Easter Trifle 8 Apr 11:09 AM (12 days ago)

Why don't I make trifles more often? Why? They're fun to make, can be put together ahead of time, and feed a crowd. Oh, and they happen to be delicious! Trifles are one of those desserts that you bring to the table, and people say, "Wow!"

Did I mention this feeds a crowd? Try 18 to 22 servings!



If you've never made a trifle before, it's basically cake, pudding, and cream - layered and chilled. Very easily adaptable to pretty much any flavor combination. You'll see brownies in place of the cake portion often, and that's what I did here. CLICK TO READ THE FULL POST >

Hazelnut Macarons 1 Apr 2:28 PM (19 days ago)

Ever since my friend Lupita taught me how to make macarons several years ago, I've been in love with the process and results. Despite their finicky reputation, they are actually easy to make, Really!

Recently, I made these oh-so-yummy Mexican chocolate macarons, and these simple macarons are the ones that started it all for me.

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SUPER FUDGE! Quadruple Chocolate Brownies 17 Mar 12:45 PM (last month)

If you're looking for a brownie that is super fudgy (fudgey?) and extremely decadent - you've found it. 

These Quadruple Chocolate Brownies are deep and dark, rich and fudgy, sweet and a little salty. 

A brownie so rich, it vacations at the White Lotus. 

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Coconut Cream Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 24 Feb 12:37 PM (last month)

Yep. You must make it. I don't care if it's for Easter, Mother's Day, or a regular ol' weekday like I did...you MUST make this cake.


You know how Bundt cakes can sometimes be heavy or too dense? Not this one. 

Heart-Shaped Chocolate Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies 5 Feb 7:50 AM (2 months ago)

 I have a thing for hearts. Vintage heart hankies, heart-shaped measuring cups, heart pillows, heart spatulas, heart dishtowels, heart scarves, HEART ART...if it has a heart on it, I want it. ♥

So, it goes without saying that this time of year is my FAVORITE! My love of heart-shaped baked goods can come out in full force.


Not only are these cookies cute, they are SO delicious! You'll get a double dose of chocolate and hazelnut, both in the cookie and the filling.

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Baci di Dama: Lady's Kisses Cookies 27 Jan 11:19 AM (2 months ago)

 

Baci di Dama, or Lady's Kisses, cookies are absolutely perfect for Valentine's Day! Diminutive, crisp, and nutty Italian hazelnut cookies are sandwiched together with a kiss of bittersweet chocolate.

Please don't confuse these with Ladies' FINGERS cookies (no, I didn't mean Lady Fingers). 

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Raspberry Meltaway Cookies 8 Jan 8:14 AM (3 months ago)

You know those cookies that just seem to melt right on your tongue? Soft and light and ethereal? These are those. The color and the flavor come from freeze-dried raspberries. That's right; there's not a drop of pink food coloring in these babies.

If your Valentine isn't crazy for chocolate (I hear those people exist), these pretty pink cookies are just the ticket. ♥

Freeze-dried raspberries are dry, completely dry. No chewiness, no added sugar. I fell in love with the strawberries and made these chocolate chip cookies with them a couple of weeks ago.

The cookies and the entire process were so pretty, I could not stop taking pictures. You'll start by making raspberry powder in your food processor.

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Peppermint Bark Crunch 21 Dec 2024 6:44 PM (4 months ago)

This is the peppermint bark I've been making for years...more than a decade? It's peppermint bark with a little somethin' somethin'. 

That somethin' is Rice Krispies cereal!!! It adds a lightness and a crispy-crunchy bite that sets this peppermint bark apart from all others. 

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Newbie Cookie Decorators are the BEST Cookie Decorators + How to Host a Cookie Decorating Party 18 Dec 2024 1:37 PM (4 months ago)

Why do beginner and kid cookie decorators make the best cookies? I have a few ideas. 

Let me set the scene. Last weekend, I invited Jack, his roommate, and their girlfriends to come over for cookie decorating. (Have I mentioned how happy we are to have moved to the same area as Jack? It's a dream.)

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Zoë Bakes Cookies Cookbook + Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies 12 Dec 2024 10:07 AM (4 months ago)

If you're looking for a holiday gift for a baker, maybe the baker is you(!), I'm here to recommend the Zoë Bakes Cookies cookbook!

You probably know Zoë. She has a website, a cooking show, and maybe you have her cake cookbook. Incredible baker, the best hair, infectious smile. She makes you want to get to creating in the kitchen!

Today, I'm sharing her cookbook and recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies. 

