Jolene's Recipe Journal

Happy to be joining the #MuffinMonday bakers this month with a muffin version of one of my favorite summer desserts, S'mores! I found Pam I's recipe on the Taste of Home site done in jumbo size, but I made 12 regular muffins instead of jumbo ones.  I made absolutely no changes to the recipe other than to have added a few extra chocolate chips on top when I put the marshmallows on there. They baked in 15 mins exactly on convection bake, and I love how the marshmallows got golden without having to break out the kitchen torch!  The marshmallow inside kind of disappears, you get the Graham cracker flavor and the chocolate, and then the toasty part on top, it's so fantastic.  All the flavors of s'mores without the campfire! Thanks so much to Stacy for hosting #MuffinMonday and to all the other awesome bloggers who shared recipes today, be sure to go check out what they made using the links down below. S'mores Muffins Print With Image Without Image Author: Jole...

  Can you believe it's almost July already? I sure can't!  Today I'll be sharing my version of a dish that will be the hit of your Independence Day get together, Red, White & Blue Summer Salad.  I found this recipe on Taste of Home and put a few spins on it to account for personal taste and items I had on hand.    I omitted the mint that was called for in the dressing because I'm not really a fan.  I had regular balsamic on hand so that's what I used.  Swapped out the cherry tomatoes for grape tomatoes and used baby spinach instead of arugula. I prefer nectarines over peaches. I wasn't able to get mozzarella pearls in my pickup so I cut up a ball of fresh mozzarella into bite sized chunks instead.    The tomatoes almost didn't make it onto the salad because they were delicious alone and I kept snacking on them while I set up the photos. You could also toss the mozzarella pearls in with them so they absorb more of the delicious dressing. ...

Biscuits are one of the things I'm still working to master and I'd pinned this Ginger Buttermilk Biscuit recipe a while back. When the Taste of Home monthly Bakeable Challenge was announced as strawberry shortcake I decided to give them a go. One of my biggest struggles with biscuits is the cutting in of the shortening. Normally I'd use a food processor, but mine went to appliance heaven and I haven't replaced it yet. I used a pastry blender but didn't get the texture I was looking for so I switched to using my hands until I did.    I hate cleaning up flour off the countertop so I turned my dough out onto a pastry mat.  I was very happy with how easily it came together and how well it rolled out.  I got 16 biscuits with a 2 1/4" cutter. I've got a stackable set that I love and for these I used the straight edge. Look at all those chunks of crystallized ginger! I've always got it on hand because I like to snack on it. If you can't find it locally it...

 Temps in the 90s for several days straight has me looking for some treats to beat the heat, so I've gathered up some of our most popular cool treats to share with you today!      Affogato You might be wondering, what the heck is an affogato?  In Italian, affogato means "drowned," and in the case of the dessert, you are drowning gelato or ice cream with a shot of coffee or espresso.    Fried Ice Cream Bars These are the perfect dessert when you want something sweet but don't want to bake. You can top them with honey or chocolate sauce (or both, we won't judge!). Strawberry Patch Frost   Whether you use homemade strawberry ice cream or store bought this float is like summer in a glass!  Honey Rum Grilled Banana Split Caramelized bananas plus a variety of outstanding toppings takes this classic dessert to a whole new level! Tipsy Iced Coffee I am a huge fan of iced coffee, I drink it pretty much year round.  I didn't think ther...