desserts

Gingerbread Muffins

We ended up doing brunch for Christmas Day this year instead of the usual Prime Rib (that was Christmas Eve). Of all the things we made, I think these muffins were the absolute best. They were great for breakfast as leftovers, and also as dessert! This was a Pioneer Woman recipe, and the only thing I changed was to use 1:1 gluten free flour. I did skip the glazel, because I didn’t think it needed it, but if you would like an extra pop of sweet, there’s your ticket! Make sure the ingredients are room temperature for this one.

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Pecan Pie

Although I am not much of a dessert person, I do try to have something on hand for our parties – and a pecan pie seemed just right for our Kentucky Derby party this year.  Easy and it makes a pretty pie, too.  This comes from Smitten Kitchen.

pecanpie

Recipe!

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Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Any time these appear on a cookie tray, I have to restrain myself from eating all of them.  So I decided to go ahead and make them myself this year – definitely will be a regular addition in the cookie tins.  This is from Joy of Baking.

peanutbuttercupcookies

 

Recipe!

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Mint Chocolate Cookies

This may be one of my favorite cookies I’ve ever done – but I love all things mint.  Definitely a popular one in this year’s cookie tins.

mintchipcookies

Recipe!

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Cherry Chocolate Blossoms

Another new cookie in this year’s holiday cookie extravaganza, this one was cute and went over well.  A twist on peanut butter blossoms.

cherrychocolatecookies

Recipe!

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Cinnamon Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie

This is a Cooking Light recipe I’ve always used for pumpkin pie, because it’s really excellent.  I make no changes to it except sometimes I will make the crust instead of buying crust.  Really excellent pie, easy to make, and it’s pretty. 🙂

pumpkinpie Recipe!

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Candy Corn Cake

This is actually a chocolate layer cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, decorated in candy corn colors for our Halloween party. 🙂 This was a cake recipe I hadn’t tried before, but it was pretty good even for this non-chocoholic, so I will use it again. A fun dessert for the holiday!  Got the idea from an article about Halloween-themed desserts.

candycorncake

Recipe!

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Peppermint Mocha Cookies

These were the definite winners for the Christmas cookies, IMO.  Really excellent, and I am no fan of chocolate.  I messed up the first batch by not soaking the espresso granules, and they were still great, but they were exceptional when done correctly.  Definitely one to make next year.

peppermintmocha

Recipe!

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Chocolate Cake

I’m really not a huge fan of chocolate, but this cake is good.  In small slices (no, seriously, no huge slices – it’s rich).  I made this for Valentine’s Day/Anniversary for Shawn.  It’s from my favorite baking site, Joy of Baking.  See her recipe here (she also has a yellow butter cake that is just as good…yellow cake is my favorite!) – I made no changes of course, and am always happy with the results.

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Coffee Cake

I’ve coveted a Kitchen Aid mixer for many years, and my amazing boyfriend Shawn got one for me for Christmas this year!  Excited is an understatement!  I had already done all my Christmas cookie baking, so I had to think of something else to do (oh jeez, poor me 😉 ) and we decided on coffee cake…it made a nice after dinner snack later in the evening.  I’m still stunned over the ease of baking with the Kitchen Aid!  This recipe came from one of my favorite baking sites, Joy of Baking, and I combined her coffee cake with a streusel recipe I had on hand.  It was my first time making coffee cake and we like it a lot!

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Recipe!

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