• A Fairy Party

    Ready for a photo-heavy post?  ‘Cause that’s what you’re gonna get.  It’s Fairy Party time! Last weekend, my daughter Mia turned six years old.  For those of you who have been Lemon Sugar readers for a while, you know that my daughter and my niece were born just 17 hours apart, so my sister and I always combine their family party.  I look forward to planning this party every year, and we’ve had some fun themes in years past.  This year we went with a fairy-inspired…

  • Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread

    I have to say that I’m a bit relieved that the holiday season is over.  The last six weeks have been a total blur.  Shopping, parties, planning, cleaning, baking, wrapping (oh, the wrapping…).

  • Chocolate Buttercream Cake

      I love chocolate cake.  Good chocolate cake might be my very favorite thing, ever.  So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. The first thing I noticed was that there were a LOT of ingredients, far more than any chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever tried before.  I would strongly suggest pre-measuring your ingredients so they’ll be ready to add as you go along, and take the time to buy or cut the parchment circles for your cake pans.  You’ll thank…

  • Share-It Saturday: Week 8

    Another busy week has come and gone, so today we are just going to stay home and do everything we can to not go anywhere.  The house is decorated for fall, my mums are planted and the leaves are starting to turn colors, so I think we’ll just enjoy the weather and the lazy day. That’s not to say that I won’t squeeze some baking in, and probably do my best to guilt my husband into some of those chores that neither of us wants…

  • Banana Dream Cake

    When it’s named the Banana Dream Cake, it better be good.  I’m just going to cut the suspense here and tell you that it is, in fact, a dream cake.  It’s dreamy, it’s banana-y, and it’s all covered in tangy-sweet-creamy-omgoshsogood cream cheese frosting. Dream Cake, for sure.  The brilliant Jessica over at The Novice Chef has done it again. I made this cake for our normal Sunday dinner a couple of weeks ago, and my brother is already requesting an encore for his birthday dinner…

  • Friends of Lemon Sugar Series: More Fudge Less Pudge Brownies

    I am excited to bring you the first of many guest posters on Lemon-Sugar!  Erin at The Spiffy Cookie is an amazing cook, baker and person.  She’s a lot of fun to read, follow and has a ton of fabulous recipes on her site.  I mean, cake batter puppy chow?!?  Are you kidding me?  Amazing. I’m honored to have her contribute today, and ask that you all go pay her a visit and tell her I sent you.  Thanks again, Erin – take it away!…

  • Mini Peach Cobblers

    While we were out and about yesterday, my husband and I both noticed that things are finally starting to turn green – the pastures are now more green than brown, the trees all have little buds on them, and daffodils and hyacinths are starting to poke out of the ground. SPRING! Spring is finally, finally, finally here. {I should note that I checked the weather earlier, and we actually have a slight chance of snow tomorrow morning, but I’m just going to pretend like that’s…

  • S’mores Cheesecake

    Oh, heeyyy! It’s been a few days, no?  Don’t worry, pretties.  I’ve been a-ok.  Me and my s’mores cheesecake – we’ve been juuuuust fine.  Oh, and also – let’s address this right up front – did you know that my husband isn’t a “big cheesecake fan?” Like, WHAT? He just CASUALLY mentioned that to me in passing tonight.  How is that even possible?  Cheesecake is pretty much what life is about, right?  Buttery graham cracker crust, thick and creamy filling?  How can he not L-O-V-E…

  • Spicy Chicken Hoagie

    I am a huge sandwich fan – a HUGE sandwich fan.  So much so that I could totally relate to Joey and his sandwich obsession on “Friends.”  Speaking of Friends, do you remember the episode where Ross freaked out because someone ate his sandwich?  The Moistmaker??  I do.  And come Thanksgiving, there will totally be a Moistmaker recipe on this blog.  You think I’m joking…I’m not. So yes, I love sandwiches.  I think it’s probably just that I love bread, and you can’t really have a…

  • Healthy Chicken Salad

    As I’m sure is the case with many of you, January always brings a renewed focus on health and fitness in our household.  The gluttony of November and December is long-gone, and the reality of dusty treadmills and suddenly snug pants starts to sink in. So, we happily dig out our favorite healthy recipes, and wonder why we ever stopped eating them in the first place.  I don’t know what it is about November and December – I know there’s a lot of food around…

  • #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…

  • Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

    I have to say that I had very low expectations for this recipe.  It just didn’t really appeal to me at all for some reason.  It wasn’t until my brother requested these for this birthday dessert that I finally broke down and made them. They are actually quite delicious.  The chocolate chip cookie is firm but soft, and even the Oreo cookie softens up a little bit in the middle of the cookie.  I will now humbly admit that I should’ve tried these years ago.…