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Cherry Chocolate Coconut Granola
Much to my kids’ dismay, we haven’t been down the cereal aisle at our grocery store for a long time. Last week, when I had to buy some cereal to make S’mores Rice Krispies Treats, their little eyes lit up and they got so excited at the thought that maybe I was going to cave and let them buy something. Nope. We do buy the occasional organic cereal at our local co-op, but it’s a rare treat. Mostly, the girls eat granola in lieu of…
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Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream
Oh, heyyyy. Remember me? That chick who used to post new recipes three or four times a week? Yeah, I miss her, too. My days of impromptu, mid-day baking might be over, but with a little bit of planning I’ve been able to work around it and I think I have a workable baking schedule. This means our weekends are going to be excessively dessert-laden, but it’s all in the name of Lemon Sugar, right? So, these cupcakes have been on my baking list the…
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Lemon Tart with Blackberry Syrup
I just about had a breakdown yesterday. After a stressful day, I began my nightly ritual of opening the girls backpacks, sorting their papers, reading notes from their teachers and repacking for the next morning. It’s during this attempt at organization that I take note of important dates and update my calendar. Between field trips, field day, music programs, extra dance classes before recital, birthday parties and softball practice (because you know, we coach both girls’ teams in our “free” time) my calendar was suddenly very,…
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S’mores Cupcakes
This is first of two s’mores cupcake posts. I searched high and low for the perfect recipe and finally narrowed it down to two – but I just couldn’t decide which I liked better. So, what to do? Make both. Yep, I made two different s’mores cupcake recipes in three days. The winner? I still can’t decide so I’ll let you be the judge – I’ll post the other recipe soon. This recipe was probably the easiest of the two. It’s a dark chocolate cake on a graham-cracker “crust,” and…
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Cookies ‘n Cream Cupcakes
This was another fun cupcake that I made for a surprise birthday party this week, which is actually somewhat fitting because these cookies have a surprise in the bottom of them, half of an Oreo cookie! I’ve made these once before and they were a big hit, so I’m really hoping they go over well at the party. But really, how could they not? These are a white cake with chunks of cookie baked in the batter, and topped with a cream cheese buttercream. The…
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Black Tie Cupcakes
This cupcake was a creation of mine that was born out of the need to clean out my pantry. I had several almost-empty boxes, bags and bottles of pantry items, and their replacements were crowding things. So, what to do but make some goodies? I didn’t really have an excuse for these except that Mom made Sunday dinner and my brother and his girlfriend were going to be there – which means more people to eat and fewer leftovers! I knew I needed to…
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Amazing Brownies
I’m sure that I’ve mentioned my Mom’s cooking habits on this blog before. (Sorry, Mom, but I have to go here. It’s the only way they’ll understand me.) So, let me paint a picture of my Mom for you. First of all, she’s tiny. She’s stubborn. She is not afraid of anyone, she and my Dad raised five (awesome) kids while working full time, and this woman does what she wants. Period. She also ends a lot of her sentences with “period.” She also happens…
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American Kitchen Stories
There’s just something magical about the kitchen. Since following GE Appliances‘ Our American Kitchen stories, I’ve been really aware of how important the kitchen is in the American family life. Just tonight, my extended family (all 20 of us) were jammed into my parent’s kitchen for Sunday dinner. This morning, my girls woke me up begging for our Sunday morning waffle breakfast. Last night, my girlfriends and I gathered in a friend’s new kitchen over appetizers and cocktails.
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No-Crack Cheesecake
Best cheesecake ever. It doesn’t crack. It’s crumbly but not dry. It has a THICK, buttery graham cracker crust. It’s the best. The end. Seriously. So. good. I don’t have a lot of words about this. I’ve made cheesecake a number of times, but I’ve never shared my go-to recipe with you all, which frankly seems like a crime against humanity. Or against lemon-sugarers, at least.
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Pumpkin Pound Cake
So, let me preface this by saying that I miss ya’ll! Life has been insane around here lately, and I haven’t had time to be in the kitchen, or even much time at all to chat with everyone on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and via e-mail. My work schedule has changed, so getting the family into a new routine has been taking its toll on me this week. Thank you all for asking about me and for all of the notes looking for new recipes!…
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Creamy Baked Pasta
I love pasta. I really, really love pasta. I seriously think I could eat it every day and never tire of it. Since my husband doesn’t really share my obsession, we don’t eat it as often as I would like, so I tend to save it for the nights he’s working and I’m just cooking for myself and the girls. However, I made this earlier in the week and JR really liked it too, so I guess that says something! The best thing about it…
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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,…