Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies

Turns out much/most of my life involves trying to fulfill the whims of my offspring. It is made even more urgent when Michael joins in. James said he wanted apple pies. Someone suggested salted caramel (me? Michael? Who is to say.) Hand pies/pastries were suggested. Then James proceeded to bring it up forever until I finally made it happen. And that is the tale of how I was peer pressured into spending one of my evenings after the kids went to sleep making salted caramel apple hand pies.

(Note: in the course of my writing this Michael saw the pictures and said, "Oh man those were so good! We need them again. Look at Rose's sweet face. She's never had these. Don't you think that face deserve them?" So you see what I'm working with.) 

Anyway-this recipe is actually super simple (more so if you buy pre-made puff pastry and salted caramel sauce but where's the fun in that?) and reallllly tasty. Buttery, flaky pastry with a sweet and salty (and gooey) caramel apple filling. You can use whatever apples you like for the filling and can even make the pastries ahead of time (just make sure to refrigerate them until you're ready to bake--the colder the pastry dough the better the end result!) Yummy yum yum! 

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream

Yepp, my spoiled husband got me to make him more ice cream. And, once again, it's dairy free (and, incidentally, vegan) so that he can eat more of it without worrying about his tummy. AND for all of you peoples with the New Year's resolutions--this is probably right up your alley!

This recipe made me extra happy because it's like healthy ice cream (actually, to be exact, it's sort of like a cross between an ice cream and a sorbet, texture-wise. Not quite as creamy as ice cream, but not quite as icy as sorbet.) It's legit just like strawberries, a liquid sweetener (such as agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, etc.), coconut cream, and non-dairy milk. It's pretty awesome. And Michael looooved it.

I will admit, part of what Michael loved is that I topped the ice cream with homemade magic shell...so it was like a chocolate covered strawberry situation. Still, though. Healthy. He's happy. I'm happy. The only reason we're not happy right now is we finally ran out of it (and this recipe makes a good amount, so it took us awhile) and now he's all ice cream-less and I'm stuck with debating if I'm going to make him more or buy him some or make him just live without ice cream because gosh there's a baby coming and I've got bigger fish to fry than ice cream!

But...I mean...I'll probably just make some more of this because it's awesome. (AND unlike some other dairy-free/vegan ice creams it actually scoops pretty easily straight out of the freezer! WOO!)

Raspberry Pie

Michael loves pie. Like...on ultimate Pi day, a couple years ago, he was sincerely upset that I hadn't made him pie (oops). He particularly likes fruit pies...which is tricky because I don't really dig fruit pies. So I only make them for him on occasion. Thusly, it's a special event when I do.

Sometimes Michael sits around and questions why certain pies don't exist...and then I tell him they do exist. One time that was grape pie (although admittedly it sounds weird, it apparently exists). And then another time he questioned raspberry pie. Before looking it up, I knew that it wouldn't be difficult-it should be the same premise as blueberry or blackberry pie, and of course I was right and I found various recipes online. So I was a nice lady and made him some raspberry pie. And right before this year's Pi day, so he finally got his Pi day pie. 

It's actually fitting that I share this recipe today, because I'm spending the whole week with Michael while he's on spring break (and he took off from work today-Friday). I so rarely get to spend this much time with him, between work and school (and the fact that on the weekends I am usually working) so this is a special treat! Just like pie :D

Anyway, more about this actual pie. It's my first time making a lattice top crust-I thought it turned out pretty well! You do not have to do a lattice, you can kind of do whatever you'd like. The lattice is so evocative of a classic berry pie though, you know? And I used my favorite butter pie crust recipe which was flaky and delicious. The filling has a pleasant tartness and lots of pure raspberry flavor-I mean the ingredient list for the filling is beautifully short. It's essentially just raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch. I love that, it really let's the raspberries true flavor shine through. Michael was super super happy about this pie, and I bet you will too!

Quick Raspberry Ice Cream

I'm sort of in love with the pretty pretty shade of pink this ice cream is. Like...the pictures don't even do it justice. It's LOVELY. And it's all just from raspberries-no artificial coloring or anything like that. Speaking of ingredients, this recipe only uses SIX ingredients and it's completely no cook, no churn, and egg free! It's insanely quick and easy and you'll never believe HOW GOOD it is.

