Donuts2Crumpets

This smooth and creamy caramel sauce recipe was one of the first two recipes I shared on this blog but it needed a makeover badly and was lost in the archives, so here I am giving it a bit of a face lift and the equivalent of a "grand reopening" because honestly, everyone NEEDS this caramel sauce in their life.
I love this recipe for so many reasons.  First, it is practically fail proof.  Second, it's made from pantry items that you most likely have on hand right now.  (No fancy heavy cream or half and half needed.) Third, it makes the perfect amount to fill two 8oz jelly jars, so I can keep a jar and share a jar with someone who might need a pick me up.  Fourth, it keeps really well in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  (This pic was taken two days after I made it with no heating up needed!)
This recipe uses evaporated milk instead of heavy cream, so if you just keep a couple of cans in your food storage, you can literally have this any time you want it.  It's g…

Is fall even fall if you don't make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies?!?!  I love the smell of pumpkin spice wafting through my kitchen.  It screams the holidays to me and the holidays just make me so happy.  Baking cookies is a really easy way to bring smiles in to any home, and these are both super simple to make and scrumptious to eat.I've been busy testing many different techniques - melted butter, creamed butter, different measurements of white and brown sugar, baking soda vs baking powder, butter vs oil - (my poor family are probably sick of taste testing), but these suckers finally came out absolutely PERFECT.  These cookies have a beautiful slightly soft, chewy texture, (not overly cakey), with a punch of pumpkin spice and plenty of chocolate.  Honestly, what could be easier than mixing up dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another, combining both, adding chocolate chips, and scooping on to baking sheets?  You can literally be eating these warm and gooey trea…

I honestly am a huge fan of any kind of fruit in a scone.  Be it American wedge scones stuffed with fresh fruit or British scones served with clotted cream and fruit preserves, I'm all over it.  The combination of flavors for these particular wedge scones came about especially for my dad. 
My Pops was born in Northampton, England, attended Oxford University and then worked for the bank of England before we came here to the US as a family for his new job in downtown Washington D.C., so he is very British.  When I thought about something fun I could make for him, my first thoughts were of scones, but I wanted to do something different from the traditional British scones that are served with clotted cream.  I decided I would do an American wedge scone with fruit running through it.  My dad loooooooooooooves marzipan so I knew I wanted to incorporate almond flavoring and I know he eats mangoes every time my mom makes salad at home, which is pretty much daily, so I went with those two f…

Have you ever heard of Kolaches?  (Kolache/kolace/kolacky.)  They are a Czech pastry that consist of a puffy, soft dough with a nice dollop of sweet filling in the middle.  I first heard of and tasted Kolaches when one of my awesome coworkers brought them in to the office from a local bakery down in Provo for a treat.  When they arrived and I saw the boxes filled with beautiful dough that was either topped with sweet fruity toppings or stuffed with savory meats, (savory ones are usually called klobásník/klobasnek/klobásníky), I was in heaven.  They were absolutely scrumptious!  I recently saw them again on Divers Drive-Ins & Dives when Guy visited the Hruska's bakery in Salt Lake City, Utah and watching the gal make them, I knew I had to try and recreate them myself
I have baked these little beauties quite a few times now to test out different methods and types of dough, and I feel like the dough is finally perfect to share.  These Kolaches are made with a soft, buttery brioche…

When it comes to yeast, there are two kinds you need to be most aware of as a home baker.  Instant and Active Dry.  Honestly, they can be basically interchanged in recipes, HOWEVER, if you work with Active Dry, you HAVE to dissolve it in some warm liquid first.  Instant, (also sometimes called rapid-rise or quick-rise yeast), can be mixed straight in with the other dry ingredients.  I like instant yeast the best, and find I get the most consistent results with it, but you do you.  Just know that my recipes are made and tested with instant yeast.  
I was always told to pick one kind of yeast and learn to cook with it because you will become familiar with how it works and I have definitely found that to be true.  I do like to bloom my instant yeast every time I use it, just to make sure it's going to work before I put all the effort in to the recipe, so the majority of my yeast recipes will have you add the yeast to warm liquid at the beginning and let it sit for a couple of minutes,…

Some nights time is very short, and it is tempting to just get takeout of some kind.  This recipe has been a life changer for us because 1, everyone absolutely loves it.  2, it takes about fifteen minutes to get on the table.  3, it costs just a couple of dollars for the entire meal which saves a ton over eating out!
Aglio, Olio d Peperoncino means garlic, oil and red chili peppers in Italian.  This pasta is so flavorful, but uses very simple ingredients that I always have on hand.  I originally saw this dish made on a show where a couple of chefs mentioned that they often make this when they get home late and want something yummy to eat, but don't want to spend a lot of time cooking because they have been cooking all day!  My first thought was oh my goodness, I need something like this in my recipe rotation!
Al dente spaghetti noodles tossed in extra virgin olive oil that has been infused with garlic and red pepper flakes and then topped with Parmesan and fresh parsley is literally…

Making marshmallow has been on my cooking bucket list for the longest time, so when I saw a contest on feedfeed for a s'mores competition using Ghirardelli chocolate, I decided it was finally time to try and make it from scratch!  I've had an idea for a s'more for the longest time, based off of one of the most delicious desserts I have ever eaten - a key lime pie made with a gingersnap crust and drizzled with dark chocolate.  I know, it sounds strange right?  But it was SO good!!  So I decided to try and deconstruct those same flavors in to a s'more - gingersnap cookies, Ghirardelli chocolate intense dark sea salt soiree squares and homemade key lime marshmallows!  If you have never made your own marshmallow, this is something you should try because it is SO FUN and pretty dang easy!  Homemade marshmallows melt so much better than the store bought kind.  They are just ooey gooey deliciousness and make the most AMAZING s'mores.  I'm looking forward to experiment…

I am best known by family, friends and coworkers for making Massive Chocolate Chip Cookies which I bake, wrap in cellophane and tie with a ribbon to give away.  However, as I was going through my blog  to work on updating some pictures, I came across this recipe which I had totally forgotten about and let me tell you, I was more than happy to resurrect it to take new pics.  I originally posted this recipe in January of 2015, but after making them today I decided it definitely deserved a complete refresh.  
I absolutely love cookies that have peanut butter in the dough.  It makes them so yummy that they are very hard to resist for me!  Mix that with oats too and oh my goodness, the combination gives them the most amazing texture.  This recipe is versatile in what kind of chips you can make them with.  One of our favorite combinations that we always have on hand are semi-sweet, peanut butter and white chips, (as listed in the recipe), but it honestly depends on how we feel that day or wh…

Sometimes we want something sweet and sticky with a pillowy soft inside for a weekend breakfast treat but I don't want to wait for the dough to rise for cinnamon rolls.  That's when I break out the jumbo canned biscuits and make this amazing sticky bun breakfast ring.  This takes just minutes to throw together, then you throw it in the oven and have this melt in your mouth deliciousness in no time at all!
My mother in law lives with us and she is WAY fussy when it comes to food... like literally I think we can count about 25 foods she will eat, period.  However, she absolutely loves this breakfast ring, so be assured it will satisfy even the pickiest of palates.  Your family are going to love these caramelized biscuits with crunchy nuts bathing in sweet syrupy deliciousness and you are going to love how quick and easy it is to get on the table!
This ring uses the large jumbo biscuits that come in the tubes in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.  Pillsbury Grands or th…

I buy a lot of tomatoes each week for salads and sandwiches.  Sometimes we don't get through them all, but I don't mind in the least because we love roasted tomato soup in this house and there is nothing better than making it fresh from extremely ripe tomatoes that have been sitting on your counter getting sweeter and sweeter every day.  Pair it with an ooey gooey grilled cheese and I'm in heaven!
If you have only ever had the canned condensed tomato soup, (yuck), you might think you won't like it.  If you don't like onions you might think you won't like it.  But let me tell you - my hubby does not eat tomatoes or onions on anything at all, raw or cooked, but he absolutely loooooooooves real tomato soup!  The vegetables are roasted until soft and almost caramelized then the soup is pureed in to a smooth, velvety consistency.  There are no chunks of anything in it at all, just pure delicious roasted flavor.  
Ingredients: 3-4 pounds of tomatoes 1 sweet onion 3 Tbsp o…

I start work pretty early, so I don't have a lot of time in the morning to fix breakfast. I wanted something that was grab and go, not too unhealthy but that filled me up to carry me through the morning. I tried the overnight oats a couple of different times and was not a big fan, so I decided to go with a breakfast cookie - something with oats, peanut butter, banana, and some fruity and nutty mix-ins. I made these specifically for me not thinking anyone else in the house would be interested, but my hubby tried one and loved it so much that he now takes two every morning - one to eat on his way to work and one to eat in the afternoon to hold him over until dinner.  These may not be the prettiest breakfast cookies in the world, but they sure taste delicious and they keep you full through the morning!The great thing about breakfast cookies is that you can switch out mix-ins and make them a completely different flavor, but this is our absolute favorite mix for the morning.  We lov…

