Baking – Page 2 – Luv Cooks

Salted Caramel Apple Almond Bars & My Fave Cookie Swap Recipes

LOVES!!

Ahhh, it’s finally that time of the year. Time for warm snuggles while watching holiday movies, white snow, knit hats and most importantly…HOLIDAY BAKING.

That’s why during the month of December we are ALL about some holiday baking recipes. From gluten free coconut flour bread (the most delicious I’ve ever had) to some FAB holiday appetizer inspiration, get ready for a month full of holiday surprises!

I also want to give y’all the chance to subscribe to the Luv Cooks YouTube channel. This is the BEST source for all of the fun holiday tips and tricks, plus pumpkin spice reviews, what to do with leftovers- lots of foodie life hacks!

And since we’ve also been highlighting parties and party tips on YouTube I thought I’d share my three favorite recipes to bring to a cookie swap party. These recipes are awesome because you can make them up to days in advance, the steps are simple, and they allow for easy customization to your personality in the kitchen.

Salted Caramel Apple Almond Bars: I love this recipe for so many reasons! It’s healthy (full of great fats from the coconut chips and chia seeds), gluten-free, doesn’t require and oven, and gets topped with drizzled caramel and chunky salt. Need we say more?!

Dark Chocolate Christmas Sugar Cookies: This recipe makes sooo many tasty cookies! I love to make this one in a myriad of ways. You can substitute whole wheat pastry flour for all purpose flour, sprinkle the cookies with cayenne before baking for a spicy flair, or dunk them in a simple glaze (1 cup powdered sugar + 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons almond milk) and top with more chocolate. Gorgeous!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: The ingredient that makes these cookies extra special is browning the butter. It’s not a hard step, and takes the flavor notch up a TON! Plus, these cookies taste better if you let the dough sit in the fridge for 24 hours. And the smell of these baking- heavenly!!

And of course, we can’t leave out the pups!! Here is a link to the almond butter dog treats I made!

To top it all off, a cookie swap party is simple. Simply bake enough cookies for everyone at the party to share, along with a printed copy of the recipe. You can even allow each guest to share why they chose their cookie recipe. Then, here’s the fun part- provide pretty bags, ribbon, candy canes, etc. and allow each guest to package their favorite cookies to go. I’ve even been to some parties where you vote on your favorite cookie, and the winner gets a prize!

The cookie swap party is one of my favorite holiday celebration ideas. One- well, you get to eat all the cookies your heart desires- but two, because you get to know your friends even better, and maybe even connect with someone you don’t know. Someone’s favorite cookie recipe says a lot about them: where they are from, what flavors they like, why this cookie in particular is so special. I love getting to know the heart of someone through food!

Happy holiday baking!! XOXO- Callie

Maple Syrup and Whiskey Sweet Potatoes with Hazelnuts

Thanksgiving is almost here!! YAYY!!

Like I posted Monday, I know how stressful and intimidating it can be to plan an ENTIRE Thanksgiving meal. So, if you are like lots of people I know, bringing a side dish to a meal is a perfect way to bless a host or hostess. Or, use it to lighten your own cooking load a bit!

Today we’re featuring an easier version of your typical sweet potato side. In fact, this is one of the tastiest sweet potato dishes I’ve ever developed, and I CAN’T WAIT to share it with you!

I know you are busy, so without further ado- grab that high quality maple syrup, a small bottle of honey whiskey, and get going! You can even go ahead and dice the sweet potatoes, and soak the cranberries, in advance for Thursday.

LOVE Y’ALL!

Honey Whiskey Sweet Potatoes with Dried Cranberries
Whiskey is a perfect complement to any holiday gathering, and combining honey whiskey with roasted sweet potatoes, dark brown sugar, and dried cranberries highlights the depth a tart cranberry can bring to a side dish. Be warned–these potatoes are addictive, so if you want to have leftovers the next day, make two batches! You can also find the full recipe on Birmingham magazine’s page!