The ice cream is super creamy and silky and deliciously refreshing. I made the ice cream for Michael (because it's raspberry, so of course it's for him). It always makes me giggle when we order at restaurants and-with dessert for example-Michael usually orders something pink (strawberry or raspberry) and I usually get something super rich and decadent, and they always try to bring us out each other's food. Apparently I eat like a man and my hubby likes pretty pretty girly food :P

The point of the story is...Michael love love loves this ice cream. In all it's pink glory.

Look....all you have to do is blend together a few ingredients, then whip some cream, fold it all together, freeze it, AND THAT'S IT. Now you have this dreamy ice cream for yourself. It's pretty much the perfect thing to enjoy on a hot summery day. 

Strawberry Tartlets-Joanne's Virtual Baby Shower!

You guyyyys!! IT'S A BABY SHOWER for Joanne of Eats Well With Others!!! You may remember when I participated in a virtual bridal shower for Joanne over a year ago (and also remember when she shared these ahhhmazing savory waffles with us before that?) so of course I had to be a part of the celebration for Joanne as she prepares to welcome her sweet little baby girl into this world!

Sooooo a bunch of Joanne's bestest bloggy friends are getting together for a spring themed baby shower--because Joanne is ALL about seasonal foods! I could not be more excited for her or about all the delicious spring eats that we're sharing with her and all of you today!

When I think about foods that are seasonal in spring (and...ok...summer) strawberries are always a favorite. Especially for my fella-he love love looooves any excuse to eat strawberries so I knew I needed to incorporate them into what I shared today. And, I don't know if it's too on the nose but...I love mini desserts for baby showers. Because...ya know...babies are mini. So I decided to break out my mini pie pans to make strawberry tartlets! (Admittedly...these are not that mini. But they're smaller than a full sized tart or pie sooo....they're mini? Mmkaaaay?)

For the crust I used a pâte brisée recipe--which is essentially a very firm and buttery tart dough. Michael said it was possibly his favorite part because it is sturdy and buttery and just faintly sweet (there is not sugar in the dough itself but I sprinkled some around the edges of the crust prior to baking). And then for the filling I made a cream cheese whipped cream-which has SUCH a lovely texture and is somehow both light and luscious, and has just a hint of that tangy cream cheese flavor. And then-of course-top the whole thing with beautiful red strawberries. Mmm mmmm mmmm!

Michael is obssessed. So shall you be-a must make for any baby shower, barbecue/family get-together, or just a warm spring afternoon. :)

Joanne, I hope you like these and your shower and I can't wait for you to have your little baby-nugget so I can oooh and ahhh over how cute she is!!

Be sure to check out the rest of the shower menu!

Orange Ginger Spritzer from The Lemon Bowl 

Asparagus and Pea Puff Pastry Tarts from Belly Full

Blood Orange Doughnuts from Cook Like a Champion

Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Cups from Keep It Sweet Dessert

Meyer Lemon Soufflé from Blahnik Baker

Strawberry Tartlets from The Cooking Actress

New York-Style Rhubarb Crumb Cake from Warm Vanilla Sugar

Berry Fool Tarts from Bake or Break

Lemon Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Baker Chick

Mini Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes from Baker by Nature

Strawberries & Cream Chocolate Chip Ice Cream {Easy, No Cook, Egg-free}

This ice cream is extra special for a couple reasons.

1. Michael requested it as his birthday treat.
2. It was my first time using my ice cream maker!
3. It's insanely easy and super pretty and was the perfect way to finish out summer (mind you--I don't care that it's October. Strawberry ice cream should be enjoyed all the time.)

I'm so glad this was the recipe I started with for my first foray into real ice cream--it was kind of insanely easy. Like...you blend a bunch of stuff together and then you put it in the ice cream maker. Then you add in some mashed strawberries and chocolate chips and...yeah. The end! And seriously...how pretty is it? No food coloring here-just naturally pink strawberry-liciousness! It's also super creamy, thanks to the cream cheese. I will make a small note that if you freeze this extra long/store it in the freezer-it does get quite hard so I suggest taking it out for a bit to soften prior to serving (unless you gobble it all up straight out of the ice cream maker, that's cool too!) Also, this recipe doesn't make a bunch but I actually made another batch almost immediately after-so you can totally double the recipe if you have a hungry Michael type person in your house.

It's ok if that hungry person is you. It means we'd probably be friends. #facts

Orange Crinkles-Guest Post with That Skinny Chick Can Bake

I have not made anything for the blog in the last week and a half-and I feel awful about it. Buuut...wedding planning is crazy time consuming. And it's go-time on Saturday. SO I brought in one final guest poster to help me out-the amazing Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake!! You may remember Liz from when she posted for me last year when I moved. Obviously-she's an amazing friend and she bakes DELICIOUS treats! And without further ado, here's another one of those goodies!

