No-Bake Cookie Butter Lover Cookies

Guess who’s hopping on a plane to the windy city?

No-Bake Cookie Butter Lover Cookies 3--032213

And don’t forget St. Louis, home of (apparently) the frozen custard. And other mid-West-y things…

Annnd…one of my favorite people in the whole wide world who’s currently in med school in good ol’ SL. I’m so excited! And it’ll be my first time properly visiting the mid-West, too.

No-Baked Cookie Butter Lover Cookies 2--032213

I loved his email to me earlier this month about all the things he had planned for us. He knew I was busy out of my brains this quarter, so he went ahead and proposed an itinerary that looks something … Read more

Frosty Pumpkin Streusel Magic Bars

It’s spring! You know what that means…

lovin’ the sunshine

lovin’ the flirty sundresses

lovin’ the beaches

lovin’ life

Frosty Pumpkin Streusel Magic Bars 1--031313

loving the gifs!

How could you NOT love that creamy, squishy sweet pumpkin magic bar layer there?

Frosty Pumpkin Streusel Magic Bars gif

Yes, I’m sure all of you who have seen my latest batch of posts know that I have recently become obsessed with gifsWhether or not this will turn out to be an occupational hazard to my health remains to be seen.

Are they all lovely gifs? Certainly not. I’m a gif-fing amateur (is giffing a word? What good is being in an … Read more

Gooey Cookie Butter Brown Sugar Bars

Cookie butter. Alternate names: Biscoff spread, Speculoos.

These bars–all of the above, plus nectar of the gods.

Did I get the magic words in there anywhere?

Gooey Cookie Butter Bars 1--030913

If you’re like me, you’ll want to grab a jar and just jam your really grown-up Minnie Mouse spoon right in–

Gooey Cookie Butter Bars gif

Ohhh yeah.

If this sounds like something you have done would do, you won’t want to miss these heavenly, gooey, cinnamony cookie butter bars!

Plus, they’ll give you a really amazing excuse to spoon out mouthfuls of cookie butter while you’re waiting for the bars to finish baking. I know my jar is … Read more

Green Eggs and (Veg)Ham: Celebrating Dr. Seuss! (March 2nd)

Green Eggs and (Veg)Ham 4--030413

He’s a good man,
Oh! a good man is he–
Who’s HE, we all said,
And HE said, who’s WE?

Green Eggs and (Veg)Ham gif“Why, don’t you know?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear?”

“Didn’t anyone say

there’s a birthday this year?”

Green Eggs and (Veg)Ham 9--030413

Green Eggs and (Veg)Ham 8--030413

Was it the moose

or the duck or the foose?

Green Eggs and (Veg)Ham 7--030413

Was the snarffle–

NO

It was…

Green Eggs and (Veg)Ham 5--030413

DR. SEUSS!!!

(“A foose”–you silly goose.)

Happy yester-yester-birthday, Dr. Seuss!! (March 2nd, 1904)

A tribute to my childhood hero/children’s books idol/gibberish generator/nonsensical nobblygookie.

Green Eggs and (Veg)Ham 1--030413

You’ll love this twist on a classic storybook favorite, folks. Pesto, baked eggs, and veggie ham–even the grumpy old red-hatted creature from Green Eggs and Read more

LWOM: Healthy Apple Spice Bars with Caramel Penuche Icing

It was a Wednesday, and as a consequence, Piglet was sitting on a log. Mind you, this was his Wednesday log, which is different from his Thursday or Saturday log, although sometimes you found it hard to tell the difference, and so did Piglet.

“Tiddly pom, hum,” he said, since it seemed like the right thing to say when one is sitting on a Wednesday log.

Healthy Apple Spice Squares with Caramel Penuche Icing 1--022613

Speaking of the right thing to say, it was an afternoon perfect for soft, warmly-spiced apple bars frosted with caramel penuche icing and–

“Excuse me?” said Piglet.

“Excuse me,” I said,  startled.

Healthy Apple Spice Squares with Caramel Penuche Icing gif 2

“Were … Read more

What the FUDGE Brownies

One golden rule to the art of storytelling has withstood the test of time and clime:

“Show, don’t tell.”

I call it story-showing. If a picture’s worth 1000 words, a moving image is priceless.

What story does this gif show you?

What the FUDGE brownies gif

Maybe it shows you a comforting, rich, fudgy morsel of relief on the tattered couch after an exhausting Friday.

What the FUDGE Brownies 3--022213

Maybe it shows you a righty trying really hard to be a lefty, with limited success.

What the FUDGE Brownies 5--022213

Or perhaps it shows you something subtler.

Maybe it shows you a girl staring out the window into the distance as the seconds on … Read more

Lovey Dovey Trifecta Cookies and Sweetheart Cupcakes

I’ll admit it–I’m a little vixen.

This crazy (good) cupcake-and-cookie love blast combo is brought to you by a little V-day vixen named Ala.

Lovey Dovey Trifecta Cookies and Sweetheart Cupcakes 7--021413

Consequently, the V-day jean-size-enlargement-of-everyone-around-me scheme was also instigated by yours truly.

Because let’s face it: us bakers siphon off our baked goods onto our friends, classmates, family, significant others, grocers, landladies, and cute cafe seat neighbors for one reason, and one reason alone.

Lovey Dovey Trifecta Cookies and Sweetheart Cupcakes 10--021413

We’re out to get your jeans.

Lovey Dovey Trifecta Cookies and Sweetheart Cupcakes 25--021413

But in all seriousness–does anybody else out there feel the same way? Or am I just a complete aberration in occasionally feeling this way?

Anybody who knows … Read more

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

So sombody’s been listening to “I won’t say I’m in love” on repeat today!

I won’t say–er, who.

Happy Valentine’s/Galentine’s Day, folks!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars 2--021313

In honor of this lovely, commercial-saturated annual holiday, I am 1) sharing the recipe & photos for this gorgeous red velvet cheesecake bar recipe (in case you haven’t had enough red velvet to last you a bleeding lifetime this month! This is my only, I promise), and 2) sharing 10 things I will be doing to celebrate a day of love, single or otherwise.

But these bars really are the best. I actually had the honor of popping … Read more

Classy Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Blueberry Hawaiian Sweet Bread Toast 1--012713

Every once in a while, something happens in our lives that makes us put the gear in park, turn off the ignition, and just wonder.

Blueberry Hawaiian Sweet Bread Toast 2--012713

I consider myself a fairly happy-go-lucky person. I am, after all, a hybrid donut and crepe type on my Breakfast Breakdown of Personality Types. That’s not my gushing description when I step into the interview room, but gloomy funks and I don’t mix-‘n-match well. For better or for worse, I am no Eeyore.

Blueberry Hawaiian Sweet Bread Toast 4--012713

Without getting into too much detail here–the story is long, weighty, and (only for the purposes of my musings here, though … Read more

Crunchy Cookie Butter Granola (and Ala’s Breakfast Breakdown of People in Your Day-to-Day Life)

Crunchy Cookie Butter Granola 4--012713

I’ll confess. I’ve been reading Victorian novels lately.

Crunchy Cookie Butter Granola 2--012713

This got me thinking about angst muffins (who I’ll explain in a second–hold onto your corsets, lady-folks, and top hats, gentlemen), which got me in turn thinking about pastries. Food. Hunger. Uneaten dinner. Growl.

Crunchy Cookie Butter Granola 6--012713

A few years ago, I stumbled across Sarah’s Snack Theory, a brilliant synthesis of three male character types that you’re likely to like, hate, or just go outright epileptic over when you meet him in the literature of your choice. Then, as if I didn’t like the girl enough already, she goes on and likens them to … Read more