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Top Ten Easter Sweets Recipes

by liz · Feb 28, 2019

Get ready for the Easter Bunny’s visit with this unforgettable treat shown above. Nestled in delicious butterscotch or chocolate nests, the unforgettable taste of these elegantly wrapped candy eggs will leave kids hopping for more.

2. Premier White Lemony Cheesecakes

Premier white baking bars give this elegant and lemony cheesecake a smooth and creamy consistency. Try this in the Spring, Easter or a bridal shower—to rave reviews.

3. Carrot Patch Cupcakes

These are almost too cute to eat! Cultivate a crop of carrots with dollops of orange icing topped with fresh mint sprigs in mini 2 1/2-inch terra-cotta pots.

4. Peanut Butter and Candy Egg Blondies

If you love peanut butter, you’re in for a real treat with these amazing blondies above. Kids and adults alike will adore these peanut butter blondies that are both baked and topped with peanut butter candy eggs.

5. Classic Easter Cake with Coconut and Jelly Beans

This cake is nothing short of pure American ingenuity, in my mind — a sweet and sticky confection of angel food cake, marshmallow icing, and all the jelly beans you can handle. It’s a little bird’s nest for your Easter table, and its deep nostalgia for me is only matched by how easy it is to make and how fun it is to eat.

6. Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns are lightly sweetened, mildly spiced rolls with a distinct image of a cross that runs across the top. They are specifically associated with Good Friday, and have been for almost a millennium. Over time, hot cross buns in the U.S. became extremely sweet, and today are often criss-crossed with a sugary icing, but that isn’t the recipe of yore; the original crossing mixture was more of a paste.

7. Warm Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Sauce

This warm mini carrot cake recipe is made in two tiny ramekins (the same size you use for creme brulee–6 ounces). Then, make the warm cream cheese sauce the moment the cakes come out of the oven. A sprinkling of toasted pecans on top is, well, the icing on the cake.

8. Egg-Ceptional Easter Cookies

These egg-shaped chocolate chip cookies can be festively decorated with colored frosting for a sweet Easter treat.

9. Mini Lemon Lime Tartlets

These cute Mini Lemon Lime Tartlets above give the fresh taste of spring and are the perfect way to celebrate any occasion.

10. Chocolate Chip Easter Baskets

These little Easter baskets above are sure to delight everyone in your Easter celebration.

Sea Salt Mania & Chocolate Dipped Caramels

by liz · Dec 11, 2018

Chocolate Dipped Caramels with Sea Salt Recipe — Photo by Meals.com

This season it seems everywhere I look, I see chocolate topped with sea salt, caramel made with fleur de sel, or salted candies of some kind. And it tastes so good; that combination of salt, sugar and chocolate! I looked through our holiday recipes, and found a really easy sea salt, chocolate and caramel version. It looked easy enough for a kid.

So I enlisted the help of a very savvy 9 year-old in the kitchen. And I was right. My Little Assistant followed the directions, melted chocolate, dipped caramels and consulted on salt-chocolate flavor combinations. We ended up with 3 kinds: dark & mint chocolate with black lava sea salt, semi-sweet chocolate with Hawaiian clay sea salt and cinnamon, and semi-sweet chocolate with bamboo sea salt and lemon zest.

They were all delicious, but the ones with lemon zest added a lovely citrus twang, and reminded me of summer. So they were my faves (shown above).

Chocolate Dipped Caramels with Sea Salt by Meals.com

Ingredients:

1 cup (6 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
1 pkg. (5.5 oz.) about 25 pieces, soft & chewy rectangular caramels, unwrapped*
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions:
LINE baking sheet with wax paper.

MICROWAVE morsels and vegetable shortening in small, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted; cool slightly.

DIP caramel pieces, using a fork, into melted chocolate. Shake off or scrape excess chocolate against side of bowl. Place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until set.

* 25 square caramels can be substituted for the rectangular caramels.

Best St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

by liz · Feb 28, 2016

1. “Lucky You” Mint Pie

Feel extra lucky (even if you’re not Irish) with this refreshingly decadent mint and chocolate pie, shown above.

2. Irish Crème Brûlée

Just use Irish Cream coffee creamer flavor instead of the vanilla caramel and you have instant Irish flavor!

3. Chocolate Shamrock Bread Pudding

Topped with fluffy whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa, celebrate St. Patty’s Day (or any day) this year with the delectable chocolately delight shown above!

4. Leprechaun Rainbow Party Punch

This flavorful beverage features a mix of sparkling water and 100% all natural fruit juice topped with a scoop of tropical or berry rainbow sherbet.

5. Big Shamrock Cookie

Celebrate the ‘eatin’ of the green’ on St. Patrick’s Day with the edible shamrock above.

6. St. Patty’s Day “Green Eggs and Ham”

Topped with a delicious pesto spread and sliced prosciutto, this tasty delight adds a flavorful twist to a morning classic.

