Sweets and Treats

Mmmmm, chocolate pudding. Great for those days you just aren’t feeling so hot and are needing a little something comforting. This isn’t your usual “out of the box” pudding, so don’t go expecting it. It is, however, decadent, rich, and a sweet treat to have once in a…

Lemon squares are one of those desserts that always made my teeth hurt they were so sweet. Conventional lemon squares recipes typically call for anywhere from 2–3 cups of cane or confectioner’s sugar. This variation certainly won’t make your teeth hurt, and they don’t…

Why should pumpkin get all the fame and glory when it comes to pie? Sweet potato pie is a Southern comfort staple, whereas pumpkin has much more of a national flair around the holidays. You can easily substitute out the sweet potato for pumpkin, but I for one love the…

Banana pudding is a staple in the South, and typically involves a vanilla cream pudding (sometimes from an instant mix), bananas, and vanilla wafers. While I could have “invented” a vanilla wafer substitute, the point here is to create something that’s reminiscent of…

“Sullivan’s Apple Pie” was a family tradition at Christmas, Thanksgiving, and pretty much any other holiday. People always asked me the secret to the recipe, as it was not an overly sweet pie; rather, it was tart and tangy from the use of the Granny Smith apples…

Eat your heart out, Martha! We find it amusing how much sugar most recipes call for when making a cobbler. Fresh peaches, blackberries, and blueberries are naturally about the sweetest things in the world. In fact, if they are in season, why not take a trip to a local…

Springtime in the South is a sight to be seen, and I missed it for the eight long years I lived in Los Angeles. Springtime also means super-fresh crops of strawberries—usually starting in late April or early May—and I love strawberries and could eat them by the bowl….

You can serve this tasty treat nearly year round. If berries are out of season, buy the frozen kind and make do. This dessert, like most, packs a pretty potent sugar punch. Let patience rule the day and wait until strawberries and blackberries are in season if you…

This is for those times when you are asked to make (specifically) a cake for a work/book club/party event, and you don’t want any gluten or massively massive doses of sugar, but you still want to impress the guests. There aren’t a lot of ingredients here, it’s not too…

It’s amazing to really utilize fruits with their natural sugars for sweetening things. This recipe is a classic example of just how sweet oranges and pears are on their own—and how much sweeter they get when cooked together. You seriously won’t believe that there is…