• Easter Candy Cookies

    My girls have been begging me to make chocolate chip cookies for a few weeks now, but my dessert menu has taken me in other directions.  With Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and now Easter, it always seems like there’s been something else to make. Then, when browsing my Pinterest boards, I found these cookies that I’ve wanted to make for a LONG time, so I decided I’d made them wait long enough.  Easter candy cookies!  Basically, they’re really big, chewy, fat chocolate chip cookies…

  • Cherry Whiskey Chocolate Bundt Cake

    So, yeah.  This might be a scary recipe title for some of you, but it’s ok.  It’s ok if you don’t like whiskey.  It’s ok if you aren’t a bourbon kind of girl.  It’s ok. Two things. One, this is seriously the best chocolate bundt cake you’ll ever have.  Ever.  It’s so moist, so tender, so crumbly and chocolatey, and it gets better after it sits for a while.   Second, while it does kind of taste like whiskey, THAT’S OK because it’s cherry whiskey…

  • 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,…

  • White Sandwich Bread

    Yesterday evening, I realized that I didn’t have enough potatoes to make the mashed potatoes I was planning for dinner.  At that point, most people probably would’ve nixed the mashed potatoes (which would be a very, very sad thing…) and found another side dish.   But I’m lucky enough to live a couple of minutes away from my parent’s house, which means I am just a couple of minutes away from my Dad’s garden. So, after a quick trip down the road and armed with…

  • Cinnamon Rolls

    Ahhh…cinnamon rolls.  I’m not sure that there’s anything better than a really good cinnamon roll, but in my opinion a good one is really hard to find, and a good recipe is even harder to find.  My biggest problem with most cinnamon roll recipes is that the bread part of the roll is usually bland, and the only cinnamon flavor you get comes from the filling itself.  This recipe, however, has cinnamon in the dough itself, so the bread is flavorful too.  But, if I’m…

  • Tomato & Basil Bruschetta

    Two quick things today.  One is related to the picture above, and one is a story that you must endure to get to the yumminess. So, first of all, my four year old says the cutest-ever things right now.  She’s right between that baby-talk and big-kid speak…and she makes up words and misuses words all of the time and it’s so stinkin’ adorable that I can’t even stand it.  For instance, instead of “accident,” she says “ax-ca-dent.”  Like, “Sorry, Mommy, but it was just an…

  • Super Simple Key Lime Pie

    You know when it’s the end of October and November is just around the corner and you’re all like, “I don’t want winter to be here,” so you think of the summery-est dessert you can and make it? Yup.  Just happened.  The end of October just screams Key Lime Pie, doesn’t it?  No? You guys, how in the world is summer overrrrrrrrr?  That had to have been the shortest summer on record.  My summer went like this:  5 year old birthday party, June at the…

  • Baked Potato Soup in a Bread Bowl

    I am one of those people who can’t wait for fall to get here.  I really love the summertime but truth be told, August in the Midwest gets really old, really fast.  So, I have to admit that when we turned the calendar to September and then I saw the forecast for today and it included both rain and unseasonably cool temperatures, I was pretty excited.  The first thing I did was look through my saved recipes for a nice, hearty cool-weather dish.  This one totally…

  • Carrot Cake

    I love a good carrot cake.  My friend Kim who, up until a year ago I worked with every day, makes a really, really delicious carrot cake.  She would bring it in upon request and for celebrations at work – and because hers was so good, I didn’t really have a reason to make it myself.  But, then I left that job and Kim and I no longer work together.  Sad face.  That means I haven’t had carrot cake in over a year.  Double sad face. Today, since…

  • 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…

  • Hot Fudge Sundae Cupcakes

    It was nearly a year ago that I started seriously playing in the kitchen.  My daughter’s fifth birthday party was coming up and I wanted to do something special for her and our guests, but I really didn’t know where to begin.  I’m sure it started with my Googling “little girl birthday treats” or something of that nature, but I’m glad I did because it led me to the wonderful world of food bloggers.  It’s funny to me that it was just a year ago that…

  • 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…