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I’ve always struggled with the idea whether cheese is a dessert or not. I really started to question it when I would see it on the appetizer section and on the dessert menu–at the same restaurant! All I know is that I love it! I’ve come to terms with the fact that cheese is great no matter what meal it goes along with, it just needs the right wingmen of flavors to define it. My boyfriend (Patrick aka Pattycake) got me really into brie in grad school, after that my taste buds went wild and I started trying some of the more exotic cheeses. These days I rarely entertain without a good cheeseplate on the table. Click here to see how I assembled the plate and the goodies that I put along with it.Â
My butter almond cookie is the perfect cookie. It goes well with all other desserts. The best part about making them is your whole house will smell like warm sugar. This cookie is a perfect pair with a cup of tea. Curl up with a batch of these and I promise they wont disappoint. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Click Here for Recipe.
This is the perfect summer treat. There’s nothing better then getting to make your summer dessert on the grill, letting friends & family get in on the fun.  You can substitute the peaches w/ pineapple or any sort of fruit that you think will grill up nicely and carmalize.  Also feel free to switch up the ice cream with any flavor you like. …vanilla bean just goes perfectly! This tastes like peach pie in a cup! Check out the recipe below 🙂 Happy Grilling!
Ingredients (Makes 12 desserts)
(1) Pint vanilla bean ice cream
(6) Peaches
(1/3) c. Good quality balsamic vinegar (I used fig vinegar I bought on a recent trip in Santa. Ynez, CA )
(10) Shortbread Cookies
(1/4) c. Light Brown Sugar
(1/2) tsp. Ground cinnamon
(12) Nilla Waffers
(12) 8-10 oz. clear cups
(2) tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of salt
Cut 6 Peaches in Half and Remove Pit
Pour Olive Oil, Vinegar, & Salt over the Peaches and Brush all over with a Food Brush
Spread out an Inch Apart on Hot Grill
Grill Until Peaches Completely Carmalized and you get Those Nice Grill Marks
Crush Shortbread Cookies & Combine with Cinnamon & Brown Sugar (Crush by hand or in Food Processor)
Using an Ice Cream Scooper, Scoop 1 Spoon of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream @ Bottom of Cup, Place Grilled Peach on the side, Sprinkle Cookie Crumble on Top, and Stick Nilla Waffer on Side in Ice Cream
Through a Spoon in & Serve-Doesn't it Taste Like Peach Pie!!!
Just wanted to share a few photos with you. Â I made a cupcake table for one of my best friend’s bridal shower yesterday. The flavors: Sweet Lemon with Lemon Frosting & Lemon Zest, Chocolate with Vanilla Frosting and candy pearls, Rich Chocolate with Vanilla Frosting and Peacock Design, Carrot Cake and Cream cheese frosting, and lastly French Vanilla with Vanilla Frosting and Candy Pearls. Hope you enjoy!
96 Cupcakes!
Anything with lemon zest always looks so lovely!
Behind The Scenes Footage 🙂
So…My dad has been making jam since I can remember. Nothing tastes better on a slice of fresh bread than this. I’ve been asking him for months now to make jam w/ me for my blog and we finally did it! The recipe is so simple-just takes a couple of hours and a little attention. Â So if you’re home on a Saturday night- knock yourself out. Hope you enjoy!
Be sure to check out the link @ the end of this post with an older recipe of mine that contains jam if you’re looking to make a dessert with some of this homemade jam. Ciao!
Ingredients
(1) pound Apricot
(3) c. Sugar (it’s a 1:3 ratio so feel free to make as much as you’d like)Â
Directions
(1) Wash Apricots & Completely Let Them Dry Out- They're Can't Be a Drop of Water!
(2) Find the Slit Around the Apricot & Cut All Around.
(3) Twist The Apricot Firmly w/ Your Hands, Cutting The Apricot in Half, Take Out The Pit, Set Aside & Repeat.
(4) In a Medium Sized Pot Throw in Apricots & Sugar, Cover & Set on Lowest Possible Heat and Stir. You Want To Be Stirring The Mixture Every 12-15 Minutes.
Time: 30 Minutes, Sugar Starting to Melt.
Time: 90 Minutes, Sugar Completely Melted and Turned into Liquid.
90 Minutes- Water Should Be A Little High At This Point-Boil Mixture and Then Reduce Heat To Get Rid of Excess Liquid
Time: 2 Hours, Turn Off Heat & Let Jam Cool
When Completely Cooled, Place Jam In Empty Jars, Place In Fridge & Enjoy!
Use The Jam As The Jam Layer For This Great Marmalade Bar Recipe! Click The Pic For The Recipe!!
