Cream cheese frosting has always been my favorite. I've never loved buttercream or any frosting to be honest. But I made a strawberry cake for my friend's  baby shower (who's baby is a year old now!) and I just decided on a whim to add strawberry puree to the frosting. BEST DECISION EVER. I'm in love. It's so yum. Cream cheese frosting is great to begin with but add strawberry and MAN. It's lovely. Creamy and fruity and smooth. And it's easy to make. Let's make Frosting together...

Pancakes hold a special place in my heart because they're Jeremy's favorite breakfast. Growing up my in my family, when it was our birthday the rest of the family would wake up early and make us breakfast in bed. Every year. No matter what. Even if you had to be awake at 5 am, everyone would get up first to make you whatever breakfast you had requested. When Jeremy and I got engaged my sisters gave him heck about him having to continue the tradition. He's kind of a contrarian so he argued with them and made it seem like he didn't want to. But truth be told he's loved carrying it on. And I've loved making breakfast in bed for him too. It's so much fun. I really just love birthdays in general. Celebrating someone you love, giving them gifts, feeding them yummy food, and making them feel loved. It's great. And today is Jeremy's birthday so pancakes for breakfast it is! In real life I'll actually make him hash browns, eggs and bacon too. But this post is about pancakes so I left them out. But don't worry, you don't have to wait for someones birthday to make these pancakes. Let's make these crispy fluffy pancakes together...

I've been wanting to make these for the blog for SO long. I love bagels so much, especially everything bagels. Also, have you tried Parmesan bagels? They're a close second for sure. Plus any excuse I have to squish some dough and make the apartment smell like fresh bread I take it. Fresh warm bread is always a good idea. These bagels are soft, squishy, chewy, and they have the best bite. Let's make some bagels together... you know you want to.

These are perfect for the person who doesn’t like their sweets too sweet. I looooove them. I even keep some in the fridge and eat them for breakfast! Yum.
Let’s make cookies together...

What the heck is a Galette? Basically just a free form pie. It's really easy to make because it's meant to be rustic so it's okay if you're not good with shaping crust or filling pies. This buttery crust is easy to make in a blender or a bowl and the recipe for that can be found on this post. Another plus is that it's super fun to make them into little personal galettes. I'm picturing having friends over for dinner and serving them each a cutie little pie with a scoop of ice cream on top. So cute. So yum. Let's make peach pie...

This cake is light and fluffy and full of strawberry! Lot's of strawberry cakes call for jello packets and usually are really dense. Which is good sometimes. My sister has a strawberry cake recipe that is super dense and super delicious. We had her make it for our wedding cake and I've made it several times since then. But sometimes you don't want something heavy. Especially in the summer when it's over 100 degrees and the A/C is struggling and you're sweating because you've got the oven going on an already stupidly hot day. So I wanted to make a cake that was light and fluffy and still every bit of strawberry. No compromising on flavor. Let's make Strawberry Cake together...

This is a sad post because it's the last part in our Happily The Martinez Peaches Four Ways series. Be sure to check out her posts on how to use these tasty summer peaches we've got.
​Today, we're talking Popsicles. Which are rather underrated. Well, at least I underrated them. They're so stupidly fun to make cause there's almost nothing to it. Especially when we're thinking about fruit. There are endless options for mixing and matching or just keeping it simple. When I think Popsicle I think creamy and fruity. So that's what we're after. A blend of creamy peaches and strawberries. But layering them makes them all the more fun! I know it's a bit different than my typical rich and decadent desserts, but when it's hot and you're poolside, you don't want rich and decadent; you want light, fresh, flavorful and cold. So let's make popsicles together...

Summer peaches are where it's at. They're so juicy and sweet. Since Happily The Hicks and I both think so, we decided to collaborate again to bring you 4 ways to use your summer peaches! Check out her Peach Swirl Homemade Ice cream! Check both of our blogs again next week for two more recipes using these tasty peaches that scream summer. You know what else screams summer? Lemonade. And now we're here: peach lemonade. Two of the tastiest things summer has to offer (besides strawberries, but we'll get to that next week) This lemonade is super easy to make and so refreshing. It's sweet from the peaches and little bit of sugar and so perfectly tart from the freshly squeezed lemons. Plus it's easy to turn into a cocktail! Shall we? Let's make Peach Lemonade together...

I'm honestly amazed. I've tried a couple different kinds of Gluten Free flour before and all of them were pretty obviously GF. Like, the dough would be way stiffer than normal or just not work at all. I've heard a lot of good things about Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Flour before, so I decided to give it a go. And I'm SO pleased with how these cookies came out. I'm not GF, but I have a couple friends who are, so it's nice to be able to bake things for them too. Because, let’s be real. I think baking is my love language. Anytime something happens to someone I think, "oh, what should I make them?" This flour is a 1 to 1 substitution for all-purpose flour. Which is great cause you don't even have to think about it. You can just naturally sub it into any recipe. While I haven't tried it in all my recipes, in theory you could make any of my recipes GF just by subbing this in. So now you're no longer limited. So, if you're not GF, you can still make these cookies, just use all-purpose flour instead! These cookies are soft, buttery, and FULL of sprinkles! I obviously chose to use red, white, and blue since the 4th is just around the corner but how fun is it that you can customize the sprinkles to match whatever it is you're celebrating (I'm thinking sports teams, school colors, princess colors...)
So, Let's make cookies together...

As you may have noticed, I've recently dabbled in cake baking and decorating. I've gotta say, it's way more fun than I anticipated. Of course as any beginner in anything knows, you learn from your mistakes. so I've learned a few tips and tricks as I've gone and I thought I'd share them with you. These things are guaranteed to help you better decorate a cake! Probably even better than I do. Let's decorate a cake together...

