Some of my baking faves....

I am not feeling good today. I've had a head cold this week and put in some hectic days so I'm a little exhausted on top of everything else. Going to take it very easy today and catch up on some sleep and rest. But I did want to share a little something.

Just thought I would share some of my real life pictures of goodies I have made over the years and took pictures of. These are some of my favorite desserts.

Topping the list is my chocolate candy and peanut butter candy...not to be confused with fudge. This candy is the more sugary kind that melts in your melt but doesn't have to be refrigerated.

I also made these monster cookies one year and they were delicious. I have to get the recipe again from my friend Jeanenne since I lost my first copy.

This my favorite cake to make. A lemon pound cake with home made glaze. I actually use Duncan Hines cake mix and go by the Lemon Pound Cake recipe on the side of the box. However, I change it up a little. Where it calls for 1 cup of water, I actually use 1/2 cup of Sprite and 1/2 cup of lemon juice. I also zest the rind of one lemon and put in the cake mixture. I make mine in a Bundt pan and it is to die for. For the glaze, I use confectioner sugar and just a little milk then add the zest of another lemon, a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice and a splash of sprite to get it the right texture. I like it thick enough to cling to the cake but thin enough to run down over the sides when I pour it on.

Another favorite is brownie cookies. I make Duncan Hines Brownies using the recipe on the side for the little sandwich cookies and add a teaspoon of cinnamon. Then I make a homemade frosting that is the frosting for a Texas Sheet Cake . The trick is once I put the frosting on the cookies, I pop it back in my oven for about 5 - 10 seconds. It hardens the icing just a tad and it's not as messy to store.

Here is another recipe for a delicious cookie. I am a die-hard Duncan Hines fan, but they don't make a Molasses Cookie mix. So I have to use Betty Crocker for this recipe. I simply use this mix and add 1 tsp. of ginger and 1 tsp. of cinnamon for a cookie that just screams fall.

Another family favorite is an orange cake-like cookie with an orange cream icing made from Crisco, powder sugar, orange juice and orange zest. These are so good but make about 80 or more cookies. I only made them at Christmas. I always made them for hubby so I probably won't make these again for awhile. 

I also love making mini cinnamon sugar donuts. But once I discovered I could use the same recipe in a mini muffin pan, now I make them as a mini muffin. They are wonderful.

This is not dessert, but when I stumbled on it I just had to fix some. This is my version of homemade pizza bread. I use Cobblestone Mill white sub rolls. I split them open and spread Ragu Traditional Pizza Quik Sauce. I top it with browned and drained pork breakfast sausage, but you can top with whatever you want. For my cheese, I prefer Kraft Colby Monterey Jack finely shredded, but again, use the cheese of your choice. Bake in the oven on a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes until they are hot and cheese has melted. As a matter of fact, I am actually having these for supper tonight. 

A fave of mine at Christmas time is to make hot cocoa and top it with Marshmallows. I stir the hot chocolate with a candy cane to get the perfect chocolate peppermint combination. Then I take the used candy cane and grind it on a nutmeg grater and make "peppermint dust" to sprinkle over the marshmallows. Next I top it off with a candy cane for decoration. It's out of this world.

And the last thing I want to share is my favorite soup recipe. It tastes just like Shoney's beef cabbage soup. I can't wait for a cold dreary day off to make a pot of it.

For all my soup loving followers, here is the recipe.