Hi there! Â Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I’m back from my baking hiatus! Â Here’s a great cookie recipe for all my chewy cookie recipe lovers. I made these recently for Mother’s Day, they’re were such a hit! Â Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients :(Makes 48 medium sized toffee cookies (cut the recipe exactly in half if you want to make 24)
(4 1/2) c. Flour
(4) eggs
(2) tsp. Vanilla
(1 1/2) c. Sugar **Plus some extra for sprinkling
(1/2) c. Â Light Brown Sugar
(1) c. Butter, Unsalted, Melted
(1) tsp. Baking Soda
(20) oz. Heath Bar Chocolate Candies
Pinch of salt
Directions: Oven @ 350
(1) Throw health bars in a food processor, grind them down until they look like this ->
Transfer the candies into a second large bowl and add flour & baking soda
(2) In the same food processor, no need to wash again, add the sugars, butter, vanilla, and salt
(3) Combine the two batters together in the large bowl.  Finally add the eggs and mix until well incorporated. You always want to treat your eggs w/ the most care when you bake-think of them like you would your grandma 😉Â
(4) Scoop out a generous tablespoon full of dough, roll into a ball and place on a cookie sheet lined w/ parchment paper. Â A regular sized cookie sheet should hold 12 cookies, make sure they are spread 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. Place in the oven for about 11 minutes.
 The key here is to take them out when they look almost done because they will continue to cook and harden when you take them out.  I usually judge it by when they look ready but feel slightly raw.
(5) Taken them out and sprinkle with a little sugar when they’re hot, let cool and serve!
Here’s a fun spring recipe my niece & I just made during a bake day. Â These lemon bars just scream Spring Fever…Made from lemons right off my tree, these bars never tasted better!
Ingredients
(1) Package Store Bought  sugar cookie dough (aim for around 20 oz or whatever will fill up your cake pan, you can substitute your favorite sugar cookie recipe here )
(4) Eggs
(2 1/4) c. Sugar
(4) Lemons
(3) Tbsp. Flour
(3) Tbsp. Heavy Cream
(1/4) c. Powder Sugar and some extra for dusting
Directions Oven @ 350
(1) Line a cake pan with parchment paper and spray with non stick spray. Â Take cookie dough out of package and spread evenly in the pan. Â Using your hands dig your fingers into the dough to create pockets in the crust for extra lemon flavor. Bake for 8 minutes or until the crust looks half way baked.
(2) Combine eggs, sugars, cream, and flour and mix until well incorporated.
(3) Wash lemons well and zest  four of the lemons with a microplane or zester.
(4) Cut all five lemons in half and squeeze juice into the mix, watch out for the pits!
(5) Pour the lemon mixture over the half baked cookie dough and put back in the oven for 25 minutes or until the lemon mixture has fully hardened.
(6) Take out of the oven and dust extra powder sugar on top. Â Next, let the bars cool down then place in the fridge for two hours. Â Once fully cooled take out of the fridge, take off the parchment paper, and cut into 16 bars!
Happy Spring 🙂
Happy Purim! Purim is a fun jewish holiday that’s celebrated by going to carnivals, dressing up in costume, hearing thousands of year old stories, giving “mishlochach manot” (sending gifts filled with yummy treats to all your loved ones)…and last but not least…HAMANTASHENS! We eat jelly filled triangle-shaped cookies on Purim that resembles the ear of the villan of the Purim story.  Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, these cookies will knock your socks off. Hope you enjoy 🙂
This recipe comes straight out of my mom’s kitchen.  She got the recipe from my nursery school sometime around 1989/90.  We keep this 20-year-old piece of paper  (which now almost seems like an artifact) taped up in a book filled with all my family’s favorite recipes.  Nothing seemed more fit than to post the recipe itself:
Now let me walk you through it…Oven @ 375
(1) Mix all the ingredients together. The dough is really flakey, so you’re going to have to get in there with your hands to get the ingredients  well combined. I cut the dough in half and made two balls, one for my strawberry flavor and one for my raspberry flavor.
(2) Using a wood or flat surface, spread some extra flour out on the board. Roll out the dough about 1/6 inch thick. Next, either using a medium-sized circle cookie cutter or a cup create circle cut outs. Collect the scraps and re-roll until you’re out of dough (you should roughly have about 40 hamantashens).
(3) Fill the center of each circle with 1/2 tsp of preserves (strawberry and raspberry and my favorite!)
(4) Next, wet your fingers with warm water, using your thumb to work the bottoms and your pointer fingers to work the two top sides, create a triangle shape and pinch very tightly with your fingers. Â See demonstration -> (My sister-in-law has a technique where she folds over the corner and then pinches at the top, guaranteed to keep them sealed..I think i got that right Dana?) If you want the cookies to get a more golden color you can brush egg yolks lightly on the sides, I don’t recommend it..I think it makes the cookie mushy)
(5) Spray a non-stick cookie sheet with non stick spray and line cookies up an inch apart. Â Bake for 20 minutes.
After I baked these guys up I put them in treat bags for my misloach manot 🙂  Happy Purim!
pattycakepattycake 
