These Healthy Salted Caramel Brownies are made with a coconut oil base, making them flourless, and they’re only 9 ingredients! Drizzled with healthier salted caramel, making these brownies both salty and sweet. 

You knew it was coming. Anytime a blogger posts a recipe for salted caramel, you know there’s going to be other recipes incorporating that caramel to follow. It’s inevitable, but the best kind of inevitable. 

These brownies are… .well, they’re a lot of things. They’re an automatic mood lifter, a sweet tooth fixer, moist (hate that word but true), and the chocolate-iest of them all while still being healthy. Oh, and they ARE as good as they look. 

Can we just agree that anything dessert-related is automatically better when drizzled withsalted caramel? It’s true. Growing up, my mom was the baking queen of America (Ok she still is). Sometimes, my brother and I would come home from school and we’d have TWO different desserts to choose from, i.e. cake AND cookies. ….so spoiled… When she’d ask us what we wanted, my brother always requested brownies, while I much preferred cookies. So much so, that when my mom would get done making the brownies I wouldn’t even get off the couch to eat them while they were still warm and gooey. Like, zero excitement. I know—wtf was wrong with me? I have no idea. They’re BROWNIES for goodness sake. It doesn’t really matter what kind, brownies in general are just delicious. 

These brownies in particular are made with a coconut oil base, making them flourless, and then they’re drizzled—or perhaps drenched—in my healthier salted caramel sauce. Talk about a wining combination, if I do say so myself. 

So, what do you need for these brownies? Nine ingredients not including the salted caramel, but I’m just going to assume you already have some on hand. I mean, you definitely should. And by that I mean stop what you’re doing and GO MAKE SOME and try not to eat it all by the spoonful. Then come back and make these brownies and drizzle whatever little caramel you have left overtop and give them to your friends and expect a lot of love to you from them. I’m not a psychic but… they’re BROWNIES. 

This Halloween popcorn pops recipe is perfect for Halloween parties and events, and easier to make than you’d think! Kids and adults will love eating their sweet, pumpkin-spiced popcorn off of a stick!

Popcorn, popcorn, popcorn. Can you believe I’ve pretty much only been eating it out of a bowl? Well, I’d say it’s due time to put it on a stick and eat it like a lollipop, right? Popcorn and I go way back – to Sunday night TV nights with my family – but the truth is, it’s an extremely versatile treat.
We’ve done savory popcorn with Cool Ranch popcorn and we’ve done fruity with orange creamsicle popcorn. We are now well into fall (I still cannot believe it!) andHalloween is rapidly approaching. I’m sure you all have parties, school events, or gatherings where you need to bring a treat along with you! These pumpkin spice popcorn pops are the perfect thing.
Kids love anything on a stick… and let’s face it, adults kinda do too. And anything pumpkin spice is alllll the rage.
My popcorn pops are flavored with pumpkin spice and held together by sweet, meltedCampfire® Marshmallows. They have a lot of fun Halloween marshmallows available like the super fun Scary Berry Campfire® Marshmallows, but for this recipe I stuck with the classic Mini Marshmallows.
I always keep a bag on hand! They melt down perfectly to coat the popcorn and hold these cute little pops together. Your guests will be able to eat them off the stick andkeep their hands from getting sticky.
Other than the marshmallows, for this recipe I used my homemade pumpkin pie spice, these fun lollipop sticks, and of course my trusty air popper. I also used candy melts to decorate them along with some fun Halloween sprinkles – because I can never resist picking up sprinkles at the grocery store! I rolled some in orange sugar and kept those simple – but I think they are my favorites.
You can have fun with this recipe and do it any way you want. Get creative and make them look like pumpkins! Get the kids involved in decorating. The sky is the limit!

I used to think that all Starbucks were created equal.

Not the case. 

Did you know that in Canada they offer a Maple Macchiato in addition to their classic Caramel Macchiato???

Well, they do. And it's delicious. So for all you non-Canadians, I'm bringing you this easy DIY iced maple macchiato recipe so that everyone can enjoy the deliciousness.

Recipe

Makes 1

Ingredients

Instructions

Comforting and nostalgic, these Gluten-Free Maple Date Scones will turn even the biggest scone skeptics into believers! 

What is it about scones? These little triangular cuties get me EVERY time – they make my heart go pitter-patter . There simply aren’t words to describe the depths of my love.

I’ve heard that scones are a love or hate food  – something I will never understand being firmly on the L❤️VE side of things, but, to each their own.  Some say they don’t like scones because they tend to be dry, bland, and just ICK (to use a very technical term ) but let me just take a second to tell you that my husband, who happens to fall “ummm yeah, no thanks” category, almost wept when these maple date scones were gone. I kid you not!

