Desserts

Ritz Pie

The famous Ritz Pie recipe you have been waiting for, well famous in my family. This is a pie that my Grandmother made every single holiday, but I especially remember it at Christmas. I am certain that she got it off the back of a Ritz Cracker box back in the 1970’s because it is so simple and very basic. And honestly a bit strange, but SO GOOD!

It is more like a cookie than a “pie”, but it has that salty and sweet thing going on and then it has the classic Cool Whip on top, yes the stuff in the tub in the freezer section. This don’t use no fancy whipped cream, hell no! It is the old fashioned sugary sweet Cool Whip. And it is oh so good. Not sure what the mandarin oranges are for except for it kinda cuts the sweet of the cool whip. I told you it was a strange “pie”, but we all love it and now […]

2020-12-22T18:24:23+00:00December 22nd, 2020|Desserts|0 Comments

Sweet and Salties

It’s December and it’s COLD.  The arctic cold front hit most of the country and it’s cold! It is the perfect day to reflect on all that you haven’t finished for Christmas.  Let’s see…mailing the adorable cards you had made (I mean you did wrestle the monkeys into nice clothes and scream and yell at them and the dog to sit still so you could get that perfect shot), get on Amazon and try to find something for the teenager living with you, finish decorating the tree and finally, deliver the neighbor gifts.  Oh yeah those people that look after your house while you are on vacation and call the cops because your alarm is going off for no reason at all. Well, those people deserve a sweet gift for putting up with your kids throwing a million balls in their side yard or tear up their front yard with their bikes or throwing a football in their tree and trying to climb it to get it out all the while breaking 12 branches. Oh, is that just me? My neighbors are […]

2020-12-17T21:26:20+00:00December 17th, 2020|Desserts|0 Comments

Shortbread Cookies

Christmas Shortbread Cookies 1

I have said this before, but I’ll say it again…I am not a baker:) We don’t eat a lot of sweets and I don’t like the exact measuring thing that goes along with baking. But, every now and then I will find a recipe that is super easy and always turns out perfect and this is one of those recipes.  Christmas Shortbread Cookies are delicious and not too sweet.  So many of the treats over the holidays have SO much sugar that it hurts your teeth.  These cookies are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon.

I “glazed” these with a quick powdered sugar/lemon glaze, but you can absolutely leave that off and they are still delicious.  And, I obviously used some Christmas cookie cutters, but you can cut them with a knife into squares or use a round cutter-no idea where in the world those Christmas ones came from. I have so much crap!!  I need to get rid of some much crap:)

A couple notes- 1) if your butter is […]

2019-12-10T17:21:22+00:00December 10th, 2019|Desserts|0 Comments

Chocolate Pot de Creme

February is chocolate month! We are not huge sweets people in my house, but every now and then I love a great dessert. If I could narrow it down to 3 I would choose creme brûlée, carrot cake and pot de creme, pronounced POH-de-KREM. It means pot of cream and it is a French dessert dating back to the 17th century. You can make salted caramel pot de creme or vanilla pot de creme or CHOCOLATE pot de creme the list goes on.  It is silky and rich and oh so delicious and oh so easy! It sounds super fancy and time consuming, but I promise it is a breeze to make.

This is a recipe you can make a couple days in advance of a dinner party. When it comes time to serve all you have to do is take it out of the fridge and add a dollop of whipped cream and dessert is served!

One thing to note about a dessert that you cont cook-use the very best ingredients you can find or afford. I […]

2019-02-11T01:52:37+00:00February 11th, 2019|Desserts|1 Comment

Sticky Toffee Pudding

This is a very traditional English dessert and there is is reason it is a tradition because it is amazing! Now as most people know, pudding in England or Scotland just means dessert so this is a specific pudding served for Christmas dinner. It is a spongy cake made with sugar, sugar, sugar and dates:) and then it is topped with a rich brandy or scotch toffee syrup. It is truly one of the best parts of Christmas dinner. It is rich, sweet, salty everything you want in a holiday dessert.

You can make this in individual portions using a muffin tin or ramekins or you can make a large cake in a 9″x13″ baking dish or use a bunt cake pan.  This recipe is for individual cakes.  If you choose the other methods you will need to adjust the bake time.
Enjoy!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

A traditional English dessert. Perfect for Christmas dinner!

  • 6 oz. 6 oz chopped and pitted dried dates
  • 1 cup Water
  • 3 Earl Grey tea bags
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1/4 cup Butter, […]
2020-12-17T16:57:26+00:00December 18th, 2017|Desserts|0 Comments

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread

Its here!  Thanksgiving week!!! This is my favorite holiday of the year.  There is no stress about buying gifts or sending out cards or hosting parties or buying clothes to go to the parties or remembering the hostess gift….  Its just family, friends and food!  Oh and the weather is perfect!  Not too hot, not too cold, just right. Its cool enough to build a fire and have the wonderful smell of pinion wafting through the house, but not so cold that you can’t go outside and enjoy the fire:) It just the perfect season!  

