Toffee Squares aka 30 Minutes to Heaven

My friend Marina is an INCREDIBLE baker! We met over 10 years ago (HOLY COW!), when we both worked at Scholastic. Back then, she would amaze me with all of the yummy treats she would whip up for family and friends and to this day, she still rocks my world with her sinful sweets. She recently shared this recipe with the world via Facebook and boy am I glad she did. It's the perfect treat for those who are intimidated by baking because it doesn't even require an oven!

Feel like you should still try to make something festive? Lack time/enthusiasm? Both? Do try these then: Sweet, caramelly, crispy, salty, chocolatey. Four ingredients. Fifteen minutes to prep. NO OVEN necessary! The New York Times, to my surprise/amusement, published a version of this recipe last week as well, though theirs is needlessly complicated. But you know I would not do that to you all.

Toffee Squares aka 30 Minutes to Heaven by: Marina Padakis

Yields: 2 lbs of treats

Ingredients:

1 sleeve (48 crackers total), saltines (Krispy Brand is preffered)

2 sticks butter

1 cup sugar

1 (12-oz) bag chocolate chips (preferably, Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet)

*optional: 2 cups chopped nuts (I used toasted hazelnuts), crushed candy canes work too and add a festive touch

Preparation:

1) Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and whisk in. Let it bubble away without stirring.

2) Arrange saltines side by side in a grid on your cookie sheet. Broken ones can be used too. You do not need to grease/foil the pan.

3) Let butter mixture cook till it turns a caramel color--no longer yellow, but not mahogany--like a Heath bar inside. If it is all separated/curdled looking that is perfectly OK.

4) Remove from heat. Let the bubbles subside, then whisk the mixture till it comes together into a nice shiny brown goo.

5) Pour in a back-and-forth motion over the saltines. Use spatula to spread evenly over the crackers--and take care, that sh*t is hot! Do not worry if it's a mess, the chocolate covers any mistakes etc.

6) Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the whole thing. They will melt in 2-3 mins, then use the spatula to spread evenly. If you want nuts etc…on top, sprinkle on now.

7) Stick in the freezer for 15 minutes till chocolate is set (or longer in the fridge if you are not in a hurry). The whole thing should pop off the pan in one piece. Use a big knife to cut into squarish pieces; they will shatter/crumble in places, but that is part of their charm. You also get to nibble all the yummy little bits as you go.

TIPS:

-Put them in little cellophane bags tied with twine. Perfect for a last minute holiday edible gift!

Note: The caramel in this recipe is SUPER HOT! Use caution when having children help you in the kitchen for this recipe. Have them stand back while you are working with the hot liquidy caramel. There's plenty for them to do that isn't dangerous such as: arranging the saltines on the cookie sheet and breaking up the cooled toffee into pieces.

Cinnamon Candy Corn Cookie Pops

candy corn goodness.

all wrapped up and ready for the kiddos.

fancy-schmancy version with pepitas.

one happy buckaroo! this is how I bribed him to take the pic.

In our house, Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season. This time of year I ramp up and get ready for the chaos that will ensue in the next coming months. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it, chaos AND ALL! I'm one of those people. That doesn't mean I still don't feel a little pressured to be super mommy and get it all done. In fact, I fall behind. A lot. Still...I try. That's gotta count for something, no?

This year I have extra guilt because I've spent the last month developing all sorts of Halloween treats for work (like these and these) and left my sons nursery school party snack for the last minute. Luckily I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Yup. That's right! I have Cookie Pops up my sleeve! LOL.

The dough for these cookies is basic, but very tasty (if I do say so myself). It's a yummy sugar cookie dough which lends itself nicely to many different flavorings and spices. In this case, I flavored them using cinnamon and vanilla extract and decorated with candy corn. Feel free to add your favorite extract or spice and top it with any seasonal appropriate sprinkle or candy. How about dipping them in chocolate and rolling them in crushed candy canes for Christmas? I bet that would be good. OK, lemme stop. I even made some of the pops more, "adult" and topped them with pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds). Very fancy!

I made these with my two year old. It's the perfect recipe to get the kids involved (they love inserting the sticks and topping with candies).