Hi, Cooking Actress fans! I'm Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake, and I'm honored to be pinch hitting for Kayle. I have a feeling that baking cookies had to take a back burner when the countdown to the big day reached single digits. Kayle will be a Mrs. in just a few days! Since weddings are all about family and friends, I thought I'd share some cookies I made especially for my youngest sister. I have three sisters and we're all foodies, but Maddy rarely makes desserts. I did spy some grocery store orange crinkles on her counter top on one of my recent visits to Denver. Figuring they were laden with shortening and artificial flavors, I wanted to whip up some of these gems from scratch.

Though Maddy had purchased a relatively tasty store bought version, I had the urge to deliver a batch of homemade orange cookies on my next visit. I located loads of lemon crinkle recipes, but the orange variety was scarce. I just combined and tweaked a few of the former, adding orange zest and orange extract to amp up the citrus flavor. Make sure to take the extra time to massage the orange zest into the sugar to release the essential oils--a trick I learned from Dorie Greenspan. The results were terrific. I hope you'll give them a try!

Blackberry Lavender Cocktail-Guest Post with Blahnik Baker

Hi friends!! Since my life is sorta full-on wedding crazed mode I asked a few of my bloggy friends to help me out and rustle up some guest posts for you to read! And you are in for a TREAT! Zainab from Blahnik Baker has posted over here once before and you all LOVED her (I mean..how could you not-she's such a sweetie!) Not only is she busy running her own blog but she's also preggers! And yet she still said she would give me a hand-now that is friendship! Plus...she's sharing a cocktail. Yeah! I'm so happy that there's finally a cocktail on this blog! Take it away my friend <3

Hello Cooking actress readers!! I’m Zainab from Blahnik Baker and I am so excited to be here again today sharing a recipe with you. When Kayle asked us to help with the blog as she prepares for her upcoming nuptials, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to celebrate her and Michael’s wedding. Nothing says celebration like a good ole cocktail…. a refreshing, summer berry cocktail to be exact. That’s why I am bringing her and you this Blackberry Lavender Cocktail. Let’s toast the soon-to-be newly weds :)

NY Cheesecake with Strawberries

So....I don't like cheesecake. (I knooow, I'm crazy.)

But even I can tell that is is one DANGED good cheesecake.

New York, New York...one of the things I miss most about you is your food. Mostly the pizza. Ah...the pizza. But I also know that their cheesecake is pretty danged awesome (Michael certainly loved it.), so when Michael's birthday snuck up on me this year, I knew the perfect treat would be a NY style cheesecake---with strawberries...because he loves 'em.

Apparently 1 whole cheesecake is a bit too much for my boy to polish off on his own, though, so we shared some pieces with my mom and his family as well. And from all these sources, the reviews came in: this is a DANGED good cheesecake. All you have to do is look at it to see the amazing texture (and, boy, does it smell great), and I've been told it tastes silky and tangy, yet sweet.

And making it is surprisingly easy (time consuming, but easy)--I didn't even need to do a water bath and it didn't crack (mind you, I've made this once. Perhaps it will crack for you--I do not know for sure.) This was my first full-sized cheesecake and it went so smoothly. And you get a total sense of accomplishment saying to yourself, "I just made an amazing cheesecake. GO ME!"

And soon you'll make this and I can say, "GO YOU!"

Nut Butter Banana Oat Smoothie

I've been meaning to make smoothies more often. My brother's consistently healthy diet totally makes me want to be better. So, in the efforts to bring myself and you more smoothies--I froze some bananas and put 'em in the freezer. Because in my world every good smoothie begins with frozen bananas.

And, obviously, the point of these smoothies is to try to get some healthy stuff up in my system. So I also put some nice oats and flaxseed meal in there (they also help keep ya full! So you don't overeat later!), milk for...whatever milk does...and nut butter for protein! Yayyy!

Fun story related to my brother and trying to get into shape: Josh came over and we went to my fitness room (finally) and he proceeded to help me do a "Kayle version" of his workout regimen for the next hour. At the end of that hour Josh was like "Eh, not the best workout but it was better than nothing." and Kayle was like "Uh...I cannot walk. My legs hurt super duper bad."

Technically the next 2 days were where the pain set in but...I fel wiped out from that workout. And I know it shouldn't have been that hard. But ugh, man oh man...I am NOT in shape. Plus-I have never done any kind of weight training and Josh had me using all the weights and stuff (admittedly mostly the 8-10 lb. weights but...still.)

