DIY {printable recipe cards}

Since baking is my middle name and I'm constantly ripping out recipes from food magazine and jotting them down off various websites, my recipe box is a bit messy. I would gladly organize it with these milton glaser-esque "I love MY food" printable recipe cards.

heaven in a bite

Over the weekend to get past my hump of being under the weather, I wanted to make a treat that would pick me up a bit. And man did it. I've recently been slightly addicted to the cooking channel learning all sorts of new things and I stumbled upon this yummy recipe by one of my fav cooks and thought I'd give it a try.

Strawberry jam + brownies + white chocolate + almonds = heaven in a bite! YUM!

And I got to try out my new brownie pan, which makes cutting them super easy. Hope you get a chance to try these cause they are to die for.

a little bite of love

Last week I teased what was in that adorable yellow polka box and here it is... Homemade vanilla scones.

I have to admit my slight obsession with the ones from starbucks lately and thought I'd give it a shot at baking up a batch of my own. For my first scone experience, it wasn't bad. The hardest part was cutting the dough and trying to make them all somewhat even in size. So note to self next time, try getting a scone pan or perhaps even a cookie cutter in whatever fun shape you want.

(recipe from here)

homemade holidays {sweets}

It's been a tradition in my family to bake cookies every year for christmas. My grandma started it because her grandma did it and there hasn't been a christmas without these cookies. And they aren't your typical sugar cut out cookies, they are your pound of butter, old fashioned, lots of sugar, tons of sprinkles, if you eat too many you get a tummy ache, but they're oh sooo good cookies. There are about 5 types of cookies that my grandma used to bake and I carry her tradition on for my dad and the rest of the family. So I wanted to share my favorite recipe for russian tea cakes. Can you say MMMMMM....

Russian Tea Cakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Blend well (working with your hands) ad 2 1/4 cup sifted flour, 1 tsp salt and 3/4 cup chopped walnuts. Chill. Form into balls. Bake 14-17 minutes. Cool, then roll in powdered sugar.

cranberry LOVE muffins

I got a special request last week or so to bake some cranberry orange muffins and I jumped at the chance to use my new rachel ray muffin pan, compliments of my awesome madre. Since I didn't have a recipe on hand, I used my handy iphone app, epicurious to find a tasty recipe and got started. These were the results, a delicious sweet treat that made breakfast exciting for once!

Hey Pumpkin

Well friends turkey day is almost here and my kitchen is filling up with the usual holiday elements to make our dinner salty and sweet. I am a firm believer that pumpkin pie is the BEST pie ever made, but I know that others get sick of it year after year. That spun my curiosity last year to find a new, just as tasty pumpkin dessert and I found these from my favorite home magazine.

Pumpkin cream sandwiches. (basically pumpkin pie in one bite) They were a hit last year, even the kiddos devoured them. Hopefully it will be a nice addition to your holiday spread also!

(image via real simple)

a pool of cupcakes

I'm in need of some baking inspiration this week. The reason why is there are a lot of birthday festivities coming up for a few of my funky friends and I want to do what I do best and bake them something utterly yummy. As I was going over the endless options for baked goods in pint size portions, I remembered that I never shared my favorite cupcakes I've ever decorated.

Pool ball cupcakes for the pool hall junky of a boyfriend. He was so excited that they looked like the real thing. Now what to do to top these...

enchiladas or bust

Last night I took on the adventure of conquering my first enchilada making experience. I was a little nervous at first, because I have never made them before (or even knew how to make them until just a day or two ago) but I all of a sudden had the itch to make them and I did. Chicken and cheese enchiladas to be exact. I make a mean batch of guacamole for a white girl so I had confidence in myself that I could make some savory tortilla bliss.

I took all these ingredients....

and with tongs in hand...

turned them into a pretty tasty dish of enchiladas. Just ask my neighbor.

They actually weren't as difficult as I thought. If anyone wants to take on this adventure, which I recommend everyone do at least once, just ask me and I will share my secret.

going bananas

Today I got the urge, as I often do, to do a little baking. On the menu was a twist of grandma's banana bread: banana chocolate chip muffins. I remember I loved my grandma's banana bread, and we could only make it when we had the bananas that no one would ever eat because of all their brown spots.

In my lack of chocolate chips, I grabbed peanut butter chips and let me tell you, it was meant to be. Peanut butter and banana are by far one of my favorite pairings. It was a nice treat that indeed satisfied my sweet tooth.

Banana Chip Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Mix mashed bananas, egg, melted butter and milk in medium bowl. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not overmix). Stir in chocolate chips. Bake for 32 minutes or until tops are pale golden brown. Cool.

Enjoy.