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Aunt Jeanne’s Pumpkin Cake
It’s fall, and certainly, that means all-you-can pumpkin. I love pumpkin so much that when fall comes around, I question why I don’t ever bake anything pumpkin the rest of the year! And while this whole pumpkin spice business is getting a bit out of hand (and by the taste of it, “pumpkin spice” refers more to the spice than the squash) – I’ve seen pumpkin spice tortilla chips, PopTarts, pudding, cookies, non-dairy creamer, ice cream, English muffins – you name it, they’ve pumpkined it! But forget about all that. You NEED to taste THIS pumpkin cake. It’s one of my go-to recipes when I want pumpkin cake but I’m…
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Watermelon Granita
This morning I’m dreaming of the Outer Banks, fresh watermelons, and the watermelon granita I’d make because we were always overoptimistic about watermelons. (They are pretty irresistible.) Click here if you are impatient and need to jump straight to the recipe (and possibly miss out on my helpful commentary and humor). Every year as arrive in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, we stop at Morris Farm Market in Barco, grab a cart, and buy more fruit than we can comfortably fit around our feet and suitcases in the car. A giant watermelon, three cantaloupes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and the family favorite, local peaches, along with a jug of strawberry cider for the…
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Double Toffee Banoffee Pie
My family can be sentimental and we’re not ashamed of it. Whenever we see something that reminds us of a favorite place or event, it doesn’t take much to put us in full longing mode. This also usually involves food. For instance, a movie set in London will prompt memories of our time in the UK…which eventually brought us around to the lane on which we lived, then food, talk of fish and chips, and our favorite British “puddings”. Mine was banoffee pie. A crumbly crust made with biscuits and pecans, smooth caramel, ripe bananas, freshly whipped cream with just a hint of coffee – what is there not to love? Honestly, the pie…
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Mummy Molasses Bars
It’s always time for dessert – and these molasses bars are the perfect sweet-but-not-too-sweet fall treat. Some links in this post are affiliate links that earn me a commission if you purchase from them. Fall has arrived in Texas with temperatures dipping into…the eighties. The neighborhood is decorated with skeletons and tombstones, and the candy bowl – the one ready for trick-or-treaters – already needs to be restocked. But sometimes I need something more substantial – I need molasses bars. And since it’s nearly Halloween, a creative application with the icing will make it look like a cute mummy! If you are ready for a break from pumpkin anything (not…
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Pineapple Coconut Pastry Braid
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Sometimes, though, invention happens when your online grocery store order delivers the wrong item. My kids had asked for pigs in a blanket (we’re pretty high-brow around here when my husband is traveling for business, you know) but instead of regular crescent rolls, the store delivered a can of Pillsbury Honey Butter Crescent Rolls. Which sound lovely – but not wrapped around all-beef franks. I was curious about the taste AND wanted to use them, but not in a simple crescent with dinner. (And not with hot dogs.) I didn’t have anything on the menu this week that sang “honey butter”,…
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Fourth of July Twinkie Cake
If you are a follower of a Paleo or whole foods lifestyle, look away. I’ll be back with a fun drink ice or post momentarily, but for now, I’d like to talk about a dessert that includes ingredients that do not fall on your super healthy shopping list. This is a FUN dessert with some fruit thrown in so it isn’t totally crazy: Twinkie cake. Let’s be honest, there are two kinds of people: the “Twinkie – YUM!” and the “there is nothing natural about that snack cake” people. And yes, while the ingredient list reads (to those who bother) like a college chemistry experiment, Twinkies are yummy. (Obviously,…
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Chocolate Eclair Dessert
Some foods can bring to mind a moment or a memory with the very first bite. My mother had such a recipe. It was a chocolate eclair dessert, and it seemed to me that it was really only ever made for special occasions – mostly holiday potlucks or family picnics. (Ok – I may have asked for it for my birthday instead of cake.) It was rare to see it during the winter, come to think of it. If she got a wild hair, we might come home to find it in the fridge – a visit home would become a special occasion – but that was more the exception than the…
