Well, just like that, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Can you already smell the pie? Are you promising yourself you won't overindulge this year? I've got great news. You can still indulge and feel guilt-free! Bring or make this chai spiced pecan tart to Thanksgiving dinner and get your pecan pie fix with half the calories!  I don't know if it's exactly half the calories, so don't quote me on that. But what I do know, is this tart is raw and it's vegan and all the ingredients are wholesome and nutritious. For the crust, you're going to use pecans and dates, with a bit of shredded coconut in the mix. And for the filling, of course, we will be using soaked raw cashews. I love these babies, for real. They work so well in raw desserts, and even make an amazing mac and cheese sauce.  More on that in another post. So, you're going to blend the raw cashews with coconut cream, add in some maple syrup for a healthier sweetener, cocon...

You guys, it's my favorite time of the year! Strawberry season! My local farmers markets have been overflowing with sweet summer strawberries. And they gave me the push I needed to get out of my writers block and back to whipping up delicious recipes for you all. I should actually thank my sweet husband for coming up with the cobbler idea. I had thought of making a pie; perhaps even ice cream. But then he mentioned cobbler and I thought, that's an excellent idea! Initially, I wanted to do an apricot cobbler. Because, I LOVE apricots. Almost as much as I love strawberries. Then I thought, why not combine the two? Sweet strawberries and slightly tart apricots would make the perfect combination. And they did. The buttermilk biscuit topping was exceptionally good and there was just the right ratio of it to the fruit. To be honest,  I am usually not a fan of fruit desserts ( chocolate lover over here, all day every day ), but summer definitely brings out a different s...

Oops, I sort of let Valentine's Day pass by without baking anything chocolate-y for you all. But..better late than never though, right? I've sort of been trying to be on a diet lately and I'm failing pretty miserably at it. I mean, when I say diet, I really just mean I've been trying to curb my sweet tooth. But it's SO hard, guys. I can literally do high intensity interval training 4 to 5 times a week but I can't say no to a Reese's Fast Break bar. And the worst part is every time I give in, I try to justify it. Like, it has peanut butter and that's protein so it's not that bad. Plus, I worked out. And the cycle repeats itself over and over again. So I figured out that I should surround myself with healthier sweets, that way the guilt isn't so bad and neither are the consequences. This chocolate-hazelnut tart looks so indulgent but it's actually made of wholesome ingredients. There's no refined sugar, no grains, no gluten, and...

Thank you MI-DEL for sponsoring this post. Get inspired with holiday recipes here and purchase your own MI-DEL Pie Crust at Walmart stores nationwide! ...And we're back with another installment of chocolate meets pecans! Last week, I shared these cookies with you and they were such a hit, I knew you guys would love a pie recipe of the same flavor combo. I made this pie extra special and by that I mean, it's gluten-free! So, more of my readers can enjoy it, as well as my family members who follow a gluten-free lifestyle. I gotta tell you, finding good gluten-free products out there isn't the easiest. It's a hit or miss. This MI-DEL graham style pie crust was a definite hit. It was all there in the flavor department, and as a matter of fact, MI-DEL pie crusts are actually 30 grams thicker than other brands and the proof is in the pie. Also, they are the only pie crusts with ingredients I can pronounce and the only pie-crusts on the market that are allergen-...

This weekend, I made salted caramel for the first time and aside from the fact that I'm shocked and elated that I got it right on the first try, I'm really trying to figure out why it's taken me so long to make it. Like seriously, this stuff is liquid gold. It's an abomination that up until now I've been using jarred salted caramel. I decided I'm going to put it in and on everything I possibly can and as you can see, I started with this pie. Caramel is just meant to be with apples, so adding it to apple pie was a no-brainer. I thought the pie might turn out super sweet, but it was honestly perfect. The crust was out of this world and I know I call a lot of things out of this world, but it really was. There was one small flaw and that was that it turned out a little runnier than other pies I've made and so I've adjusted the recipe to include a tablespoon of tapioca to firm up the filling. The only person more excited about this pie than I was is ...

Well, hello again! It's been a while. A little over two months, but who's counting? I haven't forgotten you all, I've just been really busy with life and working behind the scenes on my blog redesign. I'm hoping it will be ready to go live by 2017, so let's keep our fingers crossed! In the meantime, let's enjoy some pie. As we all know, I have a very public love affair with chocolate SO the instant I saw this recipe for a double chocolate silk cream pie, I knew it needed to happen as soon as possible. And OXO's  9" pie plate from their awesome new glass bakeware line came perfectly in handy. I love their new line so much because it is made from thermal shock resistant borosilicate glass, which means it can withstand extreme temperature changes without cracking or shattering. Also, the generously sized rims make the pans so easy to carry.