If there is one flavor ice cream that I find hard to resist it is mint chocolate chip.  I love the fresh zing of the mint complemented by the sweet creaminess of the chocolate.  I decided that I would make this flavor this past week just for me and man was it delicious.  The family must have thought so too because I only got two scoops out the whole thing.  I wanted to kick this one up a notch from regular mint chocolate chip, so I chopped up Swiss dark chocolate and oreos to fold in at the end.  This is by far MY favorite ice cream flavor that we have made so far. 
This ice cream uses mint extract instead of vanilla.  I prefer the regular pure mint extract versus straight peppermint.  I think it tastes sweeter and brings the perfect brightness because it has both spearmint and peppermint in it and gives it a little bit of a milder mint flavor.  Straight peppermint is a lot stronger as it has more menthol in it, so if you use peppermint extract, you may want to use a little less than I…

Years ago we attended a picnic for a company my hubby was working for.  While there I got to talking to one of the office ladies about recipes, and she told me an insanely simple way to make imitation Wingers "amazing sauce."  Our family are big fans of Wingers wings and sticky fingers and we absolutely adore their amazing sauce, which is a perfect balance of sweet, sticky and slightly spicy.  I'm always looking for ways to recreate our favorite things at home so I had to try her recommendation immediately.  I could not believe how fast and easy this was and it tasted absolutely, well, amazing!  It's been a family favorite ever since.This sauce is just three ingredients, two if you don't count the water; Franks hot sauce, water, and brown sugar.  Who would have thought such simplicity could produce such deliciousness?  On a busy night I love to whip up this quick sauce, bake a few of these Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips, which I usually grab from Sams Club, then dip…

Remember how I told you guys we are making ice cream about once a week since I got Mike that ice cream maker for Fathers Day?  I wasn't kidding.  This week my daughter, Dee, asked me specifically to make a raspberry cheesecake ice cream and oh my this one is a treat.  Chunks of creamy cheesecake, pieces of crunchy broken graham crackers and fresh, tart raspberry sauce running through the creamy base makes for the most refreshing, decadent treat.  
We used cheesecake from the bakery at our local grocery store for this batch.  They sell small six inch rounds or you can buy by the slice in packs of two, which is perfect for this recipe.  But hey, if you make cheesecake and have some left over, throw it in the freezer so you can pull it out for something like this!  
This is definitely Dee's favorite flavor so far - she has been stealing spoonfuls out of it all week. 
Ingredients: Ice Cream Base: 1 cup milk 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp salt 2 cups heavy cream 1 Tbsp vanilla
Fresh Raspberry Sauce: 6…

I can tell it's summer because this is my third blog post in a row that includes fresh fruit!  Don't you just love the sweet, ripe fruit you can get during these months?  I've been wanting my family to eat more of it.  It's not that they don't like it, but they definitely don't want to take the time to prepare it.  If  I buy it and just leave it on the counter with no preparation, no-one touches it.  However, if I take a few minutes and wash it and cut it up, they will grab bowl after bowl of it!  I have tried preparing a big bowl of fruit salad and leaving that in the refrigerator, but let's face it, after the first day it starts to turn a bit mushy and doesn't look as appetizing.  And then you have the one who doesn't like grapes or the one who doesn't like blackberries and won't eat it because it's in there!!!  
Well, I have found a solution that seems to work for my family.  If I prepare the melons, pineapple, berries, grapes, whateve…

When my kids were in school, (they are all grown up now), I used to make them their favorite treat on their first day back each year so that once they got home we could sit together and eat while they told me all about their day.  I vividly remember baking for them their last years of school - it was always blueberry scones for Dee and banana chocolate chip muffins for Mikey.  They both still love those same flavors - so Mikey gets chocolate chip banana bread and I still make blueberry scones just for Dee!  
These are not traditional English scones which are usually light and fluffy tall rounds with a crusty exterior.  English scones are broken open and served with clotted cream and jam, often for teatime.  American scones on the other hand are sweeter and denser, usually cut in to wedges, and often contain some kind of fruit.  Sadly, so often when people try to make American scones they end up dry and hard, but these babies are so soft, tender and packed full of juicy berries that the…