Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

Okay, so these cupcakes aren't actually made with key limes.  They're made with regular limes but the flavors of a key lime pie are all there!  I used my pound cake recipe for these cupcakes, so if you prefer you can easily make this recipe using a bundt pan, just adjust the cooking time.  These are very dense, moist and filling.

 

Nutella Palmiers

Palmiers are a really easy cookie to make with very few ingredients.  You can easily switch around the ingredients to make any variety, even savory palmiers.  I made these for our Valentine's Day dessert along with some Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting that I made earlier in the week, hehe.  Palmiers are supposed to look like elephant ears, and they do!  Here's how to make them:

Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's a great recipe for chewy red velvet cookies with tangy cream cheese frosting.  They're addictive!  I made these for Drew this year. :)  Here's how to make them:

Ghostbusters - Salted Caramel Candy Bars with Ghost Pepper SpicedChocolate and a Pretzel Crust

When Drew and I first started dating, one of the first things he ever gave me was a bag of spices from a local spice shop in Charlotte.  He picked out unique spices and blends so we could get creative in the kitchen together.  Knowing I love all things spicy, he got some ghost pepper salt.  Ghost peppers are one of the hottest peppers in the world.  It's really spicy and I couldn't think of a lot to use it in.  Unique flavor combinations are all the rage nowadays.  Sweet and salty, sweet and savory, sweet and spicy.. you get it.  I had recently had chocolate covered bacon with cayenne pepper and it inspired me to use the ghost salt with chocolate in some way.  So here's what we came up with.  Homemade candy bars with salted caramel and ghost pepper spiced chocolate.  They're hot but not too hot.  It sneaks up on you and shocks you for a minute but then it fades quickly.  They're so good!  I love the rustic look of them.  We jokingly called the Ghostbusters and the name stuck.  Here's how to make them:

 

French Toast Crunch French Toast

Nostalgia in a box.  This was my favorite cereal in the 90s and it's back!  I heard it was coming back to stores but I didn't believe it until I saw it.  We looked for it every time we were in the grocery store but never found it.  Then one day strolling through Target, there it was.  A miracle on the cereal isle.  Two boxes in my cart!  I don't even eat cereal anymore, but I had to get some!  Tastes like memories.  I knew right away I wanted to make French toast and crust it with this cereal.  Hello.. the name is French Toast Crunch after all.  Here's how to make it:

 

Christmas Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing and Colored Sugar

It took me several tries to get this recipe exactly how I wanted it but I finally got it!  These sugar cookies are slightly crisp, buttery and delicious.  They are good just by themselves or decorated with Royal Icing. Here's how to make them:

Royal Icing

4 egg whites

6 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp cream of tartar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Water

Food coloring
Sugar Cookies

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar and vanilla until frothy.

Slowly add in the powdered sugar.  Beat until everything comes together and is smooth. If it seems really thick add some water.  A drop at a time.  You want it to be thick enough so you can pipe it or spoon it on the cookies but it won't run everywhere.

Divide the frosting into bowls and add your choice of food coloring.  Now you're ready to decorate cookies!

After all the cookies are decorated, let the icing dry for at least 8 hours.

Peppermint Marshmallows

Yay, it's the holiday season!  I've been looking forward to this time of year so I can post a bunch of really fun holiday recipes.  Marshmallows are so fun to make, it really is like magic watching everything come together.  I decided to make peppermint marshmallows to go along with the holiday season.  This recipe may seem really complicated but as long as you have the right equipment it's so easy to make with very few ingredients. Here's how to make them:

Salted Caramel Chocolate Pudding

Finally, a new post!  It's been a while since I've been able to get in the kitchen and make anything.  I've got a fracture in my knee, so I've really been trying to be on my feet as little as possible.  I think this might be my first dessert recipe I've posted.  This isn't "real" salted caramel pudding.  There's no caramel, but I've combined different flavors that make up that caramel flavor like brown sugar and butter.  I made this on a whim, just using what I had in the fridge and pantry one night when we really were craving something sweet.  Pudding is really easy to make.  A lot of recipes are very similar and you can change things around to get the flavor you're looking for.  Here's how I made it: