Mayhem in the Kitchen!

Pumpkin Cookies

Ever since my dad gave me the The Great Minnesota Cookie Book for Christmas years ago, I’ve wanted an excuse to bake these pumpkin cookies from Amy and Judy Karlen. I bookmarked the page my first time through the book, but thought that Christmas was not the time for pumpkin cookies. And, every year since,…

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies (Chocolate Chip Cookie #14)

I didn’t plan to blog about these chocolate chip cookies because, well, I wasn’t expecting much. I didn’t even bother to take decent photos… but here we are! These cookies are lovely – they have a caramely, almost butterscotchy flavor, crisp edges, and tender center. They were a total hit at work, and took under…

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

How are you holding up through the pandemic? My husband and I are both only partially vaccinated, so this year’s Easter celebration was held outdoors. We lucked out with perfect weather (80 in March is huge news in Minnesota!) but rather than attempt to keep hot food hot and cold food cold, we prepared a…

Fruit Pizza

When a coworker requested fruit pizza for her birthday, it hit me that I had never made one! Sally’s Baking Addiction, to the rescue! This fruit pizza is basically everything wonderful, rolled into one – fresh fruit, a soft sugar cookie, and delicious cream cheese frosting. You can’t go wrong!

Fudge Brownies with Whiskey Frosting

One of my coworkers is known for his love for whiskey, so when his birthday rolled around and he didn’t have any specific requests, I had to get a little creative. Eventually, I honed in on the concept – fudge brownies, iced with a little kick from whiskey!

Minecraft Wither Birthday Cake

As is tradition, I had the exciting task of making a birthday cake for my wonderful nephew. This year was a little different in that we aren’t gathering for a party due to the pandemic, and I was unable to get together with my SIL to create it. Thankfully, mother nature cooperated, and we were…

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

It’s pretty unusual for my husband to make a request for a specific baked good, so when he does, I do my best to deliver. That was the case with these Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies – he asked, and I wanted to make it happen! A quick search for recipes online didn’t come up with much,…

Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey all you cool cats and kittens! I hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy during this extraordinary time. My husband and I haven’t been feeling great and miss our friends and families terribly, but we’re lucky enough to both be able to work from home (for now) so we’re doing OK…

Idle Miner Tycoon Birthday Cake + Nailed It Party

This year for my nephew’s birthday, he requested a really cool mashup – Idle Miner + Nailed It! Not ones to run from challenge, my MIL, SIL, and I created an epic party that was the perfect combination of both. It probably comes as no surprise that we were on our own for this one…

Cowboy Stew Slower Cooker Beans {accidentally vegan}

Today I’m sharing my recipe for Cowboy Stew, sometimes called Calico Beans or Cowboy Casserole. My extended family makes the Cowboy Stew from the church cookbook for most holiday gatherings, but since that one contains bacon and beef I’ve gradually created my own vegan adaptation that has taken on an identity of its own. These…

Dinosaur Jungle Island Birthday Cake

My niece is suddenly so grown up! Gone are the cutesy birthday parties. Instead, birthday girl requested a dinosaur party!Rawr! To create this cake, I baked two 9″ round chocolate cakes and two oval cakes, using the One Bowl recipe I love so much. I coated both in chocolate frosting, stacked them, and added pirouette…

Pink and Blue Gender Reveal Cake

A few weeks ago I was discussing a friend’s 18 week ultrasound. She didn’t want a big gender reveal party, but since this was the first time she and her husband had decided to find out their child’s gender before birth, she still wanted to do something more special than just having the technician tell…

Pikachu Birthday Cake

I couldn’t be more excited about my nephew’s choice in birthday theme this year – Pokemon, and a pikachu cake!As is tradition, my SIL and I made this together, and it was SO fun. To create pikachu, we baked 2 round cakes, one for pikachu’s head, and then we cut the other into his ears….

Easter Bunny Cake { keto, gluten free }

This year for Easter my mum jokingly told me I should bring a bunny cake, which is the dessert my brother and I often made for Easter as kids. Little did she know, I was going to take her up on that suggestion. 😂 This cake was as much fun to make as I remembered,…

Pistachio Cardamom Cookies { vegan }

Last night we had our neighbors over for dinner. After a full spread of vegan Indian food, we topped off the evening with a cup of tea and these delightful cookies. We went slightly overboard on the menu for four people – samosas, roti, three. different. chutneys!, palak tofu, dal, chai, AND these cookies –…