AKA Millionaire’s Shortbread. The first time I made these copycat twix bars, my kids thought I had reinvented the Twix. These don’t have chocolate covering the entire bar. I’m not that insane. Or competing on The Great American Baking Show. What these little gems do, is disappear in less than 24 hours with three taste-testers…
chocolate
chocolate cream hand pies
There comes a time when you must make hand pies. Why not make that day today? I’ve made all sorts of different hand pies. Marionberry and lemon ones in the form of a pop tart. And apple blueberry turnovers. So there’s no time like the present to enjoy these chocolate cream hand pies. The crust…
the best chocolate chip cookies
There’s so much going on! Do you ever feel like you’ve got too many hands in the cookie jar? I realize some things can be helped. But there are things that must get done. Like baking the best chocolate chip cookies. And taking care of our sweet canine buddy, Jasper. Last week we had to…
salted caramel peanut butter and chocolate rice krispy treats
Happy Fri-yay! Let’s celebrate by making some salted caramel, peanut butter, and chocolate rice krispy treats. I guess I can’t really call them “rice krispy” treats since I used the rice cereal from Trader Joe’s. But you get the idea. They’re GOOD. Like, make-them-right-now-even-if-you-don’t-have-all-the-ingredients good. As soon as my kids ate these, they both said…
chocolate peppermint layer cake with ganache
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and whether you celebrate that with your spouse or hang out with your besties for Galentine’s, this chocolate peppermint layer cake is the perfect dessert for the occasion. I made this chocolate peppermint layer cake over the weekend. All of the forecasts for the Pacific Northwest showed seven full days of…
blood orange chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting
There are some flavors that I go crazy for. It’s usually a citrus or a berry. Marionberries are my favorite berry, and the citrus I cannot live without is a toss up between Meyer Lemons and blood oranges. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you can tell I love Marionberries and…
the famous neiman marcus chocolate chip cookies
I’m sure you’ve heard of the story of the customer that requested the recipe for chocolate chip cookies she had while dining at a Neiman Marcus cafe. The legend goes that she loved the recipe so much, she requested the recipe and was told it would be “two fifty”. She assumed it was $2.50 and…
brioche braided bread with chocolate filling
I’m posting so many recipes using the brioche dough from BreadIn5’s holiday book. The dough really is *that* versatile. Being able to keep dough in the fridge for 5 days really is a game changer. When I don’t have to prepare dough every time I want to make cinnamon rolls, or this brioche wreath bread,…
christmas cookies for gifting
Don’t you love how every season there’s something new to discover in the kitchen? Tarts and crisps in the summer; pies in the fall; cookies for Christmas. There are so many baking blogs with great ideas for gifting treats. I love Half Baked Harvest’s cookie box ideas. She has the best recipes and I love…
chocolate espresso crinkle cookies
Every year the granddaughters on my in-law’s side get together to bake Christmas cookies. These chocolate espresso crinkle cookies are my take on a favorite the girls make every year. They’ve been doing it since the oldest (who is about 30!), was old enough to bake with grandma. The cookies are divided up and given…
s’mores cupcakes with ganache filling
Did you know it’s chocolate cupcake day? I didn’t either! Until I googled it, of course. I’ve been wanting to share these cupcakes with you all, but needed a special occasion. Here it is. The made-up holiday of “Chocolate Cupcake Day”. There are some interesting holidays out there. November 15th is “Clean Out Your Refrigerator”…
butter pecan turtle bars
It seems there is never a time I am not in the kitchen cooking something up. I’ve been out most of the weekend with sports activities, so I wasn’t planning on working on anything these past two days. I should have known that would never happen. You know you enjoy something when you’re dead tired,…
baked pumpkin donuts
Does it feel like “baked doughnuts” are an oxymoron? How can something not fried be better than something baked? It IS possible. And its name is Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts. Pumpkin is such a love/hate flavor. I enjoy pumpkin-flavored treats. But know what I like better? The spices that make the pumpkin taste good. Look how…
chocolate and zucchini muffins
You know that abundant vegetable that everyone always has too much of? Yep – zucchini. If you grow it, it’s like you don’t have enough friends to give it to. It’s littered over your counters and kitchen table. You’re trying to figure out how you can possibly make one more thing out of it. Here…
chocolate cheesecake with ganache
Aren’t you just dying over this? I made another recipe out of The Vanilla Bean cookbook and can I just say – she’s brilliant. Anyone who has multiple recipes for cheesecake in her cookbook is my new best friend. Remember that first cheesecake I made? That had my Marionberry Lavender jam on it? This…
fig and dark chocolate oatmeal bars
I’m smitten with Mr. Fig. I was a huge fan of those Fig Newton bars growing up. My tastes have changed, but my love for the fig has remained. You’d think with the giant fig trees in my yard that I would have an abundance of figs to experiment with. But sadly, the trees don’t…
look to the cookie
Look at that cookie. WHO wouldn’t want to eat that?? This is how the cookies turn out when baked straight from the freezer. I just HAD to show you how beautiful they are! Here’s a link to the recipe.This morning, after picking up my grocery shopping from Fred Meyer ClickList, I came home, unloaded everything,…
low carb sugar free chocolate zucchini muffins
I had a series of recipes that I planned to make this week. Then I saw the zucchini in my fridge and knew I needed to use it before it went bad. If there’s banana bread in our house, my kids know the real reason I made it. 🙂 Even though I enjoy eating foods…
let’s talk chocolate
If you’re new to baking, you’ve probably noticed there are lots of choices when it comes to chocolate. Do you use chips? What about a baking bar? Should you use semi-sweet or try bittersweet? What about cocoa powder or Dutch process? I’ve put on my research hat and here’s the skinny: There are differences between…
chocolate chip cookies
Let’s get something straight. There’s an art and science to making the perfect chocolate chip cookies. Getting the right ratio of chocolate to cookie dough. Deciding which sugar to use more of, depending if you want a crispier cookie, or a chewier cookie. I could declare these the “Best” chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had,…
hazelnut espresso sandwich cookies
You guys. I’m on this cookie kick. I’ve been baking all sorts of cookies lately but had to share one that isn’t even mine! I love America’s Test Kitchen (ya know all those product reviews? SO helpful!). It’s like I have a mini team of researchers in my kitchen.
chocolate sugar cookies
There’s something about chocolate – you either love it, or could do without it. Me? I’m in the category of LOVE IT! I’ve been finding new ways to use chocolate – bittersweet, unsweetened, cocoa powder, dutch process. There’s so many different ways to get rich, chocolate flavors. I plan on a post that talks about…