Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats take the original classic to another level. Made with 3 Musketeer Candy Bars and decorated with candy corn, they are scary delicious with all the flavors of Halloween in a single bite! Did you miss me? I have been so busy that I haven’t had time to think about baking or new recipes, much less to write about them. Things have slowed down now, and I am able to get back in the kitchen. It’s cooled off a lot (thank goodness!) and the holidays are just around the corner. And holidays mean baking!! So here we go— First up, Halloween. I know it’s still 6 ...
Brownies, Bars & Tray Bakes
CARAMEL PUMPKIN BLONDIES
Last week my daughter sent me a picture of some caramel sea salt chips she found in Trader Joe’s. She knew they were right in my sweet spot (pun intended!) I am a caramel lover. I will pick it over chocolate any day. Add a little salt and that’s perfection. And of course, I did have a good use for these wonderful morsels of goodness. When we owned The Carolina Bed & Breakfast in Asheville, NC, I used to make some killer pumpkin blondies for our guests. The recipe included both white chocolate and butterscotch chips which melted down into the batter and formed a ...
Honey Roasted Almond and Fresh Apricot Bars
Using the contents of my cupboard I created these Honey Roasted Almond and Fresh Apricot Bars as a final treat for a picnic in the park. The honey almonds add some sweet and salt to the flavor, the apricots are a bright pop of fruit and the bottom crust gives a buttery finish to each bite. It has been a crazy spring! In March, we took our first family trip since returning from Anguilla in March of 2020. Later, in the last week of May, we got married, went on a short honeymoon, came back, and bought a house in Charlotte—all in the space of ONE week! And then life slowed down ...
FAIRY CAKES FOR MAISIE
Fairy Cakes are a British treat. Small cakes made of Victorian Sponge and topped with a simple icing and a candy or two, they are easy to make and hard to resist! I spent four days last week babysitting my three-year-old granddaughter and 6-month-old grandson. My sister asked me how it went, and this is what I said: Babysitting was very similar to having children. Good days and bad days, boredom and anxiety, fun and laughter, hugs and kisses and tremendous love. Not to mention those lovely moments sitting in a dark room holding a baby and watching him fall asleep. And of course, ...
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB BARS
Fresh strawberries and diced rhubarb are baked into a traybake or "bar cookie" filled with the flavors of Spring. For an extra pop of flavor, freeze dried strawberries are ground up and added to the crust. It's a quick and easy early Summer treat. I spent three weeks perfecting this recipe, taking it from "Okay" to "Yes!" And now I have procrastinated writing about it for another week. Honestly if I take any longer on this the strawberry and rhubarb season will have passed! Perfection is like that. Sometimes searching for perfection gets in the way. You need to step back and relax. ...
MEYER LEMON BARS
Some time, during the 27 odd years I lived outside of my home country, a new lemon came to town and it was all people could talk about it. I came back to the United States and I remember thinking “What’s all the fuss about a Meyer Lemon and what is a Meyer Lemon anyway?” Every year, when Spring rolls around, I start seeing posts on social media from friends and other foodies who are so excited that their Meyer Lemon trees are producing orange-colored lemons for their enjoyment. This year was no different except this year my local supermarket had them in stock. This year is ...
IT’S ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING BROWNIES
Did you stress-eat leftover Halloween Candy last night? Are you elated, disgusted, relieved, panicked, trepidatious or just happy to have something (or nothing) decided? It’s been a long year of jumbled up emotions and the last month felt like the previous six months before it ramped up and jammed into four weeks! Now it’s all over except for the shouting. The cake is baked. The deed is done. You know what we need? We need chocolate. Chocolate in its most American form. The one thing we can all agree on. The Brownie. Did anyone happen to see this season’s Great British Baking ...
VALENTINE’S DAY CHOCOLATE CARAMEL BROWNIE SUNDAE
We have all heard it, “Cook with love”. But what does that mean? Does it mean loving the act of cooking? Or does it mean loving the people you cook for? I think it means both. And while I love a good restaurant meal with a well thought out menu, for Valentine’s Day I am more likely to create a meal at home centered around the passions (for food!) of the person I am cooking for. And for dessert, that means chocolate! Not just any chocolate. A chocolate brownie with layers of chocolate and caramel in the center, topped with vanilla ice cream and a luscious homemade chocolate ...
RETURNING THE FAVOR: LEMON-LIME BARS
Dear Friend, I saw my cookbook in your car and the recipes you had marked. So, when you sent me this amazing bouquet of flowers, I knew what I needed to do, get baking! It was a dreary, rainy Friday—the start of another long weekend of rain. But I turned on all the lights, put on some music and fired up the oven. I lined my pan with foil so I could lift out the finished bars and cut clean edges (and maybe eat some of the bits I cut off). Butter, sugar and flour go into the food processor. Give it a whir until it looks like sand, pour it in the pan and pat it flat. Put ...
STARTING THE HOLIDAYS: FRUIT-NUT BARS
I hope all of you had a good Thanksgiving. Mine had just enough dysfunctional family dynamic to lend some poignancy but not enough to keep it from being warm, and wonderful and loving. And now it is on to the holidays and its paean to baked goods which fills the bakers among us with ambition and delight while those who don’t bake are happy and necessary accessories as eaters of our follies! In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I am counted among the bakers. From an early age I would flip avidly through magazines and newspapers dreaming and planning the cakes, cookies and desserts ...
