confessions of a sweet tooth

I found this recipe and decided to dust off my ice cream maker and try it out to see if it could compete with all these new and trendy yogurt places...the verdict? Pretty close. I liked it best just out of the ice cream maker or after it had been in the freezer for only a short time. Frozen Yogurt 2 c. plain yogurt (I used Trader Joe's Organic) 1/2 c. whole milk 3/8 c. sugar mix all ingredients and pour into ice cream maker (mine's a Cuisinart) for about 25 minutes. Top with fruit.

This is my second time with this recipe and it is a keeper for sure! I am sorry to admit that I'm a bit of a failure when it comes to making banana bread...I've been on the quest for quite some time now and haven't quite done it right, this on the other hand is another story. This time I sprinkled some Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips on top and it turned into a bit of a chocolate river down the middle...a pleasant surprise! I also used King Arthur's white whole wheat flour, making it a little healthier but not any less delicious. Pumpkin Bread Mix: 1 c. pumpkin 1/2 c. oil 1 1/2 c. sugar 2 eggs Add: 1 3/4 c. flour 1/4 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 3/4 t. salt 1/2 t. cloves 1/2 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. nutmeg Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour at 325 degrees.

We had this along with our pumpkin pancakes on Halloween morning. I made the syrup and mixed the dry ingredients (I left out chocolate chips this year) for the pancakes the night before making it pretty quick to put together in the morning. The syrup paired nicely with the pancakes and was definitley the highlight for me. Apple Cider Syrup 1 1/2 c. apple cider 1 c. corn syrup 1 t. lemon juice 1/2 t. nutmeg 1 c. brown sugar 4 T. butter 1 t. cinnamon Bring to a boil then turn down heat and simmer for 20+ minutes until thickened. Let stand for 30 minutes. *I halved the recipe and it was plenty for us! (I found this recipe in the comments section on the blog This Week for Dinner in a call for pumpkin recipes...it was suggested with another pumpkin pancake recipe)

I found the idea for this Spiderweb Cheesecake in the October issue of Martha Stewart Living. It was just so cute I had to try it out! I ended up halving the recipe and making it in a regular pie dish rather than the springform pan, so the presentation wasn't quite as stunning, but I knew I didn't need a cheesecake of quite the magnitude of the original recipe. It worked out perfectly in the pan with half the recipe. The things I would do differently if making it again are... 1. the crust turned out a little more crumbly than I would have liked, which was probably my fault for adding a little too many crumbs (not enough butter) 2. It needs to be served very well chilled. Other than that it was pretty tasty for a no bake cheesecake, was pretty simple to put together, and has extra cute gumdrop spiders that go with it. It was a fun and festive project!

I came across this Martha Stewart recipe on a blog that I read often... Stephmodo was guest blogging on petit elephant and talked about them there. I was a bit intrigued by the fresh ginger. It remined me of the triple ginger snaps from Trader Joe's that we discovered last fall. These cookies definitely came out with a good balance of ginger (fresh and ground) and chocolate. A yummy fall addition! Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies 7 ounces semi-sweet chocolate 1 1/2 c. plus 1 tablespoon flour 1 1/4 t. ground ginger 1/4 t. ground cloves 1/4 t. ground nutmeg 1 T. cocoa powder 1/2 c. butter 1 T. freshly grated ginger 1/2 c. dark-brown sugar, packed 1/2 c. unsulphered molasses 1 t. baking soda 1/4 c. granulated sugar 1 t. ground cinnamon Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks (or just use good chocolate chips!), set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmet, and cocoa. In a separate bowl, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minu

This was my little Friday night baking experiment and it turned out really well...probably some of the best brownies I've ever made and I'm a brownie fan, so that's saying something! The brownie recipe is one that my mom found years ago (Snow Flurry Brownies). They normally call for white chocolate chips but are good with any or no form of chocolate chips...it's definitely my favorite quick brownie recipe. They always turn out fabulous as long as they don't get overbaked! I only wanted a few this time, so I halved the recipe and baked them in an 8 1/2 inch loaf pan. It worked out perfectly and we came out with about 5 brownies...which is good since there are only a few of us and I have a severe weakness for brownies! without further ado... Rocky Road Brownies 1 c. sugar 1/2 c. butter, melted 2 eggs 1/2 t. vanilla 2/3 c. flour 1/2 c. cocoa 1/2 t. baking powder 1/2 t. salt Mix together and bake in an 8x8 (foil lined) pan at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Do not ove