My older two boys have the entire week off which means I won’t see them until about 1pm everyday, but my younger son has school and he is not happy about it. But, having them all home means I need to cook just a little bit more and one thing I like to have is some kind of breakfast food waiting for them the they wake up even if its 1 in afternoon.  This recipe is so delicious that you an serve it as breakfast […]
2018-02-15T21:28:11+00:00November 20th, 2017|Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts|0 Comments

Apple Crisp

My family does not eat a lot of desserts, but there are a few that they cannot resist and Apple Crisp is one of them.  We are lucky because now days we can get fabulous apples all year round, but they are especially good in the fall.  Of course my family’s favorite apple is the Honeycrisp and they are the most expensive down here in Texas, but I buy them at Costco (yes angels are singing) and I can get 16 in a bunch!  We eat a lot of apples!  

So, what to do with all these apples?  I serve them for after school snacks with cheese or put them in salads or bake them with cinnamon or make apple crisps! This apple crisp recipe is super easy and this is a great dessert to take to a pot luck or a holiday dinner because you can serve it at room temperature or heat it up with ice cream-either way it is delicious! 
The hardest part of this recipe is peeling the apples, seriously it is very easy to throw together.  Use a tart/firm […]
2018-02-15T21:28:12+00:00October 18th, 2017|Desserts|0 Comments

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know the first few of weeks of back to school means Mom is going to make dinner every night, have big healthy breakfasts ready, come up with fabulous after school snacks and generally be the best mom in the world. Then May comes around and Mom is making a phone call to Pizza Hut, passing out pop tarts and driving through Sonic for an afternoon snack.  But, while we are all still feeling ambitious here is a recipe for amazing homemade chocolate chip cookies.  I made this batch and they were gone within about 10 minutes and I am not kidding.  These are such a great way to make a boring weekday special.

I do not bake much, but one thing I have learned is that I always use parchment paper when I am baking.  I have tried those silpats and they get greasy and are difficult to clean.  Parchment paper is easy and disposable.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A classic chocolate chip cookie! Thin and crispy yet chewy. These are so […]

2020-10-30T20:47:52+00:00August 29th, 2017|Desserts|0 Comments

Berry Galette

What is a Galette? It is a French term for a freeform cake or pie.  In my words it is a lazy man’s pie.  It’s super easy and fast and you do not have to worry about making the crust look pretty or getting it into a pie plate.  Just roll out the pastry dough and place it on a cookie sheet.

You can make a galette with anything you want-berries, apples, pears or you can go savory and fill it with chicken, vegetables, ricotta…. there are a million things you can put into a pastry dough. For this recipe I made a sweet galette as a treat for the boys when they got home from school.  I don’t make desserts for normal family dinner.  First, I don’t have time and second we don’t need the extra sugar!

I had a ton of berries in my fridge and they were about to go bad so I mixed them with some sugar and vanilla and voila I had a pie!  No one needs to know it takes about 6 minutes to assemble! Serve with a dollop […]
2020-10-30T20:48:18+00:00April 25th, 2017|Desserts|0 Comments

Lemon Blueberry Monkey Bread

Monkey bread is so yummy, delicious, easy and a perfect make ahead dessert for a brunch.  You can serve it warm or at room temperature.  There are a lot of ways to make monkey bread, but you know me-I like to do things easy and simple, especially if I am making a menu with lots of dishes.  This is an EASY spring monkey bread recipe.

There are times where I like to tackle a complicated dish, but if I have a lot to make at one time I want simple!  You can make your own dough for this dish, but why in the hell would you want to:)  I use good ole’ fashioned grocery store canned biscuits.  With a lot of monkey bread recipes they will tell you to roll each individual piece of dough in the sugar mixture and then into the butter mixture, but I just put it all in a bowl and make sure everything is coated well, but  it is a lot quicker to just combine everything in a bowl.   Be sure and combine gently so […]
2020-05-01T16:32:15+00:00April 9th, 2017|Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts|0 Comments

Salted Caramel Pot de Creme

As you can probably tell from my posts, I am not and my family is not big dessert eaters. It has just never been apart of my cooking routine and my husband doesn’t like sweets so I don’t make them.  Now, don’t get me wrong, my kids eat plenty of sugar from Twizzlers, Skittles, Girl Scout cookies…which is another reason I don’t need to make desserts.  But, every now and then I will make something sweet for a birthday or special event.  It was my husband’s birthday last week and I made these AMAZING little sweet treats.  

