Chili Con Carne

Chili con carne is a robust and rich chili made with beef roast that includes deeply flavored Mexican chilies and spices all simmered together in a stew-like dish. This is a Texas style chili and it's made of mostly beef and chili sauce without lots of added fillers.

It uses a generous amount of browned beef chuck chunks rather than ground hamburger and this really builds up the meaty flavor. Whole dried chilies are used in place of pre-ground store-bought chili powder, and those chilies are toasted in a skillet then soaked in liquid and pureed in a blender to build the base of this hearty chili.

The chili is simmered low and slow on the stovetop for well harmonized depth of flavor and to tenderize the beef.

It's an impressive made from scratch chili that may seem intimidating at first but once you try it you'll see it's easier to make than you'd think.

It's also a tasty change from the original style chili and you may find tasters to love it even more, especially meat lovers! Plus it could just win your next chili cook off!

Decorated Halloween Cupcakes

There are so many ways to decorate halloween cupcakes but I wanted to share something easy and a little more practical. You don't need frosting piping skills to decorate these and they are made with treats we all love!

And you have two choices of frosting flavors here. You can go for the standard vanilla or my personal favorite was the orange (that chocolate orange combo is quite delicious).

The cupcake batter is made in one bowl using a whisk, then you just need a hand mixer for the frosting. So it's a basic recipe with simple tools that makes delicious results! It may just become your go-to cupcake recipe in general and just change up the tint and decoration according to the holiday or occasion.

These are such a tempting Halloween treat in so many ways and they are the perfect thing to bring along to a party. Everyone will want to savor every chocolatey bite!

Take these easy spiderweb Halloween cookies to your next Halloween party to impress kids and adults alike! 

Chocolate Halloween Cookies

Meet the tastiest, buttery, and decadently chocolatey cookies you'll never be able to get enough of! These Halloween cookies have a melt-in-your-mouth tender texture and such an enticingly rich flavor.

They are actually a breeze to make (you just need a piping bag and a toothpick to create the web) and they're always sure to impress with their detailed, high-contrast design. You can give them as gifts, serve them at a Halloween party, or just make them for a fun fall baking project to treat yourself this weekend.

If you’d like you can also make these in advance and freeze them (shortbread is a perfectly freezer-friendly cookie). You can freeze the dough or baked cookies.

Just be warned you most likely can’t stop at one cookie. They are 100% irresistible and a new favorite Halloween treat!

Want to make vanilla ice cream to pair with it? Try my silky homemade vanilla ice cream recipe too!

The Best Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

This chocolate ice cream is the absolute best you’ll ever taste! It’s a staple in our summer dessert lineup, but it’s so tasty I find myself making it all year long. 

It always gets rave reviews when I serve it at parties. After one bite and you’ll never see store-bought ice cream the same!

With a smooth, creamy base and a rich chocolate flavor, it’s delightful on its own but can also be added to sundaes, milkshakes, and all your favorite ice cream desserts. 

Finish it off with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce or homemade caramel sauce for a sweet treat that will cool you off even on the hottest of days! 

The Best Coffee Smoothie Recipe! 

Who doesn't love a quick breakfast that makes mornings easy? One that also satisfies hunger, tastes great, and contains simple ingredients you may likely already have on hand. This quick coffee banana smoothie checks all the boxes. 

Made with just a handful of ingredients, it’s sweetened without any refined sugars and has an irresistible rich chocolate mocha taste. Plus, with the addition of oat flour, it’s super thick and creamy and can easily be turned into a coffee smoothie bowl, too. 

You can even make it with decaf coffee so that it’s suitable for those who are sensitive to caffeine.

I’ll show you how to make it in minutes so you can whip it up in no time, no matter how crazy your mornings may be. And on those days you have a little extra time top it with fresh whipped cream (or coconut whipped cream to keep it vegan) and chocolate sauce for a real treat!

One sip of this exceptionally flavorful smoothie and you'll instantly fall in love!

Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I’m a big fan of making cake recipes from scratch. While box mixes are convenient, you just can’t beat the taste of a dessert that is truly homemade. They’re just so much better!

Soft and amazingly tender, perfectly sweet, deliciously indulgent, this cake is everything you could want in a yellow cake and more. Plus it's easy to prepare!

Its tantalizing flavor will leave you convinced this homemade cake is the only way to go. No matter the occasion, this moist yellow cake recipe is always a crowd pleaser.

