Happy New Year! It's 2022!! I have a festive little New Year's party to share with you today, compliments of my niece! At the young age of 7, my niece is already the party planning extraordinaire!! Her mama (my sister) has taught her so well! She reminds me so much of my girls when they were growing up, throwing parties for baby dolls and family pets. So precious. One day recently, my sister mentioned that my niece would probably enjoy a day at my house "baking and making". Of course I said yes immediately, and we later decided to throw a cousins' New Year's celebration! It was a small affair due to so many of the cousins already committed to other holiday obligations, but, as ... Read more
Pumpkin Patch Cookies!
My son and I are in a field trip co-op this year which means the first Friday of each month we go some place interesting, educational, and fun with a bunch of great friends! The moms take turns arranging each field trip, and I had the months of September and October. September was supposed to be a trip to a museum and a historic home at our state capitol. Unfortunately, our tour was canceled by the museum a few days before due to a certain virus which shall remain nameless. For our October field trip I had planned a day at a farm and pumpkin patch down the road from our house, and it just happened to fall on the first day of October! There's no place we'd rather be on October 1st than ... Read more
Elegant Autumn Celebration Cake
A couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law hosted a lovely birthday dinner for my mother-in-law. She and my other SIL prepared a delicious meal of family-favorite party foods and asked me to bring dessert. I asked the birthday girl what kind of cake she would like for her special day, but she said I could choose, which meant my husband and kids hinted at an Italian cream cake for several days after that, heehee. So, Italian cream cake it was! My sister-in-law said she would be decorating in a fall theme, so I wanted the cake to reflect her decor. As I mentioned a few months ago when I first posted the recipe for this cake, it really lends itself to so many different occasions with it's ... Read more
Happy Almost Fall!
Lately we have caught the fever--the fall fever! We are still more than a month away from the first day of fall and even then, here in the deep south, it'll be a while before those crisp, cool days make their appearance. So yesterday we had a "Let's-Pretend-It's-Fall" day! Nothing extravagant, just a few autumnal pleasures to tide us over for the rest of summer. We lit a deliciously-scented apple candle and whipped up some pumpkin muffins with butterscotch chips. I found some fall cupcake liners left from last year. I've been on a detox diet this summer so, sadly, no muffins for this mama. BUT, I did stir some pureed pumpkin and maple syrup into my steel cut oats and it was ... Read more
Tropical Fruit Salad with Honey Ginger Syrup
I don't know about you but I just can't get enough fruit in the summer! I buy so much fresh fruit every week and we gobble it up. We eat it all year long but love the summer's seasonal fruits the most. Fruit is delicious enough without having to do anything fancy with it--I usually just wash and eat it on the spot--but occasionally I like to make it into a salad, tossed in a lite and healthy syrup. Today I'm sharing one of my favorite ways to do that! Tropical Fruit Salad with Honey Ginger Syrup (This makes a huge fruit salad for a crowd. If you want to cut the recipe in half, you can still use the whole pineapple.) Ingredients: 1 fresh pineapple, peeled and cut up 4 ... Read more
Italian Cream Cake
One evening last week, the mothers and daughters from our small group got together to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the baby of our friend Rivers. This family has been such a blessing to our group so we ladies wanted to celebrate with Rivers and her two sweet girls. We planned a meal of salads, followed by a few desserts: Italian cream cake, raspberry white chocolate almond bars, brownies, and coffee. This Italian cream cake is my most requested cake by my family or when I'm asked to bring a dessert to a special occasion. It suits any holiday or celebration any time of the year! It's unique from most other Italian cream cakes in that it doesn't call for pecans or coconut, so ... Read more
Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Mother's Day is coming up and there's not a more decadent dessert for pampering mom with than a flourless chocolate cake smothered with chocolate ganache! Last month, yours truly had a birthday. My husband and kids took me to a favorite local restaurant for a delicious dinner of shrimp and grits, and then back home for dessert and a movie. That afternoon, my sweet baker girl offered to make a birthday dessert of my choosing. She's the best! At the time, I was on week six of avoiding sugar, so, needless to say, I was more than ready to indulge in a rich, chocolately treat for my special day. This cake has always been one of my favorites when it comes to splurging! Since there was a ... Read more
Red Velvet Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching so I thought today would be a good time to share a lovely red recipe. Red Velvet Pound Cake combines two Southern classics--red velvet cake and pound cake--into one sweetheart of a dessert! I shared this recipe several years ago on my old blogsite, but I think it is definitely worth repeating. And I can’t remember exactly where this recipe originally came from, but I’m guessing Paula Deen...maybe. Red Velvet Pound Cake Cake ingredients: 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened 3 cups sugar 5 large eggs 1 tsp. distilled white vinegar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 ... Read more