As much as I looooove fruity scones – my usual go-to – the fall weather has really gotten to my taste buds this year, as evidenced by Pumpkin Spice Donuts, Butternut Squash Soup,Harvest Cookies, and Pumpkin Spice Granola (If you can’t tell, I just can’t get enough!) And one of the most underrated fall flavors, in my opinion? Rich, molasses flavors like DATES and maple syrup. It’s those very flavors and ingredients that turned my scone-hating husband into a full-fledged believer.

As he put it, these scones are pure nostalgia in food form. He said the when he ate these scones, he was reminded of pancake mornings as a kid (thanks, maple syrup!) and warm, full bellies on cool crisp mornings. One little pastry that can evoke those types of memories? That’s what I call a fall breakfast WIN, my friends.

But it wasn’t just the nostalgia that kept him coming back. With the perfect balance of the classic, somewhat dry, scone crumb and lots of tenderness (thanks to the dates – they provide just the right amount of moisture!) these maple date scones aren’t so dry that you’ll choke on them (a very real hazard of scone eating!) but aren’t moist enough that they should really be called a pseudo-muffin.

They also have the gentlest kiss of sweetness – not too overpowering – but still retain some of that traditional scone taste that almost provides a slightly savory element. They won’t leave you with a sugar rush, but they are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

PER-FECTION. 

While these maple date scones are seriously on fleek (← I’m hip, I’m with it ) there’s is onnnnnne little thing I need to address with you about the preparation: dealing with dates.

If you’ve ever worked with dates, you I’m sure you have a bit of a love/hate relationship with them. The qualities that make them oh-so wonderful in these scones – their moisture, sticky-sweetness, and strong but supple texture – make them, umm, how do I say: acomplete pain in the toosh to work with. They can act hard as rocks when you go to cut into them, and yet, once you cut them open, they stick to  e v e r y t h i n g.

Luckily I have a few date tips to (hopefully) help you keep your sanity while dealing with the dates:

And while we’re discussing preparation tips: I HIGHLY recommend freezing your butter. To get the right consistency for scones, you need very, very cold butter. When the scones are baking, the cold butter creates these heavenly little air pockets as it warms up, which leaves you with the perfect kind-of-crumbly, kind-of-flaky scone texture.

I know lots of people freeze their butter and THEN grate it right into the flour, but I prefer to either cut the butter into tiny cubes or grate it, and THEN freeze it, to make sure it’s as cold as possible when going into the dough.

Also, to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture, you can certainly go the traditional route of cutting the butter in with a pastry butter or two knives, but I prefer the cheater version: throw the dry mixture into the food processor, add the butter and give it just a few quick pulses. Sure, it’s not as high-brow, but I think it makes scone making a little less intimidating AND Ina Garten does it too (and what Ina does, goes).

You have my word: these maple date scones will turn even the biggest of scone skeptics in your life into fanatics. Make a big batch, grab a cup of coffee ☕️, and enjoy a slow morning full of food-induced nostalgia. You won’t regret it.

Halloween Candy Bark is melt in your mouth smooth, yet crunchy, sweet and a bit salty. Plus you won’t believe how easy it is to make! This is a perfect treat for a party or to package up as gifts.

I have to admit that I loved Halloween growing up. It was so much fun to dress up and go out into the cool, crisp night air and get candy from houses in the neighborhood. Seeing all of the overly excited children dressed up in their finest costumes made it all too magical. Since I can’t Trick or Treat anymore, I love that the Food Network devotes a whole month to the Halloween Holiday. My son Brandon found this darling video for me and we dropped everything to go get the ingredients (I will use any excuse to get candy)! This Halloween Candy Bark looked so cute and turned out to be the simplest 2-step recipe. It is also a great way to use up your leftover Halloween candy!

When making this delightful recipe we came to one quick discovery; if you want your chocolate bark to remain white, we recommend letting it sit a little longer cooling than recommended. We found that the milk chocolate mix-ins immediately started to melt. We waited exactly 8 minutes as the recipe suggested and then quickly stirred in the candy, but the Reese’s and Rolo caramels started to melt slightly (like that’s the biggest concern in the world). So, our white chocolate bark turned a light cocoa color instead (again, why am I even mentioning this travesty). Finally, you are supposed to let it set at room temperature for a couple hours. Frankly I think we lasted 30 minutes and couldn’t take it any longer (we sound like big kids here, but not our fault, it looked too inviting). We stuck the baking tray in the freezer for several minutes and sure enough it cooled in no time. You probably will have more self-control than we did, and let it sit out the proper amount of time. Food Network may even revoke our TV membership if they find out what we did.

