desserts

My Favorite Pumpkin Roll Recipe

This pumpkin roll recipe 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 pumpkin roll cake 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

Grandma’s Peach and Blackberry Cobbler

Fresh fruit flavors are the star in this decadent but oh so easy peach and blackberry cobbler recipe that calls for a spoonful straight from the pan.

You can have your cake, you can keep your candies. Because my #1 choice for dessert will always fall in the crumble or cobbler category, and when fall rolls around there’s not much I crave more than my grandma’s peach and blackberry cobbler. Unless it’s my go to crumble, that is.

While I’m attributing this decadent but oh-so-easy dessert to the archives of my dear old Grandma Mary Jane, the recipe card my mom took a photo of with her iPad and sent to me when I couldn’t remember the exact proportions (oh my, what would Grandma have thought of that!) is actually named Essie’s Peach and Blackberry Cobbler.

But who’s Essie?

With grandma no longer here, and my mom out of the country as I write this post, I’m guessing Essie is a dearly departed aunt/cousin/really good baker.

Doesn’t the name Essie conjure up images of the sweetest, white haired, comfortable-shoe-wearing great aunt pulling wonderful smelling delights from the oven? Can one of my smartie pants aunts please weigh in here please?

Since I can’t be sure, and since Grandma always made this anyway, the kudos are going to go to her. And to my mom. Because she’s a grandma now, and she makes it too, thereby I declare it shall now be called Grandma’s Peach Cobbler.

While my grandma always made this with Brigham City peaches picked just a half hour from home (or when I was really little straight from the backyard orchard my grandpa obsessed over every harvest), I couldn’t leave it straight up simple so I added to the bevy of baking with the addition of blackberries as big as my thumb.

I’m serious. These things could have passed for beehives! Now wouldn’t that become a succulent honey? Blackberry honey. Something to ponder.

While this easy blackberry cobbler recipe is always good as a dessert later in the day, my favorite way to eat it is straight up from the oven, just cool enough not to turn the top of my mouth into tar paper but still piping warm for maximum flavor melds.

Mind you, I’m not talking about dessert here either. Let’s talk about eating this for breakfast as any good cobbler or crumble should be assigned to.continue to the recipe… about Grandma’s Peach and Blackberry Cobbler

Mascarpone Pumpkin Mousse Cups

This easy pumpkin dessert is made by layering crunchy amaretti cookies, homemade mascarpone pumpkin mousse, and whipped cream. Tastes like fall in a glass!

Creating This Pumpkin Mousse Cups Recipe

Like my Smudge, my nephew doesn’t care for birthday cake. Like her, he’d rather have pie with candles than a three tier, frosting laden, light and crumby old cake.

If you have one of those kind in your home, you need to check out my hybrid Yellow Cake Pie with Chocolate Mousse that was a rip-roaring success for Smudge’s birthday celebration. In fact, it was so successful I’ve been commissioned by three of her 8-year old friends to make it for their 9-year-old birthdays.

My nephew’s 13th birthday inspired me to get into the birthday pie biz once again once the shock that my husband’s youngest brother has a teenager in the house and the realization that in just a few short years I will too. Oh great, hormones. Just what this house needs more of.

Usually my mother-in-law makes him a special pumpkin pie for his big day, but she wasn’t able to make the trip for the party this year. Knowing I could never substitute my mom-in-law’s perfect pie, I plotted to give him a surprise with a pumpkin cake. But then I started watching the Cooking Channel. And when I start watching the Cooking Channel I usually get sidetracked from craving a Pad Thai recipe to homemade Pot Roast.

This time was no exception. As I started watching an episode of Extra Virgin with Debi Mazar—who makes me miss Entourage so desperately that I just might be sleeping out to be in line for the movie—and her cute husband Gabriele, I made a quick left turn from my aspirations of creating my initial plan of pumpkin cake to instead adapting their recipe for mascarpone cups.

