Cinnamon Cheesecake Fondue AND a GIVEAWAY!!

I found this recipe in my new cookbook by Joy Bauer called Slim & Scrumptious. This was a fun and quick dish I made for my kids' afternoon snack this week. Needless to say it was a HUGE hit with both of my kids and they gobbled up every last bite. It was fun for them to eat and it was a great way to load up on fresh fruit. My daughter liked to dip the fruit and crackers directly into the dip

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Last, but certainly not least, on the kids' teachers' gift plates are these chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars. (The other treats on the gift plates were Lemon and Blueberry Bars with a Coconut Crust, Triple Chocolate Cookies, and White Chocolate Dipped Pretzels). These cheesecake bars were fun and simple to make and tasted amazing! I found the recipe on My Baking Addiction and knew

White Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

For the third treat in the kids' teachers' gift plates (first two treats were the Lemon and Blueberry Bars with a Coconut Crust and Triple Chocolate Cookies) I made pretzels dipped in melted white chocolate and topped with sprinkles. They were fun, easy, and messy to make. The kids had a lot of fun covering them with sprinkles. I loved the combination of the sweet white chocolate with the salty

Lemon and Blueberry Bars with a Coconut Crust

Need I say more?It's that time of year again... gift plates for my kids' teachers. I decided to make four special treats for the teachers this year. First up are these lemon bars. Words cannot express how tasty these treats are. I love the coconut crust with the tart lemon and the sweet blueberries on top - a perfect combination!Lemon and Blueberry Bars with a Coconut Crust:Recipe and photos by

Toffee Crunch Dip with Apple Slices

This recipe is from my sister Dana. She makes this dip for holidays, birthdays, and tailgating for the BSU Bronco football games. It's always a huge hit when she makes it and never lasts long. The dip itself is sweet, creamy, and crunchy and it pairs perfectly with the crispy and tart apple slices. It's extremely quick and easy to make and will make all of your guests very happy. Thanks for the

Raspberry Oatmeal Crumb Pie

We were heading over to a friend's house for dinner and I was asked to bring a dessert. My daughter really wanted to use the raspberry pie filling that we had in our baking cupboard so I went in search of a recipe. I found a nice oatmeal crumb bar recipe in my Good Housekeeping cookbook that would work well with the pie filling. My daughter didn't want to make bars, instead she wanted to make it

Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

I want to say THANK YOU for all the sweet comments in regards to my cut finger - I have the best readers! I am happy to say that my finger is healing nicely and I am back to cooking. My daughter turned eight this weekend and when I asked her if she wanted a cake or cupcakes and she told me she wanted chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting made from scratch, not a box mix. I found a great recipe

Mini Lemon Pies and Mini Cherry Pies

When I saw this recipe on Georgia's site The Comfort of Cooking, I knew I would be making these beauties immediately. My kids love fruit pies so making them their own perfect little pie made them so happy! My daughter and I had so much fun making these together... she especially loved cutting out each little flower for the top crusts. These were extremely quick and simple to make and they tasted

Blueberry and Lemon Curd Galette with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

We were celebrating my friend's birthday at our house and when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted she told me that she would prefer a galette for dessert. I decided to make another one with lemon curd but this time I used blueberries that my neighbor Jack recently gave me. I love galettes because they are extremely easy to make (especially if you cheat and use store bought pie crust) and

Raspberry and Lemon Curd Galette with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

We were having friends over for dinner and they were bringing the dinner! I have the best friends. Anyway, since I wasn't cooking I decided to bake a dessert. I love, love, love galettes, not only are the delicious they are simple to make. I had some lemon curd in the cupboard so I decided to add it to the galette along with fresh raspberries then I topped it with homemade vanilla bean whipped

Peanut Butter Swirl Mini Brownies

My son and I wanted to make something special for my daughter's after school treat today. We finally decided to make peanut butter swirl brownies. I found this recipe on Ezra Pound Cake that looked delicious but I adapted it to make little mini brownies using mini muffin tins. My son had a great time stirring up all the ingredients and an even better time gobbling up the tasty brownie bites. My

Banana Cake with Streusel Topping

I had three very ripe bananas to use up so my daughter and I decided to make a banana cake with streusel topping. I made the mistake of putting the cake in a small 8x8 pan instead of a 9x13 pan so the cake took an hour to bake. Next time I make this, and there will be a next time because my kids LOVED it, I will use the larger pan. It turned out very moist and flavorful - perfect for breakfast

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

I highly recommend this recipe, but be warned, these scones are very addictive. We had a friend's daughter staying with us for a few days so I decided to make breakfast extra special by making Tyler Florence's blueberry scones. They turned out much easier to make than I imagined and they tasted FANTASTIC. I loved the sweet blueberries with the sweet/tart lemon glaze. These scones were a huge hit

Strawberry Crepes

My kids get to pick whatever they want to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on their birthday. My son just turned 5 years old and he asked for strawberry crepes for breakfast. I whipped up a batch for him and his sister and they gobbled up every last bite. This is a fun and easy recipe to prepare and it makes breakfast extra special.Strawberry Crepes:4 eggs1 1/3 cup non fat milk1 tbsp melted

Blackberry Galette with Homemade Vanilla Whipped Cream

This recipe is so simple to make and is always a big hit with my kids and dinner guests. I found some beautiful organic blackberries on sale recently and couldn't resist buying them. I used a store bought pie crust because it is a huge time saver for me. The kids and I made this galette for friends who were coming over for dinner, needless to say, it disappeared quickly.Blackberry Galette with

Strawberry Galette with Homemade Vanilla Whipped Cream

I had one pie crust to use up so I decided to bake a strawberry galette with my daughter. It was a fun afternoon cooking with my little sous chef. I think she really liked placing the strawberry slices onto the pie crust and she enjoyed making the whipped cream. This was a wonderful dessert that my entire family loved. Needless to say my daughter was very proud of herself.Strawberry Galette with

Homemade Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Pop Tarts

I surprised my kids with some freshly made pop tarts for breakfast. They were so excited when they found out they were filled with cinnamon and brown sugar. The pop tarts were extremely quick and easy to make and they tasted fantastic. My kids and husband gobbled them right up and enjoyed every last bite. I served these pop tarts with a Yogurt and Fruit Parfait and turkey sausage for a fun and

Homemade Lemon and Blueberry Pop Tarts

Well, it's official... my kids think I am the coolest mom ever. I've been wanting to make homemade pop tarts for awhile now. I saw some lemon curd at Trader Joe's and knew it would make a tasty filling along with fresh blueberries. These little pop tarts were so quick and simple to make and tasted FANTASTIC. Yes, all caps - they were that good. My son kept telling us that no one could love them

Raspberry and Blueberry Fruit Pies

My daughter had a day off of school so we decided to do some baking. I had a tin of biscuits that I needed to use up, as well as some fresh blueberries and low sugar raspberry jelly. We decided to make mini fruit pies. This was a really fun project to do with my daughter and a very tasty afternoon snack. They turned out beautiful! The outside was golden brown and the inside was oozing with

Banana Coffee Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting

I've seen a few banana cakes on the web recently and it made me want to bake one. My son and I were bored one rainy afternoon so we decided to bake a banana cake with coconut pecan frosting. It's a Cooking Light recipe I found on myrecipes and it was simple to make and it turned out so moist and delicious. My kids loved this cake for their after school snack...they told me it was awesome at least