• Cookie Dough Brownies

    Right now, I’m sitting in the lobby of my daughter’s gymnastics studio, waiting for her to finish up.  In my flurry to get her fed, dressed and out the door after school, I didn’t have time to eat dinner myself.  On top of that, I’m writing a blog post about cookie dough brownies.  This is pure torture.   I’m really wishing I would have packed myself a little brownie goodie bag.   I feel like I’ve been making a lot of cakes (and cupcakes) lately,…

  • Share It Saturday: Week 1

    Welcome to the first week of a new feature here at Lemon Sugar, “Share-It Saturday!”  For my many readers with blogs of their own, this is a great way to share what you’ve been up to with all of us here at Lemon Sugar.  And, for those of you who don’t have blogs, this is just another fabulous resource for recipes, crafty ideas, DIY projects and family and lifestyle bloggers.  There are so many amazing ideas out there, and I know that I love to…

  • Homemade Ding Dongs

    Me and my big ideas, right?  Sometimes, there’s a reason that desserts are mass-produced in huge factories with their fancy ding-dong shaping machines and magical ding-dong dipping pools full of chocolate.  They probably even have their own version of Oompa-Loompas, perfectly injecting each one with just the right amount of marshmallow cream. I just have little old me.  And a three-year-old helper – who happens to love marshmallow cream – and ALWAYS, ALWAYS manages to drop a spoon, beater or spatula dipped in the stuff…

  • Healthy Chicken Salad

    As I’m sure is the case with many of you, January always brings a renewed focus on health and fitness in our household.  The gluttony of November and December is long-gone, and the reality of dusty treadmills and suddenly snug pants starts to sink in. So, we happily dig out our favorite healthy recipes, and wonder why we ever stopped eating them in the first place.  I don’t know what it is about November and December – I know there’s a lot of food around…

  • Share-It Saturday: Week 5

    Is it just me or did that week fly by?  I guess it was a short week with the holiday on Monday, but even still I feel like I was just sorting through last week’s Share-It Saturday submissions – which, by the way were fantastic!  As always it was difficult to choose my favorites, and this week, the sweet treats won. With fall right around the corner, I was immediately drawn to the Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts from What’s Cooking In The Burbs.  Have you…

  • 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…

  • Castello Moments: A Roundup of Recipes

    Last week I shared a recipe with you, for Cheesy Potato Gratin, made with Castello’s Hirten Cheese.  Many of my fellow bloggers also participated in this recipe development program, which was sponsored by Honest Cooking Magazine and Castello Cheese.  After browsing their submissions, I wanted to be sure to share them all with you as well, because these seriously talented cooks came up with some fabulous recipes. Take a few minutes and check them out.  Hope you find yourself as inspired as I did –…

  • 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.…

  • Smith Island Cake

    Sometimes, I love long, time-consuming recipes that I can work on a little bit at a time over the course of a day or two.  I tend to over-book myself sometimes, so I frequently find myself baking against a deadline – which is fine and definitely keeps me on task – but occasionally, it’s nice to bake at a slow, leisurely pace. This is the perfect cake for a long day of baking.  While I could have done the whole thing in a couple of…

  • Peach Pie with Buttermilk Crust

    I’ve eaten approximately 167 peaches this week.  That’s because when I go shopping for produce, and I see big, fleshy, perfectly ripe, juicy peaches, I feel the need to buy three of four bags of them.  I can’t say no.  I’ve really tried.  But then, as I’m walking away, this little voice inside my head reminds me that peaches are not a year-round thing.  If I don’t eat them now, if I don’t stuff myself full of them, then it’s going to be a long,…

  • German Chocolate Cupcakes

    My parents are remodeling their kitchen, which to me comes with mixed emotions.  It’s nice because after nearly 40 years of living in the same house, they are finally getting their dream kitchen.  They added on to make it bigger, got all new cabinets, counter-tops and appliances, knocked down a wall and are updating the flooring. But, it’s kind of sad at the same time.  I grew up in that kitchen.  I have a lot of fond memories of that blue ceramic tile, the white…

  • 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,…