Now we love our sweets and we love our desserts, and we also love having a good, rich, hot cup of coffee with our treats. There’s nothing quite like dipping a warm cookie or freshly made biscotti into a delicious cup of coffee. The trick to making a good cup of coffee is not just in the coffee beans but in the coffeemaker too. If you don’t have a decent coffee machine, you won’t end up with a rich brew. The Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker is a good example of such a machine.

This programmable coffee maker features a removable filter basket and a brewing pause that lets you serve yourself a cup of coffee while it’s still brewing. It also has a handy two hour auto shut-off that keeps your coffee warm for an extra two hours before it automatically shuts off with an adjustable temperature warmer plate. Plus it has a net special cleaning cycle to make cleaning your coffee machine a breeze.

To all of the Mom’s out there who do so much for their families each and every day, we wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day. For all of the times you stayed up late catching up on household needs, for running out to buy last minute gifts for a child’s birthday party, for all that you do to make sure everyone in your family makes it to an appointment or has their supplies they need for school, you are the best.

So make sure you let your Mom know that you appreciate all of her sacrifices and how she puts your needs ahead of hers by taking the time to treat her extra special this Sunday on Mother’s Day. Give her a day filled with wonderful memories and make sure she isn’t in the kitchen cooking dinner herself that night. Even if you can’t afford dinner in a restaurant, you can whip up a special meal right at home. It doesn’t have to be perfect, remember, it’s the thought that counts and your Mom will love it that you thought of her.

One of the things our children love most for dessert is ice cream. I guess that’s not a surprise for anyone! But it’s the most fun when they get together with their cousins and we set out all of the goodies for making ice cream sundaes. We buy some varieties of favorite ice creams along with whipped cream (homemade if you can!), candies, sprinkles, fudge, syrups - the works. It’s actually fun for young and old alike. Grown-ups can enjoy their sundaes in these beautiful individual size ceramic pasta bowls too.

There are so many simple ways to liven up any gathering really and having colorful ceramic serving dishes is an easy way to create a beautiful table. You might want to keep some fun non-breakables in supply too for the kiddies - no sense in worrying about broken dishes when you should be enjoying yourself.

Oh, what to make for dessert for Easter? Or maybe you’re buying, there are always beautiful big apple pies and scrumptious pastries on display at the local store. If you are making your own family favorites for dessert, be sure and make it easy on yourself by making them a day or two ahead of time. They’ll still be plenty fresh and you’ll have a much less stressful holiday if you’re not trying to juggle too much in the kitchen at once.

One of our favorites for Easter is a big carrot cake. This is a rich and delicious dessert that tastes even better with a hot cup of fresh roasted coffee. It’s the perfect ending to a celebratory dinner. Of course for the kids we like to make a batch of cute bunny cupcakes or hidden surprise cupcakes with a chocolate baked inside. They’re always a big hit!

When you spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and baking, you realize you use certain items a lot. And you also realize you sometimes make a bit of a mess as you go. We used to use a lot of paper towels but have been trying more lately to grab for a kitchen towel to clean up instead. It’s good to keep some extras around. We also have quite a few aprons and one of our favorites is our handmade shibori kitchen apron.

It’s a really cool apron with 2 front pockets. It’s a nice length too, with an adjustable neck and a tie at the waist. It’s handmade in the US of 100% washable cotton and naturally dyed using berries and flowers. It comes in eight bright color choices - since it was hard to choose a favorite , we bought a few in lime green, raspberry pink, and cocoa brown. Even the colors sound yummy, don’t they? It’s by far one of our favorite cool kitchen accessories.

While it might seem far away, it’s never to early to start thinking of your Easter dinner and dessert menu. Will you be serving family favorites or trying some new dishes? I like to do a little of both to mix things up. I usually cook a pretty classic Easter meal served with a delicious new side dish or two. I think though the desserts are my favorite part of the meal - they can really be a lot of fun and quite special.

There are so many wonderful pies and pastries to serve for dessert that I tend to overdue it on quantity. I’ll always make a fruit pie or two and a variety of pastries. I also like to make one of my grandmother’s recipes each year, like her custard layer cake or almond ring. There is nothing quite like a scrumptious, made-from-scratch dessert served with a rich coffee to complete a perfect meal.

