Are you ready for hot cocoa season?!  Now you can enjoy your favorite Starbucks Hot Cocoa treat from the comfort of home, inexpensively!  Here’s what you need:

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons water
¼ cup water
1½ cup milk (any kind will do)
¼ teaspoon vanilla

 

Add water, cocoa, and sugar into a microwave safe bowl and heat for approximately 40 seconds or until warm. Mix well to create the chocolate syrup.  

Add milk and vanilla and stir well.  

Heat in the microwave for about 60 seconds or until hot.

Serve with whipped cream and chocolate chips or syrup on top.  Enjoy!

 

 

With soup and stew season upon us, it’s only fitting that our thoughts turn to bread.  Who doesn’t love a warm slice slathered with butter, jam, or honey?

From quick breads, convenience products, and totally homemade delights, this round-up features some of the most glorious bread recipes we’ve seen!

1. Zucchini Bread:  Whether you have fresh zucchini or some shredded zuke in your freezer, everybody loves this delicious bread!
2. Easy Sourdough Biscuits Recipe:  You can make these in an iron skillet!
3. Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks:  Jazz up some pre-made Pillsbury breadsticks in a jiffy!
4. Vegan Garlic Herb Breadsticks with Marinara Sauce:  Features spelt flour.
5. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread With Streusel Topping:  A gorgeous twist on traditional banana bread!
6. Baltimore Cheese Crab Pull Apart Bread:  Looks perfect for a big game gathering.  Yum!
7. Banana Snacking Cake:  The secret ingredient is flavored yogurt!
8. Perfect Homemade Pita Bread:  Have you ever made homemade pita bread?  Now’s the time!
9. Blueberry Lemon Bread:  This gorgeous bread is perfect for taking to a neighbor, friend, or serving at tea.  So, so pretty!
10. Bacon Cheddar Beer Bread:  Bacon + cheese!  What’s not to love?
11. Flourless Pumpkin Blender Muffins:  No flour, pretty healthy, and a secret ingredient that you wouldn’t expect!
12. Slow Cooker Rosemary Bread:  Make this in your slow cooker!  Yum!
13. Banana Nut Bread: Got mooshy bananas?  Use ’em in this!  Perfect.
14. Vegan Cornbread: Vegans rejoice!  Cornbread can be yours!
15. Cheesy Olive Toasts:  Looks. So. Good!
16. Siracha Garlic Bread:  Got Siracha fever at your house?  Check this out!
17. Pizzeria Style Garlic Knots:  The only problem is will we eat too many?  –yum!–
18. Focaccia With Pistachios:  Set this up tonite, enjoy tomorrow.  So hearty and flavorful!
19. Herb and Garlic Pull-Apart Bread:  Oh my gosh you guys….this looks so. good!
20. Asiago Crusty Bread:  This sounds heavenly, and I’m really digging the long-time rising method.  You could set this up in the morning and have it fresh for dinner, or set it up before bed and wake up and bake this first thing!

 

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Want to do something truly impressive for your Halloween party or to donate to a carnival Cake Walk this year? Make one of these impressive cakes and set the mood!

1. Monster Cake:  Cute idea and not too difficult to do.
2. Eyeball cake:  Creepy and fun!  Looks like a fairly easy one to do.
3. Haunted House:  Hack a premade Gingerbread house kit into this cool Halloween scene!
4. Coffin Cake: Scroll down just a bit for this easy cake that only takes 20 minutes to put together!
5. Spider Cake:  No special equipment needed.
6. Candy Corn Cake:  Gorgeous cake that gives a girlie sophistication to your Halloween!
7. Spider Web Cheesecake:  Perfect for the grown-ups!
8. Haunted Ghost Cake:  Want to totally dazzle your guests?  Glowing ghosts will do it!  So cool!
9. Marshmallow Cobweb Cake:  Simple and super cool, and not too tough.
10. Swamp cake:  Do all your attempts at creativity look like a wreck?  This one is for you because you can’t mess it up!  (scroll down for recipe)
11. X-ray Cake:  Some simply fondant work will make this a hit.  (especially perfect for people in the medical field)
12. Cute Ghost:  If you love playing with fondant, you’ll love this cute idea!
13. Monster Eyes:  Looks terrific and is basically fool-proof thanks to Oreos, Junior Mints, and M&Ms.
14. Graveyard:  Ready-made Pepperidge farm cookies make this cake come together easily.
15. Oreo Spider Cake:  Friendly and cute spiders will delight your guests!
16. Frankenstein:  Ready-made mixes and gels will have you creating this cool cake in no time.
17. Spooky cave:  Ever heard of Kransekake?  It’s traditionally a Christmas item, but this creative spin turns it into a spooky cave of candy treasures that will be unique and fun for your kids!
18. Monster cake:  Easy and not fussy.  You can let the kids help!
19. Spooky Spider:  You can make him sweet or scary–your choice.

 

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I love fall, and I love all the apple and pumpkin recipes that are so popular at this time of year!
Today I’ve got a great round-up for you of 20 yummy apple recipes! Check these out:

1. Healthy Spicy Pumpkin and Apple Crumble Squares:  Lots of yummy whole foods, and of course a perfect pairing of pumpkin AND apple.  Why choose just one?  🙂

2. Dutch Apple Pie:  This recipe features Macintosh apples, which in my estimation are the greatest apples on earth.  So use macs if you can find ’em, ok?

3. Ambrosia Apple Crumble Tart:  This one is especially interesting because it features a relatively new variety of apple:  Ambrosia.  I enjoyed learning more about it, and this tart looks amazing.  The recipe is designed to be vegan-friendly, but can certainly be adapted to those that want to use regular butter.

4. Apple Autumn Cake:  Apples, raisins, walnuts…what’s not to love?  This looks like it would be perfect to go with coffee or tea.

5. Apple Butter Sparklers:  Apple butter + champagne!  Wow!

6. Apple Banana Oat Muffins:  Looks so yummy for the lunch box and snacks.

7. German Apple Pancake:  Dazzle your family with this for breakfast!

8. Easy Apple Crisp:  Perfect with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!

9. Starbucks Copycat Caramel Apple Cider:  All of you Starbucks fans will love this!

10. Mini White Chocolate Apple Cheesecakes:  Perfect for when you’re looking for something a little more upscale.  

11. Apple Cream Cheese Danish:  One look at these and you’ll be racing out to the store for puff pastry sheets!  Yum!

12. Butterfinger Apple Nachos:  These look sinfully delish!  Wow!

13. Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies:  Healthy enough for breakfast, delicious enough for anytime.

14. Super Simple Apple Pockets Dessert :  Very cute fall snack idea.

15. Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pudding Shots:  Looking for an adult beverage-themed treat?  This will be perfect for your fall parties.

16. Baked Honey Crisp Apple Chips:  Wholesome goodness!

17. Apple-Pecan Bourbon-Caramel Pie:  –Drool– Go. See.

18. Apple Pie German Pancake:  Beautiful, wholesome, wow!

19. Apple Cider Spice Doughnuts:  Your kids will be so excited that you made these at home!

20. Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding:  Decadent!