simple recipes

Introducing the Exclusive Distillery No. 209 Spiced Gin Mini Cupcake

Guest Post by Amy Wolff, creator of FingerSweets I’m on a flavor quest…a cupcake flavor quest to be specific. Cupcakes, in my book, are a pure delight. Some food trend experts have declared that cupcakes are out of fashion. Based on the reviews and awards I’ve received I assure you that the word on the street [...]

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Quick and Easy Butter Sauce Recipe for Herbs

It’s a weeknight. You’re tired. Spouse is fried. Kids are getting cranky. Grocery shopping didn’t happen. And there it is…the daily question that never goes away. What’s for dinner tonight? Cooking with herbs and spices, even at the most basic level, can really save your butt in the daily grind. So whether you’re looking for uses for herbs and spices or just a quick [...]

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Book Review: The Spice Merchant’s Daughter: Recipes & Simple Spice Blends for the American Kitchen

“It was the aroma. The exotic scent of spices: rich, alluring, and almost magical. A scent that would sometimes overpower the freshness in the air and sometimes subtly mingle with it to create a tantalizing bouquet. A scent that would always bring me back to my childhood.” Author: Christina Arokiasamy Such is the introduction to [...]

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10 Uses for Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend

Wouldn’t you say that pumpkins are the poster child for autumn? The cheerful pumpkin is just so agreeable. Oh, those warm autumn spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, ginger, chili peppers. Pumpkins love ‘em all. The grande finalé comes near the end of November when a pumpkin pie punctuates the end of nearly every Thanksgiving dinner. Which brings me [...]

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Questions Answered: Non-Alcoholic Vanilla? What’s The Ratio of Vanilla in Alcohol?

A Spice Sherpa reader is making her first batch of vanilla extract and had more questions than my previous two posts on vanilla covered. Question: If making your own homemade vanilla is that easy why isn’t everyone doing it? Answer: As easy as vanilla is to make, it’s even easier to grab a bottle of [...]

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Candy Corn Cookies With Natural Coloring

About a week ago Food News Journal posted a link to the most adorable cookie recipe on the blog by Baked Bree. I knew immediately that I’d be making the recipe. But as I scrolled through the comments, one in particular caught my attention. We don’t do artificial colors in our house because they have a [...]

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Spices & The Exhausted Cook

Have you ever felt like everything has converged together to thwart your best laid plans? C’mon. It happens to everyone. My story is a mixture of love, ambition, and food. My sons and husband were in the Adirondacks for a camp. I stayed home so I could compete in an event, a.k.a. equine triathlon. [...]

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Basic Mexican Chocolate Ice-Cream

Aaaah, ice-cream. There are as many ice-cream flavors as there are personalities: sophisticated, playful, artistic, extravagant, creative, simple, humble, diva, flamboyant…you get the idea! Here’s one that’s loyal but playful. It starts with basic chocolate ice-cream. It’s good. Really good. But it lacks pizzazz. I wanted something capable of teasing out a surprised grin and an eager [...]

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Spicy Summer Hair

Lavender and hair? There’s a connection and it starts in winter. From hip-looking beanies to soft-lined aviators to funky tuks with the little tassles on top: when the cold flows, hats rule. But that’s so two months ago and summer items are a whole different breed. Warm weather beckons you to let your hair down and feel [...]

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Hold Your Horses Molasses Cookies

If you’re looking for the cookie recipe for the molasses cookie you ate at the Stoney Creek MS Benefit Horse Show today you’re in the right spot. If you weren’t there, you’ll still enjoy this post. Let me fill you in. You don’t need a horse to hold to love these cookies but there is an equine theme. [...]