• S’mores Rice Krispies Treats

    So, tomorrow is my birthday. I’m going to spend the day making a birthday cake for myself.  How exciting is that? Actually, I’m pretty excited.  I love making big obnoxious layer cakes, and I’m sure tomorrow’s cake will be as big and obnoxious as they come.  And then I’m going to put a candle on it and make my family sing me happy birthday.  I wonder if they’re as excited about this as I am?  Ha! I usually do all of my baking for the…

  • Caramel Pecan Brownies

    Chocolate.  Caramel.  Pecans.   Oh, yes.  See how they look all gooey and fudgy?  That’s because they ARE gooey and fudgy.  Don’t make these unless you have a large glass of cold milk nearby…you’ll need it.  These are one of those treats that make you talk with your mouth full – you know, when you take a bite of something amazing and you automatically forget all about manners and mumble a garbled, “oh my gawd,” or “oh, wow…”  Or is that just me?  It’s probably just…

  • Rustic Apple Tart

    I hope this post makes sense.  I’m hopped up on decongestant and coffee at the moment, so my brain is working much, much faster than my fingers. I’ve had a cold for the past few days, so I haven’t felt like doing much of anything.  I really don’t get sick very often, but when I do, I’m the biggest baby that ever lived.  When I get colds like this, I don’t want to eat anything; which I realize is not conducive to healing, so I…

  • Chocolate Layer Cake

    This is a variation of the very first layer cake I ever made.  I got the itch to make it yesterday, after doing a little bit of maintenance on my site.  I’m in the process of updating all of the recipes on all of Lemon Sugar to make them printable and more functional for everyone, and oh holy cow – I came across some cringe-worthy photos and blog posts from my early days. Case in point:  This cake. I’m totally blushing right now.  I’m so…

  • New York Style Cheesecake

    If it were up to me, I probably wouldn’t post this recipe. I’ve made it twice now, and truth be told, I just didn’t like it that much.  But I’m pretty sure it was just me. My family loved it. They all looked at me like I was nuts and rolled their eyes (as they always do when they think I’m just been too critical of my treats) when I told them I didn’t love it.  My husband, who doesn’t like cheesecake all that much…

  • Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

     You guys, what a week.  What an up and down, crazy, emotional week. A week later, my heart is still raw and aching from the events in Newtown.  Then, in a nearby town, two police officers lost their lives in the line of duty.  And I sat at home, watching it all, with my young daughters (one of which is a 1st grader), and my police-officer husband. And I cried.  A lot.

  • Easy Entertaining for Last-Minute Guests

    We do a lot of last-minute entertaining at our house. While I am always one to go overboard when it comes to birthday parties and other celebrations, over the years I’ve figured out how to entertain guests on a much smaller scale. My kitchen is right in the middle of my house, and it’s open to EVERYTHING. This is good, because my intention was to make the kitchen the heart of our home, and it really is. On the flip side, however – it’s open…

  • Biscoff Truffle Brownies

    Three awesome things happened yesterday.  One, I got up at 7:30am (which is like sleeping in around here) and made some cinnamon rolls.  Then, I took A NAP.  Like, a NAP.  On the couch.  In the middle of the morning. And my husband took care of the girls and I slept, and it was FAN-tastic.  I felt well-rested for the first time in months.  Or years.  Nearly eight years, to be precise. Secondly, I bought a new cake stand and I’m kind of in love…

  • Mousse Caboose

      My five year old is responsible for the name of this dessert.  For some reason, she wouldn’t eat whipped cream OR pudding until about three months ago.  (I know what you’re thinking…but yes, she IS my child.)  The first time I made this for my family, I was careful to call it chocolate and vanilla mousse, because heaven forbid she believed it to be anything otherwise.  She thought “mousse” was a funny name, so she quickly found a rhyming word and it became, forever, Mousse Caboose. When…

  • 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…

  • Key Largo: Onion Crusted Yellowtail & Key Lime Pie

    This is a contributed post as a special feature to Lemon-Sugar.com.  It includes a contributed recipe from Chef Bobby Stoky, but also a Lemon Sugar original: Key Lime Pie!   Enjoy!  The Florida Keys is home to five districts, each with their own personality and attractions that make visitors feel like they are a world away. Growing up around fish, Chef Bobby Stoky quickly learned how to do it all, from catching to cleaning and even cooking them. In the summers he would dive for lobster and in…

  • Share It Saturday: Week #3

    I’m so impressed by the amazing recipes shared last week!  I had a hard time choosing the features for this week – a REALLY hard time.  Please do yourself a favor and check them out. Claudia at The Story shared her broccoli souffle.  Doesn’t this look amazing?  I’ve admittedly never made a souffle, but I’m going to have to try now. Joan at Chocolate, Chocolate & More Chocolate came through, as always, with a fabulous dessert.  Honey Buns are probably my favorite pre-made bakery item,…