desserts

Mom’s Easy Fudge Recipe

December 19, 2018

I can’t imagine celebrating the Christmas holidays without one of my all-time favorite recipes: My mom’s homemade fudge that is basically the best fudge I’ve ever sunk my teeth into.

My mom makes this fudge every single Christmas—and only at Christmas—and while every year she makes it to give as neighbor gifts, she always keeps a stash for herself, usually eating it for breakfast with her coffee.

Yes, it’s THAT good and yes, she is THAT smart to eat chocolate for breakfast. Hey, you only live once.

This recipe is a family legend, and originally comes from my grandma. But to me it’s all my mom’s. It’s rich, fudgy, and delivers a solid bite your teeth will easily sink into.

I first shared this recipe way back in 2011, the first year I started blogging. But when my mom stopped by when I was making the fudge, I asked her to step in and really worked her for the details of her secret fudge-making ways, because she IS the master.

Let’s make fudge!continue to the recipe… about Mom’s Easy Fudge Recipe

The Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe – with Coconut!

September 20, 2018

These easy no-bake cookies are loaded with goodness and even a little bit of healthy. Old-fashioned oats, chocolate and the surprise addition of coconut make these classic no-bake cookies (without the peanut butter!) the very best.

No-bake cookies are a starter-cook-in-the-kitchen classic recipe that’s oh so easy to make.

That’s the good part.

So what’s the bad part?

It’s just that they’re so dang easy to make you can whip up a batch whenever the craving strikes. And then eat the whole bowl. By yourself. In one sitting.

Just ask my husband. That was his M.O. when back in the day after high school football practice he would make no-bake cookies at least once a week. As all big brothers do (or more aptly don’t) he refused to share any of the batch with his siblings. Brotherly love. It’s real.

But here’s the best part…

Once you make these no-bake beauties yourself, you’ll see why he was so selfish. And you won’t blame him one bit for keeping them all to himself.continue to the recipe… about The Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe – with Coconut!

Creamy Tropical Fruit Slushies

July 30, 2018

Trade in your handheld popsicles for this frozen slushie treat that’s iced, creamy, and a total tropical flavor delight made from real fruit and almond milk, making it more delicious AND healthier than what you’ll find at the local snow cone shack.

This recipe is brought to you by Almond Breeze

Who else has stood in line at the little wooden shack on a hot summer day sweating bullets but so totally not moving because you’re finally next in line for a cold, frozen slushie/snow cone/ icy treat?

Or rather, who hasn’t?

Once we hit the dog days of summer, the summertime slurping ritual of savoring a brain freeze/Slurpee/shaved ice is at an all-time high. But here’s the deal, do you really know what’s in those things? Basically, it’s just a lot of sugary syrup made from weirdly manufactured ingredients over chunks of ice. And if you get the creamy version (because it tastes SO much better!) it’s doctored with heavy cream and/or sweetened condensed milk.

Talk about a calorie load!

But you do have options! Instead of piling on the unnatural sugared syrups and heavy cream options, it’s so easy to make healthier iced slushies at home. And you don’t even need a slushie machine to do it. Instead, just a good quality kitchen blender will totally do.continue to the recipe… about Creamy Tropical Fruit Slushies

Blueberry Oatmeal Quick Bread

June 6, 2018

This incredibly easy blueberry bread (it takes just 10 minutes to mix!) gets an added dose of healthy with the addition of Greek yogurt and oats, making it an even better option than banana bread or blueberry muffins, too.

This quick bread recipe is a favorite I originally shared back in 2013. Lately I’ve been making it over and over again—it’s that perfect food gift for welcoming the new baby (hello baby Max!) or saying hello to new neighbors. So while I was at it, I took new photos to share again here.

This recipe came about after standing at the kitchen counter one day with a half dozen super ripe bananas, swatting my husband’s headed-to-the-garbage-can-hands in an attempt to quell their discarded fate.

I knew by the super sweet smell and the mooshy touch—not to mention Smudge’s squinched up expression each time she passed them by thanks to their rather unattractive state—that I’d be lucky to squeeze even one more day in before my opportunity to make banana bread would be gone. And just like that, it was.

That’s when blueberries came to my quick bread rescue, for a quick bread worthy of any breakfast, brunch, or treat.continue to the recipe… about Blueberry Oatmeal Quick Bread

Easy 3-Ingredient Chocolate Sauce for Ice Cream

May 24, 2018

Homemade chocolate sauce is so much easier to make than you might think, and with just three ingredients (plus a pinch of salt) your ice cream, cheesecake, fruit fondue, or even chocolate cake will be dripping in chocolatey goodness in no time.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger and Tillamook, which is heading East ya’ll!

