During the years I lived in State College, PA, I saw many pumpkin whoopie pies for sale. And for some reason I always stared longingly but talked myself out of buying. I have no idea why–some misguided attempt to be healthy?–but whatever the reason I had never made nor eaten whoopie pies before Sammy’s and…
Carrot Cupcakes with White Chocolate "Creamy Dreamy" Frosting
I think I’ve mentioned somewhere on here before that my kids each get multiple birthday parties. It is a function of both growing older (and having kid parties) and having out of town families which are difficult to coordinate. So I stopped trying, and instead have 1 party for each side of the family and…
Nibby Cream Cheese Brownie Cupcakes
While we were in Atlanta, we had plenty of sweets. There was the leftover mousse from Alex’s birthday parties, the mini cupcakes we bought at Whole Foods (a real treat for those of us who live in a town without any true bakery because while homemade might be better, those mini treats are awfully fun…
Cold-Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake
When this month’s hostess for my book club asked me to bring dessert, I immediately jumped on it as an opportunity to bake a cake. Cakes are kinda tricky–at least in my home–because it is hard to give away part of a cake (although John’s department and students do receive half-cakes from time to time),…
Daring Bakers: Laura’s Café de Leche Cheesecake
“This is the best cheesecake I have ever had.” I almost keeled over when those words came out of my mother’s mouth. I was pretty sure up until that point that I, with the Daring Bakers’ help, had created something pretty darn special. But when my mom, longtime veteran cheesecake maker, uttered those 9 words,…
When Life Hands You Lemons…: Lemon-Goat Cheese Cheesecake… Parfait?
This dessert was absolutely fabulous. As a parfait. As a cheesecake, well it was very runny. And when life hands you a fabulous tasting but flawed cheesecake, you make parfait. Not really sure what happened, I am no cheesecake expert. I have a theory as to why it cracked (see note in recipe re: not…
September Green Chicken & Apple Tortilla Casserole
Check it out! We own a hole! At first Alex could not wrap her brain around this one, but now she has really gotten into it. She told us tonight it was HER basement they were building. HER toys would go down there (which granted is what I had told her). She also told us…
Black Bottom, And, Er, Black Topped Cupcakes
The minute I saw this recipe over at The Kitchen Sink I knew I wanted to make it. I love the combination of chocolate and cream cheese and have always meant to try more black bottom baked goods. Originally a Dave Lebovitz recipe, the recipe calls for a sweetened cream cheese topping over chocolate cupcake…
Summery Lemon & Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
This is not the most aesthetically pleasing cookie I have ever baked, but it is probably the tastiest lemon cookie I’ve ever eaten. The edges browned a bit more than I would have liked, but it really only affected their look, not their taste. I actually baked three different renditions of this dough, in various…