dessert

Desserts

Imperial Cookies (AKA: Empire Cookies)

The first time I had an Imperial Cookie (or Empire Cookie as they are also called) was when I worked for Starbucks while I was in university. We had an amazing local bakery supply all our pastries and it didn’t take much for me to fall in love with their Imperial Cookies. It has been a number of years since I worked for Starbucks, so I figured I would try to replicate one of my favourite cookies for the blog. This recipe is a hybrid between Canadian Living’s Classic Empire Cookie recipe and the amazing Anna Olson’s Empire Cookie recipe. I could not have been happier with the results. The cookies were soft, delicate and delicious. I also had the opportunity to use some of our newly made Raspberry Jam, which made these cookies even more delectable. Feel free to use homemade or your favourite store bought jam.

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Desserts

Rolo Brownie Trifles

I love TV night. I celebrate my favourite guilty pleasure shows with 3 lovely ladies practically every week. It’s a fun time where we laugh, catch up on the week’s drama and, of course, eat. This week I volunteered to do the dessert because baking is clearly what I am most comfortable with. I scoured the Internet to find something a little more special than the average brownie recipe. That’s when I came across Bakingdom’s adorable website with this gem. My pictures do not do this dessert justice. This individual trifle recipe is decadent and rich – a perfect guilty pleasure treat. You simply can’t go wrong with Rolo candies, brownie, gooey salted caramel, and chocolate whipped cream! Everything in this recipe is made from scratch. You could easily make this with a box brownie recipe, store bought whipped cream and caramel sauce. It would probably taste pretty good, but not as good as this.

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Desserts

Maple Syrup and Walnut Ice Cream

I recently returned from a trip to Montreal, Quebec. It’s a gorgeous city full of culture, history and delicious food. One of my favourite cities in the entire world. I had been to Montreal before but decided to make this latest adventure to the city a culinary experience. We dined at many amazing restaurants recommended by those who have either lived there or have visited and had unbelievable food experiences. Although all the places I dined in were mouthwatering, the one that stood out the most is Au Pied de Cochon. This now is my favourite restaurant of all time. Hands down. The menu is a little intimidating and features plenty of duck, pig and fois gras. Very rich. Very decadent. Very French Canadian. Every dish I had was divine.

I returned and after a few weeks I still couldn’t stop thinking about Au Pied de Cochon and how I wanted to recreate some of the food I devoured. I decided to purchase their cookbook. I haven’t looked back. I figured I’d start with a simpler recipe…something I was more familiar with making. That’s when I selected this decadent Maple Syrup Ice Cream. Not to mention, maple syrup is also a Quebec staple. I adapted this recipe by adding walnuts to create Claudia’s favourite ice cream flavour! I couldn’t be happier with it. It’s sweet, syrupy, creamy and has great texture.

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Desserts

Crunchy Nutella Brownies

Oh Nutella, you sweet temptress. The rich hazelnut and chocolate flavour is beyond addicting. I vowed to only buy one jar to dabble in some dessert recipes. Unfortunately, I found myself putting this delicious spread on toast quite often, which went against my baking vow.  I had to do something drastic. I needed to get rid of the remaining Nutella before I ingested it all on my own. I scoured the internet and found this unbelievable recipe from La Casa de Sweets. I shared these crunchy, rich brownies with some of my girlfriends and they agreed that this recipe was indeed blog worthy.

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Desserts

Sugar Cookie Bars

Your favourite cookie, but in bar form. That is basically what this recipe is all about. During Christmas, we featured Claudia’s fantastic Sugar Cookie recipe. Chewy, moist sugar cookies are one of my all-time favourite kind of dessert. When I came across this Sugar Cookie Bar recipe, I knew immediately that I needed to try it. I also received a request by a friend to make these, as she also though the recipe and concept sounded amazing. I’m glad I did. This recipe is adapted by the blog The Curvy Carrot. It is super simple and delicious. Make these once and I am confident you will continue to get requests to make them again and again.

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Desserts, Healthy

Cranberry Peanut Butter Granola Clusters

Since we have been featuring a lot decadent desserts lately, our goal over the next few weeks is to post more healthy recipes. After all, we only have 3 more months until official bathing suit season!

The challenge of featuring healthy food alternatives is that we still want them to be flavourful. I always look to the experts in healthy, delicious recipes – Janet and Greta Podleski of “Looneyspoons” and “Eat, Shrink and Be Merry” fame. I love their cookbooks. If you recall, we featured their Peanut BETTER Gingersnap Cookies on our blog not too long ago! This recipe was adapted from their Looneyspoons Collection cookbook recipe. These pumpkin-flavoured granola clusters are simple, packed with deliciousness and perfect as a healthy treat.

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Desserts

Butterscotch Fudge Guinness Brownies

I don’t have many Irish tendencies. Being Ukrainian, I pretty much have no real reason to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I think I tried once. I own one of those gigantic hats that is green, white, and full of shamrocks. I honestly have no idea where I even got it from!

I’m always looking for excuses to bake. With Claudia still out of town on vacation, I figured I would play around with a new recipe. I wanted to something for St. Patrick’s Day because it was an easy theme. However, I didn’t want to bake something normal with green food colouring and call it a day – not that there is anything wrong with that! I wanted to do something I’ve never done before. I wanted to bake with beer. But not any type of beer. I wanted to bake with the king of Irish beers – Guinness.

This recipe is adapted from the little epicurean. These brownies are very moist, chewy and flavourful. The Guinness adds a richness in the brownie that could not be replicated by any other ingredient. This is the perfect (sober) way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day…or any day!

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Desserts

Apple Crumble

After a few weeks of dabbling in chocolate candy treats, I decided to go back and feature something more traditional on the blog this week. With Claudia’s busy work schedule, we have been unable to get together to create some of her favourites. Therefore, I have been forced to rely on inspiration elsewhere. I wanted to make something classic and simple. Something that was warm and reminded me of the comforts of home. After a few days of searching, it finally hit me. Apples and cinnamon. I had it!

The sweet, warm aroma that filled my house while this delicious Apple Crumble baked what exactly I was craving. This is probably the best Apple Crumble I have ever had. The recipe was adapted from the wonderful blog the parsley thief. Sweet, rich, warm cinnamon apples topped with a buttery, crunchy top. Not to mention the delicious vanilla ice cream and caramel you can pair with it! This dessert is exactly what you need on a cold winter afternoon or a hot summer day.

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Desserts

Pineapple Slice

I love fruit desserts. Apple, strawberry, raspberry – you name it.

But pineapple? I was a little skeptical.

As you can tell, this recipe is old. It apparently was my Grandmother’s. The image above reaffirms why I needed to create this blog, as this is Claudia’s recipe. Handwritten, worn and slightly yellow. Splash some water on this puppy and it’s a goner.

My Grandmother apparently made this dessert a lot more than Claudia did while I was growing up. Prior to this blog posting, I argued with Claudia that I never tried this tasty dessert before. She vehemently disagreed. When we received a request to make this treat for Christmas, it was then that I fell in love with this delightful slice. Try it and you will too!
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Desserts

Blueberry Ice Cream

I frequent food blogs a lot. Some people zone out in front of the television after a long day at work. I zone out in front of my computer reading my favourite websites. Other people’s creations almost always inspire me to experiment in the kitchen. (more…)

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