Easy Peasy Reese's Pieces Blondies

Several years ago, back when I first started blogging, I came up with a recipe for Snickerdoodle Blondies for one of my coworkers. This little recipe has been one of the my most popular, only second to my Better Than Starbucks Lemon Poundcake, and has a bit of a cult following. There are so many reasons to love this recipe: they take almost no time to make, their taste and texture appeals to the pickiest of palettes, they are inexpensive to make, they smell amazing when they are baking.. I could go on and on! Not only that but you probably have the ingredients for them in your kitchen right now. No pomp or circumstance needed! Just real butter, please but that should go without saying.

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Blissful Berry Buckle

Many of you are probably wondering why my blog posts have become so infrequent. For months now I’ve been struggling with what to do with the blog as it has become a bit of a love-hate relationship. It’s perplexing because it has been such an important part of my life. And although I can honestly say it still is, it’s evolved into something very different. Much of this has to do with where I am in my life now; there have been a lot of changes.

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Key Lime Pie Fudge

Last Fall, back when it was Allison's birthday, I made two beautiful Key lime pies to celebrate her special day. As I was leaving for work that morning, it occurred to me that I forgot to take photos of it and figured I'd just take some once I arrived at work. Well, those plans came to a screeching halt right after both pies slid off the tray and landed bottom-side-down onto the asphalt. Luckily, they were still edible but the jolt of being smacked to the ground caused them to crack and all my airy whipped cream deflated. I felt so terrible presenting such an ugly dessert, but Allison didn’t care one bit, nor did anyone else that devoured them.

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Better Than Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake

Several weeks ago, I had a bit of a baking dry spell and really felt the need to bake. Since my friend Scott just sits over the wall from me, I asked him for a baking assignment. He thought for a moment and then explained how he's really been into Starbucks Lemon loaf and suggested that I try to recreate it.

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Sincere Strawberry Cupcakes

I'm the first to admit that cake mixes can be used to make some pretty amazing desserts, but for some reason the idea of using them to make cupcakes for a baby shower just seemed all wrong. When I was looking for a recipe to use, the vast majority that I found included a box of white cake mix and strawberry gelatin. While I know that this recipe is beloved by many (it has quite the following in the South), I wanted to make cupcakes that looked an tasted like real strawberries, not day-glo red in color and strawberry Kool-aid flavored.

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Guinness Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache

My good friend is not a big fan of anything food that is predominately flavored with citrus fruits, particularly lemon. To compound things, my son who likes lemons is not a fan of almonds, so I knew they would be underwhelmed at the idea of eating the Torta di Mandorla that I made on the night of our little Oscar party. So as not to exclude them from the dessert festivities, I set out to find a dessert that they would both like.

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Torta di Mandorla (Moist Almond Cake)

Last year I started a new tradition on Oscar night: my friend Mandy comes over to watch the Oscars with my family and I bake a cake for the occasion. Last year I made a sweet and spicy Mexican Chocolate Cake that everyone enjoyed. This year I gave Mandy the honor of picking the cake and she choose this Torta di Mandorla.

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Super Yummy Apple Crisp

This is a one of my all time favorite desserts and I make it at several times a year. Although I almost always make it in a 9"x13"baking dish, I also make it in my Crockpot for potluck or a family gathering.  If you're looking for a big crowd pleaser, something that will stand out but isn't too expensive or complicated to prepare and appeals to the pickiest eaters, I know you'll really like this.

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The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

Guess what? I'm in love with birthdays. I love how it's a holiday that is super personal and can't be overly merchandised. I love that there is one day a year that I can have permission to spoil a friend or even an acquaintance. I can honestly say that birthdays are my favorite holiday; I even look forward to it more than Christmas.

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30 Calorie Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

Please allow me to present the thirty calorie cookie... you know you want one, don't you? Go ahead, indulge! The best part of this cookie aside from the fact that they taste heavenly, is that you don't have to feel guilty eating them.

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Cream Sherry Bundt Cake

 
 This baseball season has been a wacky one. We've had more cold, wet, and downright miserable game days than I can count. And through it all, the steadfast family and friends of the players sat huddled under blankets and umbrellas, clapping and cheering for every kid on the team. I cannot count myself among this incredible group of fans, I have only attended games when the weather was decent. Selfish? Probably. But considering all the games and practices I've attended over the years and my sincere hatred of being cold, I felt it was okay. Besides, I always tried to have a hearty home cooked meal ready and waiting when the games were over. That counts, right?

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Nanaimo Bars

In every job there are those that I like to refer to as the "Gotos". These are the people that you "go to"when you need to get something done right or if you have a question; they will always have the right answer or know who does. I knew Amy was a Goto within a few hours of starting my job. I didn't even know what she did, necessarily but I could hear her talk to the constant flow of people at her desk or calling her on the phone, I knew she was the real deal.

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Graham Cracker Candy

Mandy has given more thought to her birthday treat than anyone else I know. She's considered a lot of options over several months. Some of possible selections were Baklava, Lemon-Coconut Macaroons, and a Lemon-Coconut Tart. But then the topic of graham crackers came up and how much she loves coconut and then hazelnuts and I got inspired by this recipe I found on Epicurious. She took one look at it and gave me the green light to make it.

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Snickerdoodle Blondies

This year Buckles (that's my co-worker's name) requested brownies for her birthday treat and said I could be as creative as I wanted. She just asked that whatever I came up with  didn't include nuts. I wanted to make her something really unique and unexpected. After a few days of thinking about it I had the idea for creating a Snickerdoodle Blondie. I wanted to combine the same texture of a brownie with the crunchy cinnamon shell of a Snickerdoodle. I couldn't find any on the web, so I invented one. This recipe came out exactly as I wanted! It's nothing short of bliss!

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Traditional Pastel de Tres Leches Cake

This cake is one of my favorites. I searched a long time to find the perfect recipe because I was dead set on not using a boxed mix. I wanted to make a very traditional, from scratch version and see how it compares to the stereotypical versions I have had at Mexican restaurants. I can tell you this with certainty: there is no comparison!

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Heaven & Hell Brownies

Yeah, this year Nick decided he's staying the same age. And in honor of his decision, I suggested that I make him brownies again, just like last year. The only difference is that this year I used pecans instead of macadamia nuts but that doesn't matter, right?

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