With all of the pumpkin recipes floating about, my craving for pumpkin recipes has been in overdrive. The amaretti cookies give a yummy crunch to the smooth pumpkin and mascarpone cheese creaminess. I’ve used amaretti cookies for a sweet almond flavoring in Butternut Squash Lasagna so I knew it was a great add-in for squash.

So what did my nephew think of the Pumpkin Cups? He never did have a taste. For the first time ever he bypassed pumpkin pie and shocked us all by choosing red velvet cake as his celebratory sweet of choice. Whaddya do? He’s a teenager now.continue to the recipe… about Mascarpone Pumpkin Mousse Cups

The Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe – with Coconut!

These easy no-bake cookies are loaded with goodness and they’re even a little bit of healthy. Old-fashioned oats, cocoa, 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 oatmeal 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!

Blueberry Buckle Recipe With Lemon Glaze

This award-winning blueberry buckle recipe is studded with sweet, juicy blueberries and topped with a crumbly streusel and lemon glaze for a sweet breakfast or dessert.

You could say I never got my thrill on blueberry hill. Unless it was baked in a decadent blueberry muffin or my favorite blueberry quick bread.

I’m okay with admitting that fresh blueberries have never been a favorite of mine. They were always the loose marbles of the fruit salad that I would pick around in favor of fresh strawberries, chunks of cantaloupe, and definitely give me all of the pineapple.

Times have changed.

The nutritional values that blueberries possess were drilled into my head back when my job was designing health food magazines. Every issue had an article or blurb about their merits as a driving force in lowering blood cancer, fighting off the elements due to their antioxidant powers and strengthening bones to keep osteoporosis at bay.

Now, I can call myself a lover of the fresh, sweet, juicy blueberry. But I’ll forever be a fan of a good dessert (or breakfast?) treat with blueberries baked right in.

continue to the recipe… about Blueberry Buckle Recipe With Lemon Glaze

The Berry Best Four Berry Pie Recipe

This mixed berry pie is made with four kinds of berries and a buttery homemade pie crust. It’s the ultimate summer pie recipe!

If you live in the great state of Utah, you know that today, the 24th of July, carries nearly the same celebratory weight as the king of patriot days, July 4th. It’s the day Utahns celebrate statehood with parades, fireworks and a nod to the pioneers who walked thousands of miles until they stopped in our little valley and declared, “This is the place!”

Happy Pioneer Day! Or as us heathens who prefer to center all holidays around food prefer to call it, Happy Pie & Beer Day!

I’ll take a slice and a swill of both, please.

After posting my round up of 20 Classic Summer Pies to Love, I got the pie bug. I had the homemade pie fever. I had the lust to bake. So I set myself to task. I armed myself with a summertime selection of fresh berries: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Then I turned to my favorite pie crust recipe, which I have come to realize is nearly as soft, sweet and supple as sugar cookie dough. Cookie as a crust? Not officially, but it strikes a resemblance.

There may have been a little inspiration for the cutaway crust thanks to the cover of this magazine. They used a cookie cutter. I used a big mouth straw, and ate the little roundie cutouts as I went.

A double crust pie loaded with fresh berries is nearly as patriotic as parades, firecrackers, and a side of beer with your pie.

continue to the recipe…

Confetti Cake With Buttercream Frosting

This homemade version of confetti cake has one of the tenderest crumbs I’ve ever tasted, 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 your 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

Blueberry Oatmeal Quick Bread

This incredibly easy blueberry bread 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.

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 oatmeal blueberry bread 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

Milk Bar’s Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

These soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies by Christina Tosi are the fastest homemade cookie recipe I’ve ever made, and they come together in just one bowl, no mixer required. The hit of flaky sea salt really sends them over the top.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Because it’s Monday. That’s why.

Mondays call for a stiff cup of coffee in the morning and possibly a martini with three olives to cap off the night. But homemade chocolate chip cookies — they’re in order no matter what time of the day.

Last Friday was the official chocolate chip day of the year. But since my sugar rolodex was on hiatus, I missed it. Ironically, I had this chocolate chip cookie recipe ready to rock and roll for today.

