-
Welcome to the all new Lemon Sugar!
I’ve been working toward this day for quite a long time now. I’ve finally updated, upgraded and freshened things up here at Lemon Sugar. Hopefully you’ll find an easier-t0-navigate site with all of the same great recipes, photos and stories about my hectic life. Have a look around, and let me know what you think. We still have a few areas of the site that are under construction, namely the recipe index and some of the extra galleries and goodies I share in my sidebar…
-
Cranberry Walnut Cream Cheese Muffins
Even though I have about fifteen billion pumpkin recipes that I’m dying to try out, I thought it best to pace myself and take a break from traditional fall flavors for a few days. Ok, honestly, I had some cranberries in my freezer that have been calling to me for weeks. Then, I found this recipe. Shortly after I found the recipe, they appeared in my kitchen. And while I’m being honest, I actually had really good intentions to deliver some of these to…
-
S’mores Whoopie Pies
This, I realize, is not the prettiest dessert I’ve ever made. It’s kind of frumpy, even. But – oh my heavens, let me tell you – these are the best whoopie pies I’ve ever made. Ever. The cake was amazing. They were rich, soft, and had a deep dark chocolate flavor. The cream cheese buttercream was great on its own, but the addition of graham cracker crumbs took it up a notch. Pretty? No. But I didn’t even care because they were out of this world…
-
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…
-
Fontina Mac & Cheese
Any of you out there with young children know that Macaroni & Cheese is a staple of most kid’s diets from the time they have teeth. And while I have two really good, healthy and adventurous eaters of my own, I know that given the choice, they would have Mac & Cheese for every meal. Breakfast included. The older and wiser I get =) the more I realize that real food is always better than processed food. Yes, the blue and yellow boxed Mac &…
-
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
My youngest brother is getting married in the spring. In preparation for the Groom’s family duties, my Mom, sisters and I are beginning the process of scoping out locations for their rehearsal dinner. Last night, while pouring over menus, venues and prices, I came across my favorite Italian restaurant, Lidia’s. I love that place. Everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients – from their bread to their pasta to their marinara and ricotta cheese…and that’s exactly the reason their food tastes so much better.…
-
#MyHomeTownGuide – Five of My Favorite Eats in Kansas City
It’s that time of year in Kansas City. Winter is slipping away, and spring is just. about. here. Suddenly 45 degrees feels balmy, and we are looking for any reason we can think of to get out of the house. Fortunately for us, KC is full, and I mean full, of fantastic restaurants and foodie hot-spots to keep our mind off of Mother Nature’s indecisiveness. Kansas City is primarily known as a barbecue town, and there’s good reason for that. In fact, two of my…
-
A Spa Party & Funfetti Cupcakes
Welcome to the most disorganized party I’ve ever, ever put together. Good news is, it worked. The girls had a great time and they don’t know that I threw it all together in just a few hours. Bad news is, I knew. I could’ve done so much more with this awesome concept, but I just didn’t have the time. You may have seen my daughter’s 8th birthday party here last week, and this week, we followed up with her “friend” party. My Lindsey friend owns an…
-
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…
-
Devil’s Fudge Cupcakes
These cupcakes have possibly the longest name ever. They are actually Devil’s Fudge Cupcakes, filled with Whipped Chocolate Ganache and frosted with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream. Holy Cow. They’re deserving of the long title. They earned it. They’re magnificent. The cupcake is moist and has a really wonderful chocolate flavor. The whipped ganache is light but rich, and pairs really nicely with the white chocolate cream cheese buttercream. Yes, you read that correctly. White Chocolate. Cream Cheese. Butter. What could possibly be wrong with…
-
Kitchen Sink Blondies
Have you ever witnessed something really, really mean? Like, something that you can’t even believe that you just witnessed? I overheard a conversation the other day that just left me flabbergasted. Obviously I wasn’t meant to overhear the conversation because they were mostly whispering, but I did. It bothered me. And here I am, way after the fact, and it’s still bothering me. They were whispering, laughing, plotting and making fun. It was like watching a bunch of bullies in action. Adult bullies. It was…
-
Blueberry Breakfast Cake
This blueberry breakfast cake is reminiscent of a shortcake, slightly sweet and bursting with fresh blueberries and undertones of crisp lemon. The crunch from the turbinado sugar lends a satisfying crackle, and reminds you that breakfast is meant to be delicious. Hi everyone! I’m back! Not that I was really gone, but I took a bit of a self-prescribed break from the blog last week. My kids were sick, I was sick, my kids were sick again – it was just a really crummy week.…
