Sugar Plum

Butterfinger Banana Pudding

2013-05-23T19:13:00.001-05:00

I know what you’re thinking. I can hear you asking the question in your mind. Why is the pudding in a measuring cup? This is a large measuring cup I own, that I had to use as a bowl. I mean, I think that’s what it’s for – to use as a mixing bowl. I don’t own just a large glass bowl or trifle dish, so this is what I had to use. It’s all about improvising. I have confession: I used

Fried Green Tomatoes

2013-05-18T21:04:00.001-05:00

I make fried green tomatoes every summer…. every summer of my adult life. So I’ve been making them for about four years. I usually buy green tomatoes from the farmers’ market to make these, but i haven’t been to a market this year. I really want to, though! I think there’s a couple of farmers’ markets in Saint Louis. I bought these tomatoes from the Fruit Stand. It’s a little fruit and

Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade

2013-05-14T15:09:00.001-05:00

I think rhubarb is the most underrated plant, and it’s my life’s mission to show people how good it is. Do you like rhubarb or hate it? If you hate it, let’s try to be open minded here. You probably just had a bad pie one time. Cons of Rhubarb -Sour (can be easily sweetened with sugar) -Stringy (any stringiness or toughness goes away when the plant breaks down during cooking)

Cashew Brownies

2013-05-10T13:17:00.001-05:00

These brownies were so good! I can’t get over it. The secret ingredient is cashews. Okay, so it’s not really a secret ingredient since the brownies are called cashew brownies. Do you love cashews as much I do? It’s why I order cashew chicken… it’s more for the cashews – not the chicken. Ugh now I want cashew chicken. I can’t decide if cashews or pecans are my favorite nut. This is a

Dulce de Leche Sweet Potato Pudding Cake

2013-05-07T20:34:00.001-05:00

This must be my lucky week, because I won Just a Pinch Recipes’ Crock Pot Creations recipe contest! I love Just a Pinch.com; it’s a fun, interactive recipe database with recipes tested by home cooks. You can create your own cookbook, review review and post recipes, join groups, clip coupons, and more. All of the recipes on their site look amaaazing. I’ve entered their recipe contests

Browned Butter Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

2013-05-05T19:29:00.001-05:00

This cookie recipe is one of my new favorites. These Browned Butter Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies are delicious! I’m so proud of them! They won the grand prize in Better Recipes gluten free recipe contest. Better Recipes is a great recipe site, and I enjoy reading their blog, The Daily Dish. Better Recipes hosts weekly themed recipe contests, and the winner takes home $250. I think you all

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

2013-05-03T16:06:00.001-05:00

It’s cookie cake time! No, you don’t need a birthday to make this. This is an everyday celebration cookie cake. I guarantee it’s better than the cookie cakes in the mall. You know what I’m talking about. I’ve had them, you’ve had them, maybe you like them, maybe you don’t. It’s a lot easier and cheaper to make your own. It’s easy to make, too. I used a combination of butter and

Happy Birthday, Cake!

2013-05-02T15:12:00.001-05:00

Today is Eric’s birthday! Happy birthday, dear! I love you! I decided one birthday dessert wouldn’t be enough for such a special guy, so I had to make two. Yesterday I made a chocolate chip cookie cake for his (pre)birthday, and today I’m going to make another dessert for his actual birthday. I’ll have the cookie recipe for you in tomorrow’s post. I’m still working on the pictures and

Spinach & Sun Dried Tomato Cheesy Breadsticks

2013-05-01T16:48:00.001-05:00

I don’t think I’ve ever made homemade breadsticks before. I don’t even eat breadsticks unless I’m at the Olive Garden… and that was four years ago. Or maybe I’ve had them when we’ve ordered Pizza Hut or Dominos or something (which is never). Speaking of Pizza Hut, they have a new Crazy Cheesy Crust Pizza and it’s shaped like a flower. It looks reallly cheesy. I can’t decide if I want to

Biscuits and Gravy

2013-04-29T12:36:00.001-05:00

I know biscuits and gravy are not the most photogenic subject to feature on my blog, or the most interesting, but I couldn’t help it. I’ve wanted to do a biscuits & gravy post for a long time. I swear I thought I had already done one maybe a year ago, but I couldn’t find the post, so I think I imagined the whole thing. I make biscuits and gravy fairly often. I wouldn’t say every week or

Five Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

2013-04-26T11:52:00.001-05:00

We have Internet! It feels really good. I can't believe I made it a week without Internet/Cable. I had no idea how much I depend on it. I had no idea I would miss the Real Housewives so much. I'm just kidding, I don't watch that stuff.... nope.... It's good to get away from being on the computer all of the time though, and I should do it more often. I read a few books, I baked some

Cinnamon Buns

2013-04-24T14:01:00.001-05:00

Another quick Starbucks post for you. I feel weird if I stay here and mooch off of their Internet for too long. Also, I just spilled hot mocha all over my pants. That has happened more times than I would like to admit. These are the cinnamon buns I spoke of a few weeks ago. Here they are in all of their glory, with no glaze. They look like snail shells. Ew, let’s not think about snails