I may be a day or two late, but this cookie is FAR from a dollar short. Make that a chocolate chip short. Hardly. Because this baby is PACKED with chips. In fact, the amount of dough pretty much comes secondary to the number of chips, making for an extra rich, soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie with crispy edges.

All I did was add a sprinkle of flaky salt and I have a new favorite.continue to the recipe… about Milk Bar’s Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This chocolate chip banana bread is made sans oil and instead uses Greek yogurt to add moisture. This is easily the best banana bread recipe I’ve ever made!

When she speaks, I listen. And when her friends speak, I listen louder.

Yes, I meant to say that. Louder. Because actions are louder than words and when they eat every morsel, every crumb, I know we have a winner.

Smudge is becoming a big help in the kitchen. I find myself stopping in my tracks to watch her flit from counter to cupboard, completely unaware of anything going on around her as she sings softly under her breath to the tune that never seems to end in her head. For good measure she’ll give a twirl, an elegant flick of her wrist then cock her elbow, throw her hand behind her head and rock a pumping sprinkler dance.

And then we return to the never-ending song in her head.

Recently a friend of hers came over for a playdate. What did they want to do? Bake banana bread. Well alright then, let’s do it. And we did. And they ate. And I listened when her friend declared this recipe was, “the best banana bread I’ve ever eaten.”

Umm, yeah. Perhaps because it tastes like a giant slice of banana bread chocolate chip heaven?

Hey, I’m just here to listen.

I’ve experimented with plenty of banana bread recipes, including the recipe I used in 7th grade that called for vegetable oil as the main moistening ingredient, resulting in a greasy crumb that deflated quickly. Using Greek yogurt in this easy banana bread recipe gives ample moisture minus the greasy fingers. This is banana bread, not french fries people.

Of course adding in a few chocolate chips to any recipe can only make the world go ’round a little easier, a little sweeter.

But when I’m in a need for a basic proven recipe I’m often drawn to my go-to 1,028 recipe tomb: The New Best Recipe Cookbook by Cook’s Illustrated. I’ve slightly adapted the recipe by adding a touch more vanilla, subbing pecans for walnuts, and yes, the aforementioned chocolate chips.

What’s in Choc Chip Banana Bread?

The beauty of homemade banana bread is that it uses very few ingredients, but is so incredibly flavorful and moist (yes, I just said moist). This banana bread with yogurt uses the following key ingredients:

All-purpose flour
Granulated sugar
Baking soda
Salt
Chopped pecans
Bananas
Plain Greek yogurt
Eggs
Unsalted butter
Vanilla extract
Chocolate chips

Make sure to buy plain Greek yogurt, preferably whole fat or low-fat (non-fat yogurt is much tangier and the lack of fat will result in a drier loaf). The brand you buy doesn’t matter, just get whatever’s on sale.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

To make this homemade banana bread, you just have to stir together the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet in another. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry, then pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.

Bake the chocolate chip banana bread for a good 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I like to eat this moist banana bread warm with butter, but it’s also delicious at room temp with a glass of milk.

How to Store Banana Bread

Choc chip banana bread will last for a few days on your counter. Make sure to wrap it in foil to prevent it from drying out, though. If desired, you can rewarm slices of banana bread in the microwave or oven.

Can You Freeze Banana Bread?

Homemade banana bread freezes really well and can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. To freeze the whole loaf, let it come to room temperature before wrapping it in a few layers of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil (this prevents the bread from developing freezer burn). When you’re ready to enjoy the frozen loaf, set it on your counter in its wrappings to thaw.

You can also slice and freeze the banana bread and keep it in a freezer bag, but I find that it dries out more quickly in the freezer if it’s pre-sliced. But if you think you’ll eat the chocolate chip banana bread quickly enough, it shouldn’t be an issue!

Do I Have to Add the Nuts?

