My Homemade Hello Dolly Bars

I wanted to make a party treat and thought these Hello Dolly Bars looked perfect! I used this recipe, which was very easy and quick.



First I mixed the graham cracker crumbs in with a stick of melted butter...



Then pressed the graham cracker into the bottom of the pan...



Layered coconut, pecans, butterscotch and chocolate chips...



Topped it off with some sweetened condensed milk, and baked for 25 minutes.



I cut them into very small squares, since they are so sweet.



They are really good, perfectly salty and sweet. Next time I might swap out the butterscotch for peanut butter chips.

My Homemade Trifle

The recent nice weather made me crave something light and fruity, so I attempted to make my first fruit trifle. This is a super easy and low fat dessert that would be great for a dinner party, or just to keep in the fridge to snack on!


I bought a box of Angel Food mix, which is the easiest thing to make - all you do is add water! I threw in a few drops of Almond Extract for a little extra flavor.


I took the cake and crumbled into pieces, mainly using the inside fluffy bits. I chose Strawberries and Blueberries, but any fruit will work! The last thing you need is Cool Whip and you're ready to go.


You can either layer it in a nice glass or trifle bowl...


Or mix it all together...

It's so tasty, and guilt free!

Frosted Cupcakery

I've been wanting to try Frosted Cupcakery forever (mainly because I knew they had cupcakes stuffed with ice cream!) So I was very happy when I finally went, because these cupcakes are really something special.


Red Velvet with Vanilla Ice Cream - The cream cheese frosting was exceptional, the cupcake seemed to have been muted in flavor due to freezing, but it was still so good, and of course, adorable looking.


Hi-Top Mini Cakes - Red Velvet. I Love these! Don't let the small size fool you, these are packed with flavor. This was so good, and would be great to bring to a party.


Chocolate with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - Always my favorite! This was jam packed with fresh flavor, the ice cream itself is great, and the thick ganache icing really took it over the top.

MILK

When I think of Summer, I think of Ice Cream. And when I think of Ice Cream, I think of MILK. They have amazing homemade Ice Cream, Gelato, Bars, Bon Bons and an enormous selection of baked goods. They also have real food, but who cares about that?

This Cupcake Sundae was too cute to pass up. The vanilla/cream cheese icing was delicious...

...and the chocolate cake inside was great!

I love "Make Your Own" Ice Cream Sandwiches, we tried two: Mint Chocolate Chip with Chocolate Cookies, and Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate Chip Cookies. The ice cream is amazing, but the cookies are INSANE.

What I love about MILK is that they are open late! Great to go to after dinner.

Café Du Monde

Café Du Monde is a must in New Orleans, so I was very excited to try my first beignet!


It's like a fancy doughnut, but just better. Maybe because of all the powdered sugar that they hide under?


They are dangerously good, you can't just eat one.

NOLA

While in New Orleans, we had dinner at NOLA, a restaurant by Emeril Lagasse. All the food was amazing, from fried chicken to short ribs. I even tried grits for the first time. Of course, the dessert menu is what really did it for me...


Warm Ooey Gooey Cake with Layers of Moist Chocolate Cake, Marshmallows and Toasted Coconut served with Coffee Ice Cream * WINNER *


Banana Pudding Layer Cake with Graham Cracker Crust, Homemade Vanilla Wafers and Warm Fudge


Creme Brulée Trio - With Fresh Berries, Coconut and Chocolate

Sucré

While in New Orleans, I stumbled into this adorbable sweet shop, Sucré on Magazine street. They had everything from stuffed cupcakes and gelato...


To colorful cakes...


And elaborate mini's...


But of course, I got the french macarons!


I chose the Strawberry (because it was pink and glittery), and the Chocolate Caramel (because I'd never seen a chocolate coated macaron). They were both great, a perfect little pick me up.

Room Service Chocolate Cake

I ordered this amazing chocolate lava cake at 2am from room service at The Intercontinental in New Orleans. It was SO amazing, the only thing missing was the ice cream... but there was no chance I could wait for them to bring some...

The Dessert Bloggers' Great American Bake Sale

Last week I went to The Great American Bake Sale, which sold desserts baked by various bloggers to benefit childhood hunger.

There were SO many things to drool over...








I chose these:


Macarons by Daydreamer Desserts - Mojito, Coconut and Cake Batter


Nutella Handpie by ShowFood Chef


S'Mores Cookies


Apple Pie Pop by Adventures In The Kitchen



The Couch Potato Cookie by Budget Foodie - Chocolate Chip, Pretzel and Caramel


And best for last... Salted Caramel Chocolate Bars by Kitchen Runway.

My Homemade Cowboy Cookies

This Cowboy Cookie is amazing! It's jam packed with so many flavors and textures, and is super easy to make! Here' the recipe I used: Cowboy Cookie


First I mixed in the dry ingredients...


All the goodies...


Mix in the chocolate chips...


Mix in the oats...


Mix in the pecans...


Mix in the coconut...


The dough will get very heavy so you need to make sure to mix it well to evenly distribute all the ingredients.


Bake for about 10 minutes..


This recipe made SO many cookies!


They are so gooey, crunchy, salty and sweet - It's a good hearty cookie, fit for a cowboy.