When I moved into my new office two weeks ago there was a lot of sorting to be done. Things to toss, file away, display on bookshelves, study and devour. Once I tossed what needed to go I sat and marveled at the treasure I found tucked away in the magazine racks of my new digs. Gourmet magazines. Lots of them, dating back over 10 years, sitting in my office, and for the last two weeks I have been curled … Read More
Almond Macarons with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Throughout my years as a student I spent a good deal of time studying Spanish, going on to minor in the language during my time at Iowa State. Anyone who studies a foreign language for any length of time will find that foreign language instructors love to watch movies, and in my case, study poetry as well. And while initially I griped and moaned about having to study the arts in another language, eventually I grew to appreciate and love … Read More
Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’ve been a real-life, full-time working girl for three whole days now and boy is it tiring! Tiring in the best sort of way, in the my-brain-is-exploding-with-new-information sort of way. Yet despite thinking about food all day at work, I still somehow find myself baking and cooking at the end of the day to decompress and relax. This morning I woke up to a sky full of rain, I have a new Netflix movie coming my way this afternoon, a … Read More
White Chocolate Dipped Nutella Cookie Dough Bites
Originally I planned to post these on Friday in preparation for 4th of July. But then I made these brownies and got so excited about them that I lost my mind, got distracted, and in a sugar-induced haze I posted brownies instead. Not to worry, these White Chocolate Dipped Nutella Cookie Dough Bites (yes, you heard that right) taste good any time of the year. If you’re at all like me, you probably don’t need to read the rest of … Read More
Light and Fit Berry Sorbet
There are very few things I love to eat in the summer more than ice creams and sorbets. Actually, it’s not just during the summer, it’s all throughout the year. But during the summertime, blogs, websites, magazines, and newspapers are abuzz with recipe after recipe, touting the ease of making your own ice cream and sorbet at home. All this sounds well and good, until I read the dreaded phrase that inevitably comes with almost every recipe I read during … Read More
White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
I officially have no life. Wait, check that, I have a life and it consists of traveling in the car and going to weddings. Case in point? My last six days. They went something like this… Drove three hours back to northwest Iowa for a wedding. Spent a day baking hundreds of cupcakes and a wedding cake. Went to said wedding. Drove back home early Monday morning (6 a.m. early) and went straight to work. Sweated it out at hot … Read More
Chocolate Revel Bars
No time for extra words today because after I post these Chocolate Revel Bars, I’ll be heading to a church kitchen a few miles away to spend the day baking. Baking 300 cupcakes and a two tiered wedding cake to be exact. Sure I’ve done this before, it seems that every time wedding season comes around I commit to at least a few weddings, but it never gets any less stressful. I play it cool and collected every time. But … Read More
Lemon Loaf Cake
Growing up for most of my life as an only child I highly valued my alone time. Time to think, relax, dance around the house in my pajamas, you get the picture. Sure, I have two younger sisters that I love very much, but seeing as they live in Florida with my dad and step-mom, the day-to-day of life was an only child scenario. Oh boy did I grow to love that alone time, much of which was spent cooking, … Read More
Chocolate Covered Marshmallows
This recipe, if you can even call it a recipe, almost didn’t make it to the pages of Espresso and Cream. I got to dipping marshmallows in chocolate one night to satisfy a sweet tooth craving, never really thinking of sharing the idea with anyone else, but when J. arrived at my apartment last week his enthusiastic reaction made me do a double take. “You’re going to put these on the blog, right?” he asked. And so in the name … Read More
One-Bowl Blackberry Cake
If ever there was such a thing as a ‘breakfast cake’ this, my friends, would be it. And if there was such a thing as a ‘perfect for every occasion’ cake, this would also be it. Time and time again I have made this humble dessert: for brunches, breakfasts, coffee dates, and dinner parties. And every time it comes through for me – the knight-in-shining-armor of cakes. It wins extra points for having a very basic ingredient list, for … Read More
Homemade Oreos
Whew. Two days after graduation, three loads of laundry, four bags of groceries, one day of work, and two deliriously wonderful nights of sleep later I think I’ve finally recovered from a crazy-lovely graduation weekend up in Minneapolis. And yes, that guy I talk about quite a bit on Espresso and Cream graduated, with honors and a job! (excuse my bragging, I’m just a bit proud) And because I enjoy looking at other people’s photos on the blogs I follow, … Read More
Almond Sandwich Cookies
At this moment, I would love nothing more than to write words beautiful enough to do these cookies justice, but right now the only words coming to my head are exhaustion and sleep-deprivation. Graduation weekends and the celebration of new beginnings and memories past bring about excitement, sadness, joy, and pure lack of sleep. This weekend J. graduated from college and today I managed to sneak away to a coffee shop so I could stop, and breathe, and take a … Read More