Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

I've recently joined a group of friends who attend church once a month and then have dinner afterwards. Of course, I am responsible for desserts. I was looking through Pinterest, trying to find something that just shouts "AUTUMN!" I stumbled across the recipe for  Pumkpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars. Click here for the recipe.

This recipe did not disappoint. It produced something original yet tasted traditional. Also, I thought it was nice to have a bar instead of pie simply because it is easier to eat. 

The bottom layer of this bar is a yummy snickerdoodle layer. The second layer is pumpkin pie. Lastly is cinnamon sugar and a little white chocolate drizzle. This recipe was easy to assemble and I had almost all of the ingredients in my cabinet. The only thing I had to buy was the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. That's always a plus for me.

If you like pumpkin at all, you're going to love these Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars.

Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream in San Francisco

This place has fantastic ice creams, sorbets, and sherbets. I tried Secret Breakfast, Olive Oil, Cinnamon Brittle, Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee, and Ancho Chocolate. No I didn't hold up the line and sample them all. Although, I wish I could've. It was just too busy though and I wanted to be courteous to the 25 people in line behind me. I was lucky enough to be with my family and I tried what everyone else ordered.
Olive Oil was a little citrusy but still tasted like good olive oil with a real smooth finish. The other flavors tasted the way you think they would but strong and bright. You may be asking, "What is Secret Breakfast?" It is Humphry Slocombe's most famous flavor. It's bourbon ice cream with corn flakes. GENIUS!
On my next visit, I'm going to try Salt and Pepper, Balsamic Caramel, and Jesus Juice. Click here for a list of their flavors.

This was my Secret Breakfast. The bourbon flavor is not for children.

Fetal Kitten is not a real flavor but the others are.

Tartine Bakery in San Francisco

Tartine's Pastry Case

I was up watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network late one night. The topic of the show was Sweet Tooth. They featured Morning Buns and Double Pain au Chocolate from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. As soon as I finished that episode, my mom and I are were plotting and planning our next trip to the Bay Area. I was determined to try their double pain au chocolat.

Let me reassure you, that chocolate croissant was worth every mile traveled to San Francisco. I thought I knew what a croissant should taste like before my maiden trip to Tartine. Nope. I was wrong. This croissant was buttery and flaky beyond belief. And the chocolate. Oh the chocolate. It was dark and rich and full of flavor. PERFECTION! The people at Tartine know what they are doing.

 

My entire family joined me. My husband is a quiche fanatic and so he devoured a piece of yummy ham and corn breakfast pie goodness. It was really light and fluffy and worth a return trip. I wish we could've ordered even more but we'll be back. Mark my words. Tartine Bakery is amazing. 

I'm a sucker for cookies and want to try these next time.

Pretty, right? I'll have to let you know on my next visit.

Veggie Salad

Let me just reiterate how much I hate wasting food. I HATE IT! I can't stand to throw away perfectly good food. I would rather go to the store and pick up a couple of items to jazz up what's in my fridge rather than let it go to waste.
The above salad is just one example of what I've done with the odd amounts of veggies I had left in the crisper drawer from last week.

Ingredients
1/2 cucumber
8 stalks of asparagus
6 mini bell peppers
1 granny smith apple
corn from one corn on the cobb
handful of cilantro
1 lime

Chop everything up into bite size pieces. Juice and zest the lime. Combine everything and enjoy.

Chances are you won't have the same veggies in your fridge but I bet you will have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Don't let it go to waste! Make a fresh little salad.

Butterfinger Rice Krispie Treat

Butterfinger Rice Krispie Treat

One of my favorite blogs is Cookies and Cups. The writer, Shelly, is creative and has a sugar tooth that rivals my own. Really, it's ridiculous. Browse through her site and you'll see what I mean.
I'm such a Cookies and Cups addict. I look forward to my email notifications alerting me to her new posts, I've recommended her site to my friends who are bakers, and my Pinterest boards are full of her goodies.
This weekend I had to make something for my niece's cheer squad's bake sale and made Shelly's Snickers Popcorn. Sold out immediately!
I also was asked to bring a sweet treat to our friends' house for the Charger game. After browsing Cookies and Cups, I knew that the Butterfinger Rice Krispie Treats would be perfect. Easy, delicious, and I wouldn't have to turn on my oven. It received rave reviews from the kids and adults. This goody is sweet, a little bit salty, crunchy, and chocolatey. Just what the doctor ordered! Next time, I think I'll make two batches though. Click here for the recipe.

Paula Deen's Orange Brownies

I made these last night and they were absolutely fantastic. They were simple and quick and best of all, I had almost all of the ingredients in my pantry. The only one I had to grab from the store was orange extract.

I know that these are called brownies but there isn't a hint of chocolate to them. They are in fact chocolateless.

They are like a brownie in texture but the glaze makes them a little like an old fashioned doughnut. The flavor is kind of fresh like a lemon cooler cake but orange. I bet these would be great if I substituted the orange for lemon.

Click here for the recipe. Thank you again Paula Deen for the fabulous dessert recipe. It's now one of my tried and true.

Simple Doctored Up Brownies

I love coffee. I love it love it love it, especially now that I am a mother to a two year old.  I've been doing some research to justify my addiction and I've found a little bit of info that says my coffee consumption may be healthy. According to Web MD, "A growing body of research shows that coffee drinkers, compared to nondrinkers, are:

• less likely to have type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and dementia
• have fewer cases of certain cancers, heart rhythm problems, and strokes."

Alright! Here's what I can tell you about coffee. It goes brilliantly with chocolate. I know a ton of you make brownies from the box. Great. I do too. My favorite are the Ghirardelli Triple Brownie mix. It tastes darn close to perfect-made-from-scratch brownies.  Here's a tip, replace the water called for in your recipe with cooled coffee. You can do that with your boxed mix or with your favorite recipe. I promise you won't have coffee flavored brownies. Instead your brownies will be more CHOCOLATEY.

Give it a try. More flavor and antioxidants. You won't be disappointed.