It doesn’t make sense that this recipe did not appear on my blog long ago.

I developed it back in the late 1990’s and it was published in “Reflections Under the Sun: The Brightest Collection of the Best Recipes from the Junior League of Phoenix” in 1999.

I remember being so pleased when the JLP requested a recipe from me. I hadn’t been a member for a couple of years by then.

I had become a member in 1992, back when the previous cookbook was being published, joining too late to participate in that project.

Anyhow, everyone loves these muffins. We often make them for our graduation luncheon during summer cooking classes with the teens and there is never a crumb left. How they have been so elusive and not yet appeared here, is beyond me.  Make a batch now and thank me later!

[Read more →]

I saw this beautiful loaf of bread, more like a bunch of rolls actually, on Pinterest, and instantly knew I wanted to make it ASAP. The wonderful blog it originated from is called The Italian Dish. Check it out, I know you’ll love it.

I had to hold Dave, Marissa, and Connor back from diving into this when it came out of the oven. I did not bake it for them – I brought it as a hostess gift to the lovely Joanne and handsome Mark, who had us over on New Year’s Eve.

Use you imagination, and you could take this basic recipe, shape the dough into balls, and make any number of designs.

From a festive tree for next Christmas to a heart, for Valentine’s Day.

Thank you, Mark and Joanne, we had a fun evening, even if I was a bit sore and tired which resulted in us leaving before midnight.

Which reminds me – I have not given an update on my pelvic injury in a while – I am doing so much better! I have been walking on my own, without the walker, since last Thursday. I’ve even ventured upstairs a time or two when I’ve needed something up there. Most importantly, I’m driving, so life is just about back to normal! I should be completely healed in about two weeks.

Thank you again for all your kind deeds and lovely thoughts and prayers. God is good and so are you! xoxo [Read more →]

If you’ve read from this blog before, you most likely already know that I am NOT a baker. If I bake something, and it turns out, and I post it here, and I call it “my own” – you can rest assured that it is a fluke, a miracle, or a lie!

The exception, the fluke, if you will, is my carrot cake. I did “create” that. After making carrot cake after carrot cake over many years (and many years ago) I finally got a perfect carrot cake that I truly believe is the best you will ever have.

I do make a pretty mean cheesecake, but not because I’ve created anything new. But because I’ve discovered, while making many cheesecakes and by reading many other people’s opinions about cheesecake, and then stealing the best of their various ideas and putting them together, how to make a fool-proof cheesecake. My cheesecakes always turn out perfectly! For my three “must-do” steps/tricks, go HERE.

Aside from that one cake and cheesecakes in general… I would no more be able to create a new and wonderful baked dessert than I would be able to take apart a car engine!

All that being said, I’ve found a woman, a blog, and a cookbook with pretty fantastic desserts! It’s called Sprinkle Bakes and I made the following Very Impressive, Very Beautifully Photographed, and Very Delicious cake from her very lovely blog for my cooking series last month.

In all honesty, I should just stop now and send you directly there. I’ve pared down her recipe to make it a bit more manageable, but I haven’t really changed it at all. Also, I should not post my photos, as they were taken with my iPhone at Les Gourmettes, in the rush of a cooking class for 16 students. Photos of food are not top priority in those moments. Cutting the cake and serving it to the lovely paying students, is!  But I made the gorgeous decadent cake, so you shall suffer through my photos, then go over and see Sprinkle Bakes’ very professional photos and her very helpful step-by-step photos and be inspired and amazed!

Now, be prepared, not only is this cake a mouthful, but so is the name of the cake!

On a quick side note: Congratulations to my friend, Larry Fitzgerald, who received a Man of the Year award yesterday. It is beyond well deserved. Now I wait for him to receive the overall NFL Man of the Year award when it is announced during Super Bowl week. Fingers crossed.  Larry lives up to his press, he truly is a wonderful man!

Oh, I almost forgot – Merry Christmas Eve! xoxo

[Read more →]

You didn’t really think I would do the “12 Kitchen Gifts of Christmas” without adding at least one sweet baked treat, did you?

I didn’t think you would think that! Today is the day … Rum Glazed Eggnog Bread… it’s a keeper!

If you want to get a jump on your Christmas baking, these loaves freeze beautifully. Just don’t make or add the glaze until you’ve taken them out of the freezer and allowed them to thaw overnight in your refrigerator.

Although the amount of rum is minimal if you want or need to avoid alcohol, substitute orange juice in its place.

I found the adorable German paper baking pans at Home Goods and I also saw them at T. J. Max. Undoubtedly, they are at Marshall’s as well. They are half the size of standard mini loaf pans, so I am calling these  *ultra-mini loaves. It’s all good – this way, there are twice as many loaves for giving.

