November 2014 – Long Distance Baking

Believe it or not but I have never made homemade sugar cookies before. I’ve decorated homemade sugar cookies as a kid and I’ve eaten a ton around the holidays, but I have never made them myself. This past weekend I decided it was time to change that. And what better way to frost homemade sugar cookies than with royal icing?? I used Steph’s Sugar Cookie recipe and it is seriously the best!! When I visited Steph in Boise for New Year’s two years ago, she made these cookies and I ate one with … [Read more…]

I have a few confessions to make. First: this is not a Waldorf salad. But that’s what we call it! I did research and tried to find out what this salad’s real name would be, but no luck. So I’m sticking with the name Waldorf. Sorry for the confusion. A true Waldorf salad has a mayonnaise sauce and vegetables. This on the other hand, borders on dessert and uses whipped cream. Because mayo is disgusting (insert judgy emoticon face here). This salad starts out looking healthy, with … [Read more…]

Thanksgiving is in a week guys. ONE week. Are you ready?? Personally I love Thanksgiving. It’s a very close second to Christmas in my book. I love all the food, spending time in the kitchen with my family and our tradition of watching our first Christmas movie of the season. It also helps that sometimes my birthday falls on Thanksgiving and then I can pretend all the food and festivities are for me 😉 This year my parents and sister are coming to Boise from Washington, but not until … [Read more…]

Before I begin, this isn’t technically pie- there is no crust. But, it’s baked in a pie tin so I took the creative liberties of calling it a pie. Cool? Great! So this Caramel Pretzel Brownie Pie… it’s delicious! I have been on huge caramel kick lately. I was sick all last week and caramel was the only thing I craved. Weird, I know, but since I was feeling much better this weekend, I thought I deserved a caramel treat. These brownies are very reminiscent of LDB’s Samonies and Turtle … [Read more…]

What is your favorite of the five senses to enjoy the holidays? Is it taste, with all the delicious food to enjoy? Is it sight, and the joy all the lights and decorations bring? Maybe it’s sound, with the music and the bells. Or is it touch, whether it’s the cold snow or the rustle of wrapping paper. For me, my favorite sense is smell: peppermint, pine, cinnamon…it’s amazing how there are so many smells that can remind you of the same season! This is my absolute favorite way to … [Read more…]

Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks! That means 2 weeks of healthy, good eating so you can enjoy all the yumminess of Thanksgiving, especially these Mini Apple Crisps! Last week we posted a vanilla ice cream recipe, especially for this apple crisp because nothing goes with an apple crisp quite like a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And perhaps maybe a drizzle of caramel as well? Ya, I thought so. What I love about apple crisp is that it is incredible easy! The only part I do not like, that is very … [Read more…]

It’s been just over one week since Halloween. Here’s the moment of truth: how much candy do you have leftover? Did you have so many trick-or-treaters you ran out? Did you take the extras to work or share with someone else? Maybe the candy was tempting you, so you threw it away. Or are you like me and it’s still sitting in a bowl, just staring at you. Oddly enough I’m not a huge candy person. Yes I did pick out all of the Reese’s before any children got any and yes there is a handful of … [Read more…]

It’s holiday season which means fruit pies and crisps are in abundance. And what is needed when it comes to hot, fresh of pie on Thanksgiving? Vanilla ice cream 🙂 I love ice cream and my favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip from Baskin Robbins. Or toasted almond from Leatherby’s. If we buy ice cream at the store, it’s usually moose tracks or chocolate fudge brownie swirl. There was that one time I was in the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich phase. And I also went through a period where I … [Read more…]

Tiramisu. Have you had it before? The soft, sweet yet not too sweet, coffee-y, melt in your mouth Italian dessert? The flavor is unique, and I’ve never heard of anyone not liking it. I don’t think I ever tried Tiramisu until college. We don’t often go out to eat, and even less often order dessert. But when we do, the BF will always always ALWAYS get Tiramisu. We even have to go out of our way to get ice cream at this little candy store in the summer because they have Tiramisu gelato … [Read more…]

I usually eat my morning oatmeal with a healthy (aka larger than serving size) scoop of granola and it is delicious! I eat it most mornings. But as much as I love overpriced pumpkin flax granola from the store, I decided it was time I start making my own. The recipe is super simple and the ingredients are most items found in the pantry. This recipe is adapted from the Vanilla Almond Granola by Sally’s Baking Addiction. The original recipe calls for coconut oil. Unfortunately, the coconut … [Read more…]