A Cook's Quest

I don't know about where you live, but in my area of the country Spring hasn't decided to fully arrive. Sure we get teased with beautiful sunshiny days hours, but it doesn't take long for gloomy rain clouds and cold wind to come back. So what should a mom do when the end of Spring Break has to be enjoyed inside? Well, make play dough of course! I have always made regular old salt dough for my kiddos to play with, but I wanted something that was less sticky to work with and feels more like the stuff that comes out of the little tubs you buy at the store. The recipe I made is smooth, not sticky and the color is vibrant thanks to my gel food colors that we used. It was a lifesaver at my house yesterday. I was in awe that such simple ingredients could bring all three of the kids together for quiet play time and even better....they got along! Had I known the magic powers of home made play dough I would have made it a long long LONG time ago! There are recipes all over the i...

How do you make brownies better?  Is it really even possible?  Well it is when you start layering a minty creamy filling and fudgy ganache, oh yes, brownies are soooo much better when the layering starts!  It is like the flavors of chocolate mint chip ice cream collided with the perfect brownie and then had ganache poured over the top...only it's different...but similar too.  The whole thing starts with  a brownie, simple unassuming and, of course, delicious because good brownies are simple and delicious.  Then you proceed to a light and fluffy mint filling and finally the topping...chocolate ganache...we all know there is nothing, I repeat nothing wrong with chocolate and cream!  It's like an amped up version of the Andes Mint Brownies  from a while back, but better.  Yumm!  That is really all I think of to describe them. I'm going to try them in mini muffin tins next time for the perfect two bite treat, again, YUM...