Sugar & Spice by Celeste

The garden is in full swing over here at our house, and my fresh chocolate mint is trying to take over, as it likes to do.  If you let it, it will grow like a weed...but it smells oh.so.divine. In the past, I've plucked the extra, unruly mint from the garden and discarded it, but no more, friends!  No...from now on, I'm letting it grow however it wants and using it to make these deliciously minty cookies! Up until now, I've mainly just used my fresh mint to infuse teas.  A cookie craving hit me the other day, though, and these were the wonderful result. After a quick google search, I discovered a recipe by Andrea Bemis.  She brilliantly steeped melted butter with fresh mint, which you then strain and use in the cookie batter.  This perfectly infuses the butter with the flavor of fresh mint.  It comes through well in the finished cookies, but isn't completely over-powering.   If you are a mint chocolate chip fan, you MUST try these!  Or, if y...

  If you love both Carrot Cake and Cheesecake and don't want to decide between the two, these delicious bars were made for you!  They marry the two desserts beautifully together into a bar that is perfectly sweet, but not overly so.  They were great served at room temperature, but even better the next day once they had a chance to chill. Just be prepared...they tend to disappear FAST! I loved this recipe because it includes both cinnamon and nutmeg, giving the carrot cake batter that warm, wonderful flavor that only a nice dose of spices can.   The cheesecake batter comes together quickly and its fun to swirl the two batters together into luscious swirls on the top. Enjoy!   Carrot Cake Cheesecake Bars Adapted from: Mel's Kitchen Cafe Ingredients: Carrot Cake: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 large eggs ...

These Orange Easter Bunny Rolls are so stinkin’ cute... almost too cute to eat.  But after one bite of these orange marmalade-infused rolls of goodness, you’ll forget how cute they are and devour the whole thing....plus maybe a second. Shh....Don’t ask me how I know this. I’m not sure why I don’t typically buy orange marmalade.  After all, it tastes so lovely on countless things.  It’s perfect in this recipe...bright and cheery for spring!  I might just add it to my regular jam rotation for a while. The homemade dough isn’t complicated or too fussy.  I made mine the day before and let it rise overnight in the fridge.  After it came to room temp sitting on the kitchen counter, I just proceeded as normal with the next steps.  Breaking the recipe up makes it seem even easier. Shaping the rolls is fairly easy.  Don’t stress over making them magazine-perfect.  They will be adorable (and delicious), don’t you worry!  Every bunny will love the...

Hello Dolly Bars (aka 7 Layer Bars/Magic Bars) are one of those classic desserts that you no doubt probably had as a kid.  With a graham cracker crust and easy layers of chocolate chips, pecans and coconut, these bars are a classic for a reason!  A can of sweetened condensed milk is drizzled over the top, which magically binds all of the layers together into ooey gooey perfection! In short, they are incredibly scrumptious with very minimal effort. A friend recently made a special request for these bars, so I got to work!  It's been a long time since I've had these, and as lover of a good chocolate/coconut dessert, I'm glad to have these back in my life (Thanks, Del!). These bars have several variations - You can also add white chocolate chips and/or butterscotch chips.  You can also substitute the pecans with walnuts, or leave them out altogether.  In fact, you could even use chocolate graham crackers in the crust, if you want a double (or triple) dose of chocol...

  How was your Valentine's Day, friends?  Hopefully it was filled with lots of love (and chocolate!).  We have a tradition of this homemade spaghetti on V-Day (for at least 14 years running), and I usually whip up some sort of chocolatey dessert to go with it. This year, these dark chocolate brownies with strawberries and a dark chocolate ganache made a beautifully decadent dessert.  These are basically chocolate covered strawberries in brownie form, and are rich with a perfectly dense, fudgy brownie.   Don't wait for a special occasion to make them, though.  Whether it's Valentine's Day or some random day in the middle of winter, these make an equally wonderful indulgence!   Enjoy! Strawberry Brownies with Dark Chocolate Ganache Adapted from:   Southern Living Ingredients: 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 3/4 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 2 large eggs 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar...

So....remember those  Strawberries & Cream Scones that I posted?  Yeah, well...they were so dang good that I made them again.   Sorry, not sorry. Only this time, I used blueberries and added some cardamom.  There's something about cardamom and blueberries.  I absolutely love them together.  I always add a dash of cardamom when I make blueberry  muffins and pancakes, too. The glaze on these also makes them special.  They are NOT your usual, run-of-the-mill scones that can be a little on the dry side.  These are filled with juicy blueberries and the glaze just pushes them over the top.  I'm not sure that I'll ever make scones without a glaze, now. The smaller size also makes them the perfect grab and go breakfast or snack.   Enjoy! Mini Blueberry & Cardamom Scones Adapted from:   Baker By Nature Ingredients: 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/3 cup granu...

I think my husband said it best - These macaroons taste like they've been "dipped in magic butter." LOL No really...these are like eating a coconut cloud filled with sweet and salty, caramelly goodness. Remember that Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce that I made?  Well, it's the star in this recipe and really makes these cookies special.  The original recipe calls for caramel ice cream topping (which you can totally use instead), but I couldn't help but use my homemade version. The ingredient list for these is short, and they come together in a snap.  If you have someone that loves caramel and/or coconut, surprise them with these on Valentine's Day!   You could even dip the bottoms of each cookie into melted chocolate, or drizzle the tops with it instead. Now, please excuse me while I go scarf one down! Salted Caramel Coconut Macaroons Adapted from:    Allrecipes.com Ingredients : 5 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut ⅔ cup all-purpose flour  ¼ teaspoon ...

Oh, how I adore dark chocolate and coconut paired together.  Throw in some toasted almonds and something that I can enjoy with a homemade latte, and I've got myself the perfect snack. It's been a while since I've made biscotti, and I forgot how easy it truly is.  I have a few other biscotti recipes here on the blog -  Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti and Dreamy Coconut Biscotti , just in case you'd like additional ideas, too. When brain-storming ideas for potential flavors for this batch, my mind kept drifting back to an Almond Joy candy bar.  I adapted a recipe for Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti from Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking and switched things up a good bit.   I filled these with shredded coconut and toasted almonds, plus added a pretty coat of dark chocolate on the outside and a sprinkling of more coconut. The results? Complete delicous-ness! Almond Joy Biscotti Adapted from:  Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking Ingredients: 2 cups all purpo...