My husband is an ice cream lover through and through. He’s just like my dad who nearly every night has a scoop or two while we binge watch our favorite TV shows. But when I was a kid, my dad never ate the ice cream naked on its own, and neither does my husband. These boys always have their ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce — or as my husband calls it in his best British accent that sends our daughter into a reels of laughter “a bit of CHOCK-OH-lut taaaahhh-ping.”

“Really dad? Chocolate TOPPING??,” she fights to dispute. “It’s called chocolate SAUCE, dad!”

Personally, I’d rather have chocolate sauce or hot fudge rather than a mysteriously labeled “topping” on my ice cream because what the heck is in “topping” anyway? That’s why this super easy, 3-ingredient sauce is now a standard at our house.

continue to the recipe… about Easy 3-Ingredient Chocolate Sauce for Ice Cream

Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookie Pops with Nutella®

December 6, 2017

These chocolate chip cookies are made into cookie sandwich cookie pops filled with creamy Nutella® hazelnut spread for a totally different take on Christmas cookies.

This recipe is brought to you by Nutella®. All opinions are my own.

The holidays have never tasted so good. And these cookies are one reason why.

Every year I gear up to make something unique to share at my holiday cookie exchange. Coconut Snowball Cookies, My Mom’s Famous Homemade Fudge, and even White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn and Cashews have all made the cut.

This year I decided to take everyone’s favorite standard cookie (chocolate chip), dress them up, and add a little fun to the cookie exchange game.

This recipe for chocolate chip cookies marries two unique ways to show off your mad cookie making skills by bridging the gap between a cookie sandwich and a cookie lollipop bound together as one with a slathering swirl of creamy Nutella® hazelnut spread spread.

You can either bite ’em from the cookie outside or lick em’ from the Nutella® creamy center, there’s just one thing you HAVE to do. Make ’em.

continue to the recipe… about Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookie Pops with Nutella®

Coconut and Lime Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies

November 29, 2017

Soft and pillowy, these incredibly easy to make sugar cookies are flavored with fresh squeezed lime juice and grated lime zest then topped with a coconut flavored cream cheese frosting and even more sweet coconut for a sweetened citrus flavor in every bite.

I usually save the phrase “little pillows of heaven” for when I’m bellied up to the bar of my favorite Italian restaurant gushing over my bowl of Gnocchi alla Norma, that when cooked just right, is indeed heaven sent. But today, I’m extending my catchphrase to these soft and easy-to-make sugar cookies because they totally deserve it.

The recipe isn’t mine, but it’s one I’m more than happy to share.

I recently asked you lovely readers to submit your favorite Christmas cookie so I could select one to share on today’s Facebook Live “All Things Cookies!” cooking show (at 11 am MST on Facebook/foodiecrush and on replay all day AND we’re giving away a KitchenAid stand mixer!) and I’m pleased as lime and coconut punch to say this.is.it., your new favorite, any-day-is-a-holiday cookie.continue to the recipe… about Coconut and Lime Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies

31 Pumpkin Recipes to Carve Into This Fall

October 15, 2017

This round up of 31 favorite sweet and savory pumpkin breakfast, pasta soup, and dessert recipes will get you in the fall spirit.

What ingredient is a better beacon of fall than the pumpkin? The seasonal return of this dimply, round squash is marked by PSL’s on coffee shop menus, and neat rows of Libby’s, prominently displayed on endcaps in groceries everywhere. It’s a sure sign that autumn is here, which means full-fledged pumpkin mania can now ensue.

Like stores racing to put out Valentine’s Day paraphernalia as soon as Christmas ends, hardcore pumpkin fanatics start tinkering with recipes in August, if not sooner. Pumpkin cinnamon rolls on a 90-degree day? That’s love. The general consensus seems to be that late September is when it’s socially acceptable to open up that can of pumpkin (in case you were asking for a friend).

While our Thanksgiving tables would be pretty lackluster without the appearance of that classic slice of whipped-cream dolloped pumpkin pie, there are so many more ways to enjoy pumpkin. We love roasting it for salads, puréeing it into soups, and baking it up into sweet morning treats.

Here are 31 sweet and savory ways to enjoy it this fall.

continue to the recipe… about 31 Pumpkin Recipes to Carve Into This Fall

Potato Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe

July 26, 2017

Summer doesn’t get any cooler than ice cream sandwiches made of chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal, nuts, and potato chips (!) sandwiching cool colors of ice cream for an easy dessert that’ll chill everyone out.

This post is brought to you by Kettle Brand Potato Chips

Other than the words, “Wake up honey, it looks like Santa came!” and “Surprise! We got a puppy!”, there may be no better music to a child’s ears than the distant sing-song chimes of the ice cream truck rolling closer and closer to home on a hot summer day.

