Double Almond Cake

I told you I had a yummy recipe that needed to be shared. I had this one a while back, but never had a chance to get it on here. It's easy and so delicious and you make 2 pans at once - more for me more to be shared! :)

I call it "Double" because there are almonds inside and outside of the cakes plus it makes 2.

Double Almond Cake
adapted from a reader recipe in Sunset

1 1/3 cups unbleached flour
1/3 cup almond meal
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, stir together all ingredients except sliced almonds. Grease 2 9-in. pie pans {or cake pans}. Add batter evenly to both pans. Sprinkle each with half of the sliced almonds. Bake until edges turn light brown, about 30 minutes. Can be served warm or at room temp.

  

So so yummy! We ate it plain, but it could certainly be served with some whipped cream or warm with some ice cream.

Do you love almonds? What's your favorite recipe with almonds in it?

Have a blessed day, friends!

Top Ten Recipe Posts {2013}

As we approach the end of the year, it's a good time to look back. I always enjoy seeing what recipes or food posts were the most popular for the year.

Here are the Top Ten recipe/food posts for 2013 on my blog:

My Favorite Thanksgiving Desserts

Nutella Oatmeal Bars

Puffy Apple French Toast Bake

Homemade Italian Dressing Mix

Loaded Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

Pumpkin Pie Truffles

German Chocolate Cookie Pizza

Frozen Coconut Tres Leches Mocha

Pie Crust Chips & Apple Salsa

Melt-in-your-Mouth Sugar Cookies

Well there you have it. I think you all have good taste! :) Have you made any of these recipes?

What's your favorite new recipe from 2013?

Have a blessed day, friends!

Not Too Late ~ 12 More Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

While I do love to serve my favorite Thanksgiving desserts, there are so many more great dessert ideas to try! I think any of these 12 desserts would be a fabulous addition to a Thanksgiving meal. It's not too late to shop and whip up a couple of these desserts by Thursday!

 Pumpkin Pie Truffles

Nutella Bites

Orange-Chocolate Slice Cookies

Apple Pie Ice Cream

Pumpkin Pie Pudding with Maple Sugar Nuts & Cream

Pear Dessert

German Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate-Pecan-Cranberry Cake

Loaded Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

Caramel-Brownie Cheesecake

Sour Cream-Apple Pie

Pear Custard Pie

Yum! I need to have a HUGE Thanksgiving gathering so I can have an excuse to make a bunch of desserts - LOL!

Do you still serve some of the same Thanksgiving desserts that you grew up eating?

Have a blessed day, friends and a blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Menu 2013

It's official - I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner again and I finally finished my menu {though it doesn't change much from year to year}! I followed my own Thanksgiving tips, included my Thanksgiving dinner faves, and I'm making one of my favorite Thanksgiving desserts. You can find links to the recipes below plus many more I've made at past Thanksgiving meals on my Thanksgiving Menu Pinterest board.

Appetizers
Holiday Cranberry Spread
Sweet Spiced Nuts
Pumpkin Bread
Other {Brought by guests}

Main Dishes
Brined Roasted Turkey
Ham
Slow Cooker Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Colorful Roasted Vegetables
Winter Salad with Apples and Walnuts
Cranberry-Apple Sauce
Rolls? {Brought by guests}

Desserts
Amaretto Cake
Pumpkin Pie Truffles
Cranberry Gelato
Pumpkin or Pecan Pie? {Brought by guests}

If you like checking out Thanksgiving menus, you might like my friend Kim's menu - she switched out several of her dishes for Pioneer Woman's recipes and it all sounds delish!

Are you staying home or traveling for Thanksgiving this year? What are you assigned to make for or take to a Thanksgiving meal?

I hope you get to enjoy some yummy food no matter where you are on Thanksgiving Day! Have a blessed day friends!

My Favorite Thanksgiving Desserts

I shared my tips for hosting Thanksgiving dinner and my Thanksgiving dinner faves. That means it's time for dessert!

Of course I like standard apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies for Thanksgiving! And for a few years, I made a basic apple pie for Thanksgiving. But gradually I branched out and the following desserts have made multiple appearances at our dinners over the years. I tend to serve at least one of these faves, one new recipe, and one thing that contains chocolate in some form! {Sorry about the pics - I really need to retake these when I have a chance.}

Amaretto Cake. My step mother-in-law served it once and I've been making it ever since. So.so.yummy.

