I know St. Patrick’s Day was a week ago, but these Irish Soda Bread Scones are so tasty, they need to be shared! Plus, who needs a specific holiday to enjoy something as yummy as Irish Soda Bread Scones? These can (and should) be enjoyed all year round!
Inspired by one of my favorite Irish treats, these Irish Soda Bread Scones are really easy to make. Just like traditional Irish Soda Bread, these are best eaten with softened butter, and maybe a smear of your favorite jam.
Note: I was sent apples from Stemilt in order to create this Irish Apple Cake recipe. Opinions are mine alone.
I am pretty sure most countries and regions have some form of apple cake recipe. And why wouldn’t they, apple cake is delicious! Irish Apple Cake is a spiced cake with loads of apples within the batter. The cake has a nice crunchy crust and is traditionally served with a custard sauce.
Stemilt, a family owned and operated fruit company based in Wenatchee, Washington, was kind enough to send me a care package of beautiful apples, including some granny smith apples.
With it being St. Patrick’s Day, I knew I had to make an Irish Apple Cake with the apples, of course.
The tartness and juiciness of granny smith apples make them a perfect choice for an Irish Apple cake!
The Irish Apple Cake recipe below is lightly adapted from Stemilt, and their version incorporates whiskey into the sauce for a more modern spin. Yum!
In case you’ve never heard of Irish Potatoes, they are a Philadelphia treat that shows up around St. Patrick’s Day each year. Named for looking like little potatoes, Irish Potatoes are a confection of cream cheese and coconut, rolled in cinnamon. Inspired by this delicious treat, I decided it was about time I made Irish Potato Candy Ice Cream!
So, what is in Irish Potato Candy Ice Cream? It is a cream cheese-based ice cream, flavored with cinnamon with coconut flakes stirred in.
The result is wonderfully reminiscent of Philly’s favorite St. Patrick’s Day treat!
Irish Cream Ice Cream. Not only is it way too fun to say, but it tastes absolutely delicious as well!
Irish cream is an alcohol-based beverage made with cream (obviously), whiskey, and other flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, making it a perfect flavor for a tasty ice cream.
You know how much I love homemade ice cream, so I’m excited to share this new recipe! I’m making this Irish Cream Ice Cream in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, but this is sure to become a year-round favorite flavor!
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur (such as Baileys Irish Cream)
If you’re looking for a simple DIY gift for friends and family, Homemade Hot Honey is a great option!
Hot Honey is honey infused with chili peppers and can be used in so many different ways, including drizzled on pizza to stirred into cocktails to served on charcuterie boards.
This recipe for Homemade Hot Honey is made with just three ingredients and can definitely be adapted to your tastes or what you have on hand.
Ingredients:
1 cup honey
3 dried chili peppers, split open, or 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
I’m back with another cookie recipe using some of my favorite OXO tools, specifically OXO’s cookie press, disk set, and Ceramic Pan!
Every year, OXO supports Cookies for Kids’ Cancer and the fight against pediatric cancer. Before I share my cookie recipe for Spritz Cookies, I want to share a bit about Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer (CFKC) is a nonprofit founded by two OXO employees after their son, Liam, was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Through grassroots bake sales across the country, CFKC raises funds to develop new, improved and less toxic treatments for childhood cancer. Liam Witt’s legacy lives on as the organization works toward a cure for pediatric cancer, helping children and families everywhere.
Every year, OXO supports CFKC by encouraging people to bake and share.
For every cookie baked, OXO donates $1 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer up to $100,000, so here is my new cookie this year to support the cause and spread the word!
Here are some of my old cookie swap and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer posts, in case you’re in a baking mood:
Every year, I am tasked with bringing a chocolate pumpkin dessert to Thanksgiving. Pumpkin and chocolate is my aunt’s favorite combination so I try to experiment a bit each year. This year’s recipe is actually really simple, and if you use store-bought ice cream, you can make this whole Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie in just minutes (plus freezing time)!
In fact, you can make this Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie as homemade, or as store-bought as you’d like. I personally made my ice cream, but bought the pie crust and the whipped cream.
With Thanksgiving so late this year, I hope you’ll forgive me for sharing a Christmas cookie recipe before Black Friday; these Cannoli Cookies are too good to keep a secret!
If you’re a cannoli lover, these Cannoli Cookies are sure to impress, especially because they are quite a bit easier to make than homemade cannolis!