Yield: 6 servings

What You Will Need:

2.25 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into large wedges (about three large)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons salted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1.25 ounces honey whiskey (like Jack Daniel’s Original Recipe Tennessee Honey)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries, soaked in hot water for five minutes and drained

What You Will Do:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray.
Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil and salt in a large bowl. Spread onto baking sheet.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, brown sugar, honey whiskey, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, then cook, whisking constantly, until thickened (about 4-5 minutes). Remove from heat to cool a bit.
Once syrup is made, bake potatoes for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and lightly stir, then put potatoes back in to roast for 12 more minutes.
Remove from oven again, and pour whiskey syrup, cranberries, and hazelnuts onto potatoes. Toss gently with a rubber spatula.
Return to oven to bake potatoes for 8 more minutes.
After removing from oven, toss gently with a spatula with any remaining syrup to combine. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve.

Tips:

Using heavy duty (not regular) aluminum foil for this recipe helps prevent the whiskey syrup from sticking to the pan.
If you want more of a salty and sweet combo, try sprinkling the finished sweet potatoes with kosher salt.
Soaking dried cranberries in hot water softens their texture in roasted dishes like this. If you like a firmer cranberry, feel free to leave them unsoaked.
Honey whiskey adds an extra holiday sweetness to this dish. If you prefer a less sweet flavor, you could substitute bourbon instead.
Watch the syrup carefully (and whisk it constantly) as it boils. This keeps all of the sugars from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Five Thanksgiving Foods to MAKE AHEAD (like, this weekend!)

It’s Friday and Thanksgiving is THURSDAY!

This means that it’s time to start prepping how you can LOVE ON some folks next week.

I’ve researched, I’ve listed, and I believe I have compiled (and explained- check out my FULL You Tube video below!) FIVE dishes YOU can make ahead of time to ORGANIZE your week so it’s fun and fabulous and focused around those beautiful friends at your table (and you aren’t having a come-apart at the workload).

The easiest way for me to organize things (and maintain my sanity) is to list it out. HUGE shout out to these articles by Williams Sonoma, The Kitchn, and Ree Drummond for being AMAZING resources for this list.

Here are my TOP FIVE THANKSGIVING FOODS TO MAKE AHEAD:

Pie crust! Go ahead and make that homemade pie crust! All you have to do is put it together by hand, fork, or the food processor; form it into a disc, wrap it with freezer wrap or aluminum foil, and freeze it. OR you can form the dough into your pie pan, wrap it tight in aluminum foil, and freeze it. OR you can make your pie ahead of time (dough + filling) and freeze it as a whole shebang! Then defrost the pie for a few ours and put it in the oven to bake.

(Click here for the ultimate pie crust from Abby Jone’s rosemary pear and bourbon caramel pie)

**Bonus points for making it today, you have earned a MVP trophy already.

2. Mashed Potatoes! Did y’all know that the fat in dairy actually protects your favorite mashed potatoes in the freezer? So use ALL the cream and butter you normally would to make sure your potatoes freeze well. In fact, if you only use broth, they probably won’t last. So, make your favorite recipe, let them cool, then put them in a freezer safe bag, smoothed out and laid flat. This article by The Kitchn does an amazing job explaining the process!!

3. Homemade ROLLLS!! Being honest, normally if I was having people over I would not be serving homemade rolls. BUT for Thanksgiving, I love these small homemade touches to a meal that make people feel like it’s a grand event. To me, homemade rolls qualify! All you need to do is make your roll dough, let it rise, form it into rolls, then place them on a baking sheet and pop them directly into the freezer. They should last a month! Love these Soft and Tender Dinner Rolls!

4. Cranberry Sauce! The beautiful thing about cranberry sauce is that you it tastes even better and I believe may get more jiggly over time. So either go ahead and keep it in the fridge (covered) for a few days, OR put it in the freezer and give it a day to dethaw.

This amazing casserole by Light in the Loft House looks incredible!

5. Green Bean Casserole! You can go ahead and make the base of your casserole, then pour it into your baking pan and put it in the fridge, covered with foil. You can keep it in the fridge for three days. Wait to top it with crispy onions until you are ready to bake! I dig this The Best Green Bean Casserole by Light in the Loft House!

Happy weekend prepping lovelies!-C

Chocolate Pumpkin Waffles with Heath Bar

PUMPKIN WAFFLES!!!

Thanksgiving is officially upon us (as in NINE days away) so I thought it would be super cool to post some creative recipes that put a fun spin on the traditional pumpkin and sweet potato sides we are all used to.

Let’s start with this coconut sweet potato soup with chickpeas. To this day, this is still one of my worst food styling stories EVER, but the recipe itself is super delicious (just try not to spill it all on your neighbor’s front door.)