**Read on after the recipe for some more fantastic Halloween treats.

Cinnamon Candy Corn Cookie Pops

Makes 18 pops

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
18 wooden popsicle sticks
candy corn for topping

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat liner.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars on low speed. Add in egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add flur mixture to butter mixture until dough comes together, about 1 minutes. Roll dough into walnut sized balls place onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart (cookies won't spread much).

3. Top each ball of dough with one candy corn and press slightly to flatten. Gently insert popsicle sticks into each ball. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets before removing with a thin spatula.

Note: As you can see, I used some whole wheat flour in this recipe but I assure you, I wasn't trying to make these healthy. Truth be told, I ran out of white flour so I gave these a try with a small amount of wheat flour. Luckily, they tasted great! Feel free to use all white flour in this recipe, just don't use more than 1/2 cup of wheat flour for these. The texture will not be the same.

More fun Halloween Recipes:

Sweet Potato Spider Webs

Apple Cider Granita

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Pumpkin Squares with Cream Cheese Icing

Dark Chocolate Candy Corn Cookies

Reeses Pieces Popcorn balls

Vampire Vanilla Cupcakes

Spooky Marshmallow filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spiced Monkey Bread

Halloween Snack Mix

Jiggly Ghosts

Apple Cider Granita

Every September we go apple and pumpkin picking in Bucks County, PA. It’s become a family tradition that I look forward to every year. I plan our trip 3 months in advance, that's how much I love it.

This year was even more fun because my son is two, which is definitely the age of exploration. He had a blast last year, but there is something about the way he sees things as a two year old that is very special and exciting. He can communicate verbally in a bigger way this year, and he can also run, jump and explore like a big boy now. It's really a site to behold.

Each year we look forward to enjoying a special frozen treat at the apple orchards-Cider Ice! It’s a super-delicious frosty treat made of frozen Cider. Genius! It may seem strange to sell a frozen treat during the fall, but it was 80 degrees when we went picking this year so, Cider Ice was a perfectly refreshing snack. After we ran around the orchards and picked ‘till our hearts content, my son, sat quietly, on a pumpkin and gleefully slurped down this delicious delight.

My son is a fan of all things frozen, so I knew I had to try and recreate a similar snack at home. I wanted to keep this recipe pure and healthy, using only cider and since I don't own a slushy machine or a Snoopy Snow Cone machine, the first thing that came to mind is Granita (I AM Italian after all!). It's barely a recipe, it's that simple to make. Only 1 ingredient! It's perfect for kids but elegant enough to entertain with (think-refreshingly light Thanksgiving dessert), topped with some fresh cinnamon whipped cream and served in a pretty glass.

This recipe is the perfect use for any cider you might have lying around the house. I give it to my son as an afternoon snack or as a dessert in lieu of ice cream.

Apple Cider Granita
Serves 4-6

Ingredient: (yes. just one!)

3-4 cups apple cider

Preparation:

1.Pour cider into a 9-inch glass deep-dish pie plate or any other freezer friendly, shallow container.

2. Place dish into freezer for 2 hours. Remove plate from the freezer and scrape the frozen cider with a fork (see images above). The idea is to shave the ice away with your fork, creating a snowy texture. Place the plate back into the freezer and continue to freeze for another hour. Repeat the scraping process until all of the frozen cider is scraped away, about 4 hours total. Scoop out the frozen cider and place into serving cups. Serve au naturale or topped with some cinnamon spiked fresh whipped cream.

Not Just Chocolate Chip Cookies + Tips to help you get your holiday baking started early!

The other day I got an email from my Aunt telling me about these amazing cookies someone made her. When you like to cook and bake, you tend to get a lot of people sending you recipes to try out. Normally, I would just add the recipe to my ever-growing stack of "recipes to try when I have free time" list (HA!), but when she told me that these cookies contained pretzels AND potato chips, I was sold. I love dessert and I don't need an excuse to try out a new cookie recipe but this sweet and salty combo definitely peaked my interest. I'm six months pregnant and my kicks definitely come from sweets these days. Since I can't have the Margarita I've been craving, this cookie would have to do. The recipe was really good as written. However, I was craving a slightly different texture, something chewy to contrast with the crispness of the mix-ins. Never being one to leave well enough alone, I decided to try and make them my own. I am super happy with how these came out and I hope you are too.