Oh my. The memories. Like Pavlov’s dog, those chimes would send us kids into a total frenzy, immediately dropping whatever we were doing to race for home screaming, “The ice cream truck is coming! The ice cream truck is coming!” and then hurriedly scavenge or beg for funds to before the ice cream man rolled on by.

I don’t know about you, but I bet our ice cream man got some sort of secret pleasure taunting us little kids with the possibility we just wouldn’t get.there.in.time.

But as it always does, times change. I don’t think I’ve heard the song of an ice cream truck come by any of our homes in years. But that’s no reason to stop me from getting my chill on, in fact, it’s simply motivation to share a new kind of ice cream memory with my daughter. And naturally, they start with chocolate chip cookies.

continue to the recipe… about Potato Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe

How to Make Easy No-Churn Homemade Ice Cream

June 7, 2017

No ice cream maker? No problem! This simple 3-ingredient ice cream base is an easy way to cure your ice cream cravings and is made even better with 10 favorite flavor mix-in ideas to make this recipe your own.

Really good, totally indulgent, creamy ice creams can be time consuming at best (don’t forget to freeze that ice cream maker bowl first!) and temperamental at worst (why did my custard base turn into scrambled eggs?) Taking on the task of making your own homemade ice cream can sometimes be enough to throw in the towel and send you to the street corner with the kids to wait for the ice cream man to drive by.

But there’s a way to avoid all of that and still get your licks in. It only takes a hand mixer, a couple of bowls, and three ingredients to make.

Say hello to one of my favorite kitchen hacks, this recipe for homemade, no-churn ice cream. continue to the recipe… about How to Make Easy No-Churn Homemade Ice Cream

The Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

April 5, 2017

Finding the best homemade cinnamon roll recipe has been my mission for more years than I can count on two hands.

Strike that.

Finding the best homemade cinnamon roll recipe and actually making it, now THAT is what has been my mission for that number of years.

I’ve Pinned hundreds of recipes on Pinterest, and liked all of them on Facebook. I’ve torn out every recipe from every magazine that’s shared cinnamon rolls deemed fit to bake. And it seems that just about every week of Friday Faves has one more recipe for the perfect cinnamon roll included in it.

Not that I’ve ever made any of them.continue to the recipe… about The Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

German Chocolate Banana Bread

March 27, 2017

My favorite banana bread recipe gets a nutty chocolate chunk upgrade, making this quick bread a dessert lovers dream.

To say I have a fetish with German Chocolate anything and everything is a severe understatement. Proof in the chocolate pudding is right here.

I could try and blame it on my German heritage, but let’s just say it like it is: I am a load-it-up-with-all-the-nuts-chocolate lover and I have no willpower when this flavor-bomb combo is in sight. I mean, have you ever had Baskin Robbins German Chocolate Cake ice cream?

Has chocolate ever been considered a part of our DNA? Apparently so! Who-da thunk that someone (not me) was likely to investigate?

My favorite part of this banana bread is all the additional fixins, but the secret is what lies under the toppings, and proof that beauty is more than skin deep.

continue to the recipe… about German Chocolate Banana Bread

No-Bake Cookie Bars with Chocolate, Cherries and Chia Seeds

February 27, 2017

I’m shortening this recipe title to be known as Triple CH No-Bake Cookie Bars, making it easy to remember the main ingredient list thanks to it’s title: chocolate, cherries and chia that create a healthy cookie bar for breakfast, snacking, or even dessert.

If a photo could sway a viewer into diving into a style of eating they don’t necessarily need to follow, Alanna Taylor-Tobin of the food blog The Bojon Gourmet will likely be the one to create it. That’s exactly how I first became a fan of Alanna’s and the blog she started during a stint of what she calls “funemployment”, including the word bojon in her blog name—a term that’s backward for “no job”.

Through her sumptuously styled photography and original gluten-free recipes, Alanna’s talents as a classically trained pastry chef inspire thousands to live a gluten-free lifestyle and still cure their sweet tooth.continue to the recipe… about No-Bake Cookie Bars with Chocolate, Cherries and Chia Seeds

Classic Fat Witch Dark Chocolate Brownies Recipe

February 12, 2017

Classic dark chocolate brownies from Chelsea Market’s famed Fat Witch Bakery is a recipe every chocolate brownie lover should have in their “best of” archives.

Several years ago I was in a New York City photo studio above Chelsea Market, art directing a photo shoot with eighties supermodel and raw-food enthusiast Carol Alt. That day she shared how eating a raw diet improved her health and changed her life for the better. I mean, she was so devout she wrote a cookbook about it. She even had her personal chef prepare a gourmet raw food lunch for us. So healthy—and all raw food—but still, pretty good.

And then, as soon as the shoot was finished, I headed directly downstairs to the Chelsea Market food emporium and bought myself a big, chocolate, BAKED Fat Witch brownie.

