• Oatmeal Cake Cupcakes

    Today is my Dad’s Birthday!  The whole family is headed out to celebrate with an early dinner at one of his favorite restaurants.  And though I know we’ll have dessert at the restaurant, I couldn’t let his birthday go by without baking for him, could I?  =) Dad’s favorite cake is a recipe of his mom’s, her amazing Oatmeal Cake.  That cake is awesome, it’s a spicy, coarse-crumbed cake with an ooey-gooey boiled coconut frosting.  For some reason, it didn’t work as a cupcake.  I tried, but it…

  • Almond Joy Bars

    I’m pretty much tired of summer.  I’m not sure I’ve ever said those words before.  I usually love summer.  I usually love the sunshine, swimming, gardening, long days…but this year, summer has been more about heat.  Drought.  More heat.  My poor garden has long ago shriveled up, and even the weeds are unhappy.  We haven’t mowed our lawn in six weeks, because the grass hasn’t grown at all.  For the first time ever, I’m counting the days until fall arrives. Normally, I ease up on…

  • A Playroom Makeover: Part 1

    I am so excited to be back with another Lemon Sugar remodel project, and especially excited to be working with my friends at Organized Living again! If you remember, we teamed up several months ago to tackle my pantry remodel, and it turned out SO good that we’ve decided to take on a bigger and more challenging space – a playroom for my girls! This project is a little bit bigger and more involved because we didn’t have an existing space to work with.  Instead,…

  • Soft Breadsticks

    Geez, I really seem to be all about the breads lately, don’t I?  I wasn’t really planning to post these because they aren’t exactly the prettiest food I’ve ever made, but after I tried them I knew I couldn’t keep the recipe to myself.  In fact, my husband requested that I make them two days in a row.  Yep, that’s right.  And I didn’t argue because I was secretly lamenting that he and the girls ate them all and didn’t leave any leftovers for me.…

  • Ham & Cheese Sliders

    This quick and easy party food has become one of my most-requested dishes lately.  Which is completely fine by me, because there’s nothing better than a party food that goes together in no time, makes virtually no mess and can be made in advance.  And, they’re fabulous. This picture does not do these sandwiches justice because I had to photograph them before they were finished so I wasn’t taking pictures of my food during the party=).  They are gooey, melty, buttery little bites of yumminess. …

  • Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

    There are a few things that I’m powerless against.  I cannot say no to chips & salsa, guacamole, fried pickles, sweet potato fries and pumpkin spice lattes.  Ooh – and nachos. It is nearly impossible for me to walk by a coffee house in the fall without ordering a pumpkin spice latte.  It draws me in.  They are definitely one of my favorite fall treats.  I’ve seen the recipe for homemade pumpkin spice lattes all over the blogosphere and on Pinterest for years now, but…

  • Robin’s Egg Cupcakes

    Now that Easter is just a few days away and our menu for Easter dinner is complete, I’m already making plans and to-do lists for next Easter.  There are just so many cute ideas out there that I can’t possibly squeeze them all into one year.  And, although this blog allows me the excuse to experiment and bake lots of goodies all of the time, I’m always faced with the difficult decision of crossing off recipes, crafts and plans and saving them for next time.…

  • Chocolate Lava Cupcakes

    These cupcakes were the result of a little color coordination.  My little sister is expecting a baby boy so I needed a favor for her baby shower.  Our color scheme was brown and blue, so of course I needed brown and blue cupcakes!  These were good cupcakes, but next time I might switch the cake out to a firmer, taller cake so it will stand up to the filling a little better.  These were actually better after they sat overnight in the refrigerator, so if…

  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

    There’s a thing in this world…it’s called too much peanut butter. This is not that. This is the perfect amount of peanut butter.  Which, I suppose is hard to measure because some people don’t like peanut butter.  Who are these people?  I’ve heard of them, but I’m not sure that I’ve ever met one of them.  Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not even sure that there’s a thing called too much peanut butter.  That’s probably not possible. This is what happens when…

  • Spiced Cranberry Apple Butter

    Who still has cranberries left from the holidays?  Anyone besides me?  I always stock up and freeze what I’m not going to use, because I firmly believe that cranberries aren’t just a winter fruit.  It drives me crazy that you can’t find them year round, so when I see ’em, I buy ’em. Our CSA has been overly generous with our apple deliveries lately too – so much so that we haven’t been able to eat them all quickly enough.  We eat them like crazy…

  • Out and About: Boulevard Brewery

    As part of a new series here on Lemon Sugar, I’ve been spending some time exploring some of my favorite places so I can share them with all of you.  By now, most of you know that I live in the Kansas City area, so hopefully these segments will help you learn a bit more about the city I love! Recently, my husband and I participated in the public tour of the Boulevard Brewing Company.  This free tour is offered every day of the week,…

  • Easy (Like, Really Easy) Cheese Danish

    I’ve made exactly eleventy-bazillion things in the past couple of weeks that my darling children absolutely refuse to eat.  Now, some of the dishes – Coconut Curry Lentils over Jasmin Rice, and Bruschetta with Avocado and Garlic Tomato Salsa, and even a couple of new varieties of Hummus – ok, I can understand those might be a little much for their young taste palates.  But seriously, if I have to make one more peanut butter and jelly sandwich as a dinner time alternative, I might…