while baking for holiday gifts, i found the secret to making cookies that look like they came from a fancy bakery…it the whoopie pie pan! this super amazing tip is thanks to the blog- love from the oven. if you don’t have a whoopie pie pan, i would suggest picking one up before you bake a batch of cookies for gift giving.

i made these two desserts for thanksgiving from recipes i found there:

check out my holiday board for the recipes

i used to be a blogger. in fact, it has been 230 days since i last posted. this is embarrassing to note but i figure there is no time like the present to start again. i have a lot to catching up to do, so stay tuned.

Cinnamon Raisin Beer Bread
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp vegetable oil
12-oz of  beer (I used Mississippi Mud since it was a black and tan, dark and light)
3/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and ground cinnamon. Add in vegetable oil and beer and stir well, mixing only until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in raisins* to distribute evenly.
Bake for 55-6 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and brush top of the loaf with melted butter. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar. Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

*helpful hint: toss the raisins in a wee bit of flour before mixing into the batter. it will keep them from sinking in the bread.

above is the best dessert, i have ever made. hands down.

i used a recipe similar to this one with two changes. i used spelt flour for the lemon part and instead of flour for the crust, i used these cookies all crushed up.  i am going to have to make these again because just blogging about them is making me crave one!

my sister made these lil’ key lime tarts last week. they were so yummy and easy too.   here is the recipe:

Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Pie

• 9″ graham cracker pie crust (we used the mini pie tarts instead)
• 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
• 3 egg yolks (whites not used)
• ½ cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream, or meringue, and garnish with lime slices.

i got these great star wars cookie cutters for my birthday in october. i had been drooling over them in the williams-sonoma catalog and was so excited to use them.  i made chocolate darth vaders first (note to self: must locate picture to post), then for thanksgiving i made this intergalactic apple crumb top pie with pie crust cut-outs.  here is a picture of it after baking:

i don’t have the recipe to share because i got it from this book by kim barnouin, which i had borrowed from the library. (the book was snarky and i would recommend buying if you are into vegan food). the results were yummy but better after the pie had been in the refrigerator since it was soooo juicy!

and for christmas i got the next chapter:

these cuties are made from some limited edition fudge covered ritz i found at the grocery store.

the crackers themselves taste just ok, but the addition of icing, pretzels, and mini m&ms make everything taste better!

plus they were super simple for such sweet looking results.

Start your holiday shopping early with our mini ‘Art Mart’ on Opening Night!  About 10 artists will be set up to sell prints and other smaller affordable pieces of art in addition to the show that will be hung. Priced perfectly for holiday gifts. Give the gift of handmade art this year! (cash preferred)

i have already made the snickerdoodles and they were AMAZING

first up is stitch rock and I am going to be a vendor!

its october 2nd from 12-6 in delray beach. click the flyer above for more info!

the same night the monsters under my bed group art show opens at bear and bird gallery in tate’s comics.

i really hope i can make the opening after stitch rock, i saw some of the art work being dropped off today and it was rad. the awesome staff at tate’s told me that so far most of the fears have been about cockroaches.  mine is horses (and the girls who heart them)

later in the month they are hosting a halloween sale as well:

and if that wasn’t enough, howleys has a this is halloween show opening october 12th. check out the info here.