ELLIE: February is the month of love. For me the kitchen is and always has been a place of love. Baking for friends, family, and neighbors is the truest expression of love. There’s something so sensory and satisfying about kneading a bread dough by hand or slathering luscious layers of chocolate cake with homemade buttercream, especially when those treats are meant for sharing around the table, for long-lingering conversations that go well into the night, and for drinking copious amounts of coffee. I know I’ve said it many times before, but baking truly is my love language.
However, sometimes I crave a guilty pleasure—a treat that hasn’t been crafted by hand, something so good yet so bad it’s almost criminal.
My guilty pleasure is Pinwheels! I love these chocolate marshmallow delights, so much so that I actually avoid the cookie aisle when I’m grocery shopping as otherwise I might be too tempted to add them to my shopping cart. What is it about their fudgey goodness? My husband cringes at the sight of them, yet their siren song calls to me. I’ve tried to recreate them in my kitchen, but they never turn out quite right. The only solution is to cave every once in a while. Perhaps sometime in February a package of Pinwheels will find its way into my shopping cart. ❤️
What’s your guilty pleasure?
BOOK GIVEAWAY BELOW
LUCY BURDETTE: For a while I was addicted to Italian cookies made by Loacker that I first saw in Eataly in NYC. However, there really is nothing better than homemade cake in my mind. Especially yellow cake with caramel frosting. In fact, I will have quite a few family members visiting around Valentine's Day and I think that calls for a replay! (It's best to have a crowd around for this one, lest I be tempted to eat the entire thing...)
But what do I choose when I want to treat myself, or cheer myself up? At Christmas, it's those Ghirardelli Peppermint Squares, with white chocolate, dark chocolate, and peppermint bits. One bag---when they're gone, they're gone! In the kitchen, I whip up a jar of a household fave, the Chocolate Cabernet Sauce from Butter Off Dead, so totally yummy with vanilla ice cream. (Or on a spoon by itself, if I must be honest.)
Daryl: I have to admit I love digging into a carton of ice cream with a spoon. Before breakfast. Or any time of the day. My husband, before we were married, caught me dipping in and asked what I was doing. Sheepishly, I turned to him and said, "It's medicine." I think of ice cream as medicine because it's calming and it cools my sometimes overheated stomach. Another guilty pleasure is a bag filled with Tootsie rolls when I go to the movies. I dig them out of my purse and savor them one at a time. I know. We're not supposed to bring our own food into the theater. Bust me. They don't carry Tootsie Rolls!
MAYA: My guilty pleasure is a Klondike Mint Chocolate Chip bar. I'm so good at guilt that I can't eat the whole bar. I cut a quarter off and return the rest to the freezer. That way I spread the guilt over four days--not a lot of guilt because it's an afternoon snack with fewer than 60 calories. If I were eating the whole bar, I'd probably gobble it down as my grandsons do. But with a small square between my fingers, I save each nibble.
KRISTA: I'm with Roberta on the cake, except for one thing. I see cake as a must-have food and don't feel one bit guilty about eating it! Now a truly guilty pleasure is a Russell Stover caramel-filled chocolate. Or a strawberry milkshake from Cook Out.
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CLEO: I'm with you on the cake! And since February 2nd was my birthday, I'll share one of my favorites. Marc always buys me my choice of cake for my birthday, and this year I chose this Mocha Roll from Red Ribbon bakery. The roll is made of chiffon cake with a rich mocha buttercream and garnished with chocolate logs. Here's a picture of it from last year, which I posted to my Facebook page. I wish I could share a piece of this beautiful cake with all of you. Have a great February, everyone! ~ Love, Cleo
LINDA: I'm not a dessert-eater, not by choice, but rather, content. So these days, just give me a tasty slab of cheese and some gluten-free crackers, and I'm very happy. I do have a favorite cheese though, one that also works as an appetizer because I believe chocolate fits every food course. It's called Triple Chocolate Cheese and trust me, it does taste all chocolatey and perfect to end, or begin, a meal.
DENISE
For a foodie, my guilty pleasure is pretty low-brow. I love Little Debbie Fancy Cakes. There's something about the yellow sponge, creamy filling, and sweet frosting that temps me every time.
VICKI
My only guilty pleasure is nuts. I absolutely love nuts of all sorts. Guaranteed, you will never find a nut in my house. I almost never eat desserts but last week when we were in Cancun to celebrate my mother's 95th birthday, the hotel presented her with a cake. I had some as part of the ritual, and it was perhaps the best cake I've ever eaten. So good I had another piece for breakfast the next day. Here's a picture.
Book giveaway from these authors:
Daryl Wood Gerber - To Brie or Not to Brie
Ellie Alexander - Till Death Do Us Tart
Eva Gates aka Vicki Delany - Something Read, Something Dead
Krista Davis - The Diva Sweetens the Pie
Leslie Budewitz - Butter Off Dead
Lucy Burdette - Death on the Menu
Maya Corrigan - Final Fondue
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