With its homestyle sweet vanilla flavor, paired with that sophisticated rich chocolate flavor atop, it is destined to impress. This cake proves that sometimes it's the simplest things that are the best!

These recipes are inspired by my ever so popular edible cookie dough recipes (without raw eggs or flour), check them out here!

Homemade Cookie Cakes

When I set out to create this recipe I was originally just going to go with the classic chocolate chip cake. But of course I couldn't stop there because who doesn't love multiple options?

The chocolate chip version is chewy and buttery and tastes just like a classic chocolate chip cookie with a chocolate frosting upgrade swirling around the edges.

If you are a chocolate fan the double chocolate cookie cake is for you. It's made with rich Dutch cocoa, has a tempting fudgy texture and it's not just made with a chocolate base. It's also dotted with chocolate chips and finished with a decadent chocolate frosting.

And if you are a chewy and sweet sugar cookie fan and love sprinkles the funfetti sugar cookie cake is the one you'll love.

These are such a fun change from the classic fluffy cake for a birthday and people of all ages will enjoy them, because who doesn't love cookies?

Easy Homemade Protein Drink

Are you tired of those shelf stable protein drinks that have an incredibly long list of ingredients, many of which are hard to read and pronounce? They often leave us to wonder if they're really healthy or more of just a marketing gimmick.

This frothy protein shake is made up of natural ingredients, it has a fresher taste, and it has a velvety delicious chocolate peanut butter flavor that will leave you craving more!

It's also easy to customize (see ideas below) which is another great thing about making it from scratch, you can use up what you have on hand.

It makes a tempting addition to breakfast (chocolate for breakfast? Yes please!), a tasty midday snack, or great kickstart to enjoy before a workout. And you'll love that it tastes far more natural than many of those you'll buy.

What's not to love here?

Then as a side note if you are looking for more ways to use up a big jar of peanut butter powder try it in oatmeal, add to smoothies, mix in yogurt, add to pancakes, or sprinkle over fruit like apples. It's delicious!

The BEST Ice Cream Cake!

This is truly one of the ultimate celebrations cakes! You get four layers of distinctive decadence in each slice of cake.

And with it's combination of homemade layers and store-bought layers it's simple enough yet perfectly impressive enough. The cake and whipped cream are made fresh while the ice cream and fudge sauce are store-bought to save time.

I don't really care to admit how many slices I was able to polish off within a weeks time. Let's just say this cake is dangerously delicious!

The chocolate cake is perfectly fudgy (something between brownie and cake texture) and you wouldn't believe how easy the batter is to make. It was inspired by my Easy Chocolate Cake but I adjusted it for a slightly smaller size and swapped buttermilk for sour cream so it didn't freeze icy.

I recommend making the cake a day in advance so it has plenty of time to firm up completely in the freezer before serving.

Spoil yourself this weekend with this chocolate ice cream cake, no need to wait for a birthday to make something this tempting!

What is Tiramisu?

Tiramisu is a beautiful, layered Italian dessert made with lady fingers that have been dipped in strong coffee and aligned in a baking dish, then spread atop is a layer of sweet and fluffy mascarpone custard, and it's dusted with a decadent cocoa finish.

In this tiramisu recipe the layering process is done twice but other versions may have a group of three repetitive layers or just a single set of layers.

It can be made to include a few splashes of alcohol such as rum, brandy or marsala wine, or it can be left out altogether. I prefer without because it really lets the flavors of the coffee and cocoa shine without an overwhelming flavor of alcohol (in a side by side taste test the alcohol free version won for me, but definitely make it how you'd like).

Another difference you'll find among tiramisu is raw eggs or tempered eggs. This version is uses just yolks (I think the whites can have an eggy flavor here), and they are tempered to kill off potential bacteria.

There are several other variations of the dessert. You'll find tiramisu cake, tiramisu cheesecake, there's also tiramisu overnight oats, cupcakes, a martini and trifles.

It also comes in various flavors. This is the coffee and chocolate version but other popular flavors include strawberry tiramisu, matcha, lemon and pumpkin.

This traditional tiramisu is one of my all time favorite desserts! You can't go wrong with those cakey soaked ladyfingers, roasted espresso, rich mascarpone and cream, and a chocolatey cocoa finish. It's such a dreamy dessert!