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Your Decorated Christmas Cookie Questions Answered! 6 Dec 2024 7:16 AM (4 months ago)

Hello! Hello! Greetings from my world which this week means recovering from oral surgery (no pain, yay!) and two weeks of bland "soft foods" (boo!). I had no idea how many things I regularly eat that are crunchy, seedy, nutty, or spicy. Or all four! 

Anyhoo, I asked on Instagram this week, "What are your Christmas cookie questions?" I'm still getting questions in my DMs. I wanted to share them here as well. 

Your Decorated Christmas Cookie Questions Answered!

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Apple Butter Pie with Biscoff Speculoos Cookie Crust 21 Nov 2024 10:28 AM (5 months ago)

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18 Coconut Dessert Recipes 4 Nov 2024 4:50 AM (5 months ago)

Coconut cookies, coconut ice cream, coconut cakes, coconut snacks...I've gotcha covered. 

18 Coconut Dessert Recipes 

First, you might want to brush up on your coconut milks and creams. And don't forget cream OF coconut. That's a different animal, and I break down the differences here. 

Let's start with recipes for coconut cookies! 

• coconut chocolate chip cookies: buttery, just-the-right-amount-of-salty, brown sugar, coconut cookies with loads of chocolate chips
• coconut sugar chocolate chip cookies: made with both coconut sugar and chocolate chips sweetened with coconut sugar, these coconut sugar chocolate chip cookies satisfy that chocolate chip cookie craving
• coconut spritz cookies: crisp and buttery, use a cookie press to make these cookies in any shape
• pink snowball cookies: a nod to the nostalgic Snoballs snack cakes, these buttery coconut cookies with chocolate centers are covered in a pink glaze and pink coconut
• chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons: you can't have a list of coconut cookie recipes without macaroons; you'll want to make these

Here are our favorite coconut cake and cupcake recipes:

• favorite (easy) coconut cake: a great cake for a weeknight celebration, and it's also scrumptious enough for a special occasion
• key lime-filled coconut cupcakes: based on our very favorite coconut cake, filled with rich and tangy lime curd and topped with cream cheese frosting
• coconut cream cake with cream cheese icing: soft and moist, with a crispy edge, and full of lovely coconut flavor and topped with cream cheese icing
• nana mckee's chocolate cake with fluffy coconut frosting: a fluffy, soft, vintage cake recipe paired beautifully with coconut frosting

And here are the coconut dessert and treat recipes that aren't cakes or cookies:

Witchy Wormy Candy 31 Oct 2024 6:20 AM (5 months ago)

Would you eat candy made from buzzard eyes, snails, spider eggs, fried worms, and arsenic? What if I told you that they are actually a version of chocolate peanut butter haystacks? 

Witchy Wormy Candy is a quick treat to make for Halloween...or any other time you want to get spooky. I'm talking 15 minutes to make with NO BAKING! 

They're great for kids to help make because it just involves stirring and scooping. Oh, did I mention these are terrifyingly (see what I did there) delicious??? 

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish 20 Oct 2024 2:07 PM (6 months ago)

You might remember my cream cheese danish origin story. For that reason, cream cheese danish always have a special place in my heart...and on my thighs. 

Well, today, we're making PUMPKIN Cream Cheese Danish. This should have been done long, long ago. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Danish is everything you love about a cream cheese danish—the flaky pastry, the creamy, sweet-tangy filling—but with pumpkin and warm spices. 

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The Canned Pumpkin I Use Most... 3 Oct 2024 12:31 PM (6 months ago)

Whether you're making a Double Cocoa Pumpkin Smoothie, Spiced Pumpkin Cut-Out Cookies, Pumpkin Bread, or any of the other pumpkin recipe out there, you'll want to use a good canned pumpkin puree. 

There are many canned pumpkin comparisons on the interwebs, but how many of those reviewers can say that they have some version of a pumpkin/cocoa smoothie for breakfast five days a week for most of the year?

(My current favorite is a version of this smoothie with almond milk, a shot of decaf espresso, pumpkin, vanilla protein powder, cocoa powder, collagen powder, vanilla, and a pinch of salt and cayenne. It's so good!)

Oh, and before I share my favorites, let me stress that you always want to buy pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. All four of these are 100% pumpkin with nothing added. 

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October, October, I love ya, October. You're only six days away! ::: 43 Recipes and Decorated Cookies to Make in October 25 Sep 2024 11:34 AM (6 months ago)

The best month will soon be upon us: October. There is no debate...it's the best. The fact that I have an October birthday has nothing to do with it. ;) 

Here are 43 recipes and cookie decorating tutorials to make this October. 