On the ninth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me:

Rum Glazed Eggnog Bread
Fennel Cured Salmon
Spicy Guinness Mustard
Two Jars of Mustard
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Homemade Kahlua Liqueur
Lemon-Sugar Hand Scrub
Cranberry Citrus Vodka
and a bottle of Tomato Dust

[Read more →]

If you go on Pinterest or you read any food or style magazines, then you already know that pumpkins are all the rage! But there is more to autumn than just the glorious pumpkin. Pears and apples shouldn’t be overlooked in fall decorating or cooking.

This quintessential autumn dessert proves that point perfectly.

[Read more →]

Today we are going to revisit a Halloween favorite around these parts – my Halloween Spiderweb Candy Cake with 7-Minute Espresso Frosting. Click the name of the cake to link to the very explicit directions on how to make this fun cake with many instructional photos.

I thought I would use this opportunity to remind you that there is the “Complete Recipe Index” over there on the left side of the page – near the top, under the “Pages” tab.

[Read more →]

Today is Dave’s birthday. Connor came home from school for the weekend and HE, not I, made Dave’s birthday cake! All I did was take the action photos. Dave’s cake of choice is always his Auntie B’s Chocolate Cake. My mother-in-law sent me the recipe even before we were married so that I could make it for her boy who had moved so far from home.

Dave remembers the anticipation of The Beloved Cake when he would see a measuring cup full of milk, covered with a towel, sitting near the heater under the front picture window of his childhood home. You see, the recipe calls for sour milk. That old method of souring milk is no longer recommended since milk that is soured naturally may contain toxins. A safer, quicker, and much easier way to sour milk is to add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of 2% or whole milk and leave it to sit on a counter for 15 minutes before using. All that being said, everyone in Dave’s family is healthy and happy after consuming many of Auntie B’s cakes that were made with naturally soured milk.

Happy Birthday, Dave! xoxo

[Read more →]

Photo credit: Diane Larimore Garcher (swiped by me from Facebook)

These are peaches from my cousin, Diane’s, two trees. Earlier this summer, my dad went up to Prescott Valley to visit Diane and she sent a bunch of peaches home with him. This all occurred back in mid-August while I was in Alaska.

Upon our return to Arizona, my sister, Sloane, picked us up from the airport. As we were driving home, my dad called Sloane’s cell to see if “we’d made it.” I was assuring him, that indeed we did, when he said, “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? I’ve got a bunch of peaches from Diane – how about I bring them over and we can peel them.”

WHAT?!  I’ve been out of town for two weeks. I landed a mere 25 minutes ago. The day is gone, it is dark outside. I spent the last 10 hours sitting on shuttles, stuck in an airport, languishing on an overbooked airplane, and standing at a carousel waiting for luggage (I know that word “carousel” sounds like such FUN. It is not!)  And my dad honestly thinks I may actually want to just hang out and peel peaches with him in a few hours!

Yeah, thanks. But, no, not so much!

Although clearly disappointed with my obvious lack of enthusiasm – my dad peeled the peaches himself, packaged and froze them, and then brought them to my house later in the week. Upon their delivery, he said, “Maybe one of these days, you could make me a peach pie with these.”

Wow, parents really never lose the knack.  They know exactly how to lay on the guilt, don’t they?

Anyhow, yes, I made the pie and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.  Thank you, Dad. And, thank you, Diane, for the luscious peaches – they were divine! xoxo

[Read more →]

Every year, around this time, when most of the country is feeling the sweet coolness of the coming season, I ask myself that very question, “Autumn is guaranteed, isn’t it?” Here in the Arizona desert, we won’t feel the cool relief of fall for more than a month. But… with the guarantee that it WILL come, I made these spice cookies to have a little pre-fall flavor in the house.

The other incentive was the Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Kisses I found at Target after learning about them on Pinterest. Just in case you can’t find them in your area, I’ve also given you a yummy frosting recipe to top the cookies with. If you do as I did and frost a dozen of the cookies and push a Kiss into the other dozen, cut the frosting recipe in half.

Or go crazy and use both – frost the cookies once they’ve cooled and then stick a Kiss on top.

[Read more →]

Hey look at that… I took two days off in a row and you still came back… Thank you! Really, I mean it, thank you for all your support and your kind comments, it means so very much to me.  xoxo

These quick and easy dessert bars may be made into any flavor that your heart desires. Use whatever jam, jelly, or pie filling you have on hand – I chose strawberry pie filling to make these. Just drop a teaspoon in the center of each bar and it sinks into the batter as it bakes. I’m thinking of trying Nutella or PB&J next time.

[Read more →]