Brownies vs. raw food. See? For me, it’s always been about balance. continue to the recipe… about Classic Fat Witch Dark Chocolate Brownies Recipe

Vanilla and Chocolate Marbled Bundt Cake

January 11, 2017

Flipping through the glossy pages of Irvin Lin’s baking book, Marbled, Swirled, and Layered: 150 Recipes and Variations for Artful Bars, Cookies, Pies, Cakes, and More, puts those famous images of Wonka’s spectacular chocolate factory to shame. And as the creator of the blog Eat the Love, Irvin has many reasons to be chuffed at the success of his baking book, including the fact The New York Times recently included it on their list of the Year’s Best Baking Cookbooks — excellent work, Irvin.

From whimsically imaginative treats like hazelnut cocoa linzer cookies with blackberry-mint jam, to vanilla and peach-bourbon ice cream pie with honey-cornflake crust, each page is a dessert lover’s delight.

Just make sure you’re armed with a sleeve of cookies or something when you settle down with a copy, because it’ll definitely cue the sugar cravings.

With my birthday coming up next week, I knew a cake should be in the making and this Classic Vanilla and Chocolate Marbled Bundt Cake immediately spoke to me. And there’s no reason to wait for someone else to bake one for me when I have a book like Irvin’s to guide me along the cake-baking way. continue to the recipe… about Vanilla and Chocolate Marbled Bundt Cake

Peppermint Truffles Recipe

December 22, 2016

Refreshing peppermint and velvety ganache are the perfect match in these deep, rich truffle candies topped with crushed candy canes, and they will cure any chocolate craving!

This recipe is in partnership with McCormick

It was one of those always sunny-because-we-live-in-LA mornings where we were chit chatting in our office, trying to shed off a bit of our holiday spirit and get into work mode. Looking at the stack of manuscripts she had yet to edit, my bff Laura pulled out a white candy box and asked me if I wanted a truffle.

A truffle? Why would I want to eat a pungent, Italian mushroom all by itself? Where’s the pasta???

“No silly. They’re chocolates,” she giggled. “David (her ex) makes them every year for Christmas. You need to try one.”

Of course I did. And that, my friends, is where my choco-holic cravings were cured and my chocolate truffle obsession began.continue to the recipe… about Peppermint Truffles Recipe

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Nut Cookies

December 19, 2016

These easy, wonderfully chewy cookies are loaded with chunks of macadamia nuts, white chocolate chips and dried cranberries in an oatmeal batter good enough for breakfast too.

See these cookies? They are chock-full. Chock-full of all kinds of flavors and goodness that go together like peas in a pod. But they’re much sweeter—and most everyone says much better—than peas. Obviously.

But they’re missing one thing for too many people.

They’re missing a giant glass of cold milk for some kids not as fortunate as mine to dip these still-warm-from-the-oven cookies into before setting a glass next to Santa’s plate to wash them down and then wipe from his frosty mustache.

But that doesn’t have to be the case, because I’m doing something about that fact, and you can too. continue to the recipe… about Cranberry White Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Nut Cookies

Lighter Caramel Seven-Layer Bars Recipe

November 13, 2016

Greek yogurt, egg whites, unsweetened coconut and fat-free sweetened condensed milk make these caramel bars a lighter version of the classic seven layer bars.

Typically when you hear the words “baking” and “healthy,” they’re not in the same sentence, especially when it comes to the holidays. It seems like a bit of an oxymoron, eh? The holidays are the time to just let go, to overlook better choices. Or is it?

Luckily bloggers like Amy Atherton, of Amy’s Healthy Baking are changing the way people think about virtuous sweets.

With simple substitutions like alternative flours, healthier oils and natural sweeteners (and less of them), baked goods can in fact be healthier and tasty at the same time, and this is something Amy has undoubtedly figured out. So to all of you skeptics out there, her mindset is for you.continue to the recipe… about Lighter Caramel Seven-Layer Bars Recipe

How to Make Classic Tiramisu

September 14, 2016

This classic and authentic Italian dessert of ladyfingers dipped in espresso and Kahlua is layered with a mascarpone custard lightened up with fluffy whipped cream.

This post is in partnership with Kroger

It started out as just another photo shoot for the health publication I was the creative director for when we lived in Los Angeles. It was years ago but it’s one of the few I harken back to with a wee bit of envy. Not because of the beautiful model we were shooting that day, nor the perfectly celebrity-styled home in the Hollywood Hills we had rented as our location for the day.