This recipe is the prefect excuse to use up all of the broken chips and pretzels that inevitably invade the bottoms of the bags after your kids decide to "help" you unpack the groceries. These babies may not be the healthiest cookie in the world, but I like my desserts decadent and a little (ok, A LOT) naughty. You have my permission to go hog-wild. And if you feel that guilty, go ahead and sprinkle in some wheat germ, I wont tell! : )

P.S. My friend OneHungryMama posted something similar to these last week (great minds!). We all must have party snacks on the brain! She kicked them up a notch by adding peanuts. Brilliant!

Not Just Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 12-15 large cookies

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup crushed, pretzels

1/2 cup crushed, salted potato chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract until incorporated. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on slow just until flour is incorporated. Turn the mixer off and remove the bowl. Stir in chocolate chips, pretzels and potato chips by hand.

3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Place on a rack to cool. Enjoy!

To Freeze Drop Cookie Dough:

I love making batches of cookie dough and freezing them. I feel like a great mom/host when I can bake off a fresh batch of warm cookies at a moments notice. The method is super simple and a great one to know, especially during the holiday gift-giving/cooking/baking frenzy we all put ourselves through. I plan on starting my holiday baking early this year and this is how I'll get it done.

Method:

Make your favorite drop cookie recipe. Clear enough space in your freezer to fit your baking sheet. Divide dough into balls and arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer. When the dough balls are frozen, place them in a Ziplock freezer bag or small air-tight container, label and date them. Dough will last 3 months in your freezer.

To Bake Frozen balls:

You can defrost your cookie dough balls on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet in the refrigerator, this will take at least an hour.

OR

If you are impatient like me, you can bake them off frozen. Place frozen dough balls directly on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet and bake according to your recipes specifications. Usually your time will be a little longer than what your original recipe calls for. Keep checking the cookies for doneness.

Cinnamon Banana Breakfast Wontons

My son is a full-on "nana" freak! He once ate 3 in one day. He usually overdoses on them when he's teething. I'm happy to oblige because they are healthy and never seem to give him tummy trouble. He always asks for one at breakfast time and on the rare occasion that I run out, it's nice to have something banana ready at a moments notice. I created these Cinnamon Banana Breakfast Wontons for emergency days when I am banana-less and let me tell you, they have served me well on many occasions. Not only are they perfect for breakfast, they make great last minute desserts and party snacks fried in some oil. Stock your freezer with some of these little babies and you'll never be without a quick breakfast, snack or dessert!

Cinnamon Banana Breakfast Wontons

Makes 34 wontons

2 large ripe bananas

34 wonton wrappers

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 c water (for sealing wrappers)

1)-In a medium bowl, mash the bananas and the cinnamon until its fairly smooth. Place 1/2 teaspoon of the mashed banana in the center of each wonton wrapper. Lightly moisten the sides of the wonton wrapper with water and then fold diagonally in half to form a triangle. Be sure not to over wet the wonton wrapper or it will not stick. Moisten the bottom edges of the triangle and bring both points of the triangle base towards the center to meet. Pinch closed.

2)-Place finished wontons on a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze until firm. Then transfer to ziplock bags.

To Cook:

Boiling Method (our preferred method for breakfast):

Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Take as many wontons as you need out of your freezer stash. Place wontons into the boiling water and cook for approximately 4-6 minutes or until the wonton floats to the top. Remove with slotted spoon and place in a bowl. top with a pat of butter and serve.

Frying Method (great for dessert or an anytime sweet snack)

Fry these wontons instead of boiling. Add about 2-inches of vegetable oil to a large, deep skillet. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches about 350 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, you can test the temperature of the oil by dropping a small piece of wonton wrapper into the oil. If it sizzles when it hits the oil, you are ready to fry.

Working in batches, fry the wontons until they are golden brown, about 30-40 seconds. Remove the wontons using a slotted spoon and allow to drain on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with some granulated sugar and some extra cinnamon. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

VARIATIONS:

-Add some chopped nuts or chocolate into your mashed bananas before filing the wontons. For an extra treat, try both!

- Fill your wontons with some Nutella spread, deep fry them. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Note: Dark Chocolate cookies are made from a recipe on the back of the Nestles Peanut butter Morsels bag-YUM!)

