Cooking Classy

Carmelitas will always be one of my weaknesses. Yes of course they are loaded with calories but once in a while it is so worth it. I mean how can you resist a oatmeal cookie bar that is sandwiched with a layer of two kinds of chocolate chips and a layer of silky smooth salted caramel? I know when they are around I most definitely can't resist them. I adapted this recipe slightly from Lulu the Baker  (very cute blog by the way). I made a few minor changes and of course, added in the coarse sea salt to make them a salted Carmelita. I like the balance the salt adds to all the sweetness. I thought these bars were a good post for the holidays because they are an indulgent bar fit for a celebration. If you'd like you could brown the butter for the oat cookie mixture which would give them one more gourmet touch. If doing so just allow it to cool for about 15 minutes before adding it to the dry ingredient mixture. Enjoy!  Salted Carmelitas Yields 12 Ingredients: 32 caramels, unwrapped

Growing up in my family, Christmas morning breakfast was always a big deal. Why? Because it was basically the only morning of the year my mom made a big homemade breakfast. It was one of my favorite parts of Christmas. We would usually always have pancakes, eggs, hash browns, bacon and freshly squeezed orange juice, although I'm pretty sure my mom went with a pancake mix. I don't think she loves cooking the way I do =). Because of this tradition Christmas breakfast is still important to me, it's such a highlight of Christmas. That's why I've tried to post a few breakfast recipe options you could prepare for your holiday breakfast.  This time around I wanted to create a breakfast entree that could be prepared the night before and then cooked the next morning, because I know it's not likely you want to wake up and spend the morning in the kitchen. You can prepare the waffle batter as well as the cream cheese glaze the night before.  If you wanted even more indulge

So where did these cookies originally come from? They are so amazingly good I guess that several different countries want to label them as their own =). What do you call these cookies? Some of the common names for these delicious balls of pure bliss are, Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Italian Wedding Cookies, snowdrops, butter balls or more specifically pecan butter balls. The name that I think is most fitting is for them is Snowball Cookies, simply put because they look like little snowballs of course. I can understand where the "wedding" and "tea" labels come from because these seem so dainty and fancy, and they'd pair nicely with a warm cup of tea. You'll want to sit in your finest chair and enjoy these cookies with you pinkie fingers up, taking the most delicate little nibbles at a time as you gently dab the excess powdered sugar that falls from the cookie onto your well kept lips with a freshly pressed linen napkin.... Nah! You'll want

What's my favorite part of the holidays? The food, family, friends and the holiday parties of course! And would there be any holiday parties without the food? The more I become acquainted with food, the more I come to realize how much it has to offer. Not only does it give us the constant nourishment we need to live our daily lives but it brings us together. It builds friendships. It also opens a world of opportunity to experiment with exciting flavors and try new recipes. That's one thing I love about food, it never has to be boring and there are limitless combinations of what can be created. Another great thing about food is its array of seasonal flavors. I like how there is a rotation of fresh seasonal produce to keep things exciting. Winter can seem to lack quite as much abundance of fresh fruit, but the one fruit I'm glad I can always count on during the Christmas season is the plethora of perfectly ripe, deliciously sweet Navel oranges—the kind that don't lead m

So when was it that peppermint became associated with the color red? Especially considering it comes from green leaves. Not sure who came up with the color choice but for some reason it's as if it were meant to be. If you ask me, the flavors of peppermint should most definitely be associated with the color red. They are vibrant, warm and bold just like the color red, and the obvious answer - the peppermint flavor always reminds me of the Christmas season. This got me thinking that their should be a peppermint red velvet dessert. I saw these  cookies on Pinterest (yes another Pinterest find, I'm an addict) and decided to make them in a peppermint version with a slightly more vibrant red for the holidays. I simply reduced the cocoa powdered (and replaced the cocoa powder reduction with flour, hence the + 2 tbsp flour) and replaced the brown sugar with granulated sugar to reduce the brown hues in the cookie and I actually used 1 less tsp of the red food coloring because I didn

Two of the most popular recipes that I've posted are my traditional Lasagna Roll Ups and the Caprese Lasgana Roll Ups , both of which are covered with a tomato sauce. This time around I wanted to do things a little different. I decided to go quite the opposite by using a white sauce and chicken. I wanted something similar to Chicken Alfredo but also different. I keep seeing this recipe on Pinterest and every time it has my mouth watering, so I decided to use it as the base recipe for these and adjust it to be created in roll up form. I changed a few ingredients as well as omitted some things. I left out the artichokes and sun dried tomatoes (if you wanted to add them to this dish you definitely could, just be sure to chop them into very small pieces so they will roll well), I replaced the fresh basil with dried basil and also reduced the amount, t hen I added fresh parsley because I think white sauce and parsley just go together . I also added in some Romano cheese and a small am