Oh my goodness, it was soooo good! The white chocolate is the perfect compliment to all of the various candy flavors, it doesn’t overpower it like milk or dark chocolate would. However, the next time we make Halloween Candy Bark, we have the perfect solution for the 2 hour wait. We figured we will use the time to make Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf.  We know, we probably should have said Split Pea Soup or something with vegetables to offset all the sugar. Well we did eat carrots while making the bark, so does that count?

Luscious Lemon Cookies melt in your mouth with lemony tart goodness!  They are the perfect Holiday cookie to brighten up that Festive Cookie Platter.

I found this recipe in the latest issue of Taste of Home Magazine. If you haven’t checked out this magazine, you should. Real home cooks, or volunteer field editors from every state – and Canada – share their best family favorites, reviews and tips from their kitchens. It is really fun to see what different families across our great nation are cooking and creating. These Luscious Lemon Cookies or little cuties, as I like to call them, are the perfect cookie when you want something to pucker up your life. They remind me of a shortbread or Christmas Snowball cookie, which I adore. There are no eggs and just a few ingredients, so it is very easy to prepare. The grated lemon and lemon icing really make the cookie burst with flavor. I think they are so adorable rolled in all different sprinkle colors. This is the perfect cookie for your Holiday Cookie Platter because they are very light and tart, so it is a nice alternative to the masses of chocolate you usually see at this time of year. Speaking of chocolate…this is actually my second recipe from the magazine. Check out their Ultimate Fudgy Brownies too! Heck, why not put both of them on the Cookie Platter, now all you need is a party to go with them! I’ll leave that part up to you.

It's Friday so I made you a cake.  I'm cool like that.  Have a delicious weekend.


Flourless Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cream and Candied Peanuts - Gluten Free

For the Cake:
250g dark chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons really strong brewed coffee
2 tablespoons espresso liqueur (optional)
200g unsalted butter, chopped
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups ground almonds
6 large eggs, separated (I used a mixture of ducks eggs and hens eggs because that's what I had.)

For the Peanut Butter Cream:
200ml thickened cream
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted

For the Candied Peanuts:
1/2 cup raw peanuts
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sea salt flakes

Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced.  Grease and line the base and sides of a round 23cm springfom cak pan.  Set aside.

Put the chocolate, coffee and liqueur into a large heat-proof bowl and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Don't let the pan touch the water.  Once the mixture has melted. remove from the heat and add the butter, sugar and vanilla and stir until the butter has melted.  Stir in the ground almonds.  Lightly beat the egg yolks and stir them into the batter.  Set aside.

Put the egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer filled with the whisk attachment and whip until stiff peaks form.  Stir a big spoonful of whipped egg whites into the chocolate batter and stir it in to loosen the mixture.  Add the rest of the whites and fold them in gently.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 - 55 minutes.  The cake will still have a little wobble in the centre.  The cake will sink damply as it cools.  Set aside to cool completely in the tin.

Make the Peanut Butter Cream:
Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer filled with the whisk attachment and whip until soft peaks form.  Add the peanut butter and icing sugar and beat until it's a spreadable consistency.  Set aside.

Make the Candied Peanuts:.
Put all the ingredients except the salt, into a medium saucepan.  Bring to boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat to low and stir until the water evaporates and the sugar start to crystallize.  Kepp stirring and cooking until the peanuts are golden and crusted with sugar.  Sprinkle with salt immediately.

Assembly:
Take the cooled cake out of the pan and place on a cake stand or plate.  Spread the sunken centre of the cake with Peanut Butter Cream and sprinkle with Candied Peanuts (if you haven't eaten them all while you were waiting for the cake to cool... ahem!)

Ingredients

• about 300 gram seedless red grapes
• 150 ml red wine
• 3 tablespoons golden brown caster sugar
• peel of half a lemon
• peel of half an orange
• handful of pecan nuts
• 50 gram butter, room temperature
• 50 gram all-purpose flour
• handful of store-bought mini meringues or make your own

Kitchen equipment needed

• small saucepan
• vegetable peeler
• baking tray lined with parchment paper
• oven dish
• strainer

Preparation — 10 minutes

Making your own meringues will taste a lot better, we absolutely adore these little fluffy and crunchy ‘candies’. Whipping up some egg whites and sugar, the oven does the rest for you. Check out the recipe here.
If you decided to use store-bought meringues, you can whip up this recipe in no-time! PRE-HEAT the oven to 190 degrees celsius or 375 degrees fahrenheit.
Making the red wine syrup first. Use a vegetable peeler to get the peel of half a lemon and half an orange. ADD red wine and 1 tablespoon of golden brown caster sugar into a small saucepan. Let it simmer on low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the wine has reduced enough to have absorbed the orange and lemon flavor. That will take about 10 minutes.

