Gluten-Free Peppermint Bark Brownies Recipe

Gluten-Free Peppermint Bark Brownies

There’s a bit of story and history behind these Gluten-Free Peppermint Bark Brownies… I first made Peppermint Bark Brownies way back in 2006 in the early days of Cafe Johnsonia. Back then CJ was called Just Recipes. That was a very long time ago in blog years! The idea for the brownies came from my friend, Tania, who brought me dinner after my second baby was born. Along with a delicious soup, she also included […]

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Maple Pecan Butter Toffee Recipe

This toffee recipe is made with real butter, maple syrup, and pecans for an irresistible salty-sweet treat. As I know is true for many home cooks, the holidays are a favorite time of year. I learned how to make homemade candy and other treats by watching my mom and scouring her cookbooks and handwritten recipe cards. It wasn’t until I was older that I attempted to make candy without supervision. Ha! But once I did, […]

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Miso Caramel Popcorn Balls + 15 Sweet Ways To Use Miso

Ding, ding, ding! I think we have a winner! A few weeks ago, I received a whopping 5 pounds of Peter’s Caramel in the mail from Gygi. When that much caramel is staring you down, the problem isn’t what to make with it; it’s what not to make with it. After we carved off more than I’d care to admit, I tucked the block away for safe keeping in the garage. I erroneously thought I would be […]

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Aran Goyoaga’s Hazelnut Butter Toffee

I just finished stocking my baking cupboard with more nuts. It’s amazing how quickly I go through them! I love putting a handful into my smoothies or grabbing some for a quick snack on the way out the door. There’s always a sprinkling of nuts on my salads or bowl of oatmeal. Hazelnuts are one of my favorite nuts anyway, but that love grows and grows during the holidays especially. I was happy to buy […]

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Caramel Peanut Butter Fudge

Pictures and text by Lindsey Johnson Oh…you guys.  I feel like I’m on a roll with my candy making adventures.  This time it’s delectable caramel peanut butter fudge that is lit’rally the love child of soft, chewy caramel, and rich, creamy peanut butter fudge. So this caramel peanut butter fudge is good.  Reeaaalllly good.  So good, in fact, that it disappeared rather quickly.  Actually, I’ve never seen my kids (and my husband) devour something I […]

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S’mores Ice Cream Sandwiches

{This was originally a guest post I did for Spark last summer.   I couldn’t resist re-posting it over here.  Summer is coming, and this is a fabulous, if labor intensive, dessert to usher in the hot weather, long days, and all things fun.} Homemade marshmallows turned into homemade ice cream, homemade graham crackers, and homemade chocolate sauce.  What’s not to love? Coming up with the final recipe was a labor of love.  Over the period […]

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Hazelnut-Toffee Cookies

Hazelnut-Toffee Cookies

  These Hazelnut-Toffee Cookies are very good. Veeeerrrrry good. Soft and chewy. Studded with chocolate, crunchy hazelnuts, and buttery toffee. Just the best cookies EVER. For reals. I’m kind of at a loss as to what else to say about them… Ha! The base of the cookies is from my favorite Root Beer Cookies recipe. We found that leaving out the extract makes the most delicious brown sugar cookies too. And from there, we’ve made […]

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Valentine’s Treats: Homemade Turtles

Homemade Turtles

When I told my daughter we were going to make homemade turtles, she asked if they were going to have “feet and arms and a little head poking out.” She thought it was pretty great that we were going to make turtles out of chocolate and caramel. As I was getting ready to post this, I thought I’d try and find out a history of turtles. Alas, I couldn’t find anything other than that have […]

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Valentine’s Treats: How To Make Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

The combination of peanut butter and chocolate, for me, are pure joy. I can’t get enough. My blog archives will testify to that! My other half thinks it’s so common. (Wink, wink.) And then he consumes pb & choc in obscene quantities with me. We are huge fans of Homemade Peanut Butter Cups. Don’t get me wrong, I like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups along with the rest of the universe, but there has always been this part […]

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Valentine’s Treats: Cherry-Almond Divinity

Cherry Almond Divinity

My grandmother was the master divinity maker. Her divinity was heavenly. She would tint it pink and add chopped nuts, usually walnuts. It was always a treat. And I think of her every time I make a batch. I made my first batch years ago when I first got my KitchenAid mixer. It is still one of my favorite candies to make and eat. While divinity is very easy to make, it can also be […]

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