Strawberry Shortbread Bars

How many cats is an appropriate amount to own?  Like twelvish?

One for each month?

Exactly.  I've been telling people this for years.

Just kidding, we only  have one cat, but sometimes when I go to Petsmart I like to pretend I am the mother of all cat lady's.

Like,

"Do you think Snuffliekins would like this Reindeer outfit or this Elf outfit better for family pictures?"

"What about Cuddly-boo-boo?  Should he buy this catnip-scented pillow for Fluffy-baby for Christmas?  Maybe we should call and ask him.  I've got him on speed-dial.  He's probably just watching animal planet."

It would probably be even more convincing if I actually brought in twenty cats on leashes and placed them in the cart and talked to them at intervals and waited for them to yowl back.  Maybe this year I can look into volunteering at the Humane Society in the "cat-walking" assignment and we can make that a reality.

Mostly I feel the need to do things like this because I worked at Gap in college.  I know boring jobs.  I like to think I'm providing the employees with some much needed entertainment for the day, and an amusing story to take home to their significant other at night.  Also it keeps me entertained because I am a five year old.


Know what else five year olds like?

Bars.

I like these best the second day because the flavors meld and the crust becomes super moist and almost "pie-like".  These would be yummy with cherry pie filling as well.

They are not cat-friendly however.  So don't give any to cuddly-boo-boo.

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Frosted Animal Cookie Gender Reveal Cupcakes

I have been dying to make gender reveal cupcakes and last week I got the chance to make some for one of Tim's coworkers.  The jist is that you gather friends or family and everyone chooses a cupcake decorated like the gender they believe the baby is.  (Pink or blue).  The cupcakes are filled with pink or blue frosting which reveals the gender the baby actually is once you bite into it. 

This baby was a girl so I got to play with pink frosting which was SO fun for me.

I loved how the animal cookie toppers turned out.  They would be cute for a baby shower even if you don't put them on cupcakes, or you could make them in holiday colors for Halloween or Christmas.

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Hot Cinnamon Caramel Apple Cider

Is anyone else feeling the sting of holiday craziness yet? I know it's only mid-November but my to-do list is a mile long. 

I mean that literally.

Like, I have to fold it into fiftuplets to fit it in my purse.

Like, people probably think I'm Santa Clause cause I have a list cascading out the back side of my purse when I go out.   Which I obviously scribble on MEANINGFULLY whenever kids crash into me wearing those skate shoes and then don't apologize. 

I'm sure they know I'm Santa cause I look like him and everything.

And yes, fiftuplets is a real measurement.

The good news is that I am not a procrastinator- so even though this month is going to be INSANE- by December I should have all my presents bought/made and wrapped, treats baked, packing lists made, and decorations up, so I can sit on my butt and stare at the Christmas tree and eat baked goods for the entire month of December. 

I highly recommend this method. 

I can't wait for Thanksgiving to be over so I can share lots of Christmas treats with you!

Also- This cider is about 500 times yummier than it appears.

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Pumpkin Pie Cream Cheese Spread

This spread tastes like pumpkin pie and you can eat it for breakfast.  That's all you really need to know.  It's perfect on a cinnamon crunch bagel!

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Caramel Apple Oatmeal Crisp

This is one of those desserts that I make every single year.  It just wouldn't be Fall without some caramel apple crisp.  I highly recommend topping with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce.

Pull out your stretchy pants.  Skinny jeans will be "out" in a few years anyways.

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Raspberry Swirl Rolls {& Sweet Roll Tips!}

I used to not be a good sweet roll maker.  Mine always turned out dense and dry.  After lots of trial and error I discovered I was adding WAY too much flour, especially in the rolling out process. My mind-frame of what the dough should look and feel like was totally wrong. I thought if it was sticky at all I hadn't added enough flour.

Lately I've discovered the secret to good sweet rolls is actually adding the least amount of flour possible.  This is what will make your rolls tender and moist.  Your dough should still be very sticky when you put it in a bowl for it's first rise.  After the first rise it loses some of it's stickiness and you can get a better idea of whether you need to add a little more flour or not.

One of the best things you can do to help you use the right amount of flour is use a kitchen scale to measure it.  I've included flour weight below for this recipe like I always do for my cookies.  This really takes a lot of guesswork out of baking sweet rolls.  Especially if you're at a high-altitude.

The other thing I do is use Pam spray instead of flour when rolling out my dough.  Sometimes you will have to add a bit more flour to get your dough to rolling consistency, but rolling the dough on a flour covered surface can really drown your dough in flour unnecessarily.  By spraying your rolling surface and rolling pin with Pam you can keep the dough from sticking, while avoiding adding excess flour.

Finally, make sure you take your rolls out of the oven when they're just barely done.  You don't want raw dough but you really don't want to overbake either or your product will be dry. 

For these raspberry swirl rolls I used raspberries from my garden and the filling was a bit tart.  Taste your berries before beginning and if they're tart add some extra sugar to your filling.   These are best the day they're made.  After that they will begin to dry out like most sweet rolls. These are tender and yummy but I think they would be even better with a cream cheese frosting, so feel free to substitute that for the glaze if you want.  

Happy carbohydrate inhaling!

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White Chocolate Berry Burst Bread

So, I'm wondering, is it normal to have a whole shelf in the pantry that's your shelf??  (Aka- "Children if you eat this I will personally throw all your nerf guns into the wilderness and escort you to the orphanage.")

I walked in to our secondary pantry yesterday and realized I had an entire shelf of hidden food.  Banana Nut Crunch (Dude, children, that stuff is expensive.  No, you cannot have a bowl), Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna bars, Honey Nut Shredded Wheat.  Gingerbread Oreos.  It's kind of gotten out of control.

Is this normal?

Is this a rite of motherhood or do I have a strange hoarding problem I never realized before?  I really don't want to be on the show hoarders.

On the other hand, when you hoard berries from your garden all summer and hide them away in the freezer, you get to make this bread.  So sometimes hoarding is a good thing, right?


This bread is full of berries and is lightly sweetened.  You can substitute some quick oats to make this healthy enough for breakfast, or you can add extra white chocolate chips to turn this into a sweeter snacking/ dessert bread.

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Rocky Road Caramel Apples

A girl like me can't just make regular old caramel apples for Halloween.  I'm all about the toppings.  How many calories can we load on one apple anyway?  These Reeses apples are my favorites.

This year I made a rocky road version. Totally Disneyland worthy!

Pretend you don't notice I forgot the almonds.

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Apple Pie Caramel Apples

 Pie.  In apple form.

It's a good idea.

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Gooey Chewy Caramel Popcorn Balls

Chewy popcorn balls are a Halloween tradition for us.  I highly recommend eating them while watching a Halloween movie.  Like maybe a cheesy 90's one with a cat named Binx and references to 'yabos'. 

If you know what I'm talking about, I love you.


These popcorn balls are very sweet and heavy on the caramel.  If you like a higher popcorn ratio you can add an additional half bag of popcorn. These stay soft and chewy even once cooled but need to be eaten the same day.  The popcorn gets "stale" after that so unfortunately these aren't great to make ahead.

This is a recipe you'll want to read through before beginning because if you don't live at sea level you may need to do a little calculation to find the right temperature for cooking your caramel. 

That said, I've made these several times without a candy thermometer, just cooking about 5-7 minutes and they've been fine every time.  They may just stick to your teeth a little more.  :)   I live 4500 ft above sea level so I can't vouch for that happening if you live at a very different altitude, but so far these have been foolproof for me. 

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