Tag: desserts

Miss A’s Dream Come True

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It’s time for the birthday girl’s dessert and you’ll never guess what we found. Remember that Miss A requested (well, okay rather demanded) cookies for her birthday? Well when I pressed her on what kind of cookies she wanted she said, “balsamic cookies.” Mr. N thought she was out of her mind and was horrified at the thought, but Miss A kept insisting on balsamic cookies. So I did a search, and do you know what I found? Not just balsamic cookies, but Chocolate Balsamic Cookies! I thought Miss A was going to fall off her chair she was so excited – chocolate and balsamic and a cookie!

She most definitely was on hand to help (and sample) this recipe! First we sifted together the flour, salt and baking soda.

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Fun with Florida

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How many of you guessed our Florida dessert for this week? I mean it was probably one of our easiest choices yet, with the only surprise coming from how easy it was to make. Are you ready….of course you’re ready – Key Lime Pie!

We adapted this recipe from Cooking Light simply because when you consume this many desserts in one week you have no other choice. We also chose an almond pie crust in place of the graham cracker crust thanks to some of the  kitchen tips Mandy posted over at The Complete Cook Book. It turns out the almond pie crust is much healthier than the graham cracker crust, and it holds up better at cold temperatures. Thanks for the tips Mandy! Continue reading →

A Special Recipe for a Special Day

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This weekend we celebrated Mr. N’s birthday. I can’t believe my little baby boy is now seven years old! Where does the time go? We had a wonderful weekend full of birthday activities – a party, a trip to the zoo, a big dinner and lots of play time. Tonight, since it’s Mr. N’s special day, we let him choose our meal and his dessert. We’ll share all the deliciousness with you over the next few days, but since it is a celebration, we thought we’d start with dessert.

Every year for the past four years, Mr. N has requested a blackberry cobbler for his birthday dessert. But this isn’t just any blackberry cobbler, it’s my Grandma’s Blackberry Cobbler. This has been my all-time favorite dessert since I was running around in pig-tails and it’s been the family favorite for at least four generations!

I still remember the first time I tried to make this dish. I baked it for my dad – and it was awful. He tried to choke it down, but it was honestly so bad that he couldn’t finish his bowl (and that’s saying something!). Then I found a raspberry tart recipe and it came close to replicating Grandma’s cobbler, but it was still off. So when I was expecting Mr. N I asked my grandma if I could come for the weekend to learn her cobbler recipe. Like most good cooks, she doesn’t have a recipe or measurements written down; and this was one dessert I needed to know how to make and share with my growing family. I’ve made several cobblers since that weekend and if Mr. N and my dad are any indication – I’ve gotten this thing down pretty good. Thanks Grandma! Continue reading →

Last, But Certainly Not Least

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Our international culinary tour wouldn’t be complete without a dessert. And Miss A wouldn’t have eaten that fish without the promise of a sweet treat! So we wrapped up our Libyan meal with a Libyan recipe for Baked Apples and Honey. The recipe is simple and doesn’t need a lot of ingredients or work. We started by dissolving some sugar in water and then dropped in some red food coloring. Mr. N then poured the syrup over a couple of peeled and cored apples in a baking dish.

Next we baked the apples at 350F for 40 minutes. Once they were soft (not squishy), we removed them from the oven and let them cool. Continue reading →

Warning: May be Habit Forming

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I’m not kidding. This dessert is seriously addictive in both its original form and my adapted version. Either way, I don’t know if I can ever get enough. It all started when Greg over at Rufus’ Food and Spirit Guide linked to this recipe. I had never been a big fan of lemon bars, but I needed a dessert that was easy to serve at a potluck and as we learned from our Minnesota cooking adventure, bars were the way to go. So since it was my first time making these and I was about to feed them to other people, I had to sample them. Then I had to eat the ones that didn’t cut out of the pan quite right. Then at the dinner, I got in the dessert line as fast as I could hoping anxiously that there would be a few left by the time it was my turn. Then I filled my plate with my own homemade dessert – nothing else. I think I have a problem, and all it took was one bite.

I was still thinking about those lemon bars last week when I came across this recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Tarts. I had a brainstorm – what if I added strawberries to my new favorite dessert. So I did. I used the original recipe for the crust.

It’s a short bread crust that on its own is delicious. You mix all the ingredients together in the bowl and then press it down into a greased baking dish. Continue reading →

Third Time’s the Charm? Quest for the Best Banana Bread.

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Tonight the kids and I whipped up the third banana bread recipe for our quest. This particular version is adapted from Martha Stewart’s banana bread and was sent to me by an old high school friend. Thanks Liz! The major differences in this recipe compared to the first two are that it uses only white sugar and replaces the oil with sour cream. Until now, I had never seen a banana bread recipe with sour cream, so I was intrigued.

We started by mashing the bananas – Miss A was on hand to help in what has become her new favorite outfit (a princess nightgown), worn both day and night.

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