My son Griffin James

I know I haven't posted in a while. I deeply apologize for that but it's just further proof that I am far from super-mom. I'm a full-time working mama going through the same struggles as every other parent while desperately trying to give my son the happiest life possible. Sadly, that doesn't leave a heck of a lotta time for blogging but I couldn't leave ya hanging during the holidays. To show you just how much I love y'all (said with my very Brooklyn NY accent), I am giving you my TOP SECRET, took 6 years to develop, Perfect (in my eyes) Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Don't say I never gave ya anything, kay?

In my book, holidays and tradition go hand in hand. And like most people, tradition becomes even more important after you have children. Bridging traditions from our own childhood with the new ones we create with our own children is part of the fun! This past year I have been driving myself batty trying to make every occasion as special and as memorable as possible for my son. And get this, he is only 16 months old!!!! Exactly what portion of the past 16 months do I think he will actually remember? LOL. It doesn't matter because this past year has been a way for me to try new things. Plus, what he doesn't remember he will be able to see in the 6 million pictures my husband says I take-HA! It's been a blast starting our own Salerno family traditions like leaving cookies out for Santa. I never did that as a child, but me being the dessert-crazed nut that I am, it's just one more excuse to bake (and eat) more cookies!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

P.S. For all of you who missed my Cookie Swap this year due to the weather or whatever else ya had going on, this is what you missed!!!!

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields approx 17 LARGE cookies

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk
1 bag chocolate chips

1)- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2)-Stir together melted butter, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla and almond extract. Add egg, then the yolk. Beat well. Stir in dry ingredients, then fold in chocolate chips until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and chill dough until firm. At least 30 minutes.

3)-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

4)-Drop 1/4 cup sized mounds of dough onto a silpat or parchment baking sheet.

5)-Bake in preheated oven for approximately 10-12 minutes or only until the edges begin to turn golden. (They will seem underdone but they aren't) Cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes and remove with a spatula to a cooling rack. Cool thoroughly and enjoy!

SAVE TIME! Make the dough ahead of time and freeze it.

FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS: Simply drop as many cookies as you can onto a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet. Place entire cookie sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours or overnight. Cookie dough should be as hard as rocks. Remove dough from cookie sheet and place into ziplock freezer bags or any airtight container.

TO BAKE AFTER FROZEN: Preheat your oven according to your particular recipe. Place frozen cookie dough balls onto a parchment or silpat line baking sheet and allow to thaw for 15-20 minutes. Bake according to your recipe. If you are impatient like me, you can also place the frozen cookie balls straight into the oven but your cookies will take longer to bake and you run the risk of having burnt outsides and mushy middles if you aren't careful.

BLOG SHOUT-OUT: Mama minds think alike. Check out my girl Stacie's FAB cookie recipes at Chowmama.

Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake

My sister-in-laws cake w/ only powdered sugar.

All gussied up! Pretty neat, aye?
My sons 1st Birthday Cowboy cake w/ Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing.
I doubled the recipe and used the Wilton Horseshoe cake pan.

I did it again. I offered to host a celebration on a weeknight even though I am already struggling to manage my insane schedule. Why? Why do I do these things to myself? Why do I promise to bake cakes and entertain people on a Thursday night when I can barely muster up the strength to cook dinner every night for my family after a long workday? I know why. It's because deep down inside I really like entertaining and celebrating events with family. In fact, I used to go nuts planning parties and celebrations. Planning menus and decor weeks in advance was the norm for me. And then I woke up. Err.... well…and then I had a baby. Now I am lucky if we have coffee and napkins in the house for guests. And heaven forbid someone should want to drink something other than water or seltzer-HA! Like most parents, I just don't have time to be the mini-Martha I once was. Truth be told, I don't even miss the old girl. Having a baby often forces people like me to slow down, but it's a welcome change of pace. I’m glad I don't have the time to run myself as ragged as I used to. Grant it, I had more time to run around but that just meant I had more time to make myself crazy with planning. Nowadays, I still entertain (waaaay less), but it's a simpler kind of entertaining. Having kids gives nuts like me the perfect excuse to slow it down and keep it simple. When I remembered on Tuesday night that I promised to make a cake for my sister-in-laws birthday, I didn't stress. The old me would have researched a recipe way in advance and made sure I had the best Valrhona cocoa powder on hand. The new me was on solo baby duty (hubby was in Boston for Biz) and I simply was not willing or able to go crazy. But the new me had in the bag. Armed with Hershey’s cocoa powder in the pantry and my awesome go-to Quick and Easy Chocolate cake recipe, a last minute birthday cake was possible.


