First of all, I apologize for putting up two pumpkin recipes in a row. I would try to put up something different if I didn't love this recipe so much. As it is, I feel you all need this recipe in your lives as fast as possible, so I'm sacrificing variety. I'll change it up next time!

I only made these pumpkin bars because I had a 1/2 cup of pumpkin left and nothing to do but bake. I'd had them bookmarked for awhile. There's nothing fancy about them, so I think they got overlooked whenever I was deciding on which recipe to make next. I should know by now that the simple recipes are always the best. These were amazing. Technically they're blondies, but I still think of blondies as somewhat dry and crumbly. These are the opposite. It's like biting into that top gooey part of pumpkin bread, but without the issue of having to savor it since you know the next bite won't be as good. I also added in white chocolate chips to jazz them up a bit. 

I have zero complaints about this recipe. Honestly, just thinking about them makes me want to go whip up another batch. You should do the same.  

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars
Recipe from Lauren's Latest
yield: 12 small; 9 large 

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8×8 square dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Stir in egg, vanilla and pumpkin. Pour in all dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread dough evenly into prepared baking dish. Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean after being inserted. {Some ovens are hotter than others. Keep an eye on yours!} Remove from oven, cool 5-10 minutes, cut into bars and serve warm. Or wait and serve at room temperature.

Being from North Carolina, hurricanes are an inevitable occurrence. I used to have an irrational fear of them when I was little. That was added to the list of multiple other irrational fears of my childhood: bombs, alien invasions, tidal waves, monsters, twisters/Kansas..the list goes on. This is what happens when you watch too many movies as a child. What's unusual is that I'm now on hurricane watch in DC. DC! I didn't see this one coming.

My parents were in town this weekend and we braved the grocery store yesterday. I think most people were stocking up on bread and water, but I had other things in mind, all of which could be found on the baking aisle. The power lines in my neighborhood are above ground, so I am almost certain my power will be out within the next 24 hours. Good thing I'm thinking ahead and decided to go on a baking spree. This way, come tomorrow when I need to crash at a friend's place because my power is out, I'll come bearing gifts. 

I LOVE pumpkin flavored baked goods. I don't love pumpkin pie, but everything else is right up my alley. I bought one can of pumpkin and managed to make two recipes out of it using everything else that I already had on hand. These cupcakes are perfect. They are super easy and the cream cheese mixed with simple pumpkin base is delicious. And, as my roommate Brooke said, "I know you hate this word, but these are so moist!" Indeed they are. This recipe is going into my staple pumpkin recipe box. 

Work was cancelled today, so I had plenty of time to take pictures outside of my front door (which thankfully is covered by the stairs to the upstairs apartments so I stayed out of the rain). The wind was picking up towards the end of my pictures, but all-in-all everything is fine outside as of now. We just have lots of heavy rain. As an added bonus, since the neighbors aren't letting their kids outside in the weather, I didn't even have to deal with the usual obnoxious screaming while I tried to take my photographs. 

That being said, for everyone else on the east coast battling out this storm, stay safe, dry and inside! I'm wishing everyone safety as we ride out this storm, and my thoughts especially go out to everyone who has already been hit by the weather.

If your power is still on and you have pumpkin, why not give these a try? Perfect storm food if you ask me.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Recipe from The Cupcake Suite

Makes 1 Dozen

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together in medium bowl.  In a larger bowl mix remaining ingredients until completely smooth.  Slowly add flour mixture and stir until combined.  Bake at 350° for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes enough for 12 cupcakes

6 ounces cream cheese

6 tbs butter, softened

1/4 plus 2 tbs brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter with electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.  Add brown sugar and beat until incorporated.  Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well each time.  Add remaining ingredients and beat for addition 2-5 minutes.

I'm a generous baker. I try to give away what I make whenever possible because a) I don't need to eat a pan of brownies on my own and b) I really don't bake for myself, I bake for other people. Everyone loves good food. However, I've hit a bit of a roadblock as I'm now in a city and have no idea how to share anymore.

First of all, riding the metro with a tupperware full of sweets to the office is not remotely enjoyable. I'm not above it, but walking a mile to the metro and then hopping on with a giant container while simultaneously trying to snag a seat and read the paper is awkward. My solution to this was just to throw everything in a ziploc and stuff it in my purse to bring to the office, but as you can imagine this really doesn't work. Talk about smashed cookies...

