When it comes to baking for occasions, birthdays are my favorite. I love trying to think of a dessert that really suits the person. This time around, I was baking for a wonderful friend of mine. She’s not too picky, but I knew that she isn’t a fan of the copious amounts of frosting I…
Category: Recipes
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Yesterday I needed make something for the Super Bowl party I was attending, but it seemed that all of the major football food groups were already covered – tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, taco dip, potato chips, ranch dip, onion dip, two kinds of pizza, mini tater tots, little smokies, chicken wings…. Thankfully, there happened to…
No-cake Birthday: Mini Pies – Apple and Rhubarb-Raspberry
My husband’s birthday was last week, and while he’s always up for cake, his real idea of a treat is a nice fruit pie. The day of his birthday, I procrastinated a little and planned on heading to the grocery store right after work, but mother nature had other plans and dumped us with 6…
January Dinner Party Menu: Italian
Last week we invited four friends over for a casual dinner party with a small twist – instead of my husband and me doing all the cooking, we bought the ingredients, then invited everyone over a little early to prepare the meal together. Our theme was Italian cuisine, and we went with four courses: Appetizer…
Moscato Zabaglione with Strawberries
At our dinner party last week, we made three courses of the meal with the help of our guests, then, just before the dessert course started, my husband and I prepared this wonderful pudding. Initially I was a little intimidated by this dish, and I almost made a cake instead, but I’m so glad…
Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
On my mum’s side of the family, it has recently become a tradition to celebrate Christmas together in early January. Everyone is so busy with their nuclear families on the actual holiday, and as an extended family, our primary reason for getting together is reconnecting with one another, so the date can be a little…
Family Christmas Cookie 12: Cherry Hideaways
I’ve saved the best for last! These are an all-time favorite of mine, and a recipe that my grandma made every year for Christmas. They look like they’re plain bark covered cookies, but inside there’s a surprise – maraschino cherries! This post is day 12 in the series Mayhem’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies!
Family Christmas Cookie 11: Peanut Butter Kisses
I’m closing out Mayhem’s 12 days of Christmas Cookies with two cookies that are my all time favorites. Both are recipes my grandma made every Christmas, and while they’re a bit more modern (1950s) than many of the other recipes I’ve shared, they’re definite crowd pleasers. The first are Peanut Butter Kisses – chewy peanut…
Family Christmas Cookie 10: Snowball Cookies
Of all the cookies my grandma made for Christmas, these are one of the most memorable to me. I think it’s because they’re just so pretty! The bright white frosting combined with the coconut makes for such a delicate, lovely looking cookie, and provides a nice contrast on a cookie tray when placed next to…
Family Christmas Cookie 9: Sugar Cookies
No Christmas cookie plate would be complete without sugar cookies! Much like the gingerbread cookies I shared earlier, this same recipe came from several sources, and I eventually tracked it down to my old 1963 copy of The Cooky Book. This isn’t my favorite recipe for decorating or using precise cutters, but it tastes…
Family Christmas Cookie 8: Gingerbread Boys
One of the really fun parts of compiling this recipe list was comparing and contrasting my family recipes with my husband’s family recipes. In most cases, there’s a wide contrast between the two families – most of my grandma’s cookies were more elaborate and from newer recipes, while my husband’s family cookbook is heavily…
Family Christmas Cookie 7: Angel Pillows
Angel Pillows are a favorite from my mum’s side of the family. I made them with strawberry preserves, but my grandma always made these with apricot or peach. I believe the recipe must have come out of a magazine or advertisement, as the tattered copy I was given mentioned a few brands by name, but…
Vegetarian Chili and Cornbread Dumplings
Ooooooof has it ever been chilly here in Minneapolis. We’ve had below zero temperatures every day for a week, not to mention a good six inches of snow! Mayhem has also been terribly upset (exhibit A, exhibit B) and has been taking every opportunity to let us know that he wasn’t prepared for this. Usually…
Family Christmas Cookie 6: Pfeffernüsse Cookies
This recipe is another of my father-in-law’s additions to the second edition of my mother-in-law’s family cookbook. They always say men marry their mother, but MINE often remarks that he actually married his father. One reason for that is our shared love for anise, and, in turn, these German Pfeffernusse (“peppernut”) cookies. Unlike the other…
Easy Egg Nog Bundt Cake
Last year I was ill for the entire week leading up to the Christmas celebration for my mum’s family, and while I was definitely feeling better by the time the party rolled around, I was simply too behind on everything else (the driveway needed shoveling, the hamper was overflowing, Mayhem had a strange smell about…