This recipe is one that you will want to keep on-hand for birthdays or any special occasion. I came up with this recipe after testing a gazillion chocolate cake recipes for my sons 1st Birthday party. This recipe is a delicious, quick and simple cake that you can throw together in minutes. This cake is made using canned pumpkin and oil in place of butter which makes it quite healthy. It’s so yummy it doesn ’t even need icing (and good thing because I was out of butter and cream cheese). One of my tricks for keeping it simple is skipping the icing and simply using a stencil and powdered sugar or cocoa powder to create a cute picture on top of the cake. My sister-in-law loves butterflies but go ahead and use a heart stencil for Valentines day or a turkey stencil for Thanksgiving. People will think you are a genius. if you really want an icing, a simple Chocolate Ganache rocks, just pour it right over the top. Done and done!


Happy Birthday Jessica!


P.S. Read-on for a new list of Fun Finds!


Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake
Serves 8


Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (my fave is Hershey Special Dark Cocoa Powder-delicious!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs
2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (to be honest I was out so I omitted it)


*Powdered sugar or Cocoa Powder for top of cake


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Melt chocolate in microwave until melted (each microwave is different but I had to melt mine for 45 seconds, stirring once halfway through). Cool slightly.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl. In another larger bowl, whisk eggs, pumpkin, oil, vanilla and melted chocolate to blend. Sift dry mixture over wet mixture (if you don't have a sifter you can use a whisk to combine the two). Whisk batter until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and shake pan to smooth.

3. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs still attached, about 30-35 minutes. Transfer can pan to rack and cool cake completely. Release pan sides from cake. Place cake on plate.

To make cake in advance:

Allow cake to cool completely. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and store at room temperature. Dust with powder sugar or cocoa powder right before service.

FUN FINDS!

A good cake pan will take you far. Perfect for this cake as well as your fave holiday cheesecake. I Love, Love Love this non-stick 9-inch Spring Form pan by Analon.

Want a fun Cake Stand like mine? I purchased mine at Marshall's but check out theses awesome ones by Esty seller StyleGarden and at Target.

In need of a cute holiday hostess gift? How about a bouquet of adorable Holiday Silicone Spatulas. My fave is the Gingerbread man.

Banana Bread

Photo: roygbivibgyor

Before I had a child, I always thought I would be OK with being a working mama. Heck, I thought I would be running for the door. Sadly, that was not the case. In fact, my son is 14 months now and that feeling of guilt still hasn’t gone away. I feel guilty every second of every day that I am not home with my babe but believe me, I know that stay at home parents don’t have it any easier.

We all do the best we can and take it day by day because; honestly, being a parent is tough. Life is full and we need to find creative ways to maximize the time we have with our family. Evenings and weekends should be filled with kisses and cuddles but let’s face it, laundry, cleaning, shopping and shuttling all have to fall in there somewhere too! Cooking together with your family is the best way to stay connected while accomplishing a task. No matter how little your “littles” are, they can still benefit from sitting in their bouncy seat or highchair alongside you as you prep a meal. So, go ahead, use the fall weather as an excuse to spend some time indoors baking with the fam. And don’t forget to give a little time to yourself because mamas and dadas really do hold up the world.


This recipe is for my friend Danielle. She’s a stay at home mama of count ‘em, THREE BOYS! One of her sons is a huge fan of the banana bread they buy at their local Florida Farmers market. This banana bread is a quick and easy recipe to make with the family. It's also perfect for all of those upcoming holiday bake sales.

Danielle- Here’s to hoping the kiddos approve.

Banana Bread
Serves 6-8 people


1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
2-3 very ripe, darkly speckled bananas
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt



1) For regular loaf pan, grease and flour bottom only; for nonstick, grease and flour bottom and sides. Preheat oven to 350.

2)- In a large bowl whisk together sour cream and baking soda. Add in mashed bananas, cooled melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

3)-In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon and salt.

4)- Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Pour into loaf pan. Bake 55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, transfer to wire rack.

Enjoy!

TIP: To keep the bread extra moist, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil as soon as it is fully cool.