7. Irish Soda Bread with Raisinets

This sweet version of the traditional Irish favorite above features a taste of chocolate-covered raisins in every bite.

8. St. Patty’s Day Mud Balls

Who said playing in the “mud” wasn’t a good idea? Made from a combination of chocolate cake, chocolate milk and frosting, these St. Patty’s Day delights are dipped in colorful candy sprinkles and shamrocks for added luck – a festive twist kids will love.

I Love Oatmeal Month! Thin Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

by liz · Jan 14, 2012

Written by Liz –

I love oats. They are one of the healthiest foods, and you can enjoy them at breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can also add them to desserts to help make the best part of the meal heartier, crunchier and better for your heart.

Oatmeal in cookies are my favorite way to make cookies a bit healthier, and icing them using Bliss makes them even more naturally delicious. And if you like a super soft cookie, you can bake them a little less or bake them longer for a more crunchy treat. Enjoy National Oatmeal Month!

Thin Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
4 tablespoons Vanilla Flavor NESTLÉ COFFEE-MATE NATURAL BLISS All-Natural Low Fat Coffee Creamer, divided
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel (optional)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; stir.

BEAT butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in medium mixer bowl at medium-low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium; continue to beat about 1 minute longer or until light and creamy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Add egg and 1 tablespoon Coffee-mate; beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated. With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture; mix just until incorporated and smooth. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oats; mix until well incorporated.

SCOOP dough by level tablespoon, then roll between palms into balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press each dough ball to 3/4-inch thickness.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and edges are crisp. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

COMBINE powdered sugar, remaining 3 tablespoons Coffee-mate and orange peel in medium bowl; stir well. With fork or spoon, drizzle over cookies. Allow glaze to set for 15 minutes before serving.

Links:

More oatmeal cookies recipes:

Deluxe Oatmeal Raisinets Cookies	Oatmeal Coconut Crunch Cookies
Choc-Oat-Chip Cookies	Oatmeal Scotchies

The Power of Love & French Macarons

by liz · Mar 30, 2011

On my latest trip to Europe, a birthday eating/drinking tour across Rioja, Basque country and Bordeaux, with romance provided by the Baker, I received the most perfect birthday gift of all: French macarons.

A box of classic, assorted macarons by a well-known maker purchased in the Paris airport is not cheap. It’s gorgeous in its silky brown covering, tied with a ribbon, holding its precious contents elegantly. Patiently concealing its perfect rows inside.

And once you open it: such pretty colors! Then take a bite: the airy, crispy ookie plus creamy middle embodying the perfect essence of chocolate, lavender, pistachio, coffee. It’s so rich and lifelike, you have to give half to your partner, so you can watch his face while he takes a bite and tastes this sensation. Doing it with someone you love is much better than solo; this experience has to be shared.

You can whip the box out and share another flavor over espresso in Madrid, again with the cava in your hotel room before dinner, and on long drives through the Spanish countryside.

It’s heartbreak when the last macaron is eaten and all that’s left are crumbs, colorful crispy pieces of their former glory. But even days-old macaron crumbs are fulfilling when shared with the right person in the right place.

The perfect gift.

National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day: A Treat for Adults Too

by liz · Mar 24, 2011

It’s National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day! We can all remember eating chocolate-covered raisines as children, and today we can enjoy them as adults. One way is in biscotti.

Growing up in a non-fancy part of the area north of Texas, I never tried biscotti until I moved away to the big city as a young adult. A cross between flattened, sweetened bread and a slightly stale cookie? It sure didn’t sound appetizing, plus I didn’t drink coffee yet.

But my first real job in the city changed all that. As I joined the bleary-eyed working world each morning, I began to learn to love coffee…mochas at first, then with whole milk and lots of sugar and now frothed milk and no sugar. One thing that goes well with any rendition of coffee is biscotti: then as well as now.

And this biscotti recipe has chocolate covered cranberries in it, which brightens it up and also boosts nutrients.

Another way I love to use chocolate covered raisins (or cranberries, or cherries) is in homemade granola. When I was little, my parents were as home-made as they could be: bread, peanut butter, sour cream, marinara sauce (simply called spaghetti sauce back then), jam and everything in between. These were the days before food processors and recipes on the internet, so some concoctions were better than others to a child who just wanted creamy peanut butter from the store.

One homemade dish I loved was granola. My parents’ granola was better than any sugar cereal: crunchy, nutty, savory and sweet, made with whole grains and sunshine. The only thing that could have made it better to me then (and now!) would have been chocolate-covered dried fruit. This recipe reminds me of home.

Chocolate Cherry Pull-Apart Bread

Now here’s a dish my parents and I can completely agree on! I remember having monkey bread (or pull-apart bread) cooked in various ways for various meals by various members of our extended family. It seems the best way to use dinner roll dough was in some form of circle with a sugar glaze dripping over it.