Lemon Squares

For the crust, you'll need:

1/2 cup sated butter, softened
1 cup AP flour
1/4 heaping cup of confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch


For the lemon filling, you'll need:

4 eggs
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp AP flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract*
1/2 tsp lemon extract*
2 tsp grated lemon zest*

*These ingredients are all optional but I think they make for a better tasting and more tart lemon square


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray or grease with butter.

For the crust, in a large bowl, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, and cornstarch, then cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Mix the dough by hand until it is a crumbly mixture. Using fingertips and/or the back of a spoon, press dough into the prepared pan to form an even flat layer; prick the dough with a fork in 10-15 places so that air and steam can escape while baking. Bake for 12-15 minutes; the crust will be barely set and it will not be golden or browned —this is good. While the crust is baking, make the lemon filling.

For the lemon filling, whisk together all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl. The mixture will appear quite "runny", but that's okay because it will set during baking.

When the crust is finished baking, pour in the filling mixture and bake for another 20-30 minutes until the filling is set and does not jiggle when the pan is gently shaken. I found that mine took more like 30 minutes until it was set and not "jiggly".

Cool completely before slicing. In fact, I let mine cool at room temperature for a little while, then placed in the refrigerator for an hour or so before slicing.

Top slices with additional confectioners' sugar.

Enjoy! :)

Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you like  thick ooey-gooey brownies, then you'll love these cookies. They're like a brownie texture with the sweetness of white chocolate chips!


Here's what you'll need:

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp milk
1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds, then add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Next, beat in the egg and vanilla.

Add in the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda, and mix on low until combine. The dough will be very thick. Mix in the milk on a low speed until combine, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for a couple of hours (or up to 36 hours, covered).

When you're ready to bake these cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degree F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take 2 tablespoons of the chilled dough and roll into a ball before placing on baking sheet. Even though the cookies will still appear to be quite soft, only bake for 12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy :)

Auntie Anne's Copycat Pretzel Recipe

These pretzels were soooo good and relatively easy to make (seriously). I don't tend to eat gluten, but I definitely caved and indulged in one of these deliciously buttery treats.

Here's what you'll need:
2 cups milk
1 1/2 Tbsp (2 packets) active dry yeast
6 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp salted butter, melted
4 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp salt

1/3 cup baking soda
3 cups warm water
Coarse salt
8 Tbsp salted butter, melted in a shallow dish 
In a large bowl, warm up the milk in the microwave for one and a half minutes. You should be able to comfortably keep your finger in it; make sure it's not too hot or it will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise. Stir the yeast into the milk and let sit for 5 minutes.

Stir in the melted butter and sugar, then add the flour (1 cup at a time works best) and salt, stirring after each addition.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes (you can do this by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook; I did it by hand).

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with greased saran wrap or tin foil. Let rise in a moist, warm place for one hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 lumps. Roll them all out as thin as you can.

Combine the warm water and baking soda in a wide bowl. Form the dough into pretzel shapes, then dip each pretzel into the baking soda water.

Place pretzels onto a greased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake pretzels for 7-11 minutes or until browned (the bake VERY fast so keep an eye on them). Once the pretzels are finished, dip each in melted butter and place back onto the baking sheet until cooled (or eat them ;)).

Enjoy with a nice cheese sauce or dip. We really liked dipping these pretzels in the jalapeño greek yogurt dip from Costco.

Double Peanut Butter Cookies

Opps! It's been a while since I've posted recipes on here. Although I've still been baking lots, I've been forgetting to take pictures. Oh, well, that's not going to stop me anymore. These Double Peanut Butter Cookies were a hit —even my mother who doesn't like peanut butter sweets, loved these cookies and asked for the recipe.

Here's what you'll need:
1/2 cup butter, salted
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter (I used smooth Kraft and probably used closer to 1 cup)
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup peanut butter chips (YUM-O)


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then add the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter. Beat until smooth. Next, mix in the flour and baking powder on a low speed. Finally, stir in the peanut butter chips.

