Garlic Butter Rolls
For those of you swoon over garlic twisty bread but can't bring yourself to order whole pizza to make the delivery worthwhile, this one's for you! They are scrumptious! Dip some in marinara or serve them with a salad and pasta! You could also eat them alone, directly from your kitchen counter. No one will know. Promise.
To push them over the edge of deliciousness, I am going to tuck a little bit of Parmesan cheese in the middle of each roll before I form them into little dough balls next time! This was a request from my husband who is a certified twisty bread lover. He wanted them cheesy with more of a garlic presence; so I will appease him next round! I suggest using a little cooking spray in the muffin tin because I had 3 of them stick! You'd better believe I chiseled them out with a knife and ate them! Wouldn't want to let any dough go to waste now would we?
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Strawberry Icebox Pie
We had a rainy Easter day here in the Bay Area. I can't remember the last time it rained here on an Easter. It was totally bizarre! Luckily we had this Strawberry Icebox Pie to channel sunny warm Easter weather. The strawberries were super sweet and tangy! Such a dream paired with fresh whipped cream on a graham cracker crust. It was like an ice cream combo I would have ordered at Cold Stone Creamery. Think strawberry cheesecake ice cream-- but lighter! This recipe says it serves 8, but it only served 5 at my house. Which means REALLY REALLY liked it. I bet it would be great on a hot summer day when you want something sweet that's a bit cool and refreshing too! This is definitely going in my dessert rotation.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
You should NOT make this recipe IF you:
-are on a diet
-don't love a moist cake
-aren't a HUGE fan of crumble topping
-don't enjoy toasted pecans
-can't stand cinnamon
-can't be trusted with an entire pan of coffee cake
I wish I had a warning like this this before I made this cake. I ate more of it that I had planned to! And to think that I thought portioning some for the neighbors would have been a enough! Little did I know that I couldn't be trusted with ANY of this cake. One piece was a gateway drug. Suddenly I found myself standing in the kitchen with a spoon scooping out cake like it was going out of style. I totally caught Casey doing the same thing. I really couldn't get enough and my stomach never signaled my brain to say it was full! Damn stomach! How dare you! Coffee cake is seriously the best excuse to have cake for breakfast. Agreed?
No Knead Walnut Raisin Bread
I made this recipe twice before I decided to share it with you. I thought my first attempt was a fluke because there is no way could I have made bread this good. Second time around, it was proved true. I did it! I made another angelic loaf with a crispy crunchy crust jeweled with oooey gooey raisins and toasty chunks of walnuts to boot. It's so good that it makes me want to cry. It also makes me want to continue eating it and I might have to unbutton my jeans while I type this. Yes there are crumbs on my keyboard. Shut up!
Ever heard of no knead bread? I am pretty sure you have! It's been a sensation for the past few years on the internet and all across the country. I made my first no-knead loaf before I started blogging and was kind of obsessed. But then out of nowhere my fixation fizzled and I didn't make a loaf for two years. I think it might have been that low-carb diet I was on. Ridiculous! Recently I saw Jim Lahey (the master behind the No-Knead method) on the Martha Stewart Show demonstrating a carrot walnut loaf from his new cookbook and my love for no knead bread was rekindled. The plain loaf is great but it always seemed like it needed something. I loved topping the bread with salted butter & jam or using it for sandwiches, but I was never satisfied with eating it on its own. So when my brother bought me his new book, I was stoked to see a bunch of recipes that helped boost the flavor of the bread.
Sticky Lemon Rolls
You might have caught on that I've been on a little health kick lately. I admit that I was purely saving calories to indulge myself with this recipe. How could I possibly tell you how GREAT these are if I didn't try at least 4 of them??! I am happy to report that the corner sticky rolls taste just as awesome as the ones in the middle! But you might as well find that out on your own!
Now that my confession is out of the way, I need to discuss with you how freaking incredible these are. I have a insane appreciation for sticky rolls and love lemon like you wouldn't believe, so combining these two faves literally made me see stars. I sent a plate of rolls to my neighbor and immediately received a phone call from her thanking me for her orgasm. I kid you not. And I laugh when I think about it, but it's seriously true. LEMON CREAM CHEESE ICING. What is better than that???
Honey Nut Squares
The second I saw Dana's recent post for Honey Nut Squares, I died.
Honey + Roasted Nuts+ Buttery Crumb Crust= YES PLEASE!!
I just finished cutting up squares and have packed some up for my neighbors. I seriously need to get them out of my sight. I've eaten three so far and I can hear them calling my name from the kitchen counter. "Traaaaacy!! Eat us! We are crunchy and sweet and slightly salty. You know how you love that combo TRACY! We are waaaaaiting! Look at the golden roasted cashew hanging off the edge. Just pull that off Tracy. Take a nibble!"
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Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits
I am not going to get wordy on this post. Just let the pictures speak for themselves.
Biscuits this good should be illegal. The addition of cheddar to the dough makes them utterly amazing.
The flavor? All I can say that it reminds me of a Cheez-It crossed with a buttery flaky biscuit.
Tangy, flaky, buttery goodness marbled with shreds of cheddar. Best when served hot!
I can't wait until you taste the bottom edge. You will thank me & Ina Garten for bringing this to your attention.
Take a look at the three stars of this recipe! Buttermilk, sharp cheddar and butter! Continue reading→
Custard Filled Corn Bread
I just finished reading A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenburg. Wow...just wow! What a lovely food memoir. I devoured it whole and it's haunted me in such a good way. Every recipe has a story behind it. A tradition. It makes me think of all of the recipes that I hold so dear. The ones that came from the women of my family...and the ones that I hope to impart on my children some day. Food has the power to bring people closer together and because I am half Italian I live by that.
I had a good laugh at the tale of her husband and his maple syrup loving habits. Mine looooves anything maple syrup related. You would be surprised at how fast he can polish off a box of maple candies. It's the New England gene in him. He was born to love it. He doesn't go as far as Buddy the Elf...but if I was gone for the weekend, I am pretty sure he'd be putting syrup on everything. Continue reading→
