Posted in Recipes

Classic Mini Waffles

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Waffles are one of my favorite things to eat. I always order them over pancakes or French Toast when I’m at breakfast or brunch. The reason is that I can’t make them at home. I don’t have a waffle iron, let alone a waffle recipe or mix.

That’s why I was excited for this month’s Secret Recipe Club pair-up with Rebekah from Making Miracles. Rebekah had not one, but two recipes for waffles! I chose to go with her “Classic Waffles” because Not only does this recipe whip up in a jiffy, but it is a tried and true “Family Favorite” from Rebekah’s family.

This recipe also gave me an excuse to use my parents’ “Circus Waffle Iron” to make some mini-waffles. Because of that, I halved the recipe and still was able to get around 12 mini waffles from it.

Check out Making Miracles for more about Rebekah’s family, food, and memories and the Secret Recipe Linkup below to so who else participated in this month’s reveal.

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Banoffee Danger Pie

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Banoffee Pie is one of my favorite desserts. It’s a simple combination of bananas and toffee that together taste, as a whole, more than their parts. I’ve only seen a few banoffee “in the wild”, and whenever I see it I snatch it up.

That’s why when I was browsing Christie’s site “A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures” for this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I knew I had to make the Bannoffee Danger Pie. Not only do I get to eat one of my favorite desserts, but I also get to learn how to make it. Calling it a recipe is a bit of a misnomer. I took some shortcuts and what follows below is more similar to assembly instructions.

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Wondering why it’s called “Danger Pie?” From the source:

Why “danger”? Glad you asked. Danger is this pies middle name not only because is it tasty and calorically sinful but its also incredibly easy to make! A dangerous combination. If you are on a diet, avert your eyes.

You would think pouring a whole jar of caramel into a pie would make it far too sweet, but this is a case of “sum of its parts is greater than it whole.” The bananas and cream cut the caramel to the perfect level of richness.

I attempted to make a non-dairy whipped cream topping using coconut cream and it worked perfectly – except I let it continue to whip while I poured the caramel and it separated. I left half of the pie plain for my friends and family that are dairy sensitive. I also baked up a few of these as mini-pies and they were irresistible.

Head on over to A Kitchen Hoor to see what else she has, including: Emeril-famous Sweet Potato Skins, Creamy Jambalaya Pasta, Vanilla Cupcakes with Blackberry Curd, and Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies.
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Quick & Healthy Energy Bites

These energy bites are super easy to whip up and are ready in about five minutes. I always have oats on hand and whenever I’m in the mood for something sweet but not too bad for you, we make these tasty “balls”.

The flax seed adds a great roasty toasty flavor, especially if you grind your own from flax seeds. If you don’t have peanut butter, you can substitute it with any other nut butter. Sometimes I like to throw in a tablespoon or two of spiced speculoos cookie butter too. Because I can’t leave anything *too* healthy.

Soft Pretzels

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I’ll be honest — soft pretzels are a guilty pleasure of mine. I have very fond memories of going shopping with my family and being rewarded at the end with a hot pretzel and lemonade. I also like getting the pretzel rolls to make mini-sandwiches with, but they’re a bit hard to find nearby me.

Making pretzels seemed daunting to me. They’re like bread and bagels mixed together, some mystery that makes them magically chewy yet snappy and soft.

It turns out that they’re not that hard to make! I was inspired by my Secret Recipe Club partner for this month, Nicole from Collie’s Kitchen. Nicole is a half-country/half-city girl that is a full-time college student and mother. I can’t even imagine how she does everything, including making these great soft pretzels!

I didn’t have milk powder or a bread machine, so I had to use a little improvisation with these pretzels. These turned out way better than I expected and I imagine that there will be more pretzels in my future (gotta use up that bread flour!). We might even make these pretzels a Memorial Day tradition; they taste great when smooshed around a local sausage, coleslaw, and grilled onions.

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Mango Ginger Tart with Pistachio & Coconut

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When my sister was graduating with her undergraduate degree in English last May, I had to show up to the ceremony with a little treat for her to eat afterwards.

This tart is incredibly easy to put together and is flavorful yet light. I first saw it on Zen Can Cook, thinking it was odd that a recipe so simple would be on his site. Then I knew it was destiny when fellow DC food-blogger Olga of  Mango & Tomato re-created it with some crystallized ginger. How could you go wrong with mango and ginger?

My sister & I in Philadelphia
All bundled up, ready to be enjoyed

I was a bit lazy, which yielded a more “rustic” result. I used pre-chopped mango from the store instead of slicing my own, which made the tart a bit more clunky and testy when slicing. But the end result was still scrumptious and looked perfect for the occasion in my Panibois Baking Molds wrapped with ribbon and cute graduating owls.