FUN KITCHEN RELATED FINDS


-Create a cooking kit like Cookie Mags "babysitter in a box". It's the the perfect way to have even the littlest of the bunch "help" with dinner.











-Vintage Inspired Aprons for the Whole Family (the ones for the kiddos shown below are fab!) by Jessie Steele

-Rachael Ray's Tadpole Young Cooks Cutting set is a great gift for your budding chef. Plus a portion of the proceeds the Tadpole will be donated to RR's charity Yum-o! to empower kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking.









-Kids Central Kitchen is an awesome site that specializes in whole grain baking mixes, fun cooking utensils, baking kits and gift sets all geared towards family fun in the kitchen. Check out these cute baking sets (fun gift for a grandma to send her babies) and the super cute happy mixing spoon.

Tropical Morning Muffins

This time of year I always have a hard time saying goodbye to Summer. Right now it's especially difficult to adjust because in NYC, the past few days have felt more like Spring. Mother Nature seems to be confused and that's probably why my body is too. Even though the weather here has been glorious, the pessimist in me knows it won't last and before you know it, I will be struggling to get my son into his jacket and hat.

I don't know what it is, but it takes me a while to adjust to the cooler weather. Case in point, I wear open toed shoes well into October. Don't get me wrong, I get very excited for Fall and all of the yummy stews, soups and baked goods that come along with it; it just takes me a while.

These Tropical Morning Muffins are my way of transitioning from summer to fall. Muffins fresh from the oven are the type of comfort food that I enjoy on a fall morning but the pineapple and coconut remind me of sitting on a beach somewhere tropical, with a Pina Colada in my hand. It's nutty thinking but then again so is this weather.

These muffins are low in sugar and made with wheat bran, so you can feel good about giving them to your family for breakfast.


Pineapple, Carrot, Coconut Morning Muffins
12 muffins


1c wheat bran
1 ½ c all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c whole milk yogurt
½ c vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses
½ c grated carrots
½ c crushed pineapple, drained
¼ c coconut, toasted
¼ c salted sunflower seeds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin liners.

3. In a large bowl combine the wheat bran, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until combined.

In another large bowl combine the eggs, sugar, yogurt, vegetable oil and molasses. Stir until well combined.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in carrots and pineapple.

Fill each paper-lined muffin cup to the top with batter and sprinkle each with toasted coconut and sunflower seeds.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire wrack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Dessert for a crowd: Blueberry and Peach Grilled Cobbler

I looove dessert. I will eat something sweet over something savory any day of the week. I have also been known to ask to see the dessert menu first. SICK! I definitely have an addiction. However, desserts don't always have to be over-the-top sweet. Fruit desserts are always a good compromise. This dessert is perfect because it's simple and can be made in the oven or on your outdoor grill. No muss no fuss and it feeds a crowd. It can be tossed on your grill while everyone is eating their hot dogs and hamburgers. Perfect for that 4th of July BBQ.
Note: I used frozen fruit here because I always have some on-hand in my freezer. But since the summer is almost here, please take advantage of all of the wonderful in season fruit. Any berry or stone fruit combo will work perfect.

Blueberry and Peach Grilled Cobbler
Serves 6

2 bags frozen blueberries (or 3 pints of fresh)
1 bag of frozen peaches (or 4 peaches, pitted and quartered)
1/3c granulated sugar plus 2 tbsps for mixing into fruit
zest of 1 orange
2 c flour, plus 3 tbsps (for mixing with fruit)
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted plus a little more for greasing cast-iron pan.
1 1/4 c buttermilk



Preheat oven to 375 degrees (if using an outdoor grill, heat to medium-high). Grease a 10-inch cast-iron frying pan (or any other oven/grill friendly baking dish).

In medium bowl, combine all of the fruit and toss with 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar and orange zest. Dump fruit mixture into cast-iron skillet.

In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar and baking powder. Whisk together to combine dry ingredients. Add in the melted butter and buttermilk and stir until just combined.

Evenly distribute 1/4c size dollops of the cobbler mixture on top of the fruit.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until top is golden.


Cooking for a smaller group? Cut the recipe in half.

Cooking on an outdoor grill? Cover the cobbler with heavy duty aluminum foil for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking to allow the cobbler to brown.