Last year, I was staring down a pile of cherries and wishing that I owned a cherry pitter. After making a gigantic mess and spending a ridiculous amount of time pitting them with a paring knife, I decided to buy one before the next year. I was lucky enough to borrow one from a friend in the meantime and while it did an awesome job of pitting the cherries, it sprayed cherry juice all over us and the kitchen counters. After looking around online...
After picking up a bunch of cherries this past week, I wanted to bake them into something richly chocolate. I didn’t want to try a new recipe though and I wanted to use ingredients that were already in my house. I remembered my childhood brownie recipe as being very simple and all made in a single pot. This is a simple one-pot brownie recipe that never disappoints. As proven by my own past, even a child can make these. I’ve converted the...
I made this for dinner last week and liked it so much that I have already made it again. My family loves German Pancakes; traditional, grain or gluten free. However you make them, German Pancakes are always delicious. This version is one of my favorites. Sweet enough from the apples, all the finished pancake required was a light dusting of powdered sugar. I tried a bite with maple syrup and it was delicious, but I still...
Always a hit when tucked inside boxes of Christmas sweets, these are a rich, sweet, chewy cookie that is almost a candy. The bittersweet chocolate balances the sweetness of the coconut and the flavors work very well together. I’ve made these macaroons at Christmastime for the past 3 years. If you love coconut anywhere near as much as we do, you will absolutely fall in love with these cookies. * These cookies freeze perfectly. I tuck...
Homemade Butter Mints are old-fashioned, buttery, sweet, minty candies that melt in your mouth like no store-bought candy you have ever tasted. I’ll go ahead and tell you that these innocent looking mints are absurdly addictive. I found myself walking through the kitchen several times today, just to taste one more, and then one more. I used to love after-dinner mints, but I haven’t had one in years. The last ones I tried were dry to the...
Flaky bites of shortbread that are barely crisp on the outside, then melt in your mouth with chocolate and just a hint of coffee flavor. Not so much coffee as to overpower each bite, but the right amount to bring out the flavor of the chocolate and the aroma of the espresso. I’ve made a handful of desserts with espresso this past year, and I liked all of them. However, this is my favorite and it is the first one that even the...
Haupia is a sweet coconut cream custard that can be served as firm as jello or softer and more scoop-able like pudding. Commonly served at luaus and Hawaiian restaurants, this treat caught my eye and I couldn’t resist making it along with our Huli Huli Chicken and Cilantro Lime Pineapple Rice. My kids flipped over this dessert and requested that I make it again as soon as possible. Feel free to stack a couple of the pieces. One...
For over ten years, I have declared this Turtle Cheesecake with Chocolate, Caramel and Pecans to be the best cheesecake I have ever tasted. Well, there is a new cake in town. We had some friends over for dinner and I wanted to make something a little different. Fruit was requested over chocolate and I looked around for inspiration. Naturally, I couldn’t leave well enough alone. The brown sugar and almond crust combined with a...
Chunks of apricots, strawberries and fresh rhubarb are tossed together with sugar and spices and baked in between layers of a brown sugar and almond oat crust. Almost firm enough to cut into bars and yet fruity enough to be a crisp, this is really just a fruit crisp with both a top and bottom crust layer. This is one of my favorite summer desserts. I would happily eat this breakfast, lunch and dinner every day until the pan is...
Sticky coconut rice with sweet mangos makes a terrific snack/dessert. My recipes this week are the result of a weekend spent playing at our cabin. My sister drove over from NM and met us there with her girls. The kids played and ran around with their cousins and had non-stop fun all weekend; while the adults talked, laughed, played games and only paused to put food in front of everyone. We had a blast hanging out, making our favorite foods and...
