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Super Chewy Crinkly Sugar Cookies, Recipe

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    Recently I have been baking sugar cookies, and now I want to share my two favorite recipes! I have tasted many different sugar cookies over the years but I find most of them to be bland and dry. The two recipes I’m sharing with you today, however, are among the best ones out there as far as I’m concerned! Sugar cookies have a simplistic, sweet flavor; they are not bold by any means or they would no longer be a sugar cookie. If you want a real aroma kick you should try my Malted Milk Cookies, which are truly outstanding! Sugar cookies are more plain, but that doesn’t mean they have to be bland. Both recipes are tasty and chewy but slightly different from each other: The cookies in my other recipe has great flavor, using lots of real butter and a whole 8-ounce package of cream cheese. And the recipe in this post, while still delicious tasting, also features a wonderful, chewy consistency due to ingredients selected for just that purpose. Because I like really chewy cookies, I do love this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, although I have made a couple of changes: I have added just a tiny bit of almond or coconut extract, depending on my mood, for extra flavor. I have also changed the order of the ingredients and made this into a one-bowl, or rather, one-pot recipe to simplify, making it a truly quick and easy […] Read more »

Tender Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies, Recipe

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  Recently I have been baking sugar cookies, and now I want to share my two favorite recipes! I have tasted many different sugar cookies over the years but I find that most of them are bland and dry. The two recipes I’m sharing with you today, however, are among the best ones out there as far as I’m concerned! Sugar cookies have a simplistic, sweet flavor; they are not bold by any means or they would no longer be a sugar cookie. If you want a real aroma kick you should try my Malted Milk Cookies, which are truly outstanding! Sugar cookies are more plain, but that doesn’t mean they have to be bland. Both recipes are tasty and chewy but slightly different from each other: The recipe in this post (below) focuses on wonderful flavor and produces a tender crumb with a cream cheese tang, while the recipe in my next blog post features a great, chewy consistency due to ingredients selected for just that purpose. The recipe in this post uses real butter and also includes a full size (8 oz) package of cream cheese, both of which account for a lot of flavor. In addition there is just a tiny bit of almond extract added, which is a flavor I normally avoid because it tends to be over powering for me, but with only 1/4 teaspoon it gives just a hint of almond flavor and it is very […] Read more »

Cream Cheese Squares Recipe, Picture Guide

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  These cream cheese bars are an absolutely delicious dessert! They are super sticky and gooey but can still be eaten without a fork if served cold. While very sweet and rich, it is hard to stop at only one! With this picture tutorial you can see that this is an easy recipe to put together, using a yellow cake crust on the bottom and covered by a sticky, dense cream cheese filling. They look a bit like lemon bars but the taste is very different. Kids and teens will sometimes be reluctant to try them due to the cream cheese that they contain, but once they sample them they quickly realize that they’re not biting into cream cheese, but a delectable, sweet dessert! If you decide to try this recipe, please consider leaving me a star rating and a comment below; it is very helpful for me and I appreciate it very much! Thanks in advance! When my son brought some of these bars to school with him, one of his 8th grade friends loved it and went home to search my blog for the recipe, to no avail; I simply hadn’t put together a post on it yet. Since my own kids will also definitely want this recipe once they’re out on their own, it was time! Caden, this blog post is for you! 🙂 I hope you’ll have fun baking!   The How-To’s: Start out by setting the […] Read more »

Moist Sour Cream Banana Bread Recipe

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  Banana bread has been a staple recipe in households across America for generations. Most recipes seem to be pretty similar to each other, and I find that they often are fairly bland. And there’s really no reason for a bland result. It is so easy to make a banana bread packed with flavor and moist at the same time! After monkeying around with my original recipe, which was already a good one, I made changes to use real butter, brown sugar, more salt, extra vanilla, sour cream, and more. The result has been outstanding! There is of course another major difference between most banana bread recipes: they come with or without nuts. Why some people choose to add nuts I will never understand. And of course, those same people cannot fathom that I would make mine without! Even so, nuts can be added easily and is optional in this recipe. The resulting loaves are very moist and delicious with all these special ingredients to bring out the flavors. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance!   Moist Sour Cream Banana Bread Recipe To start out, use an electric mixer (or just a spoon) to beat together softened butter, brown and white sugar, and eggs. There’s no need to beat hard, just blend together well. (Use dark […] Read more »

Butter-Crunch Caramel Corn Recipe; Quick, Easy Crowd Pleaser

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Crunchy Caramel Corn Recipe, Naturally Gluten Free

  Butter-Crunch Caramel Corn Recipe; Quick, Easy Crowd Pleaser Crunchy, golden caramel corn, made with real butter, is so easy to make at home! This recipe is truly delicious, and a snap to make! I’ve always loved Cracker Jack’s, but this recipe beats Cracker Jacks any day! And it’s naturally gluten free, too! I had never even considered that caramel corn could be made at home, until my friend Shari Fletcher impressed me greatly by serving a big bowl of it to a crowd of kids and adults. When she shared the recipe with me and explained how quick and easy it was to do, I was truly amazed! Shari is a wonderful cook with so many awesome ideas, and “quick & easy” along with “flavorful” seems to be her specialty. I love getting recipes from her! Thank you, Shari!! If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance!   How to Make Crunchy Caramel Corn at Home You start out by popping popcorn; you’ll need approximately 4 – 5 quarts popped. Spray the inside of a large paper bag (a shopping bag is perfect) liberally with cooking spray, then pour the popped popcorn into the bag. You make the caramel by combining real butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla in a heavy sauce pan. Bring […] Read more »