If you have a pecan allergy or don’t have any on hand, feel free to omit them. You can also substitute them with another type of nut if preferred.

Tips for the Best Banana Bread

The bananas you use for this chocolate chip banana bread recipe should be overripe and almost black in color. If your bananas are far from being ripe enough to use in banana bread, poke them all over with a fork and then bake them at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned. Let the bananas cool completely before adding them to the batter.

I’ll also say that although I love me some warm banana bread, you don’t want to slice into this loaf when it first comes out of the oven. Give the moist banana bread time to firm up and cool down a bit before slicing.

Lastly, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe because I like how the slightly bitter chocolate contrasts with the super sweet bread. But you’re welcome to use any chocolate chips or chunks you have lying around in this banana bread!

More Quick Bread Recipes You’ll Love

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

4.29 from 7 votes

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This chocolate chip banana bread is made sans oil and instead uses Greek yogurt to add moisture. This is easily the best banana bread recipe I've ever made!

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Servings 9 people

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup pecans toasted and coarsely chopped
3 bananas very ripe and mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
2 large eggs beaten lightly
6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour bottom and sides of a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and set aside.
Whisk first five ingredients together in large bowl; set aside.
In a medium bowl mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, vanilla and chocolate chips. Gently fold banana mixture into dry ingredients until just combined. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and top is golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack. Serve warm with a swath of sweet butter or at room temperature with a cold glass of milk.

Recipe Notes

If you need to ripen your bananas quickly, poke them all over with a fork and then bake them at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned. Let the bananas cool completely before adding them to the batter.
Recipe slightly adapted from The New Best Recipe Cookbook from Cook's Illustrated

More Banana Desserts to Try

Obviously as I was creating this post I was on the hunt for more lovely banana-inspired recipes and I must say, the banana is severely neglected out there unless its in a muffin, pancake or bread variety.

I say, “Raise the banana flag!” Let’s give the banana it’s sweetened day in the sun. Here’s a selection of food bloggers doing just that, and doing it well.

Modesty must be Glory’s thing because according to her Glorious Treats’s Banana Caramel Cream Dessert isn’t groundbreaking. I beg to differ.

Gluten- and dairy-free but full of flavor with a history in family lore and subject that leaves Shauna in stitches, Gluten-Free Girl’s Coconut-Banana Cream Pie is sure to make us smile too.

Cassie makes sure the health nuts aren’t left out with a chia see and whole wheat flour recipe for Bake Your Day’s Vegan Banana Nut Breakfast Cake that’s enough to convert even the non-vegans in some of us

Diana layers her nana-nanas with an extra banana-flavored icing thanks to banana extract in Created by Diane‘s Banana Icing on Banana Walnut Muffins.

Craving more life balance, less stress, and better health? Check out my Nourished Planner, the daily planner to help create simplicity and under-schedule your life.

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As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There may be affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.

No-Fail Butter Pie Crust

These are the secrets to making a no-fail, all-butter pie crust that won’t slump or shrink, and turns out tender and flaky every time.

The Best Pie Crust Recipe with Butter

It feels like there are two big pie seasons that hit every year: Spring’s berry pie season and Fall’s Thanksgiving pie season, with all other slices o’ pie falling somewhere in between.

We are smack dab in the middle of prime time pie making and eating and everyone knows that a foolproof butter pie crust recipe is the make-or-break point of baking an amazing homemade pie. More important than whatever fruity, nutty, or creamy fillings you whip up—the true test is its crust. It should be flaky, light, flavorful, and easy to slice through with a fork.

I’m a bit obsessed with baking pies thanks to the over the top pie crusts I’m incessantly inspired by because of the Instagram account of my favorite local pie company.

Now, after much trial and error, I’ve decided this is the only pie crust recipe I’m willing to bet my pie on. And now, everything that I know, you will too.continue to the recipe… about No-Fail Butter Pie Crust

Key Lime Pie

This fresh, tart, authentic key lime pie recipe is the same one you’ll remember from when you were a kid, and it’s a breeze to make — 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

The Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

I’ve searched for the best homemade cinnamon roll recipe forever. Perfectly fluffy and slathered with a buttery cream cheese frosting, this is it.