Cannoli Cookies are spiced ricotta cookies with chocolate chips, pistachios, and orange zest, delivering the flavors of a classic cannoli in cookie form!
This recipe for Creamed Carrots is an adaptation of the creamed carrots that my grandparents used to make for our family dinners every Sunday when I was a kid.
We no longer have extended family dinners once a week, but the creamed carrots still show up at all holiday meals and are my dad’s absolute favorite veggie side!
The carrots are cooked until they are very very soft after absorbing a delicious creamy base. The end result is melt-in-your-mouth, flavorful creamed carrots!
I had no clue that Election Cake used to be a thing until I saw an article recently about this lost tradition! Recipes for Election Cake are found back to the late 18th century, but apparently the tradition has fallen off in recent years.
This yeasted spiced bundt fruitcake was traditionally prepared prior to Election Day and served to hungry voters.
For years, I was the machine inspector for every general and primary election in my South Philly polling location, so any attention I can bring to voting is super important to me! I am also down for any and all food holidays so let’s bring back Election Cake!
I don’t have a ton of experience using yeast, so I looked up a recipe from NY Times Food. Because of the yeast, there are two proofing times in this recipe, so set aside 4 to 6 hours to make this cake.
Ingredients (serves 10):
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
Every year, without fail, I end up with a ridiculous amount of candy leftover after the trick-or-treaters have gone. I have made Day After Halloween Brownies in the past, but this year, because it is still so warm, I decided to make Homemade Halloween Candy Ice Cream using my leftover candy!
This recipe for Halloween Candy Ice Cream can be adapted for any candy you would like in your ice cream. I went with an assortment of chocolate candy: mini candy bars, Reece’s, M&M’s, Kit-Kats, and Snickers, because that’s what I had on hand.
Feel free to add in whatever candy you have leftover, just make sure it ends up being about 2 cups of chopped candy.
Hooray for slow cooker season! I love a good slow cooker (paid link) recipe, and this Slow Cooker Venison Chili is no exception!
I decided it was about time to update my original recipe for Slow Cooker Venison Chili; I figured after 13 years it could use some sprucing up!
The ingredients haven’t changed much, but the method used to develop the flavors is updated. This hearty Slow Cooker Venison Chili will definitely be a family favorite!
Ingredients:
Chili Seasoning:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Venison Chili:
4 strips bacon, cooked
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat, or 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 lbs ground venison
2 (15.5 oz) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup coffee
Toppings:
Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Sour cream (omit for dairy free)
Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese, shredded (omit for dairy free)
Note: I was sent a copy of 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die by Allyson Reedy in order to write this post on Teff Biscuits. Opinions are mine alone.
You may have noticed that I don’t do much breadmaking on this blog. It’s been a goal of mine to learn how to bake different breads but I have yet to really dive in. So when I was contacted to check out Allyson Reedy’s cookbook 30 Breads to Bake Before You Die (paid link), it seemed like my time had come!
“This book is written for anyone who is intimidated by the word ‘starter,’ and who think levain is just a bakery that makes really good cookies,” author Allyson Reedy says. “People who really love bread, but who may not know exactly where to start when it comes to baking it themselves. People like me.”
The cookbook is filled with recipes from famous bakers, chefs, and food bloggers who have put in the hours to perfect an awesome range of breads. Recipes range from a traditional baguette to Chocolate Babka King Cake and everything in between.
I can honestly see myself baking through this entire cookbook (the chapters are broken into Loaves, Smaller Carbs, Flats, and Sweets) but a recipe for Teff Biscuits from Marcus Samuelsson caught my eye immediately, so that is where we begin!
Teff is a gluten free grain that originates in Ethiopia that is higher in fiber than other grains and is a good source of iron. When added to a traditional southern-style biscuit, you end up with a slightly nutty take on the classic.
Note that you’ll need a kitchen scale (paid link) to make these Teff Biscuits. Weighing out your ingredients in baking ensures a more consistent result.
I made my last ice cream recipe (Dark Chocolate Ice Cream) for my mom, so this time around, I am making Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream for my dad!
I feel like Mint Chocolate Ice Cream can be a pretty divisive flavor, but my dad loves it, so it’s about time I made him some!
This is a pretty simple recipe and does not require you to heat the milk mixture or add in eggs. It does still require overnight refrigeration of the mixture to get it nice and cold before churning.
This recipe also includes some food coloring to get a nice mint green color, but that is completely optional (my dad swears the green mint chocolate chip ice cream tastes better!)
