Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

This Thanksgiving my family came from all over to celebrate at my parent's house.  There was so much food but the best part of course were the desserts.  Everyone brought a pie, including apple pie, blueberry pie, pecan pie, chocolate pudding pie, and carrot cake whoopee pies, which all were to die for, but what's a Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?  To complete the scene I made an Eggnog Pumpkin Pie.  After a debate between which eggnog is the best, a taste test found that Stewart's brand eggnog came out on top.

Meyer Lemon Chess Pie

Last year at about this time I decided that I needed to add a new plant to brighten up my indoor garden.  I wanted something unique and with pizazz, and with that I went online and bought a Dwarf Meyer Lemon tree.  It came as a one-year-old twig with 3 leaves on it and has since grown into the most awkward looking plant I ever did lay my eyes upon.  With one branch sticking out so far that it is longer than the main trunk itself, the tree is growing askew.  This poor tree requires supports and stakes to keep it upright, and because it has managed to flower and grow 9 beautiful lemons it is weighed down even more.  My first 3 lemons ripened this week, the rest to ripen soon.  I was so excited to have homegrown (in upstate New York!!) Meyer lemons that I absolutely had to make a variation of the American classic Chess Pie.  Meyer lemons are sweeter and less acidic than regular lemons.

Lulu's Horribly Good Cookies

Several years ago I was visiting family in Salem, MA, a beautiful city full of history and culture.  Better yet, Salem is home to one of the best bakeries I have ever come across.  Unfortunately, I do not even know the name of it.  I was probably 10 years old, my family and I were walking down a sidewalk near the ocean that was lined with cute little shops.  We came across some packaged goodies for sale on a table in front of a bakery and took a quick look to see what they had.  We found these huge chocolate chip cookies called Horribly Good Cookies.  This sparked our interest and we entered the store to ask the woman why they are called "Horribly Good."  Her reply was that they are so incredibly chocolatey that either people think they are just horrible, or people think they are wicked good!  Being lovers of chocolate we decided to buy several cookies.  Upon opening the bag and sinking my teeth into what I assumed was just a chocolate chip cookie was the biggest surprise a 10 year old could have.  The cookie was actually stuffed with a brownie!  I decided that my mission in life was to try to figure out how to replicate that Horribly Good Cookie from the bakery in Salem.  I think I have finally created a replica that will suit my desire for these cookies, though nothing will beat the surprise of that first bite I had on the beach with my family all those years ago.

Peach Almond Free Form Pie

A free form pie is making a pie without a pie pan by folding up the crust around the filling.  This pie has tender peaches topped with a crumbly almond and brown sugar topping.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Cream Cheese Filled Carrot Cake Muffins

I officially own a muffin tin!  I have always wanted one but never got around to getting one until yesterday.  To celebrate I decided to make scrumptious carrot cake muffins loaded with cream cheese frosting.  The best part of these muffins is the design the cream cheese makes when you bake them.  I think this one looks like a Star Wars tie fighter.

No Bake Chocolate Banana Cake

Ever get the craving for a nice big hunk of chocolate cake but never feel like pulling out the mixer, heating up the oven, and baking a huge cake when you only want a slice?  No Bake Chocolate Banana Cake is the solution!  It is a rich, decadent chocolate cake loaded with bananas, and best of all, you cook it in the microwave. 

Watermelon Slush

I have a ton of watermelon in my fridge just begging me to eat it.  I have eaten so much of it this summer I think I might explode.  So I decided to make something with it to make it a little more exciting.  This Watermelon Slush is a perfect ending to a beautiful summer day.

Chocolate Strawberry Biscotti

I sat outside this morning drinking my cup of formosa oolong and contemplating what delicious food I should make today.  As I stared into my cup of tea it dawned on me.  A twice baked cookie would compliment my tea quite nicely.  But it couldn't just be any biscotti, it had to include summer fruit and, of course, chocolate.

Fruit Tart

 As much as I love cake, for my birthday I always end up choosing Fruit Tart for my dessert.  My birthday happens to fall in the perfect time of summer, when fruits are ripe and perfectly sweet.  This Fruit Tart is a delightful balance of juicy fruit, sweetened cream cheese, and flaky crust.  I could eat the whole thing in one sitting if my brothers didn't try to stab me with their forks for a piece.  Needless to say, we always make two.

Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

Every Christmas morning, before the rest of my family gets out of bed, I am down in the kitchen with my mom making a whole spread of delectable sweets which we feast on throughout the day.  We don't do the normal Christmas dinner with the nice turkey or ham, we do tooth achingly sweet breads.  Monkey bread and cinnamon rolls.  She makes the monkey bread, I make the rolls.  It's tradition. 

This morning I woke up singing Christmas songs as though I were dreaming of the season.  I immediately got up and put on my Christmas radio station on Pandora and got a hankering for warm, gooey cinnamon rolls.  Yes, I do realize it is only August.  I also realize Christmas is only 4 months and 8 days away!!!

So I set out to make these rolls.  They require a pretty good amount of time to make as the dough needs to rise twice.  I jumped up and ran to the grocery store to gather some ingredients I was out of and hurried home to begin.