Drop spoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. They will still be soft when they first come out of the oven —this is good and what you want.

Enjoy :)

S'more Cookie Bars

I made these for our friend's BBQ and house-warming the other weekend and they were a hit. They make for a fun ooey-gooey campfire-like treat —without having to go through the trouble of making a campfire!

Here's what you'll need:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups AP flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (~8 graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
2 king-size milk chocolate bars (I used Hershey's)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow Fluff

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease and/or line an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, and baking powder. Add to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of the dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. It will seem like a very thin layer, but the baking powder will cause it to rise in the oven.

Place chocolate bar pieces over dough (don't layer the bars, just break them to fit if you need to), then spread the marshmallow Fluff over the chocolate bars (this will be somewhat awkward, sticky, and messy, but just try to have fun with it ;)). Now, top the Fluff with the remaining dough by forming the dough into sheets with the palm of your hands and laying it down.

Bake for 30-25 minutes or until lightly browned. If the top is browning too quickly, then cover will tin foil for the remainder of the baking time. Cool completely before cutting into bars. I didn't and they were very difficult to cut so that they looked "presentable".

Enjoy :)

Chocolate Chip Mug Cake

This evening I was craving something sweet, but I didn't really feel like venturing out in the heavy rain, so I peaked around the web for mug cake recipes.

Below is a recipe for chocolate chip mug cake that can be made gluten-free. Simply replace the AP flour with some form of gluten-free flour.

This mug cake is ready in less than five minutes and definitely hits the spot. I highly recommend toping the warm cake with a scoop (or two or three...) of ice cream.

Here's what you'll need:
3 Tbsp of AP (or gluten-free) flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp milk (regular, almond, soy —whatever you prefer)
1 Tbsp of butter, softened
1 Tbsp peanut butter or other nut butter
1-2 Tbsp of milk chocolate chips

In a mug, simply combine flour, brown sugar, and baking powder. Stir in the milk, butter, and peanut butter, then stir in the milk chocolate chips. Pop in the microwave for 45-60 seconds. And that's it!!

Enjoy :)

Breakfast Biscuits

Happy New Year!!

This morning I woke-up and made Dan a nice New Year's Day brunch: Homemade biscuit breakfast sandwiches.

I've included the recipe for the biscuits below. Although I used them to make breakfast sandwiches, I'm sure they taste equally good warmed up with some butter and jam —or a number of other things!

Here's what you'll need:
2 cups of cake flour (or AP flour; cake flour will simply result in higher biscuits)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup salted butter, cold
1 cup buttermilk*

*If you don't have buttermilk on hand, no worries. To make buttermilk, you simply combine 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar with just under 1 cup of milk. Let rest for five minutes before using in recipe.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and baking powder, then cut in the cold butter. Using your fingers, work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly (there should be no pieces of butter that are larger than the size of a pea). Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk. Mix the dough  together using a wooden spoon and/or your fingers until just combined. At this point, you can let your dough rest for ~20 minutes if you want (I did not). Letting your dough rest functions to create higher biscuits.

Now, place dough on a well floured surface. Sprinkle the dough and your hands with a little flour, then using a rolling pin, gentle roll out the ball of dough into a rectangle about 1" thick (the narrow end should be facing you). Fold the rectangle of dough into thirds by folding the farthest end towards you then folding it again, like a letter. Turn the dough clockwise and roll it back out into a rectangle about 1 1/2" thick. Fold the rectangle in half. Turn the dough clockwise once again, roll out to about 1 1/2" thick, and fold in half.

Form the dough into a nice round circle and roll out the circle to about 1" thick. Cut biscuits using a floured biscuit cutter and place on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

At this point, you once again have the option of letting the biscuits rise for 20 minutes. As I mentioned above, it's entirely up to you and how high you want your biscuits to be. I was in a rush so I skipped the rising, but reflecting back, I think I would do it next time.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with butter or cream if you want and bake for 15 minutes.

Enjoy! :)