There is no special treat quite as simple and fun as dipping a fresh strawberry into dark chocolate or a piece of warm bread into melted cheddar cheese. Add a glass of wine or a brew or any drink of your choice and you’ve got the makings for a party or easy gathering with friends. That’s why we love the Rachael Ray Enamel Cast Iron Fondue Set - especially in the bright orange finish.

This is a great set from a quality product line. And fondue is not just for grown-ups, since you’ll find kids love dipping fruits and other goodies into all sorts of wonderful dips. It just makes for a fun time for all. There are lots of wonderful unique serving dishes that you can own in this world, but I think a fondue set is sure to be one of that will give you the most fun for your money!

What better time to treat yourself to a delicious, decadent dessert than on Valentine’s Day. There are so many wonderful desserts you can make, it’s hard to choose.  If you love strawberries, then how about a light and tasty strawberry shortcake made of layered cake, strawberries and sweet, heavy whipped cream. More of a chocolate lover? Then you’ll love a chocolate eclair dessert or perhaps a pumpkin chocolate dessert cake made in your favorite bundt pan.

You can make mousse, parfaits, cookies, mini cakes, brownies with whipped cream - any of these mouth watering favorites. And if you don’t feel like baking this weekend, then be sure to visit your favorite bakery and treat yourself to something special for dessert for this sweet holiday.

Quiche is a wonderful , satisfying dish. And it’s not just a meal but can be a wonderful rich treat too. It is very rich in protein and oh so fattening, but simply too delicious to resist. Whether you’re making your favorite bacon, ham and mushroom breakfast quiche or perhaps a classic Quiche Lorraine, you’ll surely love this sturdy and versatile springform quiche pan made by Kaiser Bakeware.

This great pan has a removable bottom for easy serving and a patented magnum coating so you can slice the quiche right on the pan without damaging it. It’s a great, solid pan made of commercial-weight steel with a double nonstick interior for easy release and easy cleaning. If you love making quiche this is one quality cake pan that you are sure to get a lot of use out of.

We just came in from a brisk walk outside. When we started out the sun was shining so the mid 30’s didn’t feel quite so cold. However, by the time we returned the sun had disappeared and suddenly we felt the chill. We couldn’t wait to get inside and warm up. Once we took off all of our layers we all decided it was time for a nice warm treat to enjoy.

Now, like most people on a wintry day, we love making a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows or whipped cream on top to warm ourselves up with when we come in from the cold. And that’s just what we did. We popped some fresh popcorn, sat down with under a cozy blanket and savored our delicious hot cocoa. Some of our other cold weather favorites are warm soups like a creamy tomato or potato  or maybe a fresh, warm batch of double chocolate brownies with rasberry sauce on top. Anything warm and tasty that you enjoy is nice to come home to on a cold, blustery day.

We love pancakes, and not just for breakfast, but for snacks and dessert treats as well. While pancakes might not seem like a dessert idea at first, there are some wonderful sweet recipes that you can easily make at home that are perfect for dessert. Before you get started, make sure you have a quality griddle like this Stainless Steel Round Griddle to bake your pancakes in.

One of our favorite recipes is chocolate chip pancakes. The easiest way to make them is to use 1/2 of your favorite pancake mix combined with 1/2 of a brownie mix, adding in some chocolate chips as well. You can serve these with a strawberry sauce and a dollop of whip cream for the perfect finishing touch.  It’s just one of the many wonderful dishes you can make for your family with a litle creativity and some great kitchen cookware.

I was visiting the Martha Stewart site earlier, admiring all of the great holiday baking and craft ideas. I found wonderful ideas for food gifts and some great examples of handmade gifts and wrapping styles. It’s all quite beautiful, I would like to try to duplicate some of them for our own family celebrations this year.

Today’s cookie feature was scrumptious peppermint meringues with chocolate filling - they not only look fantastic, but sound irresitable.  I think we’d also enjoy the butter pecan rounds, so we’ll be trying a few new recipes this year. It might not always turn out perfectly the first time, but we won’t mind tasting the experiments!

This is the time of year when our baking really shifts into high gear. There are cookies to be made, pies to be baked, dessert breads to create. We love making mini-breads since they’re a perfect breakfast treat and are also wonderful to give out as gourmet gifts. Another big favorite of our is homemade cheesecake. Sometimes there is nothing quite as satisfying after a delicious meal than a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth homemade cheesecake. One of our favorite baking pans is the Kaiser Springform Table set.

 What’s particularly wonderful about this pan is that it includes a sturdy acrylic cake cover so that we can make our family’s favorite cheesecake and easily travel with it to the dinner destination. The pan is made of commercial-weight for even and gentle heat distribution for consistent baking. The 2-layer nonstick interior and exterior coating eliminates the need for flouring pans and allows for quick and easy release. Plus, the pan features Kaiser’s magnum coating which allows for cutting in the pan without damaging the surface. You really can’t beat the lasting value you get with Kaiser Bakeware.

Well it’s hard to believe it, but Thanksgiving is now just a bit more than a week away. Everyone is busy making plans for travel or for hosting the big meal. Who will bring what side dish? What dessert would you like best? Can you make a dessert to bring?  It’s really a fun time of year, if you don’t let the hectic pace and crazy traffic get to you.

Some of our favorite family pies include sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, fresh apple pie, peach cobbler, and pecan pie. The hard part is deciding which pie to choose to make! Plus we like to make mini dessert breads and festive cookies too. It’s hard not to love the holidays when you’re surrounded by your favorite people and favorite foods!

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to buy loved ones for the holidays. What do they like to do or wear? Will they use it and enjoy it? I’m sure we all have some presents tucked away in our closets at home they we just never will use or wear. It’s a shame, because someone spent their good money on these things and it’s seems quite a waste. That’s why these unique kitchen gift ideas are sure to be a big hit at the holidays.

What’s wonderful about quality kitchenware gifts is that they’re useful and can be enjoyed for many years. These gifts are easy on your wallet since you’ll find lots of items for under $25 and in turn, make someone very happy this holiday season!

There are a lot of favorite snacks that come to mind this time of year. Fresh apple and cherry pies, baked cookies like ginger and oatmeal raisin, homemade breads and muffins. Another classic is candied applies or caramel covered apples. A super easy snack to make, it’s also a wonderful treat for your little one - and a bit healthy too!

 We like to make chocolate covered apples around here. They’re really simple to make - just remove the stem from the apple, place a popsicle stick in the core, dip in melted semi-sweet chocolate and crumbled cookies or nuts, and place on a tray in fridge to cool. A delicious year-round treat. 

Now many people may not be familiar with the wonderful aspects of clay cookware. As a matter of fact, quite a lot of people aren’t even aware that the option of cooking in clay even exists. But clay cookware dates back to the Roman times when they enveloped their food in mud clay and tossed it into the fire to cook, producing exceptionally juicy and delicious results.

One of the most well-know clay cookware manufacturers is Romertopf, and with good reason as they have consistently produced quality clayware for many years. Not only can this cookware be used for cooking your meals, but you can also bake fabulous desserts in these containers. And if you love baked fruit you need look no further than the unique banana and apple bakers Romertopf produces. If you’re looking for unique holiday gift ideas, you’ll find these pieces make wonderful gifts for that special person.

It’s hard to believe it, but Halloween is just 10 days away. I’m showing my age by saying this, but I can still remember when we were children, many of our neighbors gave us homemade treats like candied apples, chocolate sweets, and popcorn balls. Of course, that was before all of the bizarre and dangerous behavior of a few individuals that caused us all to switch strictly to pre-wrapped candies and treats.

But if you’re having a Halloween party at your home or just want to make some fun treats for your family, it’s a perfect excuse to break out the classics and make some wonderful caramel apples, decorated sugar cookies, homemade chocolates, and fun Halloween theme cupcakes. And don’t forget the fun of dunking for apples - young and old alike will get a big kick out of it.

Bread might not quite classicly be first thought of as “dessert, but certainly any slice of warm fresh bread tastes quite wonderful enough to qualify. Now if you add things like cinnamon raisin, apple raisin, pumpkin, or many of the other delicious sweet items to your bread, there’s certainly no denying the dessert-like quality and taste. One of our favorite tools to bake our breads in our these sturdy clay mini bread pans from popular clay cookware manufacturer Romertopf.

If you’re thinking of creating some lovely homemade gifts for the holidays this year, these mini pans are perfect for making personalized loaves. You can bake up quite a variety of breads and mix and match them for individual tastes. You can even include some sample jams and butters for wonderful gift baskets that your friends and family are sure to love. Purchasing a few bread pans will pay you back tenfold as you find people coming back with requests for more of your specialty breads. Who knows, you might end up with your own little bakery side business before you know it.

If you, like many people, have food allergies in your family, you’ll find it’s not so hard to switch out many of your favorite recipes to leave out the offending allergens. It’s easy to leave nuts out when called for as most desserts taste just as good without them (with the exception of course of dishes like pecan pie, where the main ingredient is the nuts ). 

Baking cakes without egg, another big allergen, can be tricky when it comes to consistency, but cookies and muffins turn out very nice without the normal egg ingredient. We’ve been very successful simply substituting applesauce and a teaspoon or two of baking powder. Some people also recommend substituting 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 tablespoon of water, and 2-3 teaspoons of baking powder for every 2 eggs called for, but our personal preference is not to use oil whenever possible.

Whether you’re just starting out in your 1st kitchen or adding to you favorite baking tools you already have, you’ll have more fun creating your favorite goodies if you keep the basic necessities nearby. There’s nothing worse than getting ready to make a pie or cake and realizing you’re missing one of the essential items to get the job done. Then you end up running out to the store and paying more than you should have for something that may not be the best tool you could have chosen for your money.

Stainless steel cookie sheets, square or round cake pans, loaf pans, muffin pans, potholders and oven mitts, mixing bowls and whisks - these are just a few of the many tools you’ll want to have to bake up your holiday desserts in a snap!

Yes, it’s time to make some of our favorite fall pies - apple, sweet potato, pumpkin.  We admit it’s always time for a great pie, but when this wonderful season arrives our yearnings always seem to quickly turn to the seasonal favorites.

While we make our own pie shells, you should never let making a pie shell stand in the way of you making a delicioius homemade pie. There are plenty of good pie shells available in your favorite store’s frozen section that will serve just fine - so you can just concentrate on the filling. You’ll find the recipes for these are pretty simple and you can tweak the spices on desserts like pumpkin pie to suit your own tastes. Practice makes perfect - plus it’s fun to taste every attempt.

Fondue, which was a big hit in the 70’s and early 80’s, seems to have made a comeback. If you’ve never tried fondue, you really should. It’s a fun treat for any chocolate lover. Or if you don’t want to go the sweet route, you can always go with a cheese dip.  Gourmet Standard makes a beautiful stainless fondue set that is sure to be a hit at your next dinner party.

This is a unique and stylish fondue set, perfect for entertaining at any gathering .  And it’s not just beautiful, but it’s sturdy and built to last. And the parts can be placed in the dishwasher to easy clean-up after your party. It certainly is not your average serving dish!

When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my grandmother - she was a wonderful cook and she had the knack for making great desserts too.  She grew up in Europe, where her family had a bakery, so I suppose it was in her blood and mine too.  I credit her for the love I have for cooking and creating special baked goods and desserts. And it’s also her patience with me as a child that has made it so easy for me to enjoy cooking with my children.  I highly recommend it for all parents. Because it’s really not about what you make, or even how it turns out, but about the wonderful time spent together and the memories that will last forever.

Next time you’re trying to come up with something different to do with your child, how about making a batch of cookies, or a frozen fruit treat? Or you can make banana muffins, cupcakes, chocolate covered pretzels…anything fun and simple. You can start by just letting your little one add an ingredient, or help with the mixing, or spoon the cupcake batter into the cupcake liner. And it doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s actually better if it isn’t- because you want them to remember the joy of cooking. So make it fun and then enjoy the tasty results with some milk or a hot cocoa. It’s just that simple.

If you enjoy baking breads and desserts as much as we do, then you’re likely on the lookout for new ideas and tips as much as we are. We love to bake and we enjoy trying new ideas too, though we’re not about to give up some of our favorite cakes or muffins. It’s just fun to add new things into the routine sometimes.

Here are some dessert ideas we came across recently that even reminded us of some treats we hadn’t made in a long time, like macaroons and espresso cheesecake. There’s is nothing more satisfying than a silky homemade cheesecake with fresh coffee after a delicious dinner - yum!