Then there are these waffles. Oh. My. GRACIOUS! They would be AWESOME for a pre-Thanksgiving breakfast, next day treat, or just all around holiday winner.

I’d also like to give a HUGE shout-out to the wonderful Stephanie Mullins for these incredible photos. She is oh-so-talented and I loved spending my morning with her, watching her work.

Without further ado-

Chocolate Sweet Potato Waffles with Heath Bar*

These waffles come together easily, and feature the fiber and satisfying nature of whole wheat flour and pumpkin puree. Serve with additional maple syrup and heath bar for topping for a super holiday treat.

What You Will Need:

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark chocolate almond milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 (15 ounce can) can pumpkin purée
2 tablespoons heath bar, plus more for topping (or chocolate bar crumbles of choice)

What You Will Do:

Preheat a waffle iron to the medium high heat setting.
Whisk together flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond milk, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, eggs, and pumpkin puree until smooth and combined.
Pour wet mixture into dry and stir gently, just until combined. Stir in health bar.
Pour batter by 1/4 to 1/3 cup spoonfuls into waffle iron. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until waffles are browned and cooked through.
Serve with additional Heath bar for topping and drizzle with maple syrup. Happy Thanksgiving!

*Also, y’all, this is so embarrassing. I know that I got this recipe inspiration online but I can’t remember WHERE!! If this looks similar to your recipe for chocolate sweet potato waffles, please email me! Love y’al!

Dark Chocolate Cauliflower Brownies with Pistachios

Lovely fall people! PRAIISEEEE the LORD it has ARRIVED!

I am almost 100% sure that every single Southerner has taken a deep breath in the FULL realization that fall is actually a season and does actually exist in the lower parts of the U.S.

Sweet! And speaking of sweet, this week’s recipe is one of my faves!

Y’all know my love of brownies (see my MONTH of brownie posts in February) but I had yet to feature one full of vegetables, AKA cauliflower. You see, cauliflower is low-carb and lots of Paleo types enjoy eating it. I enjoy eating wheat. SO in an effort to fuse both worlds, I landed on a ground cauliflower + spelt (wheat-free) flour hybrid that is full of dark chocolate, fudgey goodness.

Plus, if you use dairy-free chocolate chips, it can totally fit in both of those categories.

Also, as we move into the next three months that are left in this year- I’ve had it on my heart to start thinking about finishing the year well. What does that look like?

For me, it means taking a breath. Focusing on all of the beautiful things our Creator has made for us to enjoy right now.

I’m feel like I am finally growing as a woman to be able to trust Him, and believe with all my heart that just as He causes the fall leaves to release from their branches, He also is whispering into me a change of seasons, a change of purpose, and a newness of rest in Him.

So, lovely readers, take a deep breath. I wish I could pour you a glass of cold milk (here) or hot chocolate (further North), serve you a brownie, and catch up- all the while anticipating a beautiful fall just around the corner.

Dark Chocolate Cauliflower Brownies with Pistachios

These brownies are made with spelt flour (an ancient, wheat-free flour higher in protein*). They are dense, fudgy and decadently rich with the addition of melted dark chocolate. Your friends and family probably won’t even know they contain cauliflower! For the full recipe you can also click Birmingham mag’s site here.

Yield: 9-12 brownies

What You Will Need

1 cup cauliflower florets (5 ounces)
1/2 cup unsweetened or unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
3.25 ounces 70% dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly ** (dairy free chocolate would work great too)
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup unsalted and roasted pistachios, ground in a food processor until finely ground and no large pieces remain; reserve 1 tablespoon for topping
1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder, spooned and leveled
3/4 cup spelt flour, spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips** (dairy-free chips could work here too)

What You Will Do

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8 by 8 inch dark metal brownie pan with olive oil cooking spray.
Puree cauliflower, almond milk and vanilla extract in blender until smooth.
Add in melted dark chocolate, coconut oil, and eggs and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
In a bowl, whisk together coconut sugar, ground pistachios, cocoa powder, spelt flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
Stir cauliflower mixture into dry ingredients until just combined (avoid over-stirring the batter). Stir in dark chocolate chunks until distributed.
Pour batter into dark metal 8 by 8 square baking pan; smooth top with spatula to evenly distribute batter.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.=
Remove brownies from oven. Place on cooling rack, and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of ground pistachios. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.