No, it was actually because of a small-talk conversation I had with my wardrobe stylist. She was leaving the next day for Italy. For a month. And she was staying in a villa in Florence. Not just any villa, but a villa she had been invited to by restauranteur and chef Nancy Silverton of Los Angeles’ famed Campanile and Mozza empires. Their plan was simple: to cook together (with the amazing Nancy as chef!), eat amazing Italian dinners, drink local wines, and do all the things one’s imagination dreams up while envisioning an amazing vacation in Italy.

I have been jealous of that trip for the last 15 years.continue to the recipe… about How to Make Classic Tiramisu

Rhubarb and Raspberry Pie With Oatmeal Crumble

June 6, 2016

Instead of traditional pie crust, this pie, filled with raspberries and rhubarb, has a brown sugar oatmeal crumble that melts the hearts of pie and crumble lovers alike.

“Oh SHOOT!” he said. But I don’t think he said, “shoot”.

“That was a direct hit!”

I barely dared to look as I lugged the mondo size package of paper towels from under the shopping cart to load into the back of the car.

“What happened?” I gingerly asked. Okay, maybe not SO gingerly.

It seems that pineapples are a whole lot heavier than packages of raspberries, and one just smooshed the other. And I’ll give you one guess which one came out on top.

Lickety split, he came up with a solution. “I guess you’ll be making smoothies.”

Not so fast my man. We have a pie to bake.

continue to the recipe… about Rhubarb and Raspberry Pie With Oatmeal Crumble

Confetti Cake With Buttercream Frosting and Cookies & Cups

May 31, 2016

A homemade version of this favorite cake has one of the tenderest crumbs I’ve ever had, but the buttercream frosting with colorful sprinkles takes it over the top.

Perusing through Shelly Jaronsky’s blog Cookies and Cups is like touring Willy Wonka’s magical Chocolate Factory. It’s full of tantalizing sweets and treats that are a feast for any sugar-lover’s eye—and palate.

It’s especially a goldmine for all of you self-proclaimed cookie monsters out there, with so many cookie recipes you’re sweet tooth won’t know what hit it.

Shelly knows her desserts and is a woman after our own hearts.

Shelly recently released her first book, The Cookies & Cups Cookbook: 125+ Sweet & Savory Recipes Reminding You to Always Eat Dessert First, and we’re elated to have a copy to pillage when our sugar bug strikes.

Today we’re sharing Shelly’s recipe for Confetti Cake, a recipe that has been made no less than four times by my 12-year-old daughter. It’s already become her signature baked good and once you make it, I’m betting it will become part of your go-to arsenal too.

continue to the recipe… about Confetti Cake With Buttercream Frosting and Cookies & Cups

Key Lime Pie

April 11, 2016

This fresh, authentic, tart key lime pie recipe is the same one you’ll remember from being kid, and its a breeze —all you need are a few ingredients to blend together!

One word of advice: Do not put lime rinds down the disposal.

If you do, the result will be:

1 day of dirty dishes drying with caked-on, day-old food.

$67 rental for snake at Home Depot.

1 argument with the husband.

$234 fee for Roto Rooter to clear the drain.

17 minutes of scrubbing caked-on, day-old food from plates.

But an awesomely delicious key lime pie.

We’ve learned our lesson the hard way. Don’t put lime rinds down the garbage disposal. My sister-in-law learned it too. But with potato peels right before everyone showed up for Thanksgiving dinner.

There are a lot of things that seem indestructible. Garbage disposals aren’t one of them.

continue to the recipe… about Key Lime Pie

Strawberry Cheesecake Cream Puffs With Barbara Bakes

February 3, 2016

A no-bake cheesecake filling tops strawberry jam in these light and airy cream puffs that are a surprisingly easy dessert to make at home.

There are a handful of baking recipes I excel at. Like my German Chocolate Cake and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’re my basic classics, recipes handed down to me from my mama and grandma.

Luckily, there are also a handful of baking sites I refer to time and time again, sites that move the needle past my comfort zone. When I go to these sites I KNOW I am going to get a rock star result.

So when it comes to baking desserts and breads like Samoa Macarons, the best crunch rolls, the flakiest crescent rolls, or a sugar-spun, towering Croquembouche, I know exactly where to turn. I head to one of my favorite bloggers, Barbara Schieving of the food blog Barbara Bakes, and the creator of these Strawberry Cheesecake Cream Puffs from her new book Simply Sweet Dream Puffs, with the recipe at the end of this post.

continue to the recipe… about Strawberry Cheesecake Cream Puffs With Barbara Bakes

4-Ingredient Pretzel Turtles Treats

December 23, 2015

Store bought caramels pretzel bites are dipped in chocolate and topped with nuts for a super fast, no-bake gooey caramel treat.

“You need to try one of these.”

“Mooooom! You know I can’t eat pretzels. Or caramel. Or nuts.”

“But, you’ve been helping me make them. Your braces will be fine. The warm chocolate totally softens the caramel. You still need to try one. They’re insane.”

