Dessert blog, recipes, inspiration and more!
I couldn’t let all this Christmas baking love go by without mentioning what else….cupcakes! There are some seriously cute ones out there. I really don’t know how people come up with this stuff, but I LOVE it. I think I’d make the snowmen, but with my homemade marshmallows, of course! They are just toooooo cute. Check out all of them below!
Festive Sugared Marshmallow Cupcakes
Happy Friday! In case you’ve been thinking about what you’re going to give to that hard-to-buy for friend or family member for Christmas, why not give them food?? Everyone loves food. Seriously, everyone. What I like about these food gifts is that they are not your typical fudge or baked good that will probably get a little stale before you can recover from all the holiday eating. These can be stored away for a cold winter night (or day) and made or used whenever the urge strikes.
Enjoy!
White Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzels
The nights are getting cooler which means it’s time to break out the hot cocoa and apple cider. I thought it would be fun to share some recipes for hot drinks, both classic and new. Oh and for those who prefer a bit of booze in your holiday drink, I’ve got a couple of those too.
Enjoy!
Roasted-Pineapple Hot Buttered Rum
Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate
This weekend I went to the Joyce Meyer conference in St. Louis with a few other lovely ladies. I’ve been several times before and it’s always a wonderful time of awesome music and challenging teaching. It’s also a great time to sneak in some shopping and splurge on some good eating out! On Friday, our sessions were at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. so during that gap me, my sister Hannah and friend Nicole high-tailed it to the Galleria for a marathon shopping session.
One of our stops was Urban Outfitters where I found these Kitty Cat Measuring Cups. I am a HUGE cat person, so I pretty much died when I saw them. I still regret not getting them.
I also came across this toothpaste at Urban Outfitters. As much as I love cupcakes, I’m not sure I want to brush my teeth with them. That just seems…wrong.
After the last session on Saturday, we went back to the Galleria for the Cheesecake Factory. I know, I know it’s a chain and all but I’m sorry, I love the place. We had some awesome salads and then left.
Just kidding! Well, we did have salads but we most certainly ordered cheesecake too! And no, we didn’t share a piece, we each got our own piece. That’s right. Total gluttony. And it was sooooo worth it. Here is a picture of all three of them taken with my crappy cell phone.
And here are some beautiful stock photos of what we got. Much better.
My sister Hannah got Craig’s Crazy Carrot Cake Cheesecake. It. Is. So. Good. Layers of carrot cake, vanilla cheesecake, cream cheese frosting and toasted pecans. Amazing.
I got the Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake which consisted of Raspberry-Vanilla Cake, Creamy Lemon Cheesecake, Raspberry Lady Fingers and Lemon Mousse. It didn’t have the lady fingers and didn’t quite look like this photo and wasn’t really my favorite, BUT it was good. Just not my favorite.
What was my favorite? My friend Nicole’s choice, the Kahlua Cocoa Coffee Cheesecake. OMG. I know that phrase is overused but seriously, OMG. It was so, so, so good…a yummy brownie crust with a hint of coffee in the uber-creamy cheesecake filling and some seriously rich chocolate mousse and ganache on top. I was *this close* to choosing the Kahlua cheesecake and I was KICKING myself for changing my mind at the last minute. However, Nicole couldn’t quite finish all of her piece so like the good friend I am, I volunteered to help her out.
I had such a great weekend and was so sad to see it end but I’m thankful for the girl time and most importantly, God time. And now, I’m gonna shut down my computer on this dreary, rainy Sunday afternoon and hold my husband’s hand as he rides the emotional rollercoaster that is fantasy football. Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday evening.