Norwegian Riskrem Rice Pudding; Christmas Dessert Recipe

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Riskrem (Rice Pudding) is a traditional Norwegian Christmas dessert, made from leftover rice porridge (recipe in this link) and whipped cream, with some sugar and vanilla added. Topped with a red berry or fruit sauce, it is fluffy and creamy with a little tang from the sauce. This dessert should not be confused with the rice pudding often found in grocery stores in the U.S., which tends to be overly sweet, the rice not as tender, and sometimes cinnamon added. Cinnamon has no place in Norwegian riskrem! My recipe delivers fluffy, creamy, and pleasantly sweet vanilla flavored riskrem, the rice kernels cooked until completely tender. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance!   How to Make Riskrem / Norwegian Rice Pudding The first part in making this delicious dessert is to mix together a little bit of whole milk and 4 cups of leftover rice porridge, which should be stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Dilute with 1/2 cup whole milk, as rice porridge thickens as it sits. A rubber spatula makes it easier to mix together.   Next, prepare the whipped cream. Use well chilled heavy whipping cream, 2 cups in all, with 6 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon vanilla-sugar added. You may be able to find vanilla sugar at certain super markets […] Read more »

Creamy Blueberry Pie Recipe w/ Crumble Topping

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  One of my favorite pies, and an easy one to make, is the Creamy Blueberry Pie that I found on AllRecipes years ago. With a few changes that I have made to this recipe since then, the result has been excellent; a pie that quickly becomes a favorite whenever served at gatherings. The changes include using less sugar, as the original recipe was a bit too sweet for my taste. I also added more salt to the filling for extra flavor, as well as a pinch of salt to the streusel topping, and adjusting the oven temperature to allow for shorter baking time. Most fruit pies seem to contain a filling based on berries in a heavy syrup. This pie, however, has a creamy, custard-like filling, adding flavor and a smooth texture by using eggs and sour cream in addition to other ingredients. Filled into a pie shell and topped with a crumbly streusel mix, the layers add variety in flavors and texture. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! This pie should be baked on a cookie sheet, preheated in the oven to 375° F. To prepare the pie, I start by spraying a 9-inch pie dish quite heavily with cooking spray, making sure to spray all the way to the top along the […] Read more »

Candied Vanilla & Cinnamon Roasted Almonds, Recipe

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    Walking through the mall, smelling those freshly roasted candied almonds, a hint of cinnamon in the air mixed with vanilla sweetness…. Why are those little delectable things so expensive??? The senses are wide awake, there is longing, but the pocketbook tells you to walk on by. Ignore, ignore. If you can. It just doesn’t seem fair, does it? Well, long no more! Here it is, the recipe that allows you to enjoy the scent AND the flavor, without breaking your piggy-bank! Better yet, it is so easy to do at home you’ll never want to waste your money at the mall ever again! This particular recipe is especially aroma filled, and adding a little extra salt to these gently sweetened almonds helps to bring out various flavors. They contain more vanilla than almonds from many other recipes, as well as extra cinnamon as well, though tastefully so and not over-the-top. Just more of the good stuff, more of what makes roasted, candied almonds so special. Addicting, that they are; be warned! If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance!   Here are the steps to take you through it; not that you’ll need it, as the recipe itself is quite self explanatory. But, being a visual person myself, I always appreciate pictures whether I need […] Read more »

Traditional Norwegian Food: Confectionery Cake / Bar Recipe

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      This gourmet Confectionery Cake is made from a traditional Norwegian recipe, and is probably served in Sweden as well since IKEA sells their own version of the same cake. In Norway, this almond cake recipe goes by several different names, though “Suksesskake” (Success Cake) and “Konfektkake” (Confectionery Cake) are the two names I am the most familiar with. It is typically served during Christmas, weddings, on the Norwegian Independence Day (May 17th), or other special occasions. The base, made mostly from ground almonds, is naturally gluten free and is chewy and dense with somewhat of a crunch to it. It is not soft and fluffy like other cakes. Really, it is more like a dessert bar than a cake, but cake is still what Norwegians call this heavenly dessert. This dessert is topped with a delicious butter-egg yolk frosting, which is bright yellow and very flavorful. (Don’t let the yellow color trick you; there is no lemon or citrus flavoring added.) If you are looking for something extra, something exclusive, a dessert different from ordinary cakes and desserts, this is it! You won’t have to worry about whether someone else brought the same thing to the party when you bring this wonderful cake! If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! IKEA carries a […] Read more »

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake Recipe; Pictures Show How

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  Soft, moist, and delicate, this cake goes great with a cup of black coffee. Hence the name Coffee Cake. My dear friend Kelly shared this recipe with me, and I’m always excited when I serve it. With a subtle crunch from the streusel topping, it has a clean taste of the fine ingredients added. There is no vanilla; “Whaaat??? No vanilla?” you may ask. Vanilla is heavenly tasting. I’m one of the biggest fans of it, and usually more is better in my opinion. However, if vanilla is added to just about every single dessert you make, it sort of loses its charm a little bit, don’t you think? Or maybe not, but it’s a thought worth considering, at least. I’ll continue on that trail just a little bit: What I have found is that certain recipes are better without vanilla, because it allows you to focus more on the other flavorful ingredients, such as butter and cream cheese. If you have to have your vanilla kick, then by all means add some! But I will make this cake without. So the recipe calls for blueberries; does that mean it has to be blueberries only? Not as far as I have found. I tried raspberries, and it was great! I can only imagine that other berries or fruits will work wonderfully as well. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star […] Read more »