Christmas Sugar Cookies

Alas I have included Christmas cookies to this sweet blog. I mean, it's a must. I made sure of this too: I baked them in the morning before work and finished them late at night after a busy day. Despite the hard work involved, there is something truly magical about baking and decorating Christmas cookies. To me Christmas cookies are such a part of Christmas joy. They are such a part of Christmas traditions. That is the wonder of food. It brings people together and makes them truly happy. In my family, we long for my mom's cookies, which she starts baking about a week before Christmas because there are so many types. These cookies are a part of breakfast and a huge part of dessert. They are dessert on Christmas Eve as well as Christmas. I eat about eight to ten cookies both days (I have to be honest with you). And I do not feel bad about that in any way. Eating the buttery, sugary little cookies brings me happiness. You should not limit yourself from happiness. Every day is an occasion, so we must treat each day just as that.

Chocolate Candy Cane Loaves

Count down to Christmas is here. I am so excited and trying to enjoy every minute of it, minus the stress of course. The holiday's are about spending time with the ones you love most and celebrating the joys and blessings in your life. I can truly say that I am blessed for everything and everyone in my life. I give thanks every morning of every day, and I write ten things I am thankful for each day in my happiness journal every night. I cannot help but smile at this time of year, looking at the beautiful lights and decorations, and watching my most favorite movies, especially my all time favorite It's a Wonderful Life.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cake

Firstly, I sincerely apologize for the lack of posts. I have been so busy with the holidays and working. And very busy making pies for Thanksgiving. But I am back and ready to tackle all of the Christmas recipes that I have been longing to make. After Thanksgiving, Christmas is in full swing. In my home however, the Christmas trees go up the week of Halloween, but that is besides the point here. My goals for the Christmas sweets season are as follows: something gingerbread, something peppermint, something white and snowy (perhaps coconut or white chocolate), homemade baked gifts, and a vast amount of cookies. I am going to bake as much as I possibly can this month, and I will be sharing it with all of you. Lucky you are...

Coconut Cardamom Date Bread

A good morning in the life of me involves a cup of coffee, mediation in the form of prayer, the food section of the newspaper, and a good breakfast. A tasty wholesome breakfast that pairs extraordinarily well with coffee or tea (I have to have my caffeine, caffeine addiction since high school, yes it happened). I can skip lunch on occasion, but I can never skip breakfast. The day I made this bread, it was snowing. The first snow of the season that stuck, but thankfully it did not stay for too long. Regardless of this matter, it was very cold, wet and snowy outdoors, so of course I decided to bake. I had a little bit of remaining heavy cream from making the s'mores cake and I knew exactly what I wanted to use it for. Tender, delicious quick bread. The bread came together very quickly, the very beauty of quick breads, and the house smelled absolutely lovely. I immediately felt warm inside as I looked out the window at the wet snow rain, as I like to call it.

Dark Chocolate S'mores Cake



Birthdays call for specialty cakes. A dark chocolate s'mores cake is a special cake alright. My sister turned 25 on Saturday and I wanted to make her a special treat for her special day. She has a love for anything chocolate, especially dark chocolate so this cake was perfect. A little combination of dark chocolate with the sweetness of graham cracker and marshmallow, how can you go wrong?

Strawberry Ale Floats

After a long day, a cold brew really hits the spot. Well for someone who is not one for beer, strawberry ale hits the spot. But tonight, I wanted to turn my ale into this a whimsical boozy dessert, as part of a birthday celebration treat to my sister. When I was a little girl, I would always go to my classmates birthday parties and there would always be the same punch.: sherbet, 7-up and lime concentrate. As a child, this was pure sugary heaven, but as an adult, there are so many more options for "punch" why would I stick to just the one? With a creative mind, the options are quite endless. We are lucky now-a-day's to have a liquor store full of flavors and flavor combinations and the same goes for sherbet, sorbet, gelato, frozen yogurt and ice cream. Every time I go into the grocery store it seems like Ben and Jerry's has a new flavor they have whipped up. For me personally, I like to go local with the products I use, which is exactly why I purchased my sorbet from work.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins 2012

 

Pumpkins 2013

 

 

 

I wish you all a day full of spooky fun, sweet treats and trickery. Be safe and enjoy this trick-or-treat filled day! Happy Halloween!!

Spiced Coffee Whoopie Pies

 

Whoopie pies are pure Americana. They are often filled with childhood memories, appreciated by both young and old. I remember for years when I was just a little girl, my mom would make my favorite chocolate whoopie pies for my birthday, with homemade marshmallow fluff filling. Gosh those were good. She still makes them from time to time, and every time she does, the memories shoot straight back to my childhood birthdays. My mom would stick a candle into mine, which made me feel extra special. The chocolaty cookie filled with that sweet sticky cream, accompanied by messy fingers and a face full of pure joy, and of course the longing to eat another one; those are sweet memories. I can almost taste them just thinking about it.

Deconstructed Pumpkin Cream Chiffon Pie

When you think Fall flavors, you think pumpkin. It is only fitting that we all have our share of pumpkin pie, and might I add more than one share of it throughout the season. Sometimes this is a hard order to fill. You could of course go to your local grocery store and pick up a pie, but you know it is never quite as good as homemade. I have a tastier, homemade solution for you- deconstruct that pie! You will save time and frustration (and it makes for a very pretty plate). All the flavors and components are still exactly the same; each bite is still full of spicy, pumpkin filled goodness. Every bite is pure Fall. And yes, your home will still smell wonderful when you are making it.

Great Gram's Breakfast Puffs

There is something truly comforting about opening a cookbook handed down for generations, full of hand written recipes and nostalgia. Torn pages, loose recipes, oil splotches, a story only a kitchen can tell. Great gram specialized in so many treats, her house always smelling of wondrous aromas, as I have been told. From her paczkis to her potato rolls...and the ever famous family treat, "Heavenly Hash" (frivolous name I know), a candy made from the combination of marshmallows, peanut butter, and chocolate. As if a novel, this cook book tells a story. A story about the era in which it was created, full of tuna casseroles and stock full of recipes involving lard, buttermilk and instant mashed potatoes. An era in which money was tight. An era in which you used every last scrap, every last speck of the leftover butter on the wrapper. This book means so much.

Welcome:)

Hello and welcome to my blog ^_^

I am truly excited to share my love and passion of sweets with the internet world. As a food blog addict myself, I decided to finally jump on the bandwagon (having wanted to for the longest time). Now that I have successfully completed pastry school, I have the time to dedicate to the application of the techniques and knowledge I have acquired into my own creations and share this will all of you...

I hope you all enjoy the recipes and creations soon to come

To all of my fellow foodies....

This is going to be fun;)