Second, in college friends come over all the time. Friends take the food. The food is enjoyed. Problem solved. Friends come over on the weekends now, but I'm not usually baking on a Friday night so everyone can have fresh cookies with their wine (though wouldn't that be nice?).  I don't have a car and apparently people don't think I'm serious when I say, "Drive over here, I need you to come take these cookies/brownies/cake pops/etc." 

Then there is my last issue with sharing: neighbors. I don't know any of my neighbors and I doubt this is the type of place where a welcome to the neighborhood casserole is normal. My only contact with neighbors is from the people who live above me and their three children under the age of five. Their pastimes include dropping heavy objects on the floor, screaming and running, pushing furniture around and playing indoor basketball at 6am every morning. Yesterday when they saw me taking pictures outside they just stood there staring at me yelling, "COOKIES COOKIES CHOCOLATE"....they're gems. Feeding those children more sugar is the last thing you'll find me doing.

None of this really relates to these amazing cookies except for the fact that this recipe made a ton of them. They beg to be shared. If you've ever debated between a chocolate cookie and a chocolate chip cookie this is the answer to all of your problems (cookie problems, at least). It's the best of both worlds--the compromise cookie. I love them. So, as much as I wish I could give you the rest of these that are sitting in my kitchen, I will instead pass along the delicious recipe. How's that for sharing? Enjoy!


Double Fudge and Chocolate Chip Smashed Cookies
Recipe from Butter Baking

For the double fudge chocolate cookie dough
165g unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips

For the chocolate chip cookie dough
Adapted from Baking Illustrated.
165g unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups + 2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1  cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) and line a few trays with baking paper.

To make the double fudge cookie dough, using a wooden spoon, mix the melted butter and both sugars together in a large bowl.

Add the egg and the egg yolk, mixing well between each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Mix in the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt until just incorporated. Finally, stir through the chocolate chips. Set aside while you make the other dough.

To make the chocolate chip cookie dough, using a wooden spoon, mix the melted butter and both sugars together in a large bowl.

Add the egg and the egg yolk, mixing well between each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Mix in the flour, baking soda and salt until just incorporated. Finally, stir through the chocolate chips.

Form each dough into 24 balls, using a large tablespoon of dough per ball, so you have a total of 48 balls of cookie dough.

Break each ball of dough in half and press together one half of chocolate chip cookie dough and one half of double fudge cookie dough, with the broken side facing up.

Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking trays and bake for 10 minutes. Makes 48 smashed cookies.

When life gives you blueberries, you make blueberry muffins. Unfortunately, life (or your neighborhood grocery store in this case) does not always give you blueberries. I'm not one to shy away from out of season fruit--with the exception of watermelon--so when I decided a week ago that I was making blueberry muffins I didn't even consider that I wouldn't be able to find any. What I did find was 2 for 1 strawberries. Order was restored and I took this delicious blueberry muffin with blueberry jam recipe and just subbed in strawberries.

The only thing I didn't like about these is that I "forgot" to give any away and I couldn't eat them all on my own. Strawberries tend to hold a lot of moisture, so you won't be able to get away with eating them a few days in unless you happen to enjoy mold. I'm sure keeping them in the fridge would help. I've never frozen muffins before, but I popped a few of these in the freezer to test out the results. I'll update the post when I try them.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemon Muffins
Recipe Adapted from Damn Delicious

Yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sliced strawberries, divided
• 3/4 cup and 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the lemon sugar topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon

DIRECTIONS:Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners or coat with nonstick spray; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup strawberries and 1 tablespoon sugar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Let cool 10-15 minutes.

To make the lemon sugar topping, combine the sugar and lemon zest, rubbing the zest into the sugar with your fingertips; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla.
Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
Add the remaining 1 cup sliced strawberries and gently toss to combine.
Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Top each muffin with 1 teaspoon strawberry jam, swirling into the batter using figure eight motions. Sprinkle with lemon sugar mixture.

Place into oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

ps - Sorry for the lack of creative place settings. This is what happens when you rush pictures.

