White cake to Chai! And because I wasn’t satisfied with the height, after all, this was for someone’s special birthday, spiced nuts in caramel sauce were added. It was an absolute hit!
Friends and Family Blending Palettes! A little wine and fine (fun) painting … this cake, a platter of Italian meats and more … It was a perfect evening.
Chai Cake, Chai Candied Pecans, Caramel Sauce and Buttercream … all here!
Motivated by the Brookster. Didn’t even know about The Brookster or Baked until my recent trip to Tribeca. The cookie was amazing. Thought about recreating it, two of my favorite cookies baked together. Weeks went by and I hadn’t made any cookies at all … unusual since I love homemade cookies right from the oven. I began feeling cookie deprived, craving my favorites. Why not bake my three favorites together. Know it will work! And here it is, a three layer cookie bar!
Take a tour of Baked while I put together the Triple Layer Cookie Bar recipe.
Brookster
Mother’s Day was much different decades ago. Mainly a greeting card day. I loved the crafts created by my children and have saved almost all to their horror. For my mom I often made cookies because while she always claimed she didn’t like sweets she never refused them especially cookies. Today, I’ll be celebrating with a nice brunch at the VP, one of my favorite local restaurants. My children have made this day a big deal and I’m almost a little embarrassed but I love it! Enjoy some of my Mother’s favorite sweets. And Happy Mother’s Day!
The Perfect Dessert for tonight! We’re having a little family for dinner, my spaghetti & meatballs, and this delicious dessert. Will’s favorite pie is my chocolate, here. But I’m thinking this is going to be a favorite too. I’ve hung onto this recipe for some time but never tried it. It’s a Ghirardelli. Mildly chocolate and a pretty simple bake. More chocolate can be added if you’re into a pretty heavy chocolate taste.
What to do with those hardboiled eggs! Here are some recipe ideas. Not just sides but main dishes too. I can’t pick a favorite because I love them all.
Sour Cream and Onion Potato Salad
Tweaked Classic Best Foods Potato Salad
Butter Sponge Cake
Spinach and Eggs
Pound Cake
You gotta love coconut! Here’s a great dessert for that Spring gathering. Don’t tell anyone but I love this with my morning coffee. Works perfectly for brunch. This is not a family recipe but one I found, in a Country Door catalogue, … not that I didn’t tweak it a bit. Shopping on line is a must and what this means … I receive every imaginable catalogue out there, no matter what! The home decorating catalogues give me good ideas without me spending a dime. Yes, I move my home furnishings around a lot. Ha! And yep, they often have recipes sprinkled in. As for clothing catalogues … I’d rather rely on my daughter instead, Sapphire Diaries. Now for that recipe.
Here is another recipe you may enjoy, too! Coconut Cake with Caramel Rum Sauce
This is so quick and easy to make and perfect for breakfast. My Valentine had this for his breakfast! Very little added sugar, salt & fat. In fact, you could cut back on all three without poor results. Amazingly rich! Yes, you must love raisins! This old recipe is taken from my Mother’s favorites. Charlotte, one of Mother’s best friends, put this together. You might have enjoyed Charlotte’s Pineapple Cream Angel Food Cake, here. Now another terrific recipe … both must haves.
A recipe so easy you might believe it can’t pass as a company dessert. Just know these ladies were into classy. Everything they cooked was perfect for guests. Enjoy!
Vermont is one of my favorite places this time of year. So this recipe just seems fitting! Yep, for this recipe I use pure maple syrup from Vermont, one of the only three ingredients. When ingredients are few you opt for the very best! I must admit I’ve never been to Vermont except through the stories of a very close friend and the many movies with Vermont as the backdrop. And who hasn’t heard Willie Nelson’s version of Moonlight in Vermont.
Enjoy this really simple dessert or breakfast that makes up in minutes for a crowd or just one. BTW, World Market has quite an assortment of pure maple syrups. I haven’t ordered from here yet but check out The Vermont Country Store. Looks amazing!
If you’re not into biscotti for the same reason I haven’t been over the years then you haven’t tried these. All biscotti are not equal. This homemade version is so good you’ll want to gift a sampler to your special friends … Or maybe not! I had some expert help from Michael Chiarello or at least was influenced by a once baked biscotti cookie recipe of his. But true to the biscotti my recipe is twice baked. Instead of anise seed I used chai spices, here. I just happened to have some gray salt from Chiarello’s store (now closed?) in Yountville, California. And if you’re looking for crystallized sugar try here.