Pumpkin Dessert. Combine cake, nuts, butter, and a pumpkin pie mixture? DElish. I first had this recipe years ago from a coworker. It was often my go-to Thanksgiving dessert.

No-Bake Pumpkin Pie. Found this recipe when I was a teenager and have been making it on and off for Thanksgiving since then. It's a great alternative to regular baked pumpkin pie.

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. Found this recipe a few years ago and altered it a bit. It's so ridiculously simple and super rich.

 

I have made and enjoyed many other desserts, but these are definitely my favorites - for Thanksgiving that is! I have different favorites for each holiday. :)

What are your favorite Thanksgiving desserts? If you have a link to one, share it in the comments!

This post linked to:
 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls

If you enjoyed stopping and smelling the chocolates with me, I'd love it if you click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!

Have a blessed day friends!

My Top 5 Thanksgiving Dinner Faves

My Thanksgiving dinner menu stays mostly the same from year to year. I usually choose one side dish to vary and often throw in a new dessert to try. But there are a few items that must be included every year - no exceptions {or make those exceptions rare - LOL}!

1.  The Turkey. Sometimes we add in other meats, like ham or tri-tip roast, but there must always be turkey. And now it must be a brined turkey. We started brining our turkey a few years ago and we've been believers ever since. Definitely makes the turkey more juicy and flavorful. And after years of trying different roasting methods, we've settled on one that we think is best. We follow the method that Alton Brown shows in these videos: Cooking Perfect Turkey, Part 1 and Cooking Perfect Turkey, Part 2.

 

2.  Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. I think I would cry if we didn't have mashed potatoes and gravy. Seriously. We use plain old Russet potatoes, but golden potatoes are yummy as well. There are a few tips that we've learned over the years. After boiling and draining the potatoes, put the pot back on the warm burner so the rest of the moisture steams away. We like to add half 'n half and butter to the potatoes while we mash them. If you do that, the butter should be melted first and both the butter and the milk/cream should be warm when added to the potatoes. Above all, don't overmix! Otherwise you get a gummy consistency that is not pleasant. And I do my best to make homemade turkey gravy though I have yet to actually master that - mine never turns out quite right no matter what tips I follow - LOL!

3.  Slow Cooker Stuffing. It's a basic yummy stuffing recipe, but I LOVE that it cooks in the slow cooker. Not only do you avoid the risk of food poisoning from cooking it inside the turkey, but you also save on oven space if you were cooking it separately. You do have to do some cooking on the stove first before putting it in the slow cooker and it takes a few hours until it's ready so I'm always up really early getting it started. But after that, you do nothing until it's time to serve! And oh, those spices smell so good while it's cooking!

4.  Cranberry-Apple Sauce. I do enjoy traditional cranberry sauce, but most of the family does not. And hey, I do still like the jellied cranberry sauce from the can because that's what I grew up eating. :) But I love the flavor of this mixture of cranberry sauce and applesauce. That's really all there is to it - mixing whole-berry cranberry sauce with chunky applesauce and adding cinnamon. The nice thing is that you can use either homemade or store-bought ingredients, whatever you prefer or have on hand - keep it simple!

5.  Something Pumpkin. I'm not picky about what has the pumpkin in it - could be Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Dessert, No-Bake Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Pie Truffles, or Quick Pumpkin Pudding. {You can check my Pumpkin Perfection Pinterest board for ideas.} I do like a traditional baked pumpkin pie as well, though I have yet to make a really good one. My fave purchased one was from Whole Foods.

I do have other dishes that are regularly served at our Thanksgiving meal, but they're not necessarily must-haves like these 5! I have a Thanksgiving Menu Pinterest board that contains links to recipes that I've used in Thanksgiving dinners over the years - check it out for ideas!

What are your favorite Thanksgiving dinner recipes? What can't you live without in your Thanksgiving meal? Feel free to share links to recipes in the comments!

If you enjoyed stopping and smelling the chocolates with me, I'd love it if you click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!

Have a blessed day friends!

You CAN Rescue A Recipe ~ Pumpkin Pie Truffles

If I can rescue a recipe, then you can too! And oh my, this was a happy and yummy rescue! But before we get to that one, let's talk about rescuing recipes in general.

The first way to rescue the recipes is to avoid mistakes in the first place, of course! Here's an article from Real Simple: How to Fix 17 Basic Cooking Mistakes. I also recommend reading each recipe carefully before you start cooking. If I would have paid closer attention a few times, I would have realized that a measurement or two didn't sound right before I started mixing ingredients together. And then I wouldn't have had to throw away the super salty Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins - sigh.