Moral of the story is: I need to get my act together. And I started yesterday--I am going to try reeeeally hard to start working out on the regular. Here we go! Keep me honest, guys!

But enough about my weak out-of-shape-ness.

Smoothie time. It's all thick and kind of gritty (but like...in a good way? Makes ya feel healthy.) and it tastes super yummy. All nutty and banana-y. As a smoothie should be.

If you have spinach, I suggest you throw some in. I was out so...I couldn't. But you totally should.

(Side note: I convinced my brother to start putting spinach in his smoothies. He was suspicious but I reassured him he wouldn't taste it. He then returned to me and was like..."Dude...you don't taste it. That's awesome. Spinach in all my smoothies from now on."  But I digress.) 

PB AND BANANAS FOREVAHHHH

Evolution Fresh Juices #MC #Sponsored

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Millennial Central for Evolution Fresh. I received coupons for Evolution Fresh juices to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Have you heard of Evolution Fresh yet?? Ooooooh are you in for a wholesome, delicious, treat! Evolution Fresh offers a huge variety of juice flavors that help quench that summer thirst-while keeping you bikini ready and feeling good! 

Evolution Fresh peels, presses, and squeezes raw fruits and vegetables (even though the fruits and veggies used in the juices are raw--the juices are technically not). After chilling, blending and bottling their juices, they use High Pressure Processing (HPP) to help protect flavors and nutrients.(Click here if you want to watch a video showing how the process works.) 

If you check out the Evolution Fresh site you can find a verrryy long list of different juice varieties-however I was only able to sample what was available at my local store (although note that I REALLY want to try the organic orange juice, tangerine, and apple berry!) Although each variety I sampled was super flavorful and tasted extra healthy-our favorite to drink straight was the organic strawberry lemonade! Michael and I would grab a couple bottles to take with us when we hit the pool. And you know how quickly you can feel overheated, worn out, and dehydrated on a hot summer day at the pool? Our little lemonades helped keep us feeling refreshed and happy!

I found that for the Organic V, Essential Greens, Super Green, and Protein Power they were best used (for our pickier palates) in smoothies or....POPSICLES! (Side note: my brother flipped his lid for these! He's super into fitness and health lately so when he came over and found these in my refrigerator he immediately asked permission to make a smoothie. He then sang the praises of Evolution Fresh and asked where he could find some!)

Here's my little non-recipe for the popsicles, but really...you can just make popsicles out of any variety you want, with or without blending anything else in!

Freezer Strawberry Jam for #StrawberryWeek

For once I just shut my mouth and followed directions. I made my mom's recipe. 

Which is the Sure-Jell (pectin) recipe. 

And you know what? It rocks!

I guess some things shouldn't be fiddled with.

My poor mom. Sometimes I'm a bit too hard on her. When she told my brother that we were going to make this jam he scoffed at her, saying, "Kayle probably won't want to make your jam, she'll want to make her own!"

Because I'm a snobby meanie pants.

But this time that was not going to happen! I trusted in my family and their time-honored tradition of making this recipe, and it was totally the right choice.

Mom and I made this jam together, as a team. So I'm pretty sure we put some magical mother-daughter bonding love in there. Which is probably why it tastes so amazing. Plus all the sugar. Yeah. It's probably both.

Michael took one bite of a piece of toast loaded up with this jam and he said, "THIS is what strawberry jam should taste like!"

Recipe could not be simpler. You just mash some gorgeous strawberries, add in some sugar, cook a little pectin, mix mix mix, let sit, then freeze! DONE. Super easy. My mom made like a triple batch so we ended up with a ton of jam! It got given to aunts, uncles, grandma, etc. So we spread the love via spreading the strawberry jam!

This was the first strawberry recipe I made and now it is my final post for #StrawberryWeek-how perfect! Ending it the way it began.

Mmmmm mmmm mmm.

Fresh Strawberry Pie for #StrawberryWeek

I finally did it! I was a good fiance' and made my Michael a strawberry pie. Michael loves pie. Like...looooves it. It might have something to do with the fact that, when he lived at home, if he was feeling down his mom would make him a pie. Actually...from what I understand...she just makes a lot of pie in general. Anyway, Michael also looooves strawberries. Like-if he sees a strawberry item on a menu he gets crazy excited. So, I dedicate #StrawberryWeek to Michael!

