I’ve been a member on AllRecipes.com for over a decade.  I joined December of 2000, actually.  I wish I remembered why or how I stumbled onto the site, but I’m glad I did.

Now, my recipe box is overflowing with over 300 recipes, and I’ve even made some of them   The first one I saved was sugar cookies, and that’s probably what I was looking for at the time.  I love to bake, and I have spent a lot of time looking for my favorite rolled sugar cookie.  I’m not sure it even exists, but I keep trying them to see if there’s a better one.

I’ve settled into many favorites on the site, but I’m always trying something new. Something I wouldn’t have known about.  Something surprising.  Something I can share with family and friends that makes everyone smile.  And that’s probably my favorite part of AllRecipes.com and why I go back day after day.

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Image from GoBoldWithButter.com - I've made this twice and haven't stopped to photograph it either time. So you know it's good!

For me, nothing compares to the taste of warm (not melted, not firm, but just warm and spreadable), creamy, fresh salted butter.  The way it melts into the crevasses of a crunchy toasted English muffin, the way it fills all the spaces in the grid of a warm waffle under a cascade of maple syrup.  The way it slides across a stack of pancakes.  What’s not to love about butter?

Ok, there’s fat.  But fat is flavor, and to me, it makes much more sense to use a little butter than to use a lot of something synthetic.  Margarine will never be butter.  It really shouldn’t try.  There’s no substitute for the natural, creamy goodness of melty butter.  It makes everything better.

My newest favorite recipe containing butter is from the fine folks at GoBoldWithButter.com.  French Toast with Honey Butter.  I can’t even describe how mouth-watering this is.  As if the french toast isn’t enough (it’s really pain perdu with brandy…divine!) the honey butter is the best I’ve ever tasted.  It’s mixed with honey, vanilla bean, and some powdered sugar and a little salt to create a butter so perfectly sweet and salty it’s great on everything.  And easy – don’t miss it.

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These are better than they look believe it or not.  The ganache is bittersweet Ghiardelli, the cheesecake is peanut butter, and the crust is Oreo crumbs.

If you decide to make these lovelies, prepare to exercise your patience and a food processor is a big plus.  I have neither, but I managed to turn these out anyway.

It probably took me the longest to chop the chocolate and to turn the Oreos into crumbs, but modern machinery would probably make quicker work of both those tasks.

Peanut buttery with a bittersweet chocolate ganache on top, it’s a great combination.  I’d recommend silicone pans for these – they pop out great that way.  I probably should have let the ganache set a bit more before I piped it, but now we’re back to the lack of patience.

Want to make these?  Head over to Go Bold With Butter for the recipe.  Enjoy!

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Cooking with wine can be a great way to use the end of that bottle of French wine you might have open in the refrigerator. It can really add a new layer of flavor to your main dish. But what do you need to know to have a successful dish?

The number one rule – don’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. Of course if we’re using the end of that open bottle, you’ve already enjoyed it and you know what the flavor is like.

What type of character does your wine have? Red or white, fruity, herby, spicy? Consider the character of the wine you’ll use when you decide what dish to use it in. If you’d pour a glass of wine to enjoy with your dish, it will probably go well in the dish.

You can use wine at any point in the cooking process. Add flavor as you make the sauce by deglazing the pan with it, marinate vegetables, or finish your sauce with it.  If you deglaze with the wine, be sure to let it reduce to cook the alcohol out and concentrate the flavor.  And taste before you add it to your protein.  You still have a chance to go another way or add other flavors, so there’s not much risk in giving it a try.

Bottom line, don’t be afraid to play with flavors and add wine to your dishes – taste as you go and your food will be better for a little vino.  Just be sure to save yourself a glass to enjoy with your dish, too!

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The combination of sour cherry, bittersweet chocolate and real butter make these brownies an over-the-top delicious dessert that couldn’t be easier to make.

I used the best chocolate I could, and mountmorency dried cherries that I found at Target (also available at Trader Joe’s).  The intense cherry flavor plays against the slightly bitter bittersweet chocolate in these.

Make them; you won’t be sorry.  Get the recipe at GoBoldWithButter.com.

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Have you ever had a craving for s’mores but you want to skip that whole “sleeping on the damp, cold, hard ground in a tent” thing?  Try this quick idea.

Here’s all you need:

• jumbo marshmallows
• skewers
• graham crackers
• milk chocolate candy bar
• any candle you’ll be unlikely to accidentally knock over
• individually wrapped soft caramels (optional)

Just thread the marshmallow onto the skewer, and rotate it slowly over the flame, but keep it moving so that it doesn’t flambé.  When it’s done, assemble the s’more as usual, sandwiching the marshmallow and candy bar between the graham crackers and enjoy the messy goodness.

For added sweetness, thread a caramel on top of the marshmallow on the skewer before you start roasting it, and then pull the toasted marshmallow up over the caramel and sandwich between the grahams with the chocolate.

Thanks to AllRecipes.com’s Shudderuppers recipe for the caramel idea!

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The mission from Allrecipes.com and Fiber One:  Create an original recipe featuring Fiber One cereal.

Now I’ll admit, when the complementary boxes of Fiber One arrived in my mailbox, honestly I was less than excited.  I’ve never been a fiber cereal kind of gal, and I seriously doubted I’d be able to come up with something that didn’t taste like, well, twigs.

