{Recipe} Honey Chipotle Spiced Pecans

Meet your new favorite party treat. The Honey Chipotle Spiced Pecans are a crowd pleaser. They're spicy, salty, sweet and totally irresistable. They are easy to whip up and they'll disappear fast!

Honey Chipotle Spice Pecans

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp chipotle powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp cinnamon

2 cups pecan halves

2 tbsp granulated sugar (I use raw sugar)

3/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the honey, chipotle powder, cayenne and cinnamon. Warm through. Stir nuts into warmed honey mixture to coat well. Spread honey-coated nuts in a single layer on to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until fragrant, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1 minute. In a clean mixing bowl, combine sugar and salt. Add hot nuts to bowl and toss to coat. Return nuts to baking sheet and allow to cool completely. Yum!

Best Ever Bread Machine Loaf

I might be one of the last people on earth to use that 1990s sensation, THE BREAD MACHINE, but I hope not! Because this is my favorite recipe for bread baked in my bread machine. It's a white bread that's a slight take on a brioche-style and I know exactly what's gone in to it. No HFCS here! The bread includes both egg and milk which makes the finished a hearty treat with a crispy crust.

Best Ever Bread Machine Loaf
Makes one 1.5 lb loaf

Ingredients
3 tbsp milk
1 cup water
2.5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened 
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp rapid-rise yeast

Combine ingredients in bread machine pan in the order which they appear. Set bread machine for a 1.5 pound loaf with rapid-rise yeast. Bake, butter and enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Blondies with Rum {recipe}

 

Yes, please! Have you ever made blondies? I've always made brownies and now I might be converting. I had some leftover bananas and wasn't in the mood for regular banana bread so I tried something new. Blondies! Try them now, it's worth it! 

Banana Blondies with Rum and Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:
1 c unsalted butter
2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1.5 c all-purpose flour
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 tbsp dark rum* 
1 c chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13" pan and set aside. Using a double-boiler, add the butter and brown sugar and whisk it together until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture cool for couple minutes or until it’s warm to the touch then whisk in the eggs, vanilla, salt, and flour. Stir in the bananas, rum and chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve if you can wait that long!

*Optional ingredient however I'm not sure why you'd ever not want rum!

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Decadent, rich and delightful with a side of crazy

Let's just start by saying. HOLY SHIT, I HAVE NEVER MADE SOMETHING SO AMAZING. I'm not even going to put an exclamation point because I'm sure you get the idea. Things have been pretty hectic around here recently so I haven't taken the time to blog, and I miss it. I think this cake is worth coming out of blogging hibernation. It's beyond worth it. You need to see this cake. You need to love this cake. It's my new go-to recipe and Thomas has already put it on the holiday baking list. And I have to agree. If I could legally marry this cake I totally would. It's a triple chocolate mousse cake. Wow. Let's just think about that for a second. One. Two. Three layers of chocolate. The bottom layer is a decadent flourless chocolate cake that's deep, dark and full of drama. It grips the back of your tongue and holds on for dear life. Then the second layer is a fluffy, rich chocolate mousse that's light and very creamy. Then you top it off with a cool, mild white chocolate mousse that turns the entire experience into edible velvet. We found the recipe on America's Test Kitchen, a cooking show on PBS. We've tried tons of their recipes and each time they've turned out perfectly just like on the TV show. This cake was no exception. I wish I had some more right now.

Ruffles have ridges... of chocolate!

I gave my friend Marsha a couple of the illustrious Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies and that led to an in depth salty/sweet food conversation. She said her favorite combination is Ruffles dipped in chocolate which made us all recoil. Gross, right? Wrong. Amazing. I love trying new foods and after her reassurances of their heavenly deliciousness, I decided we needed to try them. I used this Dipped Chocolate Anything recipe from the New York Times and proceeded to cover myself, the kitchen and a few potato chips in chocolate. I snuck a few strawberries in there for good measure, too!