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People often ask me where my recipe ideas come from. It’s a fair question. Sometimes I adapt recipes from cookbooks, magazines, and other websites – I credit the source when I do this. Many times I just throw ingredients together having a good foundation of knowledge of what goes well with what. I also love re-creating dishes I have tried in restaurants or friends’ houses. But once in awhile I’ll have the beginnings of a recipe pop into my mind and stay there until I do something with it. It’s often a still frame vision of sorts. Once I have the image in my mind I start deconstructing it and then reconstructing it frame by frame using ingredients and methods which work for me. When mentally reconstructing a recipe in my mind I start asking myself certain questions like a scientist would. “What would happen if I added this? How can I make these ingredients work together? How can I streamline the process to make it easier and faster?” These are the questions which run through my mind when I’m developing recipes. My hope and end goal is to have created something visually pleasing and equally delicious.
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[donotprint] Destiny does not keep track of time. When the time comes for fate to make herself known, one cannot argue with her. Sometimes destiny and dessert collide, and I love it when this happens. It’s after midnight and I am cleaning out some drawers. I hate cleaning – not as much as I hate doing dishes or laundry but it’s up there high enough which makes it worth mentioning. Whenever I feel unmotivated to clean (something I loathe doing so much), I look for distractions or start new projects just to avoid having to face reality. This is called denial. So here I am, in my dirty, flour dusted clothes baking Fat Witch Bakery’s Congo bars made with a buttery graham cracker crust and topped off with a sticky, sweet, gooey, coconut-pecan-chocolate chip topping -kind of like a seven layer bar. And in case you’re wondering why I mentioned destiny and fate, you would have to understand how remarkable it truly is to be out of so many pantry ingredients, including white sugar, yet have just enough of all the ingredients I need on hand to bake such a memorable midnight treat. The chances of this happening in my kitchen is 1 in a gazillion.
An hour ago I was thinking I should finish putting away everything I had taken out of the drawers but then I decided my time would be far better spent baking brownies. Wouldn’t you agree? [click to continue…]
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[donotprint] If I could have given this recipe my own title, I would have called it “Death by Blondies.” If you’re staring at your computer screen wishing you could grab a piece of the Samoa Blondies from the platter, I wouldn’t blame you. Because I’m such a good friend, I had two pieces – one for you, the other for me. Yay me!
These blondies are inspired by Girl Scout Samoa cookies. Made with chocolate chips and coconut, these sweet treats will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth craving. As a warning, you should have a cold glass of milk nearby because you’re going to need it. [click to continue…]
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Every now and then a girl needs a vacation, right? Well this week our family is on Spring Break. I’ve promised my husband I will not blog or anything else related. Instead I plan on catching up on reading books, which have collected dust on my nightstand. Another priority is making sand castles on the beach and playing in the surf with my kids. Who knows, maybe I’ll live on the wild side and take my husband up on his suggestion to treat myself to a pedicure! But don’t worry, I’ve left Savory Sweet Life in good hands while I’m gone. I have two amazing bloggers lined up to share with you wonderful recipes for sweets!
Today’s first guest post is from Hannah of HoneyandJam.com. I’m very excited to have Hannah guest posting on Savory Sweet Life. If you’re not familiar with Hannah, trust me, you would be doing yourself a favor by visiting her beautiful blog. While you’re there, soak up and be inspired from all her gorgeous still-life photography and yummy recipes. Today she is sharing a recipe for Chocolate Cinnamon Shortbread which I cannot wait to try when we return home. Thank you, Hannah! [click to continue…]
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[donotprint] I have a small confession to make. I have a secret stash of Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups on the top shelf of my pantry. I usually access it nightly after the kids have gone to bed. But today I had this thought.. wouldn’t these little peanut butter cups be so cute and so good inside a mini brownie? It would be just enough brownie to suspend the mini peanut butter cup just perfectly. Next thing I knew I was baking up a batch and popping them in my mouth. Heavenly.
The nice part about this recipe is that the baking time is only about 15 minutes and the batter can be prepared in a mixing bowl. No special mixer required. [click to continue…]
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