Perfectly Chewy Chocolate Orange Brownies

This is the kind of brownie recipe that makes you want to decorate a Christmas tree but also lay on a beach but definitely eat the entire batch. What I'm tying to say is that this recipe cannot and will not be pigeonholed. These milk chocolate brownies have the perfect amount of density with subtle orange essence and get all chewy around the edges in the best way. I am in love.

Creamy Caramel Sauce

Um, yeah, it's from a can but not in the way you think. Like, honestly this might be magic. I'm all for "from scratch" recipes but if there's an awesome never-heard-of-it-before trick to try, I'm obviously going to try it. This is the trick: boil a can of sweetened condensed milk for 3 hours and voila! Sweet, sticky, magic!

Cake Batter Cheesecake!

Reasons I think you'll love this cheesecake: 1- You are a human being with a mouth and 2- You are not a monster.
First thing's first, you neeeed a springform pan for this recipe. I would love to be like "Hey, it'll probably be fine in a round cake pan!" but, no, the world is not a perfectly beautiful place... Unless you make this cheesecake then your troubles will melt like lemon drops. You can find a springform pan pretty much anywhere they sell cooking stuff. I'm pretty positive they even have them at Safeway! If you don't know what a springform pan is it's your lucky day because we live in a modern world and there is a Wikipedia page for EVERYTHING, even different types of baking pans! Here it is!
Once you have that one little gadget you are pretty much set to start baking this silky, dense, celebratory, beauty of a confection.

Stuffed Red Velvet Poppers

This is the kind of day I'm having. The kind of day that isn't a bad day but a day that could be made better by the perfect li'l snack. With just the right amount of cream cheese frosting in the middle, these Stuffed Red Velvet Poppers make for a nice treat for a red velvet cake lover like myself.

Each popper is about the size of a 50 cent piece and a great excuse to indulge in a rich red velvet experience without digging into an entire cake... Which I obviously have never done... 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cannoli

So... I'll leave that right there for you to look at...

To say that this is a simple recipe would be a lie. Well, sort of a lie, the recipe is easy but the execution takes patience and probably a full afternoon but these are so incredibly worth the time and energy you put into them. These are so good, the dough makes an amazing crunchy on the outside while chewy on the inside cookie and the whipped cream filling perfectly offsets the sweetness of the cookie in a "cookies and milk" sort of partnership!

Mini No Bake Apple Pie Bites

So I have to say that this recipe was totally made up on the fly today because I had a wicked craving for apple pie but did not want to labor over an entire pie because I have other important things to get done, like browsing Netflix! Since it was made up on the spot there aren't any photos of the prep process, sorry... But there are pictures of these cuties all done and ready to be snacked on.

Gluten Free Baking Mix- All Purpose

This is a recipe for an all-purpose GLUTEN FREE baking mix that can be used in any baking recipe.

The bakery I hope to open will be a 100% gluten free bakery! This decision came from the fact that my hopeful business partner, Krista, has an intolerance to gluten so it only made sense to create a business that would help others like her to have a yummy place to enjoy a treat without any concern for their health! Also, after some research into Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance) I found that there is a HUGE gap in this growing market for a completely gluten free business so I am excited to try to fill this gap a little bit for people who are gluten intolerant or not to enjoy something delicious!

I have looked into gluten free baking mixes for a while and there are MANY options. You can buy pre-made mixes or make you own and I have opted to make my own since I believe that cooking from scratch puts more love into the food. The recipe that I tried is all purpose which means, by my understanding, that you can use it any regular recipe to replace regular flour. There are other variations on gluten free mixes that work better in specific recipes (i.e., biscuits, muffins, breads) but this is an all purpose to have on hand for whatever you feel like baking on a whim!

All Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Mix:

1 Cup- White Rice Flour

2/3 Cup- Potato Starch (make sure it is not potato flour)

1/3 Cup- Tapioca Starch (also called "tapioca flour" which I learned at the store)

2 tsp- Xantham Gum

A few things about this mix:

-I sifted all of the ingredients once into a bowl then again into another bowl to ensure they were all well mixed, since they are all white and it is hard to see if they are combined well.

-This mix will make a nice dense and moist cake or bread that is still delicious on the second or third day after baking, while some gluten free mixes dry out very easily and make a crumby result. 

-I found that this recipe was about perfect to make one batch of vanilla cupcakes with a little bit left over. 

-You can double or triple the recipe and store it for later but make sure to store it in an airtight container, you can also put it in the freezer for it to last longer.

Good luck!