Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

When I first found out about Pinterest last summer, I immediately told my friend Tori about it. Tori, being against most forms of social media including Facebook, decided to check it out but refused to make an account. Instead of pinning her finds, she does it the old fashioned way - with a bookmark. Account or not, Tori is always on top of the latest Pinterest phenomenons. It was no surprise to me that when I asked her what to bring to her annual Memorial day weekend party, she requested these Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes.

Coconut Cream Eggs

You know it's Easter in central Pennsylvania when you find baskets of homemade peanut butter eggs for sale beside every cash register in every restaurant or store. Somewhere in church basements, ladies gather to make hundreds and hundreds of peanut butter and coconut eggs to sell. You'll find them wrapped in colored foil or in wax paper bags, and they're so reasonably priced you'll find yourself buying them by the dozen. And if you're like me, you'll be eating them by the dozen too.

Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake with Pudding Frosting

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It's no secret that I have an obsession with all things red velvet. In fact, today I caught myself eyeing a "red velvet burrito" on a Mexican restaurant menu, desperately hoping that it was some sweet rolled up concoction oozing with cream cheese filling. Turns out it's really just a spicy red tortilla filled with the usual burrito ingredients. I think that qualifies as false advertising, but who am I to argue with a chain of restaurants?

I've never been to the Waldorf Astoria. Only two things come to my mind when I think of the swanky hotel; Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl and that weird salad with apples and mayonnaise. I really can't vouch for how closely this cake resembles theirs. I do know that this cake is dense, yet moist with that slight hint of cocoa, which is exactly how any red velvet cake should be. The addition of this light and fluffy pudding frosting makes it a surprisingly light slice of cake. And even though it's light and fluffy, the frosting still has as slight hint of tang from the cream cheese which is why it pairs perfectly with red velvet.

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cheesecake

Also known as the cheesecake that had in me in tears and cursing at 9:30 a.m. Oh, and also convinced me to give up baking forever... or well, for at least a day or two.

Remember a few months ago when I said I had never attempted to make a real cheesecake? Anything that required a cake to be "bathed" in water completely intimidated me. That is until I saw this gorgeous cheesecake from Baked By Rachel. With a week off from work, and a holiday gathering to attend, I decided it was time for me to tackle a cheesecake.

So what went wrong with this seemingly gorgeous cheesecake that caused me to have an early morning kitchen meltdown? What didn't happen is more like it.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

If you were to ask me my favorite kind of cake, hands down I'd say red velvet with cream cheese frosting. There's just something I love about a perfectly made red velvet cake. It's obscurely chocolate flavored, yet bright red. It's dense, and moist and topped with a perfectly tangy yet sweet cream cheese frosting. I've tried many dry, flavorless attempts at red velvet and I have to say, it's hard to find the perfect recipe for this traditionally southern cake.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

This week has been the week of perfect pairings. First, I paired butterscotch and marshmallow fluff to make the perfect cupcake. Now, I've paired chocolate chip cookie dough and cheesecake to make the the perfect cookie bar.

I've never made a true, baked cheesecake. You know, the kind that requires a spring-form pan and a water bath to bake. As my mom said on the phone the other day (when I pitched the idea of a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving), "aren't they hard to make?" Maybe so. And while I think I'm up for that challenge, after eating these cheesecake bars I may never make a traditional cheesecake, EVER. There's no need. 

Butter Pecan Cake

On Sunday afternoon, my family celebrated my Grandma's birthday over a home-cooked meal of stuffed chicken and all the trimmings. Not only was it my Grandma's birthday, but it also was my grandparent's 52nd wedding anniversary. Naturally, my grandparents celebrated their anniversary by buying a 60 inch 3D TV. I say naturally because my grandparents have always been up on the latest technology whether it be TVs or computers. My Granddad even bought me one of the first ever MP3 players way back when. It had enough memory to hold seven whole songs!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I was recently asked to make cupcakes for a coworker's bridal shower. Knowing she was a huge fan of pumpkin, I began dreaming up the perfect pumpkin cupcake. In my opinion, a pumpkin cupcake is not complete without some form of cream cheese frosting. I toyed with the idea of a brown sugar and cinnamon frosting but settled instead for a maple cream cheese frosting to utilize the maple extract I recently purchased. Pinterest inspired the caramel drizzle which was the perfect compliment to this spicy, moist and sweet cupcake.

BLT Macaroni and Cheese

Sometimes I have to force myself to eat things that aren't frosted, glazed, dunked in chocolate or served with a scoop of ice cream. You know... healthier things... like macaroni and cheese. With bacon. And a small side of baby spinach to add some color to my plate.

Rosemary Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Over the weekend, I had the chance to visit my friend Maggie (you may remember her from her recent guest post) and her husband Preston in Lambertville, NJ. Lambertville is a quaint little artsy town right across the river from another equally quaint and artsy town, New Hope, PA. Having already dined at most of the restaurants in Lambertville and New Hope, Maggie and Preston suggested we try a place called Honey in Doylestown, PA for dinner on Friday night. A restaurant serving "inspired American" small plates, Honey was a unique dining experience. I'll post a full review in the next couple of days but for now, I must tell you about our favorite part of the meal.

After devouring six small plates and one cocktail each, we opted for only two desserts (though I'm sure we could have easily handled a third). The seasonal dessert special was a fried apple pie served with ice cream.

Not just any ice cream... Rosemary Cream Cheese Ice Cream. After one bite each, the three of us sat in awe. "That's definitely rosemary," we said. After a second bite, we again, sat there... stunned. Finally the server came over to ask how the dessert was as we picked our jaws up off the floor. Surely the server had seen these looks before. Not wanting to expose the fact that we'd never tasted such a gourmet ice cream flavor (because let's face it, Chunky Monkey isn't chic), we quickly told the server how fantastic it was.