I like to store things in giant ziplock bags. It's not what I would call entirely organized, but it's as organized as I can get. As long as I confine my ziplock bag use to baking goods it's not a problem. Things got a little crazy when I decided it was a brilliant storage device when moving. The next thing you know I had jewelry bags, junk bags, paper bags, pen bags..etc. Those ziplocks have yet to be unzipped. Anywho, in my kitchen I have a sprinkles bag. I don't know why at 22 years old I still gravitate towards sprinkles and bright colors, but I've accepted it. I'm a seven year old at heart.

Of course, for these I decided I wanted to use my favorites, the dinosaur sprinkles. So I guess I'm a seven year old boy at heart. Aside from opening a bag of cake mix all over my kitchen, these are a breeze to make. I bought a tube of crescent dough at the grocery store, but everything else I had on hand. My only advice would be to make sure the icing is a bit runny. I didn't measure (whoops) and proceeded to use the thicker icing instead of adding more milk (read: I was lazy). It covered up the cute little swirled tops. Lesson: don't be lazy, use your better judgment.

Enjoy!

Mini (no yeast) Cake Batter Cinnamon Buns
Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

• 1-8oz tube crescent roll dough
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup Betty Crocker Supermoist white or yellow cake mix (or any brand white or yellow cake mix)
• 1/4 cup sprinkles
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• cake batter icing (recipe below)
• sprinkles for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350F (or whatever your tube of crescent roll instructs). Spray 16 tins of a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Roll out half of the dough (4 triangles) and close the seams together by pinching. Flip over and pinch those seams together as well.
3. Sprinkle the dough with half of your sprinkles and smooth out with a rolling pin. You want the dough to be totally seamless and the sprinkles to be pressed into the dough as much as possible. I do not have a rolling pin in my tiny apartment, so I covered the dough with parchment paper and rolled over it with a glass cup. The dough needs to be completely smooth and 1/4″ thick.
4. Brush dough with 1 Tbsp melted butter and cover with 2 Tbsp of the cake mix. Brush 1 Tbsp melted butter over the cake mix and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp brown sugar.
5. Roll into a log and cut into 8 equal buns.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 with the other half of the crescent roll dough.
7. Place 16 buns into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the buns are lightly browned.
8. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and spoon icing (recipe below) over top each bun. Top with sprinkles.

Cake Batter Icing

• 3/4 cup SIFTED Betty Crocker Supermoist white or yellow cake mix (or any brand white or yellow cake mix)*
• 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp half-and-half (or milk)

Whisk together sifted cake mix and half-and-half until fully combined.  Add more or less half-and-half depending on how thick you want the icing.  Spoon over warm cinnamon buns and top with sprinkles. Store cinnamon buns in fridge.

French toast reminds me of Sunday mornings when I was growing up and living at home. My mom always cooked something delicious for breakfast on Sundays. I guess it was her way of making the kids get up for church. That's the effect it had on me, at least. There was no way I was going to miss blueberry pancakes, waffles or french toast. Such are the motivators for the average teenager (they'd probably still work on me). 

Alas, I never really have it anymore. I think I get distracted on brunch menus by other delicious things, and somehow french toast gets the short end of the stick. I have no idea why. The aroma fills the air, the cinnamon, syrup and powdered sugar come together in perfect harmony...what's not to love? So, what happens when you take everything that's wonderful about french toast and put it in cookie form? Yep, harmony. Again. I'm sorry french toast, oh how I under appreciated you. 

The best part of these cookies is the icing. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this considering french toast is nothing without it's maple syrup counterpart. Rich, maple frosting dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Now we're talking. 

My camera is still glitching. Sorry for the odd coloring on the pictures! 

