This afternoon we had the joyous privilege of celebrating my grandmother’s 90th birthday! We gathered at her house for lunch and, of course, cake. 😉 I was lucky enough to bake for the occasion – I made an old fashioned yellow cake with almond icing, and, for one layer, an orange marmalade filling. Inspired by…
Category: Desserts
Creamy Coconut Chia Pudding with Bananas
When putting together the menu for Mother’s Day, I wanted something yummy, but also super healthy and nutrient rich. I was about to dig out my cookbooks when I remembered this little gem of a recipe that my favorite neighbors shared with me awhile back. When my neighbors served this at a potluck last year…
Lemon-Strawberry Coffee Cake
I hope all of the mamas out there had a fabulous Mother’s Day! My husband and I were lucky enough to visit with my family in the morning, and his in the evening for a full day of mom-ness. For my mum, we did a light breakfast of coffee and coffee cake, and for his…
Carrot Muffin Top Cookies
My quest to use those carrots continues. I’ve made plenty of savory dishes so far, but I really wanted to make something sweet that wasn’t your typical carrot cake, and these cookies adapted from Love and Lemons fit the bill! I’ve been eating these for breakfast this week, and they’re great – a little bit…
Speckled Egg Easter Cupcakes
Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you are having a fabulous holiday – here in Minneapolis we’ve been greeted with sunlight(!!) and 65 degrees, which is a wonderful treat! This lovely weather combined with great food, time with family, and the fun egg hunt MIL did for our nephew is making for a really memorable and…
Double Chocolate Muffins
At work this week we had another double birthday. To prevent total treat overload we split the celebration out into two days of muffins – Lemon Poppy-Seed one day, and Double Chocolate Chunk the next! I’m not going to beat around the bush – these are amazing. Dense like a muffin. Chocolatey like a cupcake….
Bird’s Nest Easter Cupcakes
OK, I’ll share what I’m cooking up for Easter this year shortly, but I know some of you are still planning for Sunday, so I thought I’d share one of my creations from Easter 2011 to help get those creative juices flowing! I love these because they’re super easy…. and because they give me a…
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Every year one of my colleagues asks for a lemon poppy-seed dessert for his birthday. I’ve made everything from a classic pound cake to lemon poppy-seed cookies, and nothing has been quite right. Sometimes it’s the texture, other times they’re too dry, other times they’re simply not lemon-tastic enough. This year I think I’ve finally…
Mini Toffee-Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
The other night I wanted something nice to set out for some last-minute visitors, but I was short on time, so I went with my tried and true method for making anything more awesome: make it tiny! I actually put my husband in charge of selecting a recipe from Foodgawkeer while I picked up around…
Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
My mum invited the whole family over for brunch last weekend, and even though she said I shouldn’t bring anything, and even though we’ve been super busy with home renovations, I still couldn’t take no for an answer. Everyone really likes the coffee cakes I perfected during the Quest for Brunch Excellence, but when I…
Birthday Cake Chocolate Chip Cookies
Over the weekend I was short on time, but needed to put together some treats for a neighborhood welcome basket. As these were new neighbors and I wasn’t yet sure of their preferences, I racked my brain for something that is quick and universally appealing, but also special. After thinking on it for an afternoon,…
Low Carb Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Last week I was invited to a surprise party for a very close friend. His girlfriend wasn’t able to bake for the occasion without blowing her cover, so I volunteered to make my first foray into keto-friendly (low carb, LCHF) baking. Prior to making these cupcakes I did some extensive research on flour replacements and…
Mini Double Chocolate Muffins
February is a busy birthday month in my office, so while most of the time we celebrate with cake or cupcakes, February gets a little more variety. Last week I made an assortment of scones, and this week it’s double chocolate mini muffins! Chocolate muffins are a great birthday treat for an office – they…
Quick Cranberry-Orange Scones
During The Quest for Brunch Excellence, I deemed developing a great scone recipe something of utmost importance. I went through 3 or 4 techniques, and after trying to serve fresh scones for my guests, it became clear that a key feature of any scone recipe is simply how quickly they come together. This research paid…
Vegan Conversation Hearts
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was in middle school, and people always ask me if I ever crave meat. I can honestly say that I never have, but you know what I DO crave on a regular basis? Sweet glorious gelatin in all its forms. Gummy candies (peach rings especially, though Sour Patch Peaches…