaway!

    As 2012 comes to a close, I have to say that I feel like celebrating.  Lemon Sugar has grown so much this year – and I have to thank you, my readers, for your part in that.  If you weren’t helping to spread the word by sharing on social media, pinning on Pinterest, or tweeting on Twitter, my little food blog wouldn’t have grown the way it has. So, thank you.  From the bottom of my heart.  To my family, who just reads because I…

  • Banana Bread Cupcakes

    Bananas wasting away in my fruit bowl + Marscapone cheese and walnuts in the fridge = DELISH concoction by yours truly.  I love banana bread, but my girls eat bananas like they’re going out of style, so we never have any left to make treats with.  This week, however, they left me with nearly a full bunch of bananas to play with.  YAY!  Furthermore, my husband has training tomorrow so he has lots of hungry guys to feed these to.  Bonus. These are wonderful muffins. …

  • Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Cake

    Hi everyone!  I soooooooo miss you guys!  My life is in perpetual “just-get-by” mode and right now I’m feeling lucky to get all four of us out the door in the morning fully clothed, fed and headed in the right direction so I’m calling that a win.  Life is nutsos. That being said, I love my new job and I’m hoping that soon we can figure out our new normal around here.  I think we’re getting better at it every day, so in a few…

  • Brownie Tart with White Chocolate Biscoff Ganache + giveaway

    A week or so ago, I received a promotional shipment from Biscoff…a CASE of their cookie spread!  After I got my face out of the first jar of it – I mean seriously, it’s amazing, on a spoon, right out of the jar – I decided I really needed to figure out how to bake with it, and STAT.  Otherwise, my diet for the week was looking bleak.

  • Mini Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

    Well, today I have a second grader.  And today, I am torn between being sad and being proud, wanting time to slow down and the eagerness to watch my baby girl grow up. Last night we took her supplies up to the school and met her teacher, and I let her show me around “her” school, introduce me to the librarian, show me her music classroom, her computer lab, the nurse’s office – I waited patiently as she stopped to visit with friends in the…

  • Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

    I have to preface this post by noting that I don’t really care for vanilla cupcakes.  They’re just ok, in my book, kind of boring.  If I had to choose a cupcake, it would almost always be chocolate.  That being said, I am pretty in love with this little guy.  Vanilla-y, moist, and seriously, the creamiest batter you’ll ever whip up.  It’s really the perfect base for any frosting you have in mind.  One caveat – I think these are definitely best if eaten the…

  • Mini Doughnuts with Honey Vanilla Glaze

    When it comes to doughnuts, I might be the pickiest person out there.  I don’t like Krispy Kreme, grocery store, convenience store, pre-packaged or even most bakery doughnuts.  To be a good doughnut, they have to be fried, glazed doughnuts.  You know, the old fashioned kind with the light batter and the flaky glaze that gets all over everything when you eat them.  The kind I like are super hard to find…there are only a handful of doughnut shops that I’ve ever found that still make them…