• Mini Doughnuts with Honey Vanilla Glaze

    When it comes to doughnuts, I might be the pickiest person out there.  I don’t like Krispy Kreme, grocery store, convenience store, pre-packaged or even most bakery doughnuts.  To be a good doughnut, they have to be fried, glazed doughnuts.  You know, the old fashioned kind with the light batter and the flaky glaze that gets all over everything when you eat them.  The kind I like are super hard to find…there are only a handful of doughnut shops that I’ve ever found that still make them…

  • Sweet Cherry Salsa

    There are some things on this planet that were just meant to be together.   Peanut butter and jelly.  Wasabi and soy sauce.  Mashed potatoes and gravy.  Sweet cherry salsa and salty tortilla chips. Sweet.  Cherry.  Salsa. It’s sweet.  It makes me happy.  And with salty, crispy tortilla chips?  Holy cow you guys. This recipe came my way via my lovely sister-in-law.  She’s like, the queen of dips.  And parties.  She throws the best family parties and she makes the best dips. AND, she actually…

  • German Chocolate Fudge Cake

    Oh, this cake.  This cake. THIS CAKE. This cake made me say bad words today. See, I like to make my life extra-stressful sometimes.  I’ve told you before that my Mom and Dad still have Sunday dinners at their house, and my siblings all get together and eat, play, act like we’re still kids and watch our own kids wreak havoc on my parent’s house once a week.  So sometimes, I like to make dessert, especially big obnoxious desserts like this one, to share with…

  • A Rainbow Party

    Last weekend we celebrated my daughter’s and niece’s 4th birthday with a Rainbow party.  They’ve been talking about it forever, pretty much since the day after their Princess Party last year.  We were a bit hurried, especially after we ate dinner because the weather was supposed to get bad, and everyone kind of left in a mad rush to beat the storms. As usual, I focused the decoration for the party around my dessert table.  A simple white table cloth allowed the rainbow colors to…

  • Cherry Almond Sour Cream Cake

    Today has been a bit traumatic for me. I cleaned out the sippy-cup drawer.  I threw them all away.  My nearly-four-year-old has stopped using them, so into the trash they went.

  • Dark Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

    During the winter months, I turn into a pantry-hoarder.  I tend to over-stock my pantry on trips to the grocery store, buying one or two of every possible pantry staple, so I always have everything I need for all of my baking whims.  Then, when I use something, I just replace it and I can make it through the entire winter without having to run out for ingredients when I decide to bake. It’s great, for a while.  But then, I end up with way…

  • Easy Homemade Granola Bars

    Try as I might, I’m really not a big breakfast eater.  I know, it’s the most important meal of the day, blah, blah, blah.  I know.  Most days, I grab my greek yogurt, my coffee and a banana.  Now that school is back in full-swing, I’m trying to compile a list of make-ahead breakfasts for my family so we can grab a quick and healthy meal to start our days off on the right foot.  While my banana, yogurt and coffee breakfast works for me,…

  • Better Than Better Than Sex Cake

    Yes, I do have my moments of laziness in the kitchen.  There are days when I’m not above a frozen burrito, mac & cheese out of a box or spaghetti sauce in a jar.   But the minute I’m done partaking in those convenience foods, I always realize that it wasn’t worth it, and that making my own would have been so much more satisfying, tasty and probably even healthier. *See disclaimer below. This recipe is a PERFECT example.  I’m sure most of you have come across this very popular…

  • Friends of Lemon Sugar: Reese’s Cake

    Today’s guest poster in the Friends of Lemon Sugar series comes to us from BAKE ; a great foodie, lifestyle and photography blog by Jenny.  I love to read her posts because they make me happy, and I feel like I’m right there with her.  One of my favorite posts of hers is her Neopolitan Cupcakes, a recipe which has inspired me to follow suit!  Head over and check out her site, today.  You won’t be sorry!  Thank you, Jenny for stopping by to share your fabulous…

  • Chocolate Syrup Bundt Cake

    So today, I got this craving.  I was craving this cake from my past.  It was an AMAZING chocolate bundt cake, topped with an almost-crispy, sugary glaze.  I loved that cake. Problem is, I have absolutely no idea where it came from.  My only memory is the yumminess of the yummy, yummy cake.  I feel like it was from a deli somewhere, like a Panera, Schlotzsky’s, or Einstein Bagel-kinda place, but I honestly have no idea. Memories like that make me feel like I’m out…

  • Charred Poblano White Chicken Chili

    I had a heck of a time naming this recipe for you, because – I don’t know.  This feels like a soup to me, but “White Chicken Chili Soup” sounds funny to me.  It’s one teeny-tiny step away from a Rachael Ray made up word, like “stoup” or “sammie” or something equally annoying. Disclaimer:  I love Rachael Ray, but I CAN’T DEAL with the made up words.  All of the time.   WHY, RACHAEL, WHY ALL OF THE PRETEND WORDS?  I know it’s a combo…