“Oh. These are really, really good, mom.”

Yes, yes they are good. And easy. And there’s nothing better than that combo when you’re in a race against Santa’s sleigh.

continue to the recipe… about 4-Ingredient Pretzel Turtles Treats

Easy Crème Brulee With Spoon Fork Bacon

December 2, 2015

Don’t be intimidated by this classic egg custard dessert’s fancy perception. With these easy rules, it’s really one of the simplest desserts to master.

We’ve had eggs on the brain lately, but we’re not the only ones.

Jenny Park and Teri Lyn Fisher — the lovely ladies behind one of our favorite blogs, Spoon Fork Bacon, recently published their second beautiful cookbook, and it’s all about eggs.

The Perfect Egg includes 70 recipes that celebrate eggs in every from. It features snacks, entrees and of course, desserts like this surprisingly easy crème brûlée.

“Eggs are such a versatile ingredient and something we eat and use almost everyday of our lives so we were immediately drawn to the subject,” says Jenny.

Since Jenny and Teri Lyn’s blog never fails to spur recipe inspiration and adoration, and since we think eggs are definitely all they’re cracked up to be, we couldn’t help but be drawn to “cracking” the covers of their book.

Oh yes, I did say that.

continue to the recipe… about Easy Crème Brulee With Spoon Fork Bacon

Loaded Monster Cookies

November 19, 2015

Whole wheat pastry flour, nuts, raisins, popcorn, coconut and chocolate bits all combine to make one monster of a healthier cookie.

This post is sponsored by Lifetime’s production of Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow premiering Saturday, November 21, 2015.

These cookies. They’re so ugly, they’re crave-ingly cute. Just like Jim Henson’s classic puppeted creatures and those in the new holiday movie, Turkey Hollow, these Loaded Monster Cookies are destined to become classics.

When Lifetime asked if I’d like to preview their new Jim Henson movie and make a treat to eat along with it, I was all for it. I grew up with Jim Henson and his cast of characters. I know every line to Rainbow Connection. I can still sing the opening credits to the original Muppet Show TV series.

And as for Kermit and Miss Piggy? They’ll always be a the ultimate celebrity couple in my eyes. I’m just waiting for a reunion.

Until then…these cookies.

By using smart ingredients like whole wheat, heart-healthy nuts, raisins and oatmeal, not to mention that chocolate is good for you (here’s 10 reasons why!) these cookies pack a fortified punch. Your kids’ll never know you snuck in all that good stuff into these perfectly-imperfect, Henson-inspired cookies.

continue to the recipe… about Loaded Monster Cookies

Lemon Poppyseed Bread with Cranberries

November 16, 2015

This easy to make lemon poppyseed quick bread is studded with cranberries, and uses creamy Greek yogurt to add flavor and extra protein to each sweet slice.

This post is brought to you by Fleishmann’s® Simply Homemade® because sometimes a little shortcut in the kitchen is just what you need.

Picture this. Or rather, smell this.

The wafting scent that hits you when you stride through the front door.

Something’s baking in the oven. Something slightly sweet. Something in need of a slather of butter.

Something you didn’t have to spend the morning, afternoon or evening slaving over. But still smells—and tastes—like you did.

continue to the recipe… about Lemon Poppyseed Bread with Cranberries

My Favorite Pumpkin Roll Recipe

November 9, 2015

This pumpkin cake is a favorite you’ll make year after year. It’s easy to freeze and serve, or perfect for holiday neighbor gifts.

As if the world needed yet another Pumpkin Roll recipe.

But in this case, it really, truly does.

This is the second recipe that made me fall in love with pumpkin-flavored everything. The first of course being the classic pumpkin pie. I mean, what 8 year old doesn’t love pumpkin pie?

(*Note to self: Share pumpkin pie recipe on bloggity blog. Because yes, the world does need another pumpkin pie recipe, too.)

My mom always made this recipe to welcome in fall and it was a popular neighbor gift for the holidays. As soon as we could smell the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin wafting from the oven, we knew the leaves would soon begin falling from the trees.

My mother in law recently gave this recipe a try, too. She baked it without nuts (and you can too) and as you hope when mother in laws try anything of yours, she gave it her stamp of approval as well.

But then I knew she would. Because the world DOES need another pumpkin roll recipe.

continue to the recipe… about My Favorite Pumpkin Roll Recipe

Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispie Treats

October 28, 2015

Rice Krispie treats get jazzed up with creamy peanut butter, a layer of smooth dark chocolate, and a sprinkling of flaky salt, for the ultimate marriage of chocolate and peanut butter!

My family has a favorite quote from The New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. It’s become our mantra for how to lead life.

“One day your hair dryer is working just fine. The next day it’s sending out sparks to beat the band.”