French Toast Sugar Cookies

Recipe by The Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 3 cups all purpose flour

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Icing:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

• 1 lb. powdered sugar

• 2-3 tsp. maple extract

• 2-4 Tablespoons milk, or to desired consistency

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream sugar and butter with mixer; add egg and beat until combined.
3. Add dry ingredients to a sifter. Alternate adding milk and dry ingredients to the butter mixture while mixing. Then add vanilla and stir.
4. Chill for 30 minutes before rolling out. Roll out on floured surface, cut into squares and bake at 375 degrees for 10-11 minutes, being careful not to over-bake.
5. To make the frosting, cream softened butter with 1 cup of the powdered sugar and then slowly add in the rest.
6. Add maple extract (I used 3 teaspoons) and milk, and stir. The consistency you’re looking for is thick and spreadable; not runny.
7. Once cookies have cooled, frost the tops with the maple icing and dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Sorry for the brief break between posting--I've been having some camera issues recently. It seems they may have fixed on their own, but we shall see! On the bright side, I've been baking up a storm. I'm all settled in my new place and I can finally fit all of my cooking supplies. It's a glorious thing. I may not have been able to take pictures of everything, but it was all so good I guess I'll just have to take one for the team and go for round two. More to come in the next few weeks with those. 

As I'm sure is pretty apparent, I love adding candy to recipes. The dough base for these cookies is fantastic, and I'm fairly certain it would be great with all sorts of candy add-ins. I stuck with the recipe this time and the results were amazing. The caramel melts out, the twix cookie provides the perfect crunch, the chocolate...well, you know how I feel about chocolate. Basically this is just a great cookie. It's nothing fancy or complicated, but I loved every part of it! 

Sidenote: after three years I finally was about to snag a chocolate therapy domain name before someone renewed the contract. You can now get to my page by going to www.mychocolatetherapy.com. The blogspot address will redirect there. Spread the word!

Twix Bar Cookies

Recipe from Sprinkled with Flour

2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups coarsely chopped Twix bars

Preheat oven 325°. Coarsely chop the Twix bars (about 1/4-inch chunks). I used mini Twix bars and cut them in half  I like to cut each bar in half lengthwise, and then make several cuts width ways to make even blocks. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and beat at low-speed just until combined. Gently stir in the Twix chunks.

Roll a scant half cup of dough into a ball. Break into two pieces, placing each on the baking sheet with the rough sides facing up and keeping ample room between mounds of dough. Repeat until all dough has been used. If you run out of room in the oven, store the extra dough in the fridge until you have space to use it. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy (approximately 15-18 minutes). Do not overbake. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet. Since the caramel from the Twix can make the cookies stick a little, I use an offset spatula to slide under the cookies without breaking them apart. Enjoy!

I love Rice Krispie treats, but I think they are just about the biggest pain to make of any of my favorite treats. Every time I've made them Rice Krispies end up all over the place and marshmallow is stuck to every surface within five feet of me. It's one of those recipes that is so easy but I get so much anxiety in the process it's not even worth it. Baking shouldn't be stressful.

Alas, thankfully I never gave up on making Rice Krispie treats entirely. I've only done this with a few foods (ahem, lemon curd). I saw these on FoodGawker and knew it was fate. I needed to brave the Rice Krispie/marshmallow duo once again. It was so worth it. These aren't your ordinary RKT, they have peanut butter in them! And not only do they have peanut butter, they also have peanut butter cups AND chocolate. They remind me of the better than crack brownies I used to make all the time, but I think they might be better. Better than the better than crack brownies..that's pretty darn good right there. 

You'll notice that there are multiple steps to this recipe, but the good news is they are all very easy steps. Melting the marshmallows in the microwave takes a huge pain out of the process. You'll also be able to reuse a lot of the bowls because you're using the same ingredients. My advice is just to set everything out first and make it a smooth process. I made them twice in 24 hours (didn't get to take pictures the first time), so they obviously can't be too tedious! 

Enjoy! 

Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispie Treats

Recipe adapted from Sweet Tooth

For the 1st layer rice krispie treat:

3 cups Rice Krispie cereal

1 cup mini marshmallows

3 tbsp butter

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x9 pan.

- Measure out the 3 cups of rice krispies and set aside.

- Put the marshmallows, butter, peanut butter, and vanilla in a large microwave safe bowl.  Melt in the microwave for about 45 seconds, and stir until smooth.

- Stir in rice cereal and spread evenly into pan.  (keep out the bowl, you can reuse it!)

For the 2nd layer peanut butter fudge:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-1/4 cup mini peanut butter cups (not the ones wrapped in foil, the new kind with the smaller cups)

- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and peanut butter until smooth.

- Add powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until smooth.  Spread evenly over first layer of rice krispies.