I just don’t think there is anything better than sweet and salty and this dessert is just that.  It is super easy, well I mean anyone can make this, but it does take some focus for about 15 minutes.  I know you can focus for 15 minutes!!  The hardest part is finding small oven safe cups.  You can use creme brulee dishes or small ramekins.  I found the cups I used at World Market for about $3 each.  
I know you have all […]
2018-02-15T21:28:15+00:00February 23rd, 2017|Desserts|0 Comments

European Hot Chocolate

Baby its cold outside!  Its pretty cold in Texas, but I know a lot of the country is bracing for an extreme arctic freeze. Since this cold front is coming over the weekend it is going to hinder a lot of plans and parties.  So, if you are stuck inside and you have little kids, I am sorry:) There is nothing worse than being stuck in the house with little ones that are bored. My solution is to just drink! 

But, seriously if you are going to be spending a lot of time by the fire the next few days here is an amazing recipe for a European style hot chocolate.  European style means a very concentrated cup of liquid chocolate.  This is not your SwissMiss hot chocolate that comes in the powder form.  This is a decadent, thick, chocolaty slice of heaven.  Think of a flourless chocolate cake in drink form.  You only need a little bit of this so serve it in small coffee cups or even espresso cups.  
I have given you the basic recipe, but you can adjust it […]
2018-02-15T21:35:19+00:00December 15th, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Bourbon Pecan Pie 2

People say the best part about Thanksgiving is the pies!  I do not disagree.  Thanksgiving Thursday is pretty much the only day my family eats pies.  No one really loves Pumpkin Pie so we don’t tend to have that one, but we always have a traditional Texas Bourbon Pecan Pie.  Side note, the way us Texans say pecan is “PUH-KHAN” not “PEE-CAN”. Go ahead and say it out loud.  See???  Sounds better, right:)?

Here is the recipe we have been using for years for our Thanksgiving PUH-KHAN pie.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

A classic Southern dessert. This has a little twist with the Bourbon, but it will still remind you of your childhood. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream-YUM!
  • 1 Store bought pie crust (unless you really want to make your own, but why?)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup dark corn syrup
  • 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 Tablespoons Bourbon
  • 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
  1. Preheat oven […]

2019-11-25T23:14:07+00:00November 7th, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Toffee Bars

I feel like we are finally in a rhythm with school-kids are going to bed on time, because they are exhausted.  I can happily say that my kids wake up happy 3 out of 5 school days. That’s good, right?  We have cut down the amount of after school activities considerably and this year our house has gone from three kids to two. Which, by the way, makes a huge difference!  What were we thinking when we decided to go for the third??  I’m just kidding!!  The third child makes life so fun and adds such a fun dynamic to our family.  But, it is more chaotic for sure.  

So, now that we are parenting experts (martinis help with that illusion) we have had time to enjoy family dinners.  A trick I have learned is to ask trivia questions during dinner.  It keeps them engaged and it also gets us off of the typical “how was your day”?  Years ago when we started this I found an OLD Junior Trivial Pursuit game and took the questions out of it and that is what […]
2018-02-15T21:28:19+00:00October 3rd, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Smore Brownies

When I was a little girl my Dad and I were in Indian Princesses. It was so much fun! We got to spend time with our Dad and our friends and do really cool things like camp outs, making leather vests to wear to campfires or carving walking sticks. How fun is that for little girls?  Honestly, I think the Dads had more fun than the girls on the camp outs and I am certain there was no alcohol involved in their fun.

One month we had a “camp out” at my friends house and we made S’mores on the grill because the responsible dads did not want to build a bonfire in the backyard, seriously?  But…the s’mores were SO, SO good! I love the idea of s’mores on a summer night, but sometimes you don’t have a fire going or you have little people around and you don’t want to spill your drink while helping them turn the marshmallows into flame throwers. So..what is a drink holding, partying parent supposed to do so their little precious children can enjoy summer s’mores?? That’s […]

2021-07-19T21:55:03+00:00June 25th, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Blueberry Crisp

When the blueberries hit the grocery store I buy them almost everyday, because I am at the grocery store almost everyday. Lucky for me my neighborhood grocery store is small and close and has all the necessary staples. I honestly do not know how much I spend at the grocery store every week, but I am sure it is enough to sustain a small country.  

We love fruit at our house so when pears come out in the fall and blueberries come out in the summer I stock up.  I make blueberry smoothies, blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins and blueberry crisps.  I prefer crisps over cobblers because I like the crunch the crisp has.  And a bowl of blueberry crisp with a big ole scoop of Blue Bell Vanilla ice cream is just about as close to heaven as you can get.  
Oh and did I mention it is EASY and will take you about 10 minutes of hand on time.