The BEST Cinnamon Rolls Ever

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.

For some reason, the notion of baking homemade cinnamon rolls has always intimidated me. I blame it on my childhood. That’s when my early cinnamon roll baking adventures relied on using the pre-made dough from the can that came out of the oven tasting like they’d been baked 3 days before and then quickly turned into 5-day-old rolls as soon as they cooled.

It ruined the notion of cinnamon rolls for me until I had a REAL cinnamon roll from a true blue bakery and realized just how many light and fluffy pillows from cinnamon and brown sugar slathered with glaze bundles of heaven I’d been missing out on all those years.

Now THOSE rolls are the ones I want to bake. The homemade cinnamon rolls I want to be known for. The rolls that when family and friends take one bite they blissfully roll their eyes in satisfaction as they slowly absorb each sweet, flaky bite, and then look to one another in agreement and say, “Heidi makes THE BEST cinnamon rolls.”

And now, I have that recipe.

continue to the recipe… about The Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

30+ Lucky St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

Sometimes hearty, sometimes boozy, whipping up St. Patrick’s Day recipes is the perfect excuse to gather friends for a potluck, brunch, and yes, even if you’re in the mood for easy green food ideas.

There are many reasons traditional St. Patrick’s Day recipes are so beloved. If you’re wondering what to serve or how the Irish actually celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, this list of recipes has you clovered. (See what I did there?)

There’s always my classic slow cooker corned beef and cabbage for the main meal or 20 different stout recipes for dessert, but don’t leave out these fun Irish brunch ideas below like potato pancakes to whiskey ice cream for dessert, and find the lucky dish to make your day complete.

continue to the recipe… about 30+ Lucky St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Whiskey Cream Sauce

Skip the traditional pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving and make this decadent pumpkin bread pudding with whiskey cream sauce instead!

When it comes to Thanksgiving, my brother-in-law has the right idea. His take on dessert? “You need a little sweetness to take away the fullness.” Truer words may have never been said, especially when it comes to Thanksgiving day dessert.

But, I can almost see you shaking your head, “no. way.”

There’s no way you’re going to forego your favorite pecan pie for T-day dessert. And don’t even think about me suggesting you skip the classic pumpkin pie flavors that reel in childhood recollections of fall’s favorite holiday.

Take a deep breath. There’s no need to despair, you can have all of those flavors and more, because bread pudding is here.

But is bread soaked in drippy goodness really a worthy of this hallowed day dessert? You bet! I’ll take it in my favorite baked french toast, or baked in the bird’s turkey day stuffing, or even as a hot roll dipped in mashed potatoes and gravy.

Bread pudding always reminds me of cajun and creole flavors thanks to a waitressing job I had in college at a New Orleans flavored restaurant that served it for dessert. I’d never tried it before working there, and how I got to college without ever doing so is a shocking mystery to me. Because once I tried it, laced with a dripping whiskey sauce, I was a goner.

continue to the recipe… about Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Whiskey Cream Sauce

German Chocolate Cake

This homemade German chocolate cake with its easy, sweet, and gooey coconut and pecan frosting is my all-time favorite. It’s an easy recipe to make from scratch, and my whole family goes crazy for it.

There’s nothing more traditional in my long-legged life than the cake I have every year for my birthday. It may be made by someone who loves me, or purchased from a bakery to add to the celebration.

And because I love it so much, I am totally a-okay if I make this coconuty, nutty, frosted cake myself because this homemade German chocolate cake is one amazing cake. Just like me :)

January is birthday month for me. Time to take a look, evaluate, and see who and what I am and what challenge I see in my future. Sometimes I love what I see, sometimes, not so much.

But if I don’t take a look at myself and cross check my perception versus reality, then where is the next challenge to conquer, the next mountain to climb? Or even a reason to get out of bed?

