CandyCane Cookies

I really don't like making these

 but every year I do.

 And every year while I'm making them, I swear it's the last year I ever will again

 But then I forget . . .

and I can't stop myself.  Because they just seem like Christmas.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

because I haven't made any cookies yet this month . . . ahem.

Sugar Cookies

It's not Christmas time without a day of making sugar cookies to cover every counter:

 The Christmas Trees were my favorite, but the colorful bells above were also fun

 And, of course, gingerbread men that aren't really gingerbread

 And stars

 Then you just pile them up and dive in.  As long as you have enough milk.

Eggnog Cookies

This was my first time making or eating eggnog cookies, but hopefully not my last.  These soft nutmegy cookies taste exactly like eggnog.  And therefore Christmas.  Yum!  Sometimes recipes claim the thing will taste like something and it doesn't.  But these live up to their name.

Caramel Cashew Clusters

These are so gooey and good.

 See . . .

 They are really fun to make.  And more fun to eat.  And it's really good to share these too because they aren't really a low calorie food.  But if want to make yourself feel better when eating two or three, you are allowed to be dillusional and tell yourself they are good for you because afterall, nuts ARE good for you.  ahem.

Chocolate Oreo Peppermint Bark

Christmas treat making season is here!  And even though I will have to take a little break from it next week to work on Birthday treats, I've discovered over the course of the last six years that if I wait until after the birthday, there just isn't enough time to make all the Christmas treats I want to make.  Well, there is never enough time for that, but starting now gives me at least a little extra time!  Tomorrow another gooey creation will be on the menu.  And don't worry dear, the traditional Christmas sugar cookies have not been forgotten!  But today . . .

Chocolate Oreo Peppermint Bark:

 Crushed candy canes

 crushed oreos

 melted chocolate . . . how can you go wrong with these ingredients?

 Mmmmmmmmm.  It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas!

Now if only it would snow . . .

Thanksgiving Feast

A feast with every color, texture, and flavor you could ask for.

 Warm, rich, delicious.

 Blueberry, pumpkin, butterscotch, cherry.

 And an elegant table to match.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My New Favorite Lunch

Berries, grapes, and apples (also delicious with clementines) topped with fat free cottage cheese and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Lettuce cups filled with tuna or diced deli meat and a little light mayo topped with green onions.

This is SO GOOD.  Healthy.  Fresh.  Light.  It makes you feel less guilty about eating a second piece of pumpkin pie or some Christmas sugar cookies!

Thanks to my sister for getting me hooked!

Eating Fall

I ate the perfect taste of Fall today for lunch.  But only because my dear friend is awesome.  She brought me something scrumptious last night and I've been enjoying it ever since.

See this bread?  It is Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread.  She made it using raisins that are made from grapes she picked and dried.  It has walnuts in it that she collected and shelled.  And it's made with wheat she grew and harvested.  Okay, maybe she didn't grow the wheat . . . but she did grind it!

 Now look at this:

 Homemade Apple Pear Butter that she also made.  Yes, from fresh fruits she hand picked.  I told you she was awesome.  I'm also telling you how GOOD this tasted spread on her bread when toasted. 

It smells and tastes the way Fall should.  This and the pumpkin pie crunch you see below.  F A L L!  Next year, I might have to make her teach me her tricks to making Apple Pear Butter.  I'm slightly hooked.

Pumpkin Pie Crunch

This little dessert, though not the most pretty thing to look at, tastes really great.  But. BUT!  It's the smell that won me over.  If ever there were a candle that smelled liked this, I'd buy ten of them and burn them constantly all Fall.  It's the perfect mix of pumpkin pie and buttery cake all wrapped into one.

Swedish Apple Cake

I really enjoyed this.  And the freshly picked apples made it even better.  

 But Madeline was not impressed.  She said it tasted like nothing.

I wouldn't go that far.  It's just not equal to a decedent frosted cake.  Think more on the lines of coffee cake and then you'll be in the right place of mind for a piece.  Unless your my hubby, then you'll wonder where the crumb topping is.

But Ethan really loved it, just like me.  And someday, I just might have to make it for myself for breakfast on Christmas morning.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies

Um yeah, these were good.  Like, eat-them-until-you-have-a-stomach-ache good.  Cakey gooey good.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Fall brings shorter days with its chilly air.  And leaves the tomatoes hanging on the vines with no time to ripen.  So, I decided to put them to good use and try my hand and making fried green tomatoes.  I have only ever eaten them once, when my brother-in-law served them to me, and I was amazed at how good they were.

Gingerbread Muffins

Fall baking time is here!  It has been in the 30's a few mornings and with it being almost mid-October already, it's time to bake what tastes and smells like Fall.  And nothing does more than gingerbread and pumpkin.  The pumpkin will be coming soon.  The gingerbread . . . well, it already came and went!  Oh my, it smelled so good.  These were worth baking for the scent alone.  Eating them was a bonus.  Happy Fall Baking!



Wedding Cupcakes

Blackberry Vanilla

 Key Lime

 Strawberry

Donut Muffins

Try not to lick the screen

Summer Squash Soup

I think this soup was the best use of patty pans all year.  And it got me all excited for soup weather. 



Cloverleaf Rolls

So pretty

 and oh, so good with homemade jam too.

And below, I have to tell you that that is a picture of the inside of a mango pit.  Pit?  Seed?  I don't know what you call it, but mangoes are a mystery to me.  The whole center part.  What shape is it really?  How come you can't ever really see it or make it come clean?  Well, call me crazy, but I was wondering those all too much and finally decided to scrape it clean and brake it open.  And below is what I found.  For some reason, I just really thought it was cool.  A mango.  Who would have guessed?

Mystery Seed?

I photographed this a while back and forgot all about it!  I wanted to do a little guessing game, can you tell me what this is?  And to help you out here, it's about two inches long!

Wedding Cupcakes

In a few short weeks, I will be doing cupcakes for Todd's cousin's wedding.  Yesterday, I worked on some prototypes for the event.  Her colors are navy and hot pink with accents of light green.  Here is what I've come up with so far:

 All the cake is classic white, this one is frosted with key lime frosting and topped with light green pearls.  A really bright flavor!

 The next is a classic butter cream frosting.  I am planning to top these at the wedding with blackberries, but only had blueberries at home when I took the photos.

 The final cupcake is frosted with a Strawberry Butter cream.  I really enjoyed this frosting because it's bursting with fresh strawberries, but will have to tweak the ingredients slightly to make it stiffer so that the lines are more clear and pretty.

All in all, it was a very nice run through.  And I'm getting so much better at frosting now, it really only takes about two seconds per cupcake.  Doing 200 really won't be all that bad!  In fact, I'm really excited.

Eclairs

I have never even thought to make Eclairs before.  Then I went to a meeting last week where some of the ladies were talking about making them and I decided I needed to try.  They are easy, but time consuming.  I made a homemade vanilla pudding to go inside and topped them with a rich chocolate glaze.  They were SO GOOD.  I didn't even try to take a pretty picture.  We were all too excited to eat them.

 Messy, but oh so good.  The pudding was a bit runny, but no one seemed to mind.  We all did a little bit a finger-lickin' in the end.