Basically, things are going just swell. Swimmingly even. And then in the blink of an eye…everything changes.

That’s what happened to the food blogging community when we learned this past week of the passing of a much respected member, Chocolate Chocolate and More’s Joan Hayes.

In celebration of her life, and somehow symbolically coinciding with National Chocolate Day, food bloggers are joining together to toast Joan and her influence the only way we can. With recipes from near, far, and everywhere in between. With recipes featuring chocolate. It’s what Joan’s wishes would have been and what we’re here to fulfill.

continue to the recipe… about Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispie Treats

Quick Rustic Apple Tart and Crushing On Three Many Cooks

October 26, 2015

Apples dashed with brandy make this simple tart with an oatmeal crumble topping shine, and gives the perfect excuse to enjoy with a dollop of ice cream.

There are few things that bring a family together more than those centered around food. For the Anderson family, the heartbeat of their kitchen is the door to their soul.

In their memoir, Three Many Cooks: One Mom, Two Daughters, Their Shared Stories of Food, Faith and Family acclaimed cookbook writer Pam Anderson and her two daughters Maggie Keet and Sharon Damelio, weave the good, the bad and the funny recollections of their mother daughter relationships with well-loved family recipes into one of my favorite books of the summer.

Writing a memoir with three different authors is no easy task. But somehow, this book’s stories and voice flow effortlessly into one.

“Our book was first conceived as a traditional cookbook, but when our editor, Pamela Cannon, read the stories behind the recipes, she asked us simply to write our stories,” shares Pam. “Since our blog is story-driven, we liked that idea too.”

With chapters that deal with Pam and Maggie’s challenging growth as a mother and a daughter who both know best, to the rebellious years that led Sharon to discovering her passion for food and culinary school, the stories that are shared are sometimes serious, always introspective, and flared by bitter fights, insight and soul searching, forgiveness and growth.

“We read one another’s work along the way and one story led to another. When it came time to stitch the stories, the book came together pretty naturally.”

Each chapter is told by either Pam, Maggie or youngest daughter Sharon, each of whom contribute to the food blog Three Many Cooks. Within each chapter the story telling is totally compelling and conversationally entertaining. These girls aren’t just good cooks, they’re great writers.

Food, Faith and Family

This book is one of my favorite of the year. The stories are told in a lively way that makes me feel like I’m one of the family, sitting down at their kitchen counter with a glass of wine, wryly spying on the drama and discovery that often enfolds.

At the essence of each story a shared dish is looped in, with the recipe provided at the end of each chapter. And the recipes…oh, they are good. I had a hard time choosing which recipe to feature, and Pam shared that they too each had their favorites.

“Sharon’s especially proud of her Perfect Carrot Cake. Maggy loves the Pumpkin-Walnut Scones, and I’m partial to my late father’s Grilled Lemon Chicken.”

This book may have never been written had it not been for the relenting work ethic of the family that starts with Pam. As an enterprising mother of two young girls with a husband starting a career in the clergy, Pam did whatever she could, and everything she could, to keep her family afloat. A tireless worker who sacrificed much of herself including time with her children, Pam’s dogged resourcefulness shaped her entire family.

She is proud. She is a success. She is a woman I whole-heartedly admire.

And now, my list of 10 Q’s for Pam, Maggy and Sharon.

1. Describe your blog in 3 words:

Maggy: Real life recipes

2. If you could be one blogger other than yourself, who would you be?

Maggy: I love Jen Yu’s blog, Use Real Butter. She’s a gifted photographer who lives in a wildly beautiful part of the world. She captures her outdoorsy, Colorado lifestyle alongside recipes that feel very true to my own tastes: often celebratory, but mostly just inviting, exciting comfort food. Right now I’m particularly enjoying her social media streams as she captures the autumn leaves – and the adventures of her new puppy, Neva!

3. Which 3 blogs do you follow/are obsessed with/can’t live a day without?

Maggy: Use Real Butter, A Thought For Food and Sprouted Kitchen. All three of these blogs have beautiful, inspirational photography and approachable recipes that I always want to cook.

4. What is the one kitchen tool you could never give up?

Sharon: I can make due with crappy wooden spoons, rickety cutting boards, and flimsy whisks, but I need a good, sharp knife. I have the Global Oriental Cook’s Knife, which is a little shorter than their traditional chef’s knife (18cm rather than 20) and a little lighter. I have small hands, and this knife fits like a glove. It’s got this gorgeous, graceful shape and their signature one-piece stainless steel design. I can’t say enough about this knife—easy to clean and sharpen and a dream to use.

