Pumpkin Spice Macarons

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's funny how baking has introduced me to a whole new world of flavors. I've always been open to trying new foods but I thought I knew what I mostly liked and disliked until I really started working with desserts. I force myself to try flavors I wouldn't normally eat, and although I make them with the intention of giving them to someone who DOES like them, I've found myself enjoying some as well!

I found that Hershey's kisses were doing seasonal flavors: pumpkin spice and caramel apple. I couldn't decide whether or not to try them out, but then my sister finally convinced me. Even if I couldn't eat them, it might be nice to make something out of my norm, eh?

Chocolate Caramel Tart

Now that I've been making caramel sauce from scratch, it's really come in handy! We used it on our sweet crepes in St. Louis, and I use it for salted caramel cupcakes all the time. It's great to just keep around in general. So, I was just playing around one day and thought I'd try out a new tart shell I saw online. It turned out to be a complete accident, since I was going for a mango lime tart, but it somehow turned into a chocolate caramel tart...

Butterfly Cupcakes

So, for Joe's little sister's birthday this year, I thought I'd bake her favorite cupcakes. I only see her when he comes home to visit, so it's only a few times a year. She loved the white chocolate raspberry cupcakes I made for Nehal, and every time she sees me, she asks for them. Unfortunately, I never have them on hand and they're a bit time-consuming (compared to other recipes) but I figured her birthday was the perfect opportunity!

A Cupcake Party

I made these for Joe's visit to Atlanta, since he loves coconut. I never tried them because I can't stand coconut, but everyone seemed to enjoy them. I saved a bunch of them for Henry and Sonya's visit, and of course kept one aside for my niece. They all thought it was their favorite out of the bunch.

Crepes, Crepes, Crepes

I don't know I ever pronounce the word correctly, but gosh darn it, crepes are ridiculously easy and delicious! They're sometimes a little frustrating to make, especially if you insist on making them paper thin like I do. I really wanted to recreate my perfect crepe in wintry Paris, warm and filled with nutella. But flipping it when it's super thin is maddening.

I made sweet crepes, and they were easy and fun. We had so many toppings to choose from. Hao made coconut ice cream, there was nutella, and my homemade caramel sauce. I had already made cream cheese frosting. Aba brought over hazelnut butter, and there was her homemade strawberry jam. We also had fresh strawberries and raspberries... mint chocolate chip ice cream... and bananas! The possibilities were endless!

Vanilla Custard with Grand Marnier and Raspberries

While on my raspberry binge, I stumbled upon this recipe and just had to try it. It sounded so good! Alas, I'm lactose intolerant, so I couldn't enjoy this as much as I liked, but my family definitely did. This made for such pretty pictures too.