There are ways to fix recipes when you already know you've messed up as you're making the food. This is a great article that give you several rescue ideas: How to Fix Kitchen Flops. Sometimes it just means getting creative and thinking outside the box - like when a cake falls apart while taking it out of the pan. Not only could you use the pieces to make a trifle, but you could also cut it into cubes and serve with melted chocolate and whipped cream to dip into! Or crumble it all and mix with frosting to make some cake balls to dip in chocolate - yum.

This was my recent recipe rescue. I was making Pumpkin Truffles, but the mixture wouldn't firm up enough to form into balls. {I believe this is a problem due to the "white" chips in the stores mainly being vanilla chips instead of white chocolate. The vanilla chips are too *melty*.} I could not throw away that mixture - what was I to do? A friend who recently had the same issue said that she made hers into a pie, but mine was too runny even for that. Finally - light bulb! I would add graham cracker crumbs to the mixture until it was bulky enough to make into balls. It worked! And the truffles were FABULOUS. Maybe even yummier than the original. I call the new version Pumpkin Pie Truffles.

Pumpkin Pie Truffles

2 1/2 cups vanilla chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4-1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons oil {I used coconut oil}
Ground nutmeg for garnish

Combine vanilla chips and cream in saucepan. Stir over low heat until chips melt completely. Remove from heat. Stir in pumpkin and spice until smooth and blended. Chill mixture in refrigerator for at least an hour. Stir in graham cracker crumbs until mixture is thick enough to roll into balls and hold shape. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place on wax paper. Place pumpkin pie balls in freezer for 15 minutes or so. Reshape slightly if necessary.

Combine dark chocolate chips and oil. Gently heat {in microwave or in bowl over simmering water on stove} until chocolate is melted. Dip chilled pumpkin pie balls into melted chocolate and coat thoroughly. Place back on wax paper to set up. Sprinkle tops with nutmeg while still wet, if desired. Store on wax paper in covered container in refrigerator.

Watch out - these beauties disappear very quickly! I've even had more than one person tell me I should sell them. Seriously though, you don't need to buy any because you CAN make these! I would not have ever attempted them if they were really difficult. Trust me. I gotta say - you'd be a big hit if you showed up at Thanksgiving dinner with these!

So if you have a recipe going all wrong, don't just give up on it! Try to rescue it. You never know, you might come up with your new favorite thing. :)

You CAN rescue a recipe!

Have you experienced recipe failures that you had to throw away? Have you successfully rescued a recipe? What new recipes have you created because of rescues? Share in the comments!

This post linked to:
 ~ Whimsy Wednesday at The NY Melrose Family 
 ~ WFMW at We Are THAT Family

Day 21 of #31Days. Find all the posts in this series by clicking the pic...

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You CAN Cook Dinner in 30 Minutes

If I can cook dinner in 30 minutes, then you can too! That means you can avoid some of those last-minute, forgot-to-take-the-meat-out, didn't-plan-dinner-tonight, or don't-want-to-eat-that-late runs for fast food or something prepared from the grocery store! Of course you can always fix spaghetti, but this takes it a step further and actually involves meat for dinner!

I am the s.l.o.w.e.s.t. person I know in the kitchen. Truly. So if I can make a dinner in 30 minutes, then I guarantee that you can do it. Now these meal ideas do require having a few basic ingredients on hand, but I try to make sure I have them so I can use a quick recipe when I need to. These recipes mainly use hamburger and quick-frozen chicken breasts or tenderloins as they're quick to thaw out if you forgot. I now prefer chicken tenderloins as they thaw and cook much faster than chicken breasts, not to mention better portion control.

Forgot to plan dinner? Take a look at what you have on hand, pick a quick recipe, and start thawing your hamburger or chicken, if necessary. The quickest way to defrost is by using your microwave. If you don't have one or don't prefer that method, try thawing in cold water in your sink {this will end up taking longer than 30 minutes}. It's best to put the meat into a sealed plastic bag and fully submerse in cold water. Water must be changed regularly to keep it moving and cold. Meat can also be cooked right from the frozen state - it just takes longer.

While your meat is thawing, take advantage of the time and prep or cook your side dishes. Set the table and get all serving dishes out and ready to go.