I have a confession. This is the very first time in my life I have made royal icing. It is the very first time in my life I've made iced sugar cookies. So please don't be too critical I've got a few things to learn about the tricks of icing. The reason I haven't made icing and iced sugar cookies up until now because I've tasted iced sugar cookies before and I've always liked the frosted puffy version better. But, iced sugar cookies can be decorated far prettier and they make better gifts so I decided it was the perfect season to give them a try.  The icing really wasn't hard to make thanks to Annie's wonderful tutorial (from her blog - Annie's Eats ). Before I reading that tutorial I didn't even know what flood icing was. Her blog has always been one of my favorites. She does amazing work that always looks flawless.  These cookies are so delicious and are also so fun to make. Some of you may know by know how I love art and I love food so these co

Today I'm doing a guest post over at I Wash You Dry (a fantastic blog by the way. One you are definitely going to want to follow) so please head over here to check out the recipe! These are one of my favorite cookies. They are amazingly chewy, loaded with the perfect amount of ginger and molasses flavor and the sugary finish is divine. If you are looking for a delicious cookie recipe for the holidays I would highly recommend this one! 

I just love everything about these fun little treats. Their sweet and lightly salty deliciousness, their beauty and of course, their simplicity. Holiday treats don't get any easier than this. Another great thing about these bite size treats is that everyone loves them, young and old alike. They are perfect for a party, to give as a gift or even to make just for yourself because you simply must have them =). And when they take about 15 minutes to make, how could you not want to make these?  I just love the holidays. Especially when these show up =). Enjoy! Pretzel M&M Hugs Yields 70 Ingredients: 70 square pretzels (do NOT use butter snaps) 70 Hershey's Hugs chocolates (from nearly 1 full 12 oz package), unwrapped 70 Milk Chocolate M&M's, I used the red and green Christmas package Directions: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Align pretzels on cookie sheet in a single layer then top each pretzel with one Hershey's H

If there's one treat you must make this holiday season this is it. Okay there are a lot of treats that definitely deserve to be made this holiday season but this one should be near the top of your list. It's easy (we are talking 10 - 15 minutes total easy), it tastes like candy with a crunch, it's nutty, slightly sticky, deliciously sweet and it's the perfect gift for friends neighbors or coworkers. Simply said this stuff is highly addictive so share the wealth or you will want to eat it all =). Enjoy!   Holiday Chex Mix Ingredients: 3 cups Rice Chex cereal 3 cups Corn Chex cereal 3 cups Golden Grahams cereal 1 1/2 cups mixed nuts* 2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup light-corn syrup 3/4 cup salted butter Directions: In a large mixing bowl, toss together Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Golden Grahams, mixed nuts and coconut, set aside. In a medium saucepan combine sugar light-corn syrup and butter. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirrin

So lets be   honest, Oreo truffles look like cookie tar. BUT it is the best tasting cookie tar I could ever imagine! Back when I first had them many years ago, it was when my sister made them and I was like, uh... what is that? But after one blissful bite that so perfectly melted in my mouth, I was hooked. For life. Most of you have probably already tried these and feel much the same way as I do. If you haven't tried them then you must! If you have tried them, then you can try the peppermint version I made to switch things up. It adds a fun and festive twist for the holidays. I personally prefer these coated with a white chocolate coating because it makes it more like a cookies and cream or peppermint bark truffle but of course you can use a milk or semi-sweet chocolate if you prefer. Also, you can use vanilla candy melts in place of the almond bark (they are basically the same thing as far as I know, just in a different shape and size).  My second favorite part of these beyond the

I know what some of you may be thinking. Girl, you are so last year. I know I know, if you have had a Pinterest account last year you'll know what I mean when I say these Santa Hat Brownies were basically the hit of the century on Pinterest. Sadly though I never got around to making them. Well not this year! And this year I decided to add my own twist. Cheesecake! And not just any cheesecake, a White Chocolate Cheesecake. I'm obsessed with cheesecake. Okay, I basically say that about every dessert. I'm obsessed with them all. So I guess we'll say I am super obsessed with cheesecake. It's like the best of the best. The luxurious of the luxurious. I adapted this recipe from my Heart Swirled White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake because it's my favorite.  I need to give my husband some credit in this post for pulling out some creative thinking. So often I ask his opinion when I'm going to create something to post, for example which variation of food would tast

  Too often I get a huge craving for a fresh, made from scratch, warm out of the oven cinnamon roll but so often I don't want to wait the 3 - 4 hours it takes to prepare them with all those tedious and lengthy rise times. Yes, I love a good yeast based cinnamon roll, but is the yeast absolutely necessary? Well, I decided to find out for myself.  Recently, I've been reading through the "The Quick Recipe" from the Editors of Cook Illustrated Magazine and came upon their recipe for Fastest Cinnamon Buns. I knew I had to try it for a number of reasons. First off  I'm yet to be let down by Cook's Illustrated. If you are looking for a cookbook that you will likely love and cherish for life, I'd recommend any of the Cook's Illustrated cookbook collections. They are fabulous. And second I'm a cinnamon roll addict so if it can be done in anywhere under the usual 3 hours, then I'm in. Normally when I try someone else's recipe I like to make quite a f