And just like that, Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner! How is it almost the end of May already? I feel like May just started. Before I know it, I'm going to be packing up my bags and saying goodbye to New Jersey! But before that day comes, I have been enjoying some quality time with my family and doing what I do best-- making them all their favorite desserts! With Memorial Day coming up, I figured I would make something both them and you guys would love! PIE! I can't even remember when is the last time I made a pie. Probably around the time that I started watching my diet and making healthier desserts. Now a days, you'll find me drinking peanut butter banana protein shakes--which by the way, are equally as delicious...kind of. Nothing can really beat a cold, creamy pie made with the best Oreo crust ever. Golden Oreos are where it's at y'all. Stop using regular Oreos. I added a pinch of salt to the crushed Oreos as well and it seriously too...

It's Friday PieDay everybody! Okay, I just made that up....although every Friday should definitely be pie day. My family would love that. They are all about pie, cream pies in particular. So, you know they just about died when they heard I was making one for the blog! That's how we refer to things in our house; for the blog or not for the blog. That lets them know whether or not they're allowed to dig in. It's a good system. Anyway! This particular cream pie features pumpkin and of course, white chocolate since this week I'm celebrating #Choctoberfest. Today will be my final recipe but the celebration will go on until Sunday and so will the giveaway , so make sure you go enter before then! Now back to the perfection that is this pie. It's got a flaky, crispy pie crust, a white chocolate cheesecake layer, a spiced pumpkin pudding layer, and finally a fresh whipped cream layer topped with delicious Lindt CLASSIC RECIPE white chocolate curls. ...

You guys, if you knew how easy it was to make pop-tarts, you would never buy that artificial cardboard stuff again. I'm serious. It's almost embarassingly easy. This is my third pop-tart recipe on the blog and it's definitely my favorite because it's super duper chocolatey! Shoutout to Lindt chocolate for providing me with their delicious CLASSIC RECIPE milk chocolate to use! In case you missed the announcement yesterday, this week is #Choctoberfest with Imperial Sugar, a virtual event in which me and many other bloggers will be sharing our favorite chocolate recipes all week long. AND more importantly, we're hosting a huge giveaway with products from all our sponsors, Lindt included, so be sure to enter here if you haven't already! Now let's talk about this fudge filling. Just look at it. Seriously mesmerizing. It has the same effect on your taste buds as it does on your eyes. And I kid you not, it may not even make it inside the pop-tart...

It's no secret, I'm bananas over bananas. I try really hard to avoid bookmarking more banana recipes, but I can't help myself. ESPECIALLY when there is custard involved. And so, ladies and gents, I present thee with banana pudding bars. Holy moly guacamole. These are sort of like banana cream pie, but easier because we're bypassing the traditional pie crust and crushing up vanilla wafers instead. From there, it's just a simple vanilla custard and some whipped cream, and you've got yourself a cool and refreshing dessert idea for summer potlucks. Make sure you err on the side of cooking your custard longer so that it's thick enough to withstand being cut into bars. I didn't do this and the bars sort of deconstructed, but they were still absolutely delicious and that's what matters, right?

You guys, we had such a cruel winter this year that 60 degrees feels like a blessing and 80 feels like we're dying. Literally. I went to a picnic at the park on Mother's Day and thought I might actually pass out from the heat and it was only around 82 degrees. There is an upside to this though. Because it's so hot, humid, and sticky outside, I am allowed to start posting no-bake desserts that require barely any effort to make! What may have previously been considered "lazy", is now considered "seasonal"! :-P I have had this pie bookmarked for five-ever and I'm deeply saddened that it took me this long to try it because it's probably one of the best things to ever happen to my taste buds. Literally, the coolest, creamiest, airiest, delicious-est no-bake pie you'll ever have the pleasure of tasting. I mean, it's Snickers inspired for crying out loud. That should say enough. But if you needed me to say more, there is an...

Happy Wednesday y'all! We're taking a break from paleo   desserts and using some good old fashioned butter and sugar today. The occasion? Easter! Since it's only a few weeks away, I figured I'd give you guys some dessert inspiration. I've done carrot cake on here before, as well as coconut cake , so this time around, I went in a different flavor direction- lemon! Before I go any further, let me just address the elephant in the room and say yes, I did in fact overbake these tartlets. First time making tartlets + non-traditional crust recipe does that to you. But the good news is, they still tasted fantastic so if this happens to you, no worries! But I did test the recipe again so I could get down the correct baking time, so hopefully it won't happen to you :) Now, about that non-traditional crust recipe. It's non-traditional in the sense that it's actually a sugar cookie recipe. And it's paired with this velvety smooth lemon cream fil...