5. What dish are you obsessed with mastering that you just can’t get quite right?

Sharon: Paella. My husband and I had a disastrous paella attempt our first New Year’s Eve together, and now it’s become an NYE tradition. Though we’ve gotten to the point where our recipe is really good…we haven’t quite perfected the technique such that it reliably produces that deep brown, crispy crust on the bottom. We just moved into a new apartment that has a gas stove (finally!) and I’m excited to try paella again. I think electric and induction burners make it nearly impossible to get the crust. You need fire!

6. What did you have for dinner last night?

Sharon: Kale salad with roasted sweet potatoes, apples, dried cranberries, spiced pepitas, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. And a bottle of Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava. My husband and I make this salad—or some seasonal version of it—two or three times a week. We love to eat and drink, and we’ve found that having a big, beautiful salad on the weeknights keeps our calories in check, so we can enjoy wine with dinner most nights and heavier fare on the weekends.

7. What’s one secret talent outside of the kitchen nobody knows about you?

Sharon: I am a super-fast reader. Depending on the week, I can plow through up to 4 books in a week. I read everything from biographies to theology to culinary science, but novels are a huge source of relaxation and enjoyment for me.

8. You’re happiest when cooking/eating?

Pam: I’m happiest in the kitchen with Maggy and Sharon, my sons-in-law, Andy and Anthony, and my David, and we’re all doing our thing to make dinner and having fun along the way. And there are two new additions to our family—Dashiell, my 9-month old grandson and Eloise, my grand French bulldog, who adore one another. It’s a lively, lovely scene.

9. The one secret ingredient to your success is?

Pam: Stay open.

10. What’s next for you three? Do you see another book in your future?

Pam: See answer to previous question ☺

About the Recipe

This recipe for quick apple tart (the apples are dashed with brandy!) is just one of Pam’s contributions to the book. It comes from the chapter in which she describes her time as the food editor to the then start-up Cooks Illustrated, where she wrote, created, and tirelessly tested recipes under its founder Chris Kimball for the next nine years.

Sounds like a dream job. But there were drawbacks. Pam found herself becoming too much a perfectionist when it came to entertaining, trying to create the perfect meal. “Eventually I started to realize that many of the recipes I had so carefully developed in lab-like conditions often didn’t work in real time.”

On the flip side, others were reluctant to cook for her. They were too nervous to cook for a professional, worried their food wouldn’t live up to her standards. This is when she had an epiphany.

“I started caring less about perfection and more about connection,” Pam writes. “For me it’s a good night not when the apple tart I’ve made is perfect, but when the conversation has been significant, and people have made some connection of the mind or heart or spirit.”

Following is her recipe for Quick Rustic Apple Tart with Oatmeal Crumble Topping. It’s just one more reason to cheers Three Many Cooks for giving us an entire book of reasons to connect with one another over food.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

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Quick Rustic Apple Tart

Apples dashed with brandy make this simple apple tart shine and gives the perfect excuse to enjoy with a dollop of ice cream.

Ingredients

For the Tarts
1 recipe Perfect Apple Pie Filling with Cinnamon and Cognac
2 refrigerated pie crusts from at 16.7-ounce package
For the Oatmeal Crumble Topping
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup old-fashioned oatmeal
½ cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter melted by not hot
For the Perfect Apple Pie Filling with Cinnamon and Cognac
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
4 pounds crisp firm apples such as Granny Smith, cored, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick, about 12 heaping cups
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

For the Tarts
Prepare Perfect Apple Pie Filling with Cinnamon and Cognac and refrigerate. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Meanwhile, mix the flour, oatmeal, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the butter with a fork until well combined then use your fingers to form clumps.
Unroll one of the refrigerated pie doughs and place it onto one side of a 12 X 18-inch baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a Silpat liner. Spoon half of the apple filling onto the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Bring pie dough over filling, pleating it to fit. Sprinkle a portion of the crumble topping over the exposed filling.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough, filling and crumble. Bake until golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Cool slightly, serve warm with ice cream if you’d like. The tart can be made several hours ahead of time and warmed in a 300 degree F oven for 15 minutes.
For the Perfect Apple Pie Filling with Cinnamon and Cognac
Mix sugar, cinnamon, and salt; toss with the apples. Heat butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until it looks pale nutty brown. Add apple mixture; cover and cook until the apples soften and release their juices, about 7 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until juices thicken to a light syrup, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, whisk cornstarch, brandy, and vanilla in 1 cup of water. Stir into apple mixture until it thickens, less than a minute. Transfer apples to a jelly roll pan to cool quickly. Refrigerate or set in a cool place until apples cool to room temperature.
Recipe reprinted from Three Many Cooks: One Mom, Two Daughters, Their Shared Stories of Food, Faith and Family

Thank you Three Many Cooks for being our foodie crush. Purchase their memoir/cookbook here and visit their blog here.

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