Making the dish — 15 minutes

While the red wine syrup is on the stove, you can create the cookies. Roughly chop up a small handful of pecan nuts, but keep some for garnish. COMBINE pecan nuts, butter, caster sugar and flour. The dough will be a bit sticky, use your hands to divide it into small pieces, sort of crumbs, over a baking tray lined with parchment paper. The dough will eventuate, so it doesn’t matter how precise you divide the dough.
In the same oven, you can also roast the grapes at the same time. RINSE the grapes with cold water and transfer them to an oven dish. BAKE the pecan cookies and grapes in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies or golden brown and the grapes popped.
STRAIN the red wine syrup to get rid of the orange and lemon peel. DIVIDE the roasted grapes over 4 plates, also divide the mini meringues and break the cookies into smaller pieces if needed. Finish it off with the red wine syrup and the rest of the pecan nuts. Serve immediately, because it’s best eaten nicely warm.

hese melt-in-your-mouth baked pumpkin donuts with brown butter glaze make the fall season one of the most spectacular time of the year. These donuts are a real crowd pleaser, though I just about finished the entire batch myself. 

It’s pumpkin time! My last post for Farinata with Red Kuri Kale was just a little tease. The red kuri squash looked almost exactly like a pumpkin, but it just wasn’t quite it. Get ready now, I’ve got two pumpkin recipes lined up for you – one for today, one for later this week. Let’s start this sunny breezy fall day off with Mini Baked Pumpkin Donuts!

These baked pumpkin donuts are super soft and tender and packed full of flavor. The pumpkin puree makes these donuts incredibly moist. Unlike yeast donuts, these baked cake donuts aren’t chewy or stretchy inside. Instead, once you bite into it, it will melt in your mouth.

And oh, the glaze. The brown butter glaze adds a layer of sweet nuttiness that will make you lick your fingers and lips after each bite. You might actually even lick everything that the brown butter glaze touched – the spatula, the bowl used for dipping the donuts, the cooling rack or parchment paper it dripped on… Might as well just make a second batch of the brown butter glaze and drizzle it on everything you eat.

It’s things like this melt-in-your-mouth baked pumpkin donut with brown butter glaze that makes the fall season one of the most spectacular time of the year. Though come winter, spring and summer, I think I’ll still be making these Mini Baked Pumpkin Donuts.

PS. This recipe calls for pumpkin spice mix. Don’t fret if you don’t have it! It’s so easy to make on your own.

What does a girl do with so many lemons and so many eggs?  She makes cake and curd and then eats them.  This is the type of cake that can be gussied up any which way.  Orange curd and strawberries with some flaked, toasted almonds.  Whipped coconut cream and sliced mangoes with a sprinkle of toasted coconut.  Whipped ricotta and blackberry compote.  Caramel and sliced bananas.  Some had better stop me now.




Madeira Cake with Homemade Lemon Curd and Fresh Berries
adapted from here

For the Cake
240g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
200g caster sugar, plus an extra 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 large eggs
210g self raising flour
90g plain flour

For the Lemon Curd:
220g caster sugar
180ml fresh lemon juice
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
70g unsalted butter, softened
Pinch sea salt

To Serve:
Whipped cream
Fresh berries

Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 170C.  Grease and line a 23 cm x 13 cm loaf pan with baking paper.  Set aside.

Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until light and creamy, about 5 minutes.  Add the lemon zest and beat until incorporated.  Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of flour for each one.  Reduce the speed to low, add the remaining flour and lemon juice and mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons caster sugar and bake for about 50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.  Leave to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.


Make the Lemon Curd:
Put the sugar, lemon juice eggs, egg yolks and vanilla into a heat-proof bowl and whisk to incorporate.

Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water, don't let the pan touch the water, and continue whisking.  The mixture with start to become foamy, then it will start to thicken.  Remove from the heat, whick in the butter and salt.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve, into sterilized jars.  Pop the lids on when the curd has cooled and store in the refrigerator.  Will keep for about a month.

To Serve:
Slice the cake into thick slabs, spread generously with lemon curd, dollop with whipped cream and sprinkle with berries.