Here are some of my go-to quick meat dinners:

• Montana Taco Salad
• Tex-Mex Chili Pasta
• Skillet Sausages and Peppers
• Seasoned Parmesan-Coated Chicken
• Pan-Glazed Chicken with Basil
• Poached Chicken Breasts with Apples
• Chicken-Tortellini Soup

The fastest & the fave of those is the pan-glazed chicken. It's truly simple, quick, and delicious!

I am certainly not the expert on fast meals, which is why I say that you can do it if I can! Here's a good resource for more quick dinner ideas: 10 Minute Dinners. And you can find some more 30-minute meal ideas at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

I know that some of you are very good at fixing quick dinners and avoiding the extra expense of fast-food and supplemental grocery store runs. Will you share your favorite fast meal ideas? I'm even including a linky at the bottom so we can share ideas and help each other out. I would love it if each of you found at least 1 idea that you know can be your backup if you haven't planned dinner.

You CAN cook dinner in 30 minutes! 

Do you find yourself making too many fast-food trips due to poor planning? Do you have go-to quick dinners? Share in the comments!

Day 3 of #31Days. Find all the posts in this series by clicking here for my Anything I Can Do, You Can Do Too page.

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Autumn Apples Week {Day 5 ~ Loaded Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake}

Day 5 of Autumn Apples Week! I really hope you’ve enjoyed this week! 

 

In case you've missed anything this week:

 ~ Day 1: Giveaway

 ~ Day 2: Almond Apple Bars

 ~ Day 3: Pie Crust Chips & Apple Salsa + Link-up

 ~ Day 4: Apple Pie Ice Cream

I know it’s a week about apples, but I had to find a way to incorporate chocolate – one of my other favorite Fall foods! This cake recipe is a rich coffee cake and would be fantastic with your favorite Fall drink. And it’s been officially endorsed by the staff at my son’s school! I took the cake there since I was volunteering and it was completely gone before the end of the day and raved about by all.

 

Loaded Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

adapted from Cooking Light

½ cup + 2 tablespoons caramel sauce {I used homemade – y.u.m.}

1 Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced

1 ½ cups unbleached flour

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup buttermilk

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup coconut oil, melted {can use vegetable oil}

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips

¼ cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped

Chocolate drizzle {melted chocolate chips}

Preheat oven to 350. Spray cooking spray in 8-inch square or round pan. Pour caramel onto bottom of pan. Arrange apple slices over caramel, overlapping slightly as needed.

In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir with whisk until well-combined. In medium bowl, combine buttermilk and baking soda. Stir with whisk. Stir in oil, vanilla, and eggs. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture. Stir together just until blended. Pour batter over apple slices in pan.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until pick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on wire rack. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Put an upside down plate on top of cake pan. Carefully invert cake onto plate. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over top of cake. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over top. Drizzle melted chocolate as desired. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce on top. Serve warm or at room temp.

Notes:

• If you use a square pan, this recipe should work fine. If you use a round cake pan like me, then be warned of oozing caramel that smokes on the bottom of your oven! Either use a little less caramel {but who would want that??} when using a round pan or put a cookie sheet or foil on the rack below and expect a little smoke.
• I didn’t use all the apple slices from 1 apple – just fit what you can. 
• I use the kind of coconut oil that does not have a coconut flavor {from Tropical Traditions – not an affiliate}, but I think that the kind with a coconut flavor would be delicious in this cake too.
• For the chocolate drizzle, I melted a small handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave 1 minute, stirred until smooth, filled a small plastic baggie, snipped off a corner, and then drizzled.

 

I do wish I could hand you a piece of cake right now! But how about a giveaway instead? We've been celebrating Autumn all week, so I'd love for one of you to win a copy of this lovely Kindle book: Autumn Bliss. {Did you know that you don't need a Kindle for Kindle books? You can download a free app to your computer or phone.}It's a wonderful book filled with Scriptures, ideas for celebrating Autumn with your kids, party ideas, and lots of cozy recipes {including a muffin recipe from me!}.

**Giveaway Closed.** To enter, just leave a comment telling me about one of your favorite Autumn activities! That's it! Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents 18 and older. One winner will be chosen randomly from comments and notified by e-mail. Giveaway is open through end of day on Sunday 9/29.

Thanks so much for joining me for Autumn Apples Week! I really hope you had fun and found a new recipe to try!

This post linked to:
 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls
 ~ I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom 

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Have a blessed day friends!