Scenes From the Big St. Louis Move

2013-04-22T12:57:00.001-05:00

Hello readers! I’m blogging from a Starbucks in St. Louis, so I have to make this quick. We won’t have internet or TV until Thursday (maybe). This was the view from the top of our apartment building in Chicago. Isn’t it incredible? I took this picture on our last night living there. The last meals: Indian food with the gals. This was my first Indian food experience! I kinda

Milk Chocolate Chip Orange Shortbread Cookies

2013-04-17T01:14:00.001-05:00

Here are a few thoughts for you to ponder today. Does a piece of fruit have more calories when it's ripe? What makes tandoori chicken so red? Can you taste the difference between different brands of milk? Is there a certain fake fruit flavor that tastes better than the actual fruit? Is it fair to be charged extra if you waste food at a buffet? That’s what’s on my mind tonight.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cobbler

2013-04-15T13:59:00.001-05:00

Well, I re-made the cobbler I told you about the other day. I happened to have all of the ingredients still, and I hadn’t packed this pie dish yet. Except I didn’t have any butter, so I substituted coconut oil. So if you would like to make this vegan, it’s really, really easy – just use coconut oil or margarine, and use a non-dairy milk. There’s no egg at all! This cobbler tastes like

Friday Stuff

2013-04-12T13:31:00.001-05:00

Here is the beautiful chocolate peanut butter cobbler I was going to share with you today. But guess what? I deleted the pictures. I take completely responsibility. I was deleting a bunch of pictures on my camera and I spaced out for a second, either thinking about poutine, or what happened to Waffle Crisp cereal, or why is Ross Geller so annoying on Friends, and deleted them. I never

Butterscotch Pignoli Cookies

2013-04-10T14:00:00.001-05:00

I’ve used up most of my baking ingredients, thank goodness, so now I can start packing up all of the baking equipment. Which I was going to do today, but then I saw I had one stick of butter left, some yeast, and a little flour and sugar. Cinnamon rolls, here I come. The dough is rising right now, people. I’m excited. Packing can wait. I had some pine nuts in the pantry that I needed

Lime in the Coconut Panna Cotta

2013-04-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

Well, I made Koiugn Amann for the first time today. It literally took all day to make, I’m upset because it didn’t turn out well and leaked out a lot of butter. It could have been the recipe I found online, or it could have been my technique. I don’t think I’ve ever had a laminated dough turn out that poorly, though! It’s going to take me some time to attempt koiugn amann again. Has

Strawberry Almond Milk Bubble Tea

2013-04-05T13:17:00.001-05:00

I don’t know why you read here every day. It really blows my mind. Like when I see random pins from people on Pinterest of things I’ve made; I get so excited! I think, yaaay! Or on Facebook, if someone likes my page, it amazes me. Like, it makes me want to give you a hug and say thank you. You really like me!! Or maybe you don’t, I don’t know. I just wanted to say: I appreciate you.

Liège

2013-04-03T11:59:00.001-05:00

I tried my first liege waffle last summer with my friend Brigitte, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I knew I wanted to try making the waffles at some point, but never really got around to it. Until recently. I found Belgian pear sugar at a grocery store in Chicago and had to buy it. It was a little pricey for sugar, I admit, but definitely worth it. Liege waffles are

Chocolate Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies

2013-04-01T11:55:00.001-05:00

Did everyone have a good weekend? I hope so. I feel like we probably had the most boring Easter ever. We usually spend it with our families, but we couldn’t do that this year, obviously. So we did some grocery shopping, I baked some brownies, and we had tortas and churros from XOCO. We’re trying to hit up all of our favorite restaurants before we move. It’s tough work, obviously. Eric

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

2013-03-29T13:43:00.001-05:00

It’s puddin time!!! Okay, a few thoughts for you today. #1 – I still haven’t fixed the www.visionsofsugarplum.com address. I think this problem is beyond me. I’ve researched hours and hours how to fix it. I would just plan on using the www.sugarplumblog.net address if you haven’t already. UPDATE! Fixed. #2 – I think Eric and I have secured an apartment in St. Louis! Whoop. We’re going

White Chocolate Macadamia Brownies

2013-03-28T12:27:00.001-05:00

I’m having some issues with my www.visionsofsugarplum.com domain, but www.sugarplumblog.net is working fine. I’m trying to figure it out myself, and I’m so confused. When I renewed my domain, the visionsofsugarplum stopped redirecting to sugarplumblog.net. I think it’s because I have a new IP address this year? I dunno. It’s going to take me a while to figure this out. In the meantime,

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

2013-03-27T01:10:00.001-05:00

Well, my trip didn’t go as planned. It ended up being an incredibly frustrating day on Friday. Let me start from the beginning: Eric booked a flight to Branson in January to go home in March and see his family. We found out that my parents were flying to Chicago from Tampa on that day (my dad had a business trip), and then Chicago to Branson. It turns out my parents and Eric were on the

Easter Candy Cookies

2013-03-21T23:14:00.001-05:00

There’s something magical about these cookies. I noticed it right after I baked them; they were different than most of the cookies I’ve made. They are crisp on the outsides, soft, chewy, and cakey in the insides. They’re also a little puffier than other cookies. I think it's because I used a combination of butter and oil for the fat. The sprinkles on top make these magical, too. You