To be honest with you, I never really understood why people went crazy for red velvet. Like, it's just a less chocolate-y chocolate cake. Why would you want something like that? haha. But I've been doing a lot of test baking. While this won't be my new favorite cake, it has changed my mind about Red Velvet Cake. It's light, it's bright, and it's smothered in cream cheese frosting. So what do you say? Let's make cake together...

It's not that store bought peanut butter has anything wrong with it, cause it doesn't. There are tons of varieties, lot's without additives (lots with too, if that's your thing). And it's not that store bought peanut butter is too expensive either, cause it's not. It's pretty cheap. It's just that it's really fun to see something from start to finish and know that you did it all yourself! This recipe is pretty versatile too, so if you don't want peanut butter, just swap out the peanuts for another kind of nut. But I will say, that peanuts are the most naturally oily, so it makes them easy to get smooth. So if you are swapping them for something else, know that you may need to add in a tablespoon or two of oil to compensate.Let's make some peanut butter together...

These are dope. This is my favorite drink (chai tea latte with espresso) in cookie form. Little bit of coffee. Little bit of spice. A lot of yum. So soft, so chewy. YUM yum YUM. Okay, let's make Dirty Chai cookies together.

The real story is that I made these for Preslee because she absolutely loves Reese's and really just peanut butter in general. But after I made them she wouldn't even try them. But that's probably because she's 2 and doesn't know what's good (also she was sick so that's probably the real reason... poor girl) I still love her though and these cookies are still lovely even if she won't acknowledge them. They're chocolatey, chewy and gooey and fulllll of peanut-buttery goodness. Let's make some Peanut Butter Bomb cookies together...

If you saw my Taco Seasoning post then you know the drill. Another quick and easy last minute seasoning mix. This one is perfect for seasoning chicken, for making homemade ranch dressing or dip. Keep this recipe on hand for those moments you need it. Let's make some ranch seasoning together...

Oh, these cookies are RICH. They are so insanely chocolatey, addictively chewy, and they have a nice little crunch from the cookie crumbles in the white chocolate chunks. If you're a chocolate fan, these are your cookies. Let’s make some chunky chocolate cookies together...

Homemade takeout. It's great for when you want the satisfying crunchy saucy chicken but don't wanna feel bad about it afterward... because of the ingredients or the money. My favorite thing to order is sesame chicken. I love how crispy the chicken is, even the next day from the fridge. I also love when the rice and the broccoli get all saucy. It's so good. I've tried a few different homemade take out recipes and I've been disappointed. Either the sauce wasn't flavorful or the chicken wasn't crisp. Hopefully this will satisfy you like it has me. We made this for our movie night and thoroughly enjoyed it. So, let's make Sesame Chicken together...

These cookies are chewy, soft, crisp on the edges, and full of warm yummy spices. If you've ever had a Chai tea latte then you can understand the flavor profile I was aiming for here. They taste almost like a snickerdoodle but with a bit more depth/complexity. They are SO good. When I was making these I accidentally put one more egg than I meant to... but I actually think they turned out better this way. I think that's what made them spread so much. If I were Alton Brown I'd know for sure, but I do know that these are yum and you should make them. Let's make Vanilla Chai Cookies together...

Yes. Gluten Free, crispy, flavorful, homemade chicken nuggets that are kind of whole 30 and accidentally taste like Chick-fil-a. I don't know what else to say except that I'm amazed and so happy that these turned out how they did. Jeremy loves them so much he ate them all in two days. I made a big batch and had them in the fridge and He just popped them in the toaster oven when he came home for lunch. So thankfully they taste just as good as leftovers. You could definitely freeze them and reheat them in the oven. They're super good and super easy. Let's make chicken nuggets together...

Yum. Lemon curd. Great for pie, great for yogurt, great for adding to frosting, great for filling doughnuts... I’m not sure what it’s not good for. I LOVE it. I wanna just eat it by the spoonfull. Tart and sweet and sooo lemony. Let’s make lemon curd together.

There's not a whole lot to say about salad except that I used to think salad was just ice burg lettuce some carrots and ranch dressing and that clearly isn't exciting. Then eventually I learned that salads could be delicious and full of all kinds of fun things. But it took a while before I realized that making fun salad at home isn't that hard and it's way cheaper than buying it from a restaurant.  This spring salad is fresh and crisp. It's great as a side or a main dish, but best of all it's easy to make. Just toss around a few simple ingredients and you have something surprisingly enjoyable. So, let's make salad together...

This moist and decadent Chocolate cake is filled with Espresso (powder) and hot coffee, layered with fluffy and creamy Milk Chocolate Frosting and a sticky-sweet caramel that is infused with coffee. That same Coffee-Caramel is then poured over the top of the cake making it look (and taste) incredibly irresistible. This cake was so much fun to make. It was even more fun to bring to our church potluck. It's nice to be able to share something you love with people you love. And it's even nicer when they end up loving that thing too. So now that you're craving this Espresso Chocolate Cake: Let's make it together...

I love that this fluffy chocolatey frosting is super versatile because you can choose any kind of chocolate you'd like depending on what you're pairing it with, bittersweet is my favorite, but for today I wanted milk chocolate. That's Jeremy's preferred chocolate. Plus we were putting it on an Espresso Cake, which is already not insanely sweet, so I thought it'd be a good choice. I also love this frosting because it has actual melted chocolate in it. Which for some reason makes it seem more tasty to me. Is it just me? I don’t know. Lemme know. Okay, let's jump in and make chocolate frosting together...