Are you happy? Are you yearning? Are you challenged? Are you bored? Are you still searching?

My birthday challenge to you is the same one I’ve given to myself. Take a look at where you are, right now. Today. While you’re surfing the internet because you’re bored or hungry or a friendly follower (thank you!)

Today, choose one thing you want to change and make one goal, one statement, to make it happen.

And then just do it. Love yourself. Be yourself. And keep on being you.continue to the recipe… about German Chocolate Cake

Mom’s Easy Fudge Recipe

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

Caramel Apple Pie

This caramel apple pie features an ultra flaky pie crust, a sweet-tart apple filling, a chewy crumble topping, and it’s finished with a drizzle of caramel sauce.

In Ree Drummonds’s signature style, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations replicates the recipe style that’s made legions of The Pioneer Woman fans melt with each blog post.

Plus it features this recipe for Caramel Apple Pie. I mean, what’s not to like?

If you’re looking for a cookbook that introduces fancy cooking techniques and intricate recipe stylings, keep on looking through those bookshelves, because this is NOT that book. And that’s exactly why it’s so good, because it’s a treasure trove of family favorites and other scrumptious excuses to gather around the table for a year of holiday celebrating.

With regular appearances by her basset hounds Charlie and Walter, plus photos and stories featuring life on the ranch with her two-legged family members, A Year of Holidays features real-life food for the family with hundreds of step-by-step photos. There’s so much in there it’s sure to turn even the most novice chef into a confident cook in the kitchen.

And as with everything Ree does, it’s delivered with a humorous twist.

Along with holiday do-ahead game-plans—what to do the day before, and the day of the big day to make your celebrating easy for even the hostess— here’s why, in Ree’s words, you need to make the recipes in this book:

For New Years Day, Ree says her Coconut Ginger Baked French Toast is, “So wonderfully tropical you’ll be struck with the sudden urge to rub zinc oxide all over your nose.”

Huevo In the Heart is a tex-mex version of Frog In the Hole using tortillas and salsa to create a bleeding heart, which Ree says, “May not be terribly romantic at all. But at least it tastes good.”

Peach Cobbler heads up the summertime cookouts where Ree declares cobbler to be a very controversial subject. “I don’t care which cobbler is the correct version! I’ll eat it however I can get it!”continue to the recipe… about Caramel Apple Pie

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are super soft and pillowy and packed with pumpkin pie flavor! Bonus: this recipe makes a BIG batch of cookies.

My mom has a saying about cooking / eating / observing an overly ambitious amount of dinner table food. “This could feed an army!” is the exclamation I’ve heard from her more than once in my life. It’s her way of noting how lucky we are, to live and enjoy such bounty with our family and friends.

It happens most every year when we cook to excess at Thanksgiving, or when I get a wild hair and decide I need to add just a bit more to the BBQ with a few more side dishes, plus another dessert, and oh heck, why not have hot dogs PLUS hamburgers. Just so nobody goes hungry.

These pillowy, cakey, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies fit that bill. This recipe is perfect. Especially if you’re baking for a crowd. Like for my mom’s invisible army. Or better yet, for a party! Now, that’s an idea I can get behind. Or better yet, I’ll lead the charge.

So hop to it soldier (I’m looking at you, Mom), and let’s get this cookie baking party started.continue to the recipe… about Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Creamy Tropical Fruit Slushies

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

Easy 3-Ingredient Chocolate Sauce for Ice Cream

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®

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

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

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

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

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

German Chocolate Banana Bread

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

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

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

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

desserts

Creating This Pumpkin Mousse Cups Recipe

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

What’s in Choc Chip Banana Bread?

How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

How to Store Banana Bread

Can You Freeze Banana Bread?

Do I Have to Add the Nuts?

Tips for the Best Banana Bread

More Quick Bread Recipes You’ll Love

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients

Instructions

Recipe Notes

More Banana Desserts to Try

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The BEST Cinnamon Rolls Ever

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