Due to my fiddling with this recipe and using some honey in place of the sugar, and just in general it not being his mom's pie, I was a liiittle nervous watching Michael eat it. Hoping, praying he would like it. He took a bite, made a sound of "mmm.", nodded his head, and said "It's really good".

HOOOORAYYY! I felt like I was in that commercial, "Hey Mikey-he likes it!"

I can really appreciate how pretty this pie is. Aesthetically speaking...I LOVE it. Red is my favorite color and I love the vibrancy the strawberries give to it! Michael always complains that all the foods I like are shades of brown. He's not wrong. My foods aren't pretty like his!

Most strawberry pies that I've experienced are made with Jell-O. Which I am not knocking. But I just adore the simplicity of this recipe. It's just a few real, pure ingredients coming together and creating a lovely, classic, rustic pie that I feel like my great-grandma could have made. Sometimes the old fashioned way is the best :) And it honestly takes, like, no extra effort! You make crust, you bake crust. You slice strawberries and put them in the crust. And you make a quick and easy strawberry sauce, pour that over, chill it and-DONE!

Fresh, refreshing, comforting, fruity, wonderful. Strawberry season being used to its full potential.

Ah I love summer!

Strawberry Lemonade {from-scratch} for #StrawberryWeek

Welcome to Strawberry Week! It's a week...declared as such by me....because I went strawberry picking...and then made a bunch 'o' strawberry things...and thought it would be fun to post all the recipes back to back...and give it a hashtag...and thusly....#StrawberryWeek. And it's summer. Which means it's strawberry season. Which means a happy happy Kayle and Michael! 

These are some of my favorite pictures I've taken. I attribute this to:

1. my new photo set up. 
2. fruit is photogenic.
3. I don't know. Luck?

Making this strawberry lemonade is slightly complicated, messy, takes a bit of time, a good amount of ingredients, and just...is obviously not as cheap or easy as buying it.

But is it totally worth it? YES!

At the end of it you have a gorgeous, refreshing, summery drink that would be a BIG winner if you served it at a party. Michael really loved it (in spite of requests for more sugar, which is not unusual for my sweet-toothed boy) and agreed that I should definitely make it sometime when we have a get together/party. 

Fruity, pretty, tart and sweet at the same time...what more could you ask for from a summer drink?

Key Lime Pie Bars-Guest Post with That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Hihihiiiii again, my lovely friends! Mmmmmm guess what? That's right-another guest post!! I really am SO grateful to all the ladies who have been helping me out-all these posts are making it so much easier for me to transition to my new home, driving, new work, wedding planning, etc.! Today's post is from the lovely Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake! Guys-CAN.SHE.BAKE! OMGEEEE! I wish she was my mom sometimes-partly for the thin genes (her blog name is not lying) and partly so she can make me all the goodies she feeds her actual kids! (sorry mom-I love you. I do. I just also love Liz.) There aren't enough words for the awesomeness, so really, all you have to do is gaze at the beautiful pictures and dream of the food. Then make it. Yes.

  

I am delighted to be guest posting for my adorable friend, Kayle today. She is a constant source of inspiration for me with her dreamy sweets and treats. We both obviously have that sweet tooth that needs continual feeding. While Kayle is busy unpacking, settling in her new locale and new house, AND wedding planning, I saved a yummy dessert to share with all you Cooking Actress fans. My hubby loves his lemon desserts, but gives lime the cold shoulder. Can you believe that??? I adore Key lime pie…with its tart and creamy filling in a sweet graham cracker crust. But I cannot make a whole pie for myself, can I? Nope, I'd never get my pants zipped if I did! I hosted book club last month and made these delectable Key Lime Pie Bars for my friends. Citrusy squares topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a slice of lime. SO darned tasty!!! Thank goodness I had guests to help me eat them. Key lime bars are such a cinch to make. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted buter and pat onto the bottom of a baking dish and pop in the oven till lightly browned. Mix egg yolks, lime zest, lime juice and sweetened condensed milk, pour over the crust and bake again till the filling is set. See? Easy as can be! I hope you'll give these babies a try.  

   

Kayle, I hope you're getting settled and adjusted to your new home. I'm certain all your mixing bowls and measuring spoons have been unpacked and the baking will commence very soon. Thanks so much for welcoming me to your blog today. For those fans of The Cooking Actress who haven't visited my blog before, here are all my social media sites. Thanks so much! (Kayle here: GO FOLLOW LIZ! YOU'LL LOVE HER, I mean...you obviously already do. So go on and follow awayyyy!):

Blog: http://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/

G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116213594518847001708/posts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatSkinnyChick

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThatSkinnyChickCanBake

Instagram: http://instagram.com/thatskinnychickcanbake..