 

Serves 6-8

4 cups fresh blueberries (you can use frozen)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 […]
2018-02-15T21:28:23+00:00May 24th, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Meyer Lemon and Lavender Creme Brulee

I love herbs!  I wish I had a fabulous herb garden, but I don’t.  But I do have a fabulous pot with as many herbs as I can squeeze in there.  This year I planted basil, chives, oregano, parsley and lavender.  After I planted them and stood back and admired my very green thumb handy work I smiled.  The pot looked beautiful-a yellow Italian ceramic pot filled with beautiful spring things.  I walked in the house to wash my hands and turned around and the damn new dog had dug them all up.  So you judge me for drinking at 3pm, but seriously doesn’t that deserve a big olé glass of wine? The herbs were planted a grand total of 5 minutes.  But, don’t worry I replanted them and hoisted the massive pot onto the counter outside and that is where it has lived. And I use my herbs everyday!!
So lavender is a new herb for me, but I love it!!  The smell is just heavenly and I wanted to come up with some uses for the purple buds in recipes. I […]
2018-02-15T21:28:23+00:00May 13th, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Puppy Chow

Puppy Chow, Muddy Buddies, Monkey Munch…Everyone has had this snack/candy/dessert.  My grandmother used to make it and I just remember loving it as a kid.  It is so easy and will be gobbled up in a flash.  I often give this to my boys before a game to give them some extra umph in case they have used all their energy being straight A honor students during the day. It has sugar, protein and easy to eat in the car. 

 

Makes 9 cups

1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
9 cups Chex Cereal (you can use Rice, Corn, Wheat or a mixture)
In a microwave safe bowl melt peanut butter, chocolate and butter. It normally takes 1 minute on high.  
Add vanilla and mix well.
In a large bowl pour in cereal.  Pour peanut butter/chocolate mixture over cereal and stir well.  Make sure all the cereal is covered in the chocolate.
In a large zip-lock bag add powdered sugar.  Add the cereal mixture, close the top and shake the bag.  You want the cereal completely […]
2018-02-15T21:28:25+00:00April 19th, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Coconut Cake

This weekend was rainy and yucky.  The kids were in the house along with most of the neighborhood. Needless to say the house looks like a tornado came through it.  I wonder if insurance covers that? Seriously, there are about 500 gatorade bottles, goldfish and toilet paper all over the house.  I really have no idea why toilet paper was the “toy” of choice for them, but….  I have just closed the doors to all the rooms and have taken refuge in my office.  I am waiting for the cleaning fairy to come visit in the night.

Anyway, I made a cake for all the kids.  Yeah, Yeah, Yeah I know…., but I was bored and we all know that sugar calms boys down!?  They did love it!!
  

 

1 box white cake mix, plus the ingredients for preparation (typically eggs, oil and water)

1-14oz can sweetened condensed milk (the most incredible creation on earth)
1-9oz tub of Cool Whip, thawed
1-8oz can of cream of coconut
2 cups shredded coconut
In a 9×13 pan, bake the cake according to the directions on the box.
Immediately after […]
2018-02-15T21:28:25+00:00April 18th, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Frozen Dessert

I know this will sound strange, but a sweet tooth is not a Hood thing, so I don’t have a ton of dessert recipes. This does not mean that my kids don’t eat candy and suck down a Dr. Pepper every chance they get, but I generally do not serve dessert unless it’s a holiday or at a dinner party.  But this dessert is a childhood favorite of mine.  
My grandmother used to make this and we, the grandkids, would sneak into the laundry room where this old refrigerator from, literally 1942, sat.  We would use all our strength to open the door and hope there was frozen dessert in a pyrex dish in there.  Many times all we would find was frozen chicken spaghetti casserole or fruit punch in a tupperware bowl with masking tape dating it back like 15 years. Seriously, my grandmother never threw out any food. God Bless her soul, but maybe that is why I don’t like leftovers, hummm? I’ll save that one for the therapist. 
Frozen Dessert is nothing fancy, even the name is not fancy, but […]
2018-02-15T21:28:27+00:00March 31st, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments

Strawberries with Black Pepper

Don’t pass over this recipe because it sounds strange.  I promise you will love it!  This is probably not a dessert you want to serve to your kids unless you want them to go to sleep, then give them a big helping, just kidding.  Because it has a lot of alcohol in it and it is not cooked the alcohol does not burn off so it’s not really for kiddos. 

You can make this year round, but it is especially delicious when strawberries are in season.  It is the perfect dessert to serve after a heavy meal and people are still finishing their red wine.  

 

Strawberries with Black Pepper
4-6 servings
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 pints strawberries, stems removed and cut in half or you can just cut in half if you want the pretty stems
1 Tablespoon sugar (you can use more if the strawberries are out of season and a bit tart)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Cognac
2 1/2 Tablespoons Grand Marnier
1-2 cups whipped cream* (Canned whipped cream, whip your own or even use Cool-Whip if you are desperate)
Place peppercorns […]
2018-02-15T21:28:30+00:00February 26th, 2016|Desserts|0 Comments