Happy ‘Day After Valentine’s Day,’ everyone! How did you spend yesterday? Joe and I aren’t much for fighting the crowds of people on February 14th. Instead, we opted to take Nutmeg on a walk when we got home, make dinner together (salmon, asparagus, garlic rye toast) and watch The Biggest Loser. Pretty great night if you ask me! Now moving on to matters related to blondies… Working for a publishing company, magazines, bookazines and cookbooks are never in short supply. … Read More
Inside-Out S’Mores Brownies
Hey everyone! How was your weekend? Joey and I have really been enjoying spending weekends at home lately after spending what felt like every weekend on the go during the months of September through December. I’m not going to lie, we felt completely overwhelmed and exhausted after the Christmas season. For that reason, January has been amazing. In other news, I must have been really loving the February issue of Better Homes and Gardens because the last two recipes I’ve … Read More
Homemade Chocolate Fudge Sauce
A couple weeks ago Joey and I bought some Blue Bunny Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt. It may not sound like a big deal to you, but I was more than a little excited. You see, it’s been months since we had ice cream in our freezer. Typically, we avoid buying ice cream because I have zero self control around the stuff. I’m happy to eat a couple squares of chocolate and leave it at that, but ice cream is another … Read More
Black Bean Brownies
Three months ago I took a trip to the Wednesday Farmer’s Market in downtown Des Moines over our lunch hour. The day was beautiful and I was impressed with the selection of tasty lunch items the small farmer’s market had to offer. But what really drew me in was a small whole foods stand selling, among other things, black bean brownies. As you can probably imagine, I couldn’t resist trying a sample and hearing about what this black bean brownie … Read More
Healthier Peppermint Cheesecake
For those of you that are still looking for a festive dessert over the holidays that is something a little fancier than cookies, this Healthier Peppermint Cheesecake would make a fabulous addition to your holiday table. Joey and I had friends over last week and the finale to our meal was this cheesecake. Since I figured everyone this time of year gets enough heavy, calorie-dense meals, I wanted to keep the dessert lighter than traditional cheesecake. When I found this … Read More
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Now that we have officially entered the month of December, I feel like I can post cookie recipes nonstop without shame. Growing up, cookie baking was a huge deal in my house during the weeks leading up to Christmas. My mom and I would scour our favorite cookbooks looking for the perfect combination of recipes. Once said recipes were chosen, we spent an entire day baking and making a mess. Usually I would bake and my mom would clean. Quite … Read More
Healthier Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
I promise that once Thanksgiving has come and gone, I will return to posting things that aren’t filled with pumpkin. But my love for the stuff is still going strong, and I intend to keep baking with pumpkin until Turkey day arrives. Last weekend I spent a little time scouring magazines looking for recipes for our family Thanksgiving. I don’t know about you all, but on Thanksgiving I prefer to indulge responsibly. There is nothing I hate more than the … Read More
Caramel Pumpkin Pie
This weekend Joey and I got together with a group of young couples at our church on Saturday night to share what we are thankful for, what God is doing in our lives and eat pie. Pretty awesome, right? Since we are still pretty new to our town and church, I knew I couldn’t bring just any old pie. I needed a pie that pulled out all the stops. And when I want a recipe that is sure to impress … Read More
Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies
Is it just me, or has it been too long since I posted a new cookie recipe? Truth be told, most baking and elaborate cooking endeavors have taken a back seat to other, more pressing maters. Between filming and traveling for “Hey, Can You Cook?! All-Stars”, keeping up with work responsibilities, traveling to catch football games and meeting our new little nephew, and spending a little bit of time Joe, too, time has been short. But I know that despite … Read More
Semi-Homemade Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cups
Good news! I baked you cinnamon rolls, pumpkin ones in fact. I couldn’t imagine a better way to start your weekend, or any day of the week for that matter, than with a warm ramekin oozing with dough and pumpkin and spices. But let me fill you in on a little secret. I hate cooking with yeast. I mean I wish I was a master of all things dough-based, but yeast and I have a bit of a tortured relationship. … Read More
Everyday Chocolate Loaf Cake
Thank you all for the happy birthday wishes and for your support as I balance a whole host of things that are piling onto my platter. I can promise you that I’ll have more information for you about unspoken happenings by the end of the month. Now, let’s talk about cake. Although Joey and I celebrated my birthday with an ice cream cake this year, I made these little individual chocolate loaf cakes a few weeks back after spotting … Read More
Almond Milk Ice Cream
Hi, friends! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Joey and I spent the weekend up in Minneapolis for a little belated birthday celebrating (more on that later), and just got home a little over an hour ago. The weekend was packed full and fun but I’m ready to head to bed and rest up for the week ahead. It’s going to be a crazy one! Although it might be a bit late in the season to be posting ice cream … Read More