Pumpkin Pie Wontons

Today is the first day of fall – yay! I *love* fall. The beautiful colors, the cool weather, hot tea, cuddling and last – but by no means least – pumpkin flavored desserts! Last week I made a pumpkin poke cake, it was over-the-top good. I didn’t blog it because it wasn’t pretty and there wasn’t any left. I’ll be making it again though and I promise to take pictures.

This week it was Pumpkin Pie Wontons. These little beauties were gorgeous, fun and so tasty. They could be served at a family meal or a fancy dinner – it all depends on how you plate it.

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

I love chocolate chip cookies, but they have to be perfect. They must have the right amount of chip to cookie, they must be crispier on the edges and they must have a softer gooey center. I don’t like “fluffy” chocolate chip cookies, they need substance, like this skillet cookie.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad Ice Cream

Strawberry pretzel salad is one of my absolute favorite summer desserts – it’s cool and creamy paired with sweet and salty. This is a winning combination. Here in WV, we’ve been having a seriously hot summer and the obvious cure for hot summers is ice cream. I have a great ice cream maker, but I didn’t want to drag it out for this recipe. I had made vanilla ice cream before without an ice cream maker, so I figured strawberry would not be too different. This recipe is great for making ice cream in the freezer.

Glamping S’Mores

I used to camp a lot when I was younger. My family would take our 4 Runner out into no man’s land and pitch a tent. It would be strikingly hot during the day and freezing cold at night, there was no running water and sometimes there was a vault toilet, if I was lucky. I loved it though, and I learned a lot about nature, hiking and general woodsiness. We would hike during the day, cook over the fire and tell scary ghost stories at night. The campground we used was a nature sanctuary too, so there was no shortage of wild animal sighting.

Recently, feeling nostalgic, I went on a camping trip with my fiance and a mutual friend. We brought sleeping bags because who needs cots, right? Apparently, I’ve become accustomed to sleeping on cushy mattresses and now, yea, I need a cot. My next camping trip will be a glamping trip. Have you heard of glamping? It’s camping for those of us who may have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle.

Sunday Brunch | Peach Pie

Okay, so this is a little late, but I’ve been so busy with my photography. However, I’m back now!

Sunday brunch always needs something sweet – whether it be the beverages or the desserts – it’s just not complete without a little something sugary. I love anything that involves peaches – cobbler, ice cream (to-die-for), fruit and of course pie. Before I started my quest of healthier eating and eradicating preservatives from my life, my peaches came from a can. They were orange. Imagine my surprise when I cut into this pie and those peaches were pink and yellow! They were gorgeous, flavorful and fresh – real peaches are not that scary orange color. Who would have thought it?

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Baking is therapeutic for me and sometimes the urge to bake overwhelms me. I was standing in front of my kitchen cabinets opening and closing them repeatedly hoping that maybe I would find what I was hoping to make. The options were limited, but I needed to make something to get my mind off the fact the finals grades hadn’t been released yet and a certain accounting class was weighing on my mind. I finally reached into the depths of my baking drawer and found a bag of white chocolate chips – they were expiring soon – it was a sign from the gods.

Sunday Brunch | Citrus Juice

I couldn’t decide on the name of this juice. It’s not quite orange juice, yet not lemonade by a long shot. I figured citrus was a pretty safe bet since “lemorange” and “oran-a-nade” don’t exactly fall off the tongue nicely.

Biscuit Donuts

I’ve had a recent obsession with donuts lately. I blame it on my other obsession with trying to travel to Portland, OR. The other day the Travel Channel was featuring Portland, so of course I had to watch. They have the most amazing little place there – VooDoo Donuts.

Now, I come from a town where something like VooDoo donuts would be chased out by a good hand full  of the town’s people with a torch and pitchfork. These donuts definitely caught my attention and I instantly wanted to make them. I’ve never made donuts before, so I also wanted to try something simple. Biscuit donuts were my answer.

Sunday Brunch | Caramel Cinnamon French Toast Bake

If French Toast met Cinnamon Rolls and they fell in love and had a child – it would be this. It’s basically a breakfast bread pudding, but this could probably be served for a dessert too, and no one would hold it against you.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

I have a soft spot for cupcakes. I also have a soft spot for snickerdoodles, so when I saw these beauties on Pinterest – I knew I had to try them. When I was little, my nan used to make the best snickerdoodles – ever. Mine never turn out quite the same and I highly doubt they ever will. But food always tastes better when someone else made it, right?