Cinnamon-raisin coffee cake

cinnamon raisin coffee cake, bundt pan coffee cake, simply coffee cake recipes, baking, breakfast, brunch

Believe it or not I used up all my words this weekend so I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Speaking of sweet this coffee cake is just that. Sweet enough but not too sweet that you find yourself trying to get it to say something mean just to see if it’s capable of […]

Read More

These are not hangover recipes

banana chocolate chip muffin, recipes, breakfast, banana muffin, dessert

One of my girlfriends had a birthday party last night and I’m proud to say I stayed out, in a bar, well past 2 a.m. I know my after-hours-attending, late-night-eating 21 year-old self is laughing right now as she reads that statement but she’s just going to have to deal with the fact that we’re […]

Read More

Hearts and Love and Mushy Stuff

valentine cookies, valentine sugar sandwich cookies, martha stewart recipe, chocolate sandwich cookies, pink cookies

Let’s talk about love. On second thought, let’s not. Let’s talk about making the most of a holiday that celebrates love by whipping up some sweet treats for friends and family. Valentine’s Day is here and that means restaurants everywhere will have a chance to jack up menu prices just by throwing in a chocolate […]

Read More

Tips for surviving a polar vortex

By now you may have heard of a little storm system wreaking havoc on the “lower 48” early this week, blessing us with a frigid blast of cold temperatures more suitable for Old St. Nick than young Chicagoans. I know living in Chicago for several years now should prepare us for weather like this and […]

Read More

Lessons in cookie decorating

Last night I faced a serious dilemma. I had a lot of baking and decorating to do but my back was locked up like Chris Brown during the holiday season. See what I did there? In all seriousness, my back tends to lock up on me if I spend a lot of time standing in […]

Read More

In the holiday spirit

sweet potato rosemary biscuits, savory scones, holiday recipes

Before you start reading go ahead and click that little button above this sentence and join me in grooving to some Brenda Lee on this snowy Monday morning. Oh and try not to picture Kevin McCallister as you listen. If you are any generation near me, or have kids in any generation near me you’ll appreciate […]

Read More

Let there be light…in the morning at least

pumpkin apple muffins with streusel topping, simply social blog

Happy end of Daylight Savings Time, y’all! I hope technological advancements (aka your iPhone) made this time change a little easier on you than in years past. And congratulations to those of you whose car clock is finally accurate again after 6 months of ‘just looking at the minutes.’ Tricky little things, aren’t they? Ok. […]

Read More

Spooky Pumpkin Toffee Cookies

spooky pumpkin toffee chocolate chip cookies simply social blog

Pumpkin season is in full swing folks. And while I’m not exactly down with the PSL craze, I do love to put pumpkin into just about everything else from October through oh let’s just say February. If I’m baking you something during this time frame, it’s likely to include pumpkin. Sorry I’m not sorry. I […]

Read More

Winning in October

fall birthday party simply social blog

Can we just start this post with a big old Hip Hip Hooray Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Hakuna matata for the Cardinals heading to the World Series? October is so much more fun when playoff baseball includes your favorite team. Even more so when they clinch with a 9-0 score. Whew! I’m especially excited because I completely forgot that back in February […]

Read More

Perks of a taper week

pumpkin bread streusel topping

Happy marathon week to all you runners out there! For those of you not running a marathon it’s likely you are either getting married or watching others get married this weekend. After all, the second weekend of October is typically celebrated one of these two ways. A small percentage of you have nothing more than […]

Read More