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Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies 14 Sep 2024 12:53 PM (7 months ago)

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The Salad Whisperer Cookbook! A New Favorite! 27 Aug 2024 10:43 AM (7 months ago)

Yes! Between cookies, cakes, and brownies, we often eat salad. I actually love a good salad—usually when it's made by someone else. 

Let me introduce you to Salad Whisperer: Veggie-Forward Recipes for Mouth-Watering Meals. I promise you'll want this on your cookbook shelf! 

Embarrassingly, for years, my go-to salad to serve with dinner was baby spinach tossed with olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper. 

Well, Sarah Faris has changed all that with her new cookbook Salad Whisperer: Veggie-Forward Recipes for Mouth-Watering Meals. Just look at her Not My Mother's Tabbouleh above! 

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Favorite (easy) Coconut Cake 20 Aug 2024 6:29 AM (8 months ago)

What has made this our family's favorite coconut cake for decades now?

A. It's freaking delicious. The cake is moist, the icing is decadent, and the coconut flavor is just the right amount.

B. The cake is SO easy to make! 

C. Made in a 13 x 9" pan, there are no layers to frost, and it's perfect for transporting to parties, the neighbor's house, picnics, and potlucks!

I'm not saying you need to make it this week. (OK, maybe I am.) It's a great cake for a weeknight celebration, and it's also scrumptious enough for a special occasion. 

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Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Sprinkle Marbled Half-Birthday Bundt Cake 9 Aug 2024 1:20 PM (8 months ago)

If you've been around here a while (hi and thank you!), you'll know we love celebrating a half-birthday. My mom started this tradition, and it lives on! 

Recently, we celebrated Jack's 25 and a half! (Excuse me while I go back and look at photos from TWELVE AND A HALF, which I think was the first one I documented on the blog.) Time flies, y'all. 

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Sweet on Trader Joe's Review Highlights, first half 2024 19 Jul 2024 2:57 PM (9 months ago)

What? How has it been almost a year since I've given you a glimpse at what we've been reviewing over on Sweet on Trader Joe's? 

Here are some Trader Joe's review highlights...

Let's start with Trader Joe's breakfast reviews!

We've reviewed:

• almond butter granola and peanut butter chocolate granola (one was better than the other)
• love croissants? We reviewed Mini Chocolate Chip Croissant Swirls and Double Chocolate Croissants. (Spoiler alert: We loved them both, but only one earned double-5 stars!)

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Cherry Pie Bars Revisited, Two Ways 16 Jul 2024 8:38 AM (9 months ago)

A recipe that I've made over and over again is Cherry Pie Bars. I've made so many desserts over the years that sometimes I'll have to remind Jack and Mark which dessert I'm referring to..."Remember those cookies I made last summer that we ate after taco night and shared with the neighbors across the street?" 

NOT THESE. The boys know what I mean when I say "cherry pie bars."

You might remember that we recently moved. Coincidentally, the (darling) daughter of one of my Dallas besties and her husband just moved in a few neighborhoods away. I know from first-hand, very recent experience that moving is hard work and is fueled only with copious amounts of fast food and sugar.

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Peach-Swirled Buttermilk Bundt Cake, and WE MOVED! 2 Jul 2024 8:47 AM (9 months ago)

You may have noticed, and maybe you haven't, that things have been quieter around here lately. (Honestly, I subscribe to so many newsletters and blogs that I think it takes me a couple of years to realize I haven't heard from someone in a while.) 

This Peach-Swirled Buttermilk Bundt Cake is my first bake in our new (to us) house. It's moist with a fine crumb. The vanilla and almond buttermilk cake is swirled with a fresh summer peach purée. 

The cake is simple enough for a weeknight dessert but is also perfect for a summer party or potluck. 

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Almond Peach Dump Cake 20 May 2024 10:46 AM (11 months ago)

If you've never paired the flavors of peaches and almonds, you're going to fall in love with the duo in this Almond Peach Dump Cake.

Now, while I've made peach pie (oh man, this recipe is so, so good!), Texas peach pecan cobbler, peachy blueberry muffins, and even peach-decorated cookies (still one of my favorite designs), I've never made a peach dump cake. 

Heck, I'd never made a dump cake, period. I'll be honest - I don't love the name. Ha. 

*this recipe was sponsored by my friends at Imperial Sugar

Based on the vintage recipe calling for canned fruit and cake mix, this updated, from-scratch version features frozen peaches, almond flavors, a homemade cake mix layer, and sliced almonds for a bit of crunch. Melted butter stirred together with the dry ingredients ensures no dry patches. Oh, and the vanilla ice cream on top is mandatory.

The result is tart and sweet. Warm and cold. Comforting and delicious.

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