Low Sugar Banana Blueberry Mini Baby Smash Cakes

You guys!!!

I could not be more excited about this post! Not only is it almost the weekend, it’s also the day I have the opportunity to share a recipe in PERSON, on the cooking stage with the Nashville Home Show!

As y’all know, once I get to talking and/or thinking about food, you can’t really get me to be quiet, so the fact that they have openly invited me to share my love of all things baked goods is the highlight of my week!

And as I was thinking about what to share, I immediately knew what recipe it would be. Y’all- in the history of Luv Cooks, this recipe is the most searched for, most sought after, most “I just came from Pinterest to check this out” one we’ve ever posted. And it all started with the original recipe here, with an incredibly cute baby named Pace, his birthday, and my friend (his precious momma’s) desire to feed him a special cake that wasn’t full of sugar. In fact, he hadn’t eaten processed sugar up until that point. Amazing, right?

Precious Pace eating cake! — The original baking inspiration, Pace Russell!

Baby-Smash-Cake-with-Blueberries- — And the original cake! Here is the original, full cake recipe post:)

And as you know, with every (first) birthday comes the opportunity to smash one’s cake into one’s mouth however one feels is appropriate.

Well, I knew that I had to share this recipe again, but maybe adjust it slightly to a more adult crowd. Because, let’s be real- its amazing for the birthday boy or girl to have a yummy, healthy cake- but what about everyone standing around watching them eat it?!

That’s why I took the original recipe (by Fit Mama Real Food) and adjusted it with some seasonal fall spices, and baked it into individual mini smash cakes. So we can all, if we choose, smash the cakes right into our faces, just like the little ones! Don’t mind if I do…

Low Sugar Banana Blueberry Smash Cakes with Vanilla Whipped Cream (Originally inspired by Fit Mama Real Food)

You can also click here for the original, tiered cake post!

This recipe is full of whole grains, healthy fats, and has NO refined sugar or sweeteners of any kind! It’s also egg-free and simple to prepare and make ahead; you can even top the cakes with whipped cream a day ahead and store them in the fridge. Feel free to try out other mix-in’s besides berries for your adult guests- I think chopped cherries, dried fruit, or chocolate chips would work great in this mini cake as well!

Yield: 16 mini cakes

What You Will Need for the cake:

2 scant cups mashed banana, or 4 large, ripe bananas
1/2 cup natural applesauce
3 tbsp coconut oil (melted), plus more for greasing cake pans
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oat flour (just grind rolled oats in a blender, then measure)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
6 ounces fresh blueberries

What You Will Do:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, stir together mashed banana, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Whisk together flours, spices, baking soda and salt until combined.
Gently stir flour mixture into banana mixture until just combined. Avoid over mixing as that can make the batter tough.
Stir blueberries into batter.
Distribute batter by scant 1/4 cups into muffin tin. Reserve remaining batter for next batch of cakes.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick or sharp knife inserted into the cakes comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely at room temperature to set. Top with fresh whipped vanilla cream!

For the vanilla whipped cream:

What You Will Need:

4 ounces organic heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional fresh blueberries for topping (or melted peanut butter/chocolate/almond butter)

Once cooled, top the mini cakes with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh blueberries. I also ate them with melted peanut butter drizzled on top, and it was DIVINE!

Flourless Zucchini Cranberry Coconut Muffins

I don’t know about you guys, but I am a HUGE fan of muffins. Large and puffy, small and bite-size, medium and poppy seed with lemon glaze- sign me UP for a muffin.

The great thing about muffins is that you can make them ahead of time, enjoy them with coffee and really never have to convince anyone to eat them. So there’s that. Which is especially handy if you are trying to feed the kids! Especially since this recipe doesn’t have flour, even the gluten-free among us can participate!

Taking our cues from this month’s focus on all things zucchini, these babies are one of my favorite back-to-school baking recipes. For this one, we use oats to give the muffins stability, instead of traditional white flour. Greek yogurt and coconut oil keep things moist, as does fresh zucchini! Shredded coconut is thrown in with dried cranberries, and I think they are an A+ 😉 WINK!

So here’s to a weekend full of muffin bliss (and eating your greens without holding your nose)…

Flourless Zucchini Coconut Cranberry Muffins (Inspired by Chelsea’s Messy Apron!)

These easy-breