Heather Baird's Blog, page 46

Smoky Chocolate Cigars

Father's Day is just around the corner, and we're hosting a proper cookout for the special guys in our lives. I already have a couple of potluck-style desserts in mind for the day, but I also wanted to make something cute and kind of funny. Inspiration struck when I found a bag of smoky Lapsang Souchong tea in the pantry. Steeped in heavy cream, it makes a marvelous smoked ganache - and it's a fitting flavor for a chocolate cigar!

You won't need a fancy gadget to make these. Waxed paper rolled into tubes makes a simple and effective cigar mold.
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Cactus Garden Cakes

I hope you're not tired of seeing cactus cakes, because I have yet another to add to the ever-growing collection that fills our Instagram and Pinterest feeds. Lately I've been paying special attention to things that make me smile, and there's just something so funny - almost silly - about these little succulent cakes. I certainly had a laugh at the end of this project, not to mention a slice of lemon buttercream-covered cake!
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Dark Chocolate Coconut Fudge Brownies

Cakes get a lot of attention here, and maybe that's why this blog is a little deficient in brownie recipes. It doesn't make much sense because I adore  brownies, especially when they are dark, dense and fudgy like these.

Summer all but here (and officially on June 21st), so that makes me want to celebrate tropical flavors, like coconut! Not only do these brownies have a heaping helping of golden toasted coconut on top, they also have a coconutty secret ingredient inside.
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Mixed Berry Breakfast Bake

We are in the midst of strawberry season, and this breakfast bread pudding recipe is a great way to put those berries to good use! It's such a simple fix, and so flavorful. Below the toasty top layer of bread and berries you'll find pockets of cream cheese... seriously folks! I'm not kidding when I say this is one of the best bread pudding recipes I've ever made. The acidity from the red berries gives balance to the creamy elements. My husband says it's like eating strawberry shortcake for breakfast. I'd have to agree!

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Skillet Monster Cookie

This is a great family-style dessert that's easy to make and will feed about 10 hungry people. My favorite way to serve it is as pictured: plop ice cream scoops on top and then give everyone a fork. Somehow the cookie tastes even better when everyone is standing around the stove top, hovering over the skillet for a bite. The cookie also slices neatly into triangles, and it goes without saying that people with better manners could serve it on plates at the dinner table.

The combination of warm peanut butter-oatmeal cookie with melting vanilla ice cream on top is seriously amazing. The cast iron skillet gives the cookie chewy edges while the center remains soft, but if you don't have a cast iron skillet a 10-inch round cake pan will work just fine.
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Rocket Pop Layer Cake

Hello, hello! I hope your weekend is off to a great start. Most of us here in the U.S. have a long weekend ahead because Memorial Day is on Monday.  I wanted to create something with nostalgic flavors and patriotic colors to celebrate the day, and I found inspiration in an ice pop!

Rocket Pops are frozen treats with triple layers of colors and flavors: red is cherry, white is lime, and blue is blue raspberry. It was fun transforming those elements into cake, and it's not difficult at all!
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Cherry Cola Jello Shots

I'm not much of a soda drinker, but I cannot pass up the occasional root beer with pizza, and I always order a cherry cola when I go to the movies. In fact, I've never had a cherry cola outside of a movie theater! Isn't that funny? The flavor is definitely special to me and only reserved for that single activity. I recently decided to rethink my decorum because I don't get to the movie theater very often, and with Memorial Day coming up, I couldn't think of something more fun to serve than cherry cola jello shots !
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Creamy Orange Marbled Fudge

All of my fudge candy-making usually happens around winter holidays, but this creamy orange fudge is lovely for springtime and summer. It tastes like a Creamsicle bar, but richer and more potent! I've been storing a few cubes in the freezer for a frosty treat, which admittedly isn't a normal thing to do with fudge. It's surprisingly refreshing! You may want to try it for yourself, but it's delicious any way you serve it.
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Margarita Pie in Jars

Memorial Day is just around the corner, and for us that means celebrating with lots of food! It's almost an unspoken agreement that we'll be having a cookout, so I've been making my shopping list and checking it twice (hot dog buns - check!). I've also been thinking about refreshing desserts that would be a nice pick-me-up after a heavy meal of hamburgers, potato salad and baked beans.

These Margarita Pie Jars are just the thing! They are cold and refreshing, and their zingy lime flavor will put some pep in you step.
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Rhubarb Pie with Double Crust

Maybe I should have called this Rhubarb Only Pie. I've found that many rhubarb pie recipes have some other fruit or berry added to the filling ingredients with no mention in the title (I'm looking at you, strawberries!). If you're a rhubarb fanatic, and purist, you'll love the sweet-tart flavor of this pie. The filling is held between two flaky, all-butter pie crusts. Is there anything better than that?
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