- Sprinkle your mini peanut butter cups on top of the fudge and press them gently into the fudge.

- Transfer pan to the fridge to let the fudge set as you prepare the next layer.

For the 3rd layer rice krispie treat:

3 cups Rice Krispie cereal

1 cup mini marshmallows

3 tbsp butter

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- Prepare rice krispie mixture like the first layer, then spread evenly over the peanut butter cup layer.  Set aside.

For the 4th layer chocolate PB ganache:

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups chocolate chips

- Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth, stirring in between each round.  Mix in peanut butter.

- Pour ganache over rice krispies and use an offset spatula to evenly spread the chocolate.  

- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ganache is firm.  Cut into bars (I made mine small because they are super rich!) 

I've had brownies in ice cream. I've had ice cream on brownies. But until I made these, I had never heard of putting ice cream IN brownies. What brilliant minds think of these things? I guess you can tell from the pictures I still added ice cream on top of the brownies. Whoops. One of these days I'll learn to practice some restraint...just not today.

I'm sure I've talked about how I prefer everything under-baked. Brownies are no exception. I had a good feeling about this recipe because it seemed like adding ice cream to the batter would inevitably produce a brownie that was right up my alley. I'm talking gooey, rich, have a giant glass of milk on hand in case of chocolate overload brownies. Sometimes my hunches on these things are way off, but not this time! I used french silk ice cream to give the brownies a little boost of espresso flavor. You could use whatever kind of ice cream you like. I'd suggest avoiding plain flavors like vanilla or chocolate chip, but I'm not doing the grocery shopping so that's up to you.

Ice Cream Sundae Brownies
Recipe from Picky Palate

1 box Brownie Mix
2 eggs
1/2 Cup canola or vegetable oil
Heaping 1/2 Cup of your favorite Ice Cream (I used french vanilla)
1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips
1/4 Cup hot fudge topping (chilled)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl mix the brownie mix, 2 eggs and oil until combined…and thick. I did NOT add the water. Scoop in ice cream, chocolate chips and hot fudge; mix until combined. Pour into a foil lined 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been GENEROUSLY sprayed with cooking spray. More is better here. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center.

2. Let cool completely. Remove foil from baking dish, cut into squares and serve.

I'm not a big fan of drinks that are overly sweet. Some people would disagree with that statement considering I've been known to enjoy a glass of vinho verde or two..or three. But that's about as sweet as I can do with wines. Sangria is usually too sweet for me. I love the fruit, but the drink itself gives me a headache. That being said, this white sangria is my perfect summer wine drink. It's the amazing solution to all of my sangria woes! A splash of club soda tones the sweetness down, and you even get to enjoy the delicious fresh fruit afterwards. I'm just not the type to leave the fruit in my cup. If I had it my way I'd skip the liquid wine and just eat the wine soaked fruit. Unfortunately I'll add that to my long list of ideal activities that are not acceptable in the real world. 

I got the recipe from my friend Melissa who made it at a dinner party last weekend. It took me less than a week to make my own batch, and I have a feeling I'll be making this plenty in the future as well. It's the perfect summertime drink with just the right amount of sweetness. White wine sangria might be a bit odd come November, so seize the season! You won't regret it. 

White Sangria

2 Bottles White Wine*

2 White Peaches 

2 Green Apples

2 Limes

4 Tbs Sugar

1 Liter Club Soda

*Good wines for this: pinot grigio, white rioja, riesling, sauvignon blanc or chenin blanc.

Slice apples and peaches into thin wedges. Slice limes into slightly larger wedges. Pour both bottles of wine into a large pitcher, add sugar and stir to combine. Throw in fruit slices, squeezing a few of the limes as you add them in (don't squeeze all of them, you want the majority of them to be in tact and keep their pretty appearance). Place in fridge for 4+ hours. The longer the drink stays in the fridge, the more the fruit will soak up the delicious wine. This can even be made the night before if you have time. 

To serve, pour the wine mixture into glasses and scoop a bit of fruit in from the pitcher (you may want to use a slotted spoon for this). Pour a generous splash of club soda into each glass and stir to blend. Serve! Store the remaining drink in the fridge to keep it nice and cold.