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! 

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

Pecan Pie Cookies

I was tasked with making cookies for Thanksgiving (so that there was a "less heavy" option than pie--I would like to note that this was for my Irish side of the family, obviously not the Italian side because...no such thing as "too heavy")--but, even though I was making cookies, I decided I wanted one of them to be a classic Thanksgiving dessert. Which is why I decided to try pecan pie...in cookie form.

So...um...how exactly do we make pecan pie into cookies? Actually...they're sort of like little flat mini pies when you get down to it. You cut out circles of pie crust dough, curl up the edges to form a little well, and you put in some pecan pie filling. Bake 'em up, drizzle some yummy chocolate on there, maybe a touch of sea salt because...well...you know me and how I feel about that. And there you go-pecan pie cookies!

My picky family were fairly wary of these guys at first, but I am happy to say that they won over my aunt, who thought she didn't like pecan pie, and my grandma-who brought a bunch home-and my cousins. Pretty much everyone tried one, which is a pretty big feat. And I was so excited I had some leftovers to bring home, because then Michael and I got to enjoy them---because yeah we loved 'em. Especially chilled! Pecan pie is usually served chilled so it really shouldn't be surprising that these are better that way too.

I love how flaky and chewy the pie crust base of these cookies is. I love the sweet and nutty pecan filling. And I love how the chocolate drizzle adds a bit of extra decadence and the bit of sea salt balances all the sweet. And it's cookie season. AND pie season. So...what I'm saying is...'tis the season for you to bake these pecan pie cookies! Santa would certainly appreciate them ;)

Mini Nutella Brownies {4 Ingredients}-Baby Shower for Lauren from Keep It Sweet Desserts!

Some of the best things in this world are small. Me, engagement rings, puppies, teacup pigs, mini brownies, and BABIES!!! Today is so exciting because a bunch of bloggers are coming together to throw Lauren, from Keep It Sweet Desserts, a BABY SHOWER!

I was lucky enough to meet up with Lauren a couple times when I lived in NY and she is seriously SO sweet and such a talented baker (to this day the best blondies I've ever tasted were hers!) So I was thrilled to hear she was expecting a little bambino! And it's a boy! I'm so thrilled and I know Lauren (and her hubby, Matt) are going to be such wonderful parents to their sweet baby boy. Lauren even made the really difficult decision to close her (amazingly successful) baking business to focus on their family-which I know was so hard for her but shows how incredible of a person she is and what a phenomenal mom she is going to be! AND she is also available for consulting (while still keeping up with her fantastic blog)-to help other people follow their dreams of opening a baking business and to learn from her expertise! Seriously, this girl is THE BEST. And now her little one could be here in the near future, so exciting! EEEEEEE!

In fact, it's the impending baby-dom that led me to make these mini Nutella brownies for the shower. That, and the fact that it's a "mini" themed shower (which is like the cutest idea everrrr). But, anyway, these brownies are like CUHRAAAZY easy to make. Like...it took me less than 5 minutes to mix everything up and pop them into the oven. And then they bake for, like, 10 minutes. And then you have brownies! Hooray! I know Lauren is going to be completely swamped once her little fella arrives, but I know that girl loves to bake and loves sweets, so I think these could be a great little something for her to whip up really quickly while her little guy naps or some such. And then she has brownies. It's sorta brilliant.

P.S. I attempted to incorporate some blue into the photos via the napkin to make them a smidge festive, I know it probs. could've been a million times cuter but...I fail at decorating/styling my food. Apologies.

So. You know I love Lauren. You know I'm so excited about her impending mommy-dom. You know these brownies are mini. You know they are quick and easy to make. But can we talk about how they taste?

Answer: AMAZINGGG.

These pack such a wollop of Nutella/chocolate-hazelnutty flavor! They are rich and perfectly gooey and chewy, with an awesome crunch from the hazelnuts on top! They are wonderfully bite sized so you can eat them in 1-2 bites, tops. See? Minimal effort required, even in the eating part. All around delicious and totally worthy of the dessert prowess and overall awesomeness that is Lauren.

CONGRATULATIONS LAUREN AND MATT!! 

I'm so excited for you and I can't wait to see photos of your sweet little boy!

Cheeseburger Sliders

Like I said on Wednesday, I love burgers.

We've had a long journey, burgers and I (with one constant: I like my burgers plain, just beef, cheese, and bun!):

• When I was very little, I would only eat McDonald's (dumb little Kayle!)
• As I got older, I ordered almost exclusively burgers anywhere we went, and I wasn't too picky on quality.
• In conservatory, I became much more picky about burgers, but would eat them...almost every day (thanks to a diner right across the street and my George Foreman grill...which I blame partly for my current inability to eat burgers I make...more on that later). My friend Nathan "famously" said: "You've heard of the Burger King? Kayle is the Burger Queen."
• Now, I rarely have a burger: only on a rare occasion where we go out and it's a place that looks like it has SPECTACULAR burgers (or if I know they have great burgers).

And, also like I said, I have always been fairly certain in my inability to make burgers myself (although Michael makes some delicious ones!) This recipe made me think, "...maybe I can do this?"

It's a pretty darn easy, pretty darn simple recipe. And with summer coming up, I had to share!

Michael was a big fan, he really liked these little sliders.

But...*sigh*

I couldn't eat them. I tried a bite and I just...well...didn't like it. For no particular reason. I still don't know what the problem is. Maybe it's all psychological. Apparently I just need to leave burgers to the professionals...or the boyfriends.

Do not let this dissuade you from giving these a try, they really did get rave reviews from Michael, and he's pretty smart. :)