Easy Chocolate Lace Cake Decorations with SugarVeil

As some of you know, Saturday was my oldest son's birthday.  I've always baked a cake (or pie, when requested) of their choosing for their special day.  This year, instead of what has become the tradition of home made cheesecake, he requested, "vanilla layer cake with vanilla buttercream icing". Simple, right? Sure....and boring so I decided to add some dark chocolate lace decorations as a surprise.

Bailey's Irish Cream Pot of Gold Cupcake Recipe

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner and to celebrate the occasion, this Irish lass is baking  Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes to celebrate and I'm sharing the recipe with you! They've got a hint of cinnamon and are topped with Bailey's butter cream icing.  They're  easy to bake, and for those of you who would rather not use alcohol, I have found that Irish Cream coffee creamer makes a good substitute for the Bailey's. 

Fresh Peach Galette (Rustic Peach Tart)

I love French food.  There's something about the sound of the words that makes everything sound fancy...and delicious. Take for example, today's recipe: Peach Galette. It's made with Pate Brisee. Yep...it's French.  Doesn't it sound fancy and like it would take some special culinary skill to make it?

                                                                                                                     Well, it 's not...and it doesn't.

Semi Homemade Strawberry Cupcakes {Easy Dessert}

Have I mentioned, lately, how much I love my 14 year old electric oven?  No?  Really?!

You look surprised.

Don't be. The reason that I haven't mentioned how much I adore my oven  is probably because I don't.

                                                                       Not. One. Bit. 

Easy Recipe: Chocolate Caramel Toffee Bars

I'm so glad that you stopped by today! Today's closing day (insert happy dance here) at the French Farm and to celebrate, I've made a batch of Maureen and Aunt Barb's White Chocolate Toffee Bars...or, as our close friends and family call it, "Aunt Barb's crack".

Easy Summertime Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe

Aren't summer berries amazing right now!?  They're fabulous in Illinois where I live!  From the local grocer to the farmer's markets, strawberries, raspberries and blue berries are in season and in demand... at least at my home. And what better way to enjoy them than in a fresh strawberry pie with home made glaze and a little whipped cream!

Knock You Naked Brownies {Easy Recipe}

I probably don't need to tell you that I've never found a chocolate recipe that I didn't like and that if anyone ever asked me, chocolate and caramel should be considered their own food group.

Yep. Right there on the food pyramid...up at the very top...in a little triangle all their own.

They should be right there...next to licorice...and gummy bears.

When I found this recipe on Group Recipes and the name of them was, "Knock You Naked Brownies" I've got to admit, they had my attention.

Chocolate French Silk Pie {Recipe}

This year, I'm sending Valentine's Day dinner to my oldest and a few of his friends at college. I needed a dessert recipe that could be transported  for 3 hours in a cooler without a lot of trouble. That meant that  my usual "go to" recipe for Crème Brûlée  was out of the question.

Valentine's Day Fresh Strawberry Cream Bread {Recipe}

When I woke up this morning, it was  four degrees Fahrenheit...before the wind.... and I live the suburbs of the "windy city" so you can imagine how cold it was.  Our furnace ran continuously through the night and it was still chilly in the kitchen this morning.  Baking anything seemed like a good idea. Baking bread that didn't require leaving home for ingredients seemed like a great  one.

Cream Filled Chocolate Sandwich and Sugar Cookies

 I took part in  my very first cover shoot this morning.

                                                                                     In my kitchen.

Actually, I was the baker, the stylist and the photographer. I pretty much was the shoot...

                                                              ...me, and a couple of  my favorite Martha Stewart cookie recipes.

Layered Peppermint Bark Recipe Tutorial

Have you ever heard the saying "His bark is worse than his bite."?

I remember the first time I heard it, I think that it was my Grandma who said it to me when our kick ball went into the neighboring yard and we tried, unsuccessfully, to retrieve it from the less than pleased man who lived there.  Holy smacks, was he crabby...  And loud about it..

My Grandmother's Butterscotch Pie Recipe

Do you have a recipe box?

Is it neat and tidy with all of the recipes filed in the proper sections behind carefully labeled tabs?

If you needed your recipe for...oh....Butterscotch Pie, for example, would you simply flip the box open, go to the tab labeled PIE or DESERTS and sort through your carefully alphabetized cards until you came to "B" where you'd find it waiting, exactly where you left it?

If you have that type of recipe filing system, would you come to my home for an intervention?

Pumpkin Pecan Bars: Celebrating a Departure

I had a little celebration at my home yesterday afternoon.

It was a going away party....of sorts.

Lovin' These "Summertime Blues" - Blueberry Muffin Recipe

In the words of  the band, The Who, (to whom I may or may not have listened at some point in my lifetime),
"...There ain't no cure for the summertime blues." They were talking about working during the summer, trying to afford gasoline and only having two weeks vacation. Yeah, I've got those summertime blues, too. But today, I've got these blues:

All About Lavender and My Favorite Cookie Recipe

I LOVE lavender!  The color, the look, the smell, and yes, the taste of it.  Lavender and I are "buds" (yeah, I know...sometimes I can't help myself).  I also love to cook. And bake. I suppose that I should admit that there are times when there's a full-on cooking extravaganza that goes on in my kitchen involving all of my small appliances, several bowls and ingredients that need to be hauled in by truck...okay, maybe it's not THAT bad.