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lizzydo/

Strawberry Cobbler-Guest Post with Cravings of a Lunatic

I don't know about you but I am loving having so many of my bloggy friends here, sharing their amazing personalities and delicious treats, and helping me out! Today is no different. Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic (and Kiss my Smoke) is superwoman. She is a wife, mother, AND she has 2 blogs! TWO! And she is seriously one of the smartest, bravest, sassiest, sweetest, and most talented ladies I have ever encountered. I cannot wait to someday meet her in person and then beg her to make me something delicious. Like this baked fudge with peanut butter cups. Or steak. Or this strawberry cobbler she's sharing with all of us today!

Hello to Kayle's fine readers. I'm so thrilled to be here guest posting for her today. When she emailed me I jumped at the chance to help her out while she's super busy moving. That's what friends are for in life.

I adore Kayle, the lady is super sweet. She's incredibly thoughtful and so kind. I'm really happy to be able to call her my friend. Meeting her has been a huge perk of my job.

I was going to make a turtle recipe since that tends to be what my blog is known for. Then I saw some gorgeous strawberries and knew I had to make something with them instead. One thing led to another and cobbler was on the menu.

Cobbler is one of the first things I learned to make back in the day. My favourite is peach, but I love all kinds. There's just something so rustic and homey about cobbler. It makes me think of summer. And let's face it, summer can't come quick enough. It's freaking cold here in Canada. I could use some warmth.

Meanwhile as you're reading this I'll just be leaving Miami. I am attending a conference there for food blogging. Looking forward to a little fun in the sun with my bloggy peeps. Just wish Kayle was coming with us. She's busy doing her thing, moving and starting fresh. I am so happy for her, and proud of her.

You can totally change this up and use other fruits. If you find there's too much liquid it's easy to drain off. Or if you know it's a fruit that will soften up a ton add more cornstarch or even flour.

This is awesome hot out of the oven with ice cream on top. I'm all about excess. Cobbler is amazing. Cobbler with ice cream and whipped cream on top is freaking out of this world. You won't be able to stop eating it. I've been known to nosh an entire cobbler in one day. I wouldn't recommend it though, you'll get cobbler tummy. And that's never a good thing. I never learn and end up with cobbler tummy aches. It's so worth it though.

Thanks to Kayle for having me today. If you have some free time buzz by my blog, Cravings of a Lunatic to check out more of my recipes. Or you can visit my grill site, Kiss My Smoke for some summer grilling inspiration. I rock the grill year round, but I know most folks are summer grill fans. Be sure to swing by and check it out.

Toodles and smoochies! xx

Lemon Pudding Cookies-Guest Post with American Heritage Cooking

Oh my friends, can we talk about my friend Lindsey? She's like-sophisticated and brilliant and fun and funny and generally awesomeness. She got married fairly recently, and when I announced my engagement she was wonderful enough to email me with advice and wisdom. Seriously. Love this girl. I was so excited to meet her in NYC and will hopefully be seeing her in the not too distant future (her husband's family lives in Cleveland so sometimes they visit)! I've been following her blog, American Heritage Cooking, for quite some time and I am always so excited to see what new and delicious thing she'll make next! So let's see what she made for us today!

Hi! I’m Lindsey from American Heritage Cooking and I’m super honored to be guest posting here today! I am a HUGE Kayle fan! I actually started following her blog long before I'd even thought of starting a blog of my own! In fact I am on her site so often, my Husband has taken to jokingly calling me a stalker! But that sounds so…creepy! I prefer “friend”.

So you can imagine how excited I was that I actually got to grab lunch with Kayle only weeks before she left NYC! She introduced me to the chocolate nirvana that is Max Brenners and I left loving her even more! She is even more charming, bubbly and beautiful in person than she is online! Yes, that’s possible.

I could tell you that I didn’t stress over what to post here while Kayle is setting up her new townhouse in Cleveland, but that would be a total lie. I wanted to post something chocolate, but eventually my recent obsession with pudding cookies and lemon overpowered my better judgment and these Lemon Pudding Cookies were born. They are soft and chewy and absolutely bursting with lemon flavor!

I mixed in some sprinkles because my birthday is this Saturday and sprinkles just seemed appropriate! Plus I cannot think of a time when sprinkles aren’t welcome. Can you?

If you like chewy cookies and lemon, then you are going to fall in love with these cookies! Lemon desserts don’t get much better, or more addicting, than these cookies!