But I was pleasantly surprised.  The cereal is very crunchy, so it lends itself as a replacement for other grains.  My first recipe attempt was a muffin and it was a total failure.  The texture was just way off.  But it wasn’t the cereal that caused the problem – they were way too wet.

I decided on my second attempt I’d try to make something crunchy.  This is my second try at biscotti ever, too.  So maybe we can call it beginner’s luck, but these turned out really well.

They’re crunchy and full of nutty flavor, and the honey and dusting of cinnamon sugar make them sweet enough for me but not super sweet.  Mission accomplished!

Multi-grain Chocolate Chip Pecan Biscotti

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Recipe type: cookie

Author: Angie Seaman

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 36

Ingredients

• 1 cup Fiber One cereal, crushed
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease.
2. Mix together flour, oatmeal, Fiber One, salt, baking powder and 1t cinnamon; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together butter and honey. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in all but 1/8 cup each pecans and mini chocolate chips. Stir together remaining cinnamon and sugar; set aside.
5. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
6. Divide dough into two equal pieces and form into approximately 9″ logs and place about 4″ apart on prepared baking sheet.
7. Moisten fingers with water or use a spatula coated in water, and press dough logs down to about 1″ thick. Sprinkle reserved chocolate chips and pecans over the top of the dough and lightly press in, then sprinkle tops of logs with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
8. Bake 20-25 minutes until brown around the edges. Lightly spray with water and sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar over tops of logs; let cool 10 minutes and reduce oven to 325 degrees.
9. Cut logs crosswise into 1/2″ slices and lay them close together, cut side up on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Turn over so other cut side is up, and bake another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Let cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container.

Serving size: 1 cookie Calories: 89.6 Fat: 5.3 g Saturated fat: 2.4 g Unsaturated fat: 2.4 g Carbohydrates: 9.7 g Sugar: 5.4 g Fiber: 1.4 g Protein: 2.5 g Cholesterol: 56.7 g

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photo: Washington National Cathedral

I’ve heard of lots of names for this day of indulgence before lent:  Mardis Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Fastnacht, Paczki Day.  But pancake day was a new one on me – and I’m on board.  Any excuse for a nice tall stack of pancakes is ok by me.  And since I can’t get a decent version of my beloved paczkis where I live, I will have to settle for pancakes.

The traditions are all the same with different ways to celebrate.  The idea was to purge the house of all the thing you had to give up for Lent – so high-fat high sugar treats are the watchword for the day.  Pancake day is the same idea – make pancakes to get rid of the butter, sugar and flour.  But there’s an even more fun tradition for those flapjacks than enjoying their fluffy goodness on a plate.

Shrove Tuesday was once known as a ‘half-holiday’ in England. It started at 11:00am with the signalling of a church bell. On Pancake Day, pancake races are held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. Legend has it that a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.

The pancake race remains a relatively common festive tradition in the UK, and England in particular, even today. Participants with frying pans race through the streets running and flipping their flapjacks. In Olney today, a pancake race still takes place every year on Shrove Tuesday.

The tradition of pancake racing had started long before that. The most famous pancake race, at Olney in Buckinghamshire, has been held since 1445. The contestants, traditionally women, carry a frying pan and race to the finishing line while tossing the pancakes as they go. The winner is the first to cross the line having tossed the pancake a certain number of times. Traditionally, when men want to participate, they must dress up as a housewife (usually an apron and a bandanna).

And in the US, the national cathedral celebrates this tradition with their annual pancake race.  I can think of better ways to treat a stack of flapjacks, but it looks like fun to me.  As long as I get to eat some of those pancakes I’m totally on board.  Here’s my recipe for the best pancakes I’ve ever had.  Much like pancake racing, making these perfect is all about the technique.

My Favorite Pancakes

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Recipe type: Breakfast or Brinner

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 2

This recipe is scaled way down for a small batch – just double or triple if you’re feeding a group.

Ingredients

• 1 C flour
• 1/4t baking soda
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1 t sugar
• 2T melted butter
• 1 egg, separated
• 1C buttermilk

Instructions

1. Heat griddle or frying pan over medium heat (350 degrees).
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl, whisk and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and butter. In a separate bowl, mix together egg white and buttermilk until combined. Drizzle yolk/butter mixture into the buttermilk while whisking to create an even emulsion.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and mix to just combine. Batter will be lumpy. Scoop by 1/4 cup scoops onto hot griddle. Flip when the batter starts to bubble, and then serve hot.

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To me, graham crackers aren’t complete unless there’s some frosting between them.  Dunked in a glass of milk, they’re delicious and super simple.

Next time you make cupcakes, cake…anything that uses frosting, you will invariably have some left over.  Just spread it between the graham crackers and put them in the fridge to set up a bit.  Delicious!

But, if you are impatient and want to make frosting specifically for your graham crackers, here’s a recipe.  I fancied them up by just pushing the edges into some sprinkles before the frosting set.  Enjoy!

Graham Crackers with Frosting – Easy Treats

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Recipe type: Dessert

Author: Triggerpal at AllRecipes.com

Prep time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Serves: 24

A simple to make treat that will satisfy any sweet tooth.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, beat the margarine, egg and vanilla, using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Stir in confectioners sugar and cocoa until smooth. Beat in the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the desired spreading consistency is reached. You may need to adjust the amount of milk used.

Notes

Consider chocolate graham crackers, cinnamon grahams, or any flavor frosting. There are a million ways to make these delicious.

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