  

 

This is culinary lavender. Specifically, French lavender. It's mild and it makes WONDERFUL cookies. Like these.

 

Don't be afraid. I only had about ten minutes for lunch today (which is when I mixed the dough) so this is NOT an extravaganza. The photo above is ALL of the ingredients. Yep, that's right, all SIX of them. Had I not been trying to make things "beautiful" to show them to you, I would have made the entire recipe using one bowl. The longest part of the process is the time that they spent in the refrigerator while I went back to work.

Lemon and Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from Food and Wine Magazine June, 2002

• MAKES ABOUT 1 1/2 DOZEN COOKIES 

Ingredients: 

1. 1/3 cup sugar
2. 1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms, finely chopped
3. 1 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
4. 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
5. 1 cup all-purpose flour
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt 

Directions: 

• In a medium bowl, mix the sugar with the chopped lavender and grated lemon zest. Using an electric mixer, beat in the butter at moderate speed. At low speed, beat in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a sheet of wax paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Form the dough into a 4-inch log and chill for at least 45 minutes longer.
• Preheat the oven to 350°. Slice the dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and place the rounds on ungreased baking sheets. Freeze the rounds for 10 minutes until the butter chills.
• Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer the baked shortbread to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make Ahead The cookie dough log can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw slightly before slicing. The baked shortbread  cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

This recipe makes a tiny batch of cookies. About a dozen and a half. Around my house, this is a good thing because the men that I live with think that these cookies are way too "girly". Of course, they eat them anyway.  But there's grumbling. And some not-so-subtle references to chocolate chips.

xo,

S

P.S. The flowers tucked into the napkin are from my garden:  Hidcote Lavender and Nigella, "Love in a Mist."  How adorable is THAT for a  flower name?!

Linking to:

Between Naps on The Porch 

Coastal Charm 

Country Momma Cooks 

Home Stories A to Z 

I gotta try that 

Not Just a Housewife 

Simply Klassic Home 

Six Sisters 

Under The Table and Dreaming 

You're Talking Too Much 

 Featured at:

Homemade Graham Crackers

I was first introduced to Martha Stewart's graham cracker recipe just after her baking book was published. I was making cheesecake and needed a recipe for crust so, I turned to my new book and followed the simple recipe.  It was fabulous and when graham crackers became the "snack of choice" for my youngest, I thought that I'd give them a try as "crackers" instead of "crust".  Needless to say, they're a hit at my house!

 Adapted from Martha Stewart:
Ingredients:
   Crackers:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (also known as graham flour. I buy it at Whole Foods.)
• 1/2 cup untoasted wheat germ
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons high-quality honey (I use local Clover Honey)

Topping (optional):

• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flours, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Put butter, brown sugar, and honey into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.
3. Turn out dough onto a floured surface, and divide into quarters. Roll out each piece between 2 sheets of floured parchment paper into rectangles a bit larger than 9 by 6 inches, about 1/8 inch thick.
4. Using a fluted pastry wheel, trim the outermost edges of each rectangle, and divide into three 6-by-3-inch rectangles. Pressing lightly, so as not to cut all the way through, score each piece in half lengthwise and crosswise, to form four 3-by-1 1/2-inch crackers. Stack parchment and dough on a baking sheet and chill in freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.
5. Remove two sheets of dough from freezer. Pierce crackers using the tines of a fork. Transfer to large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with topping if desired. Bake, rotating halfway through, until dark golden brown, 8 to 9 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes; transfer crackers to wire racks to cool completely.

 

 With summer just around the corner (really, it can warm up ANY TIME NOW), I'm looking forward to making s'mores using these graham crackers and my homemade marshmallows.

Have a great Monday! 

xo,

S

Linking to:

Under The Table and Dreaming

Keeping It Simple 

A Rosie Sweet Home 

Brassy Apple 

A Slice of Southern - Southern Sundays 

Someday Crafts 

My Favorite Hot Cross Buns Recipe

Photo credit: The Pioneer Woman

One of my favorite bloggers and chef extraordinaire, The Pioneer Woman comes through again with what I consider to be THE best Hot Cross Buns recipe EVER.  They take a little over three hours from start to finish but are worth the effort.  The link above contains beautifully photographed, step-by-step directions that are far better than whatever I would show you so, rather than try to duplicate perfection, I'll let you take a look at Rhee's blog.

Here's my version:

Photo credit: Serendipity.

 If you space the rolls out a little more, they will be "prettier" because the sides don't touch. The good news is that they don't taste any different.  *wink*

 Enjoy!

A friend of mine posted this on her FB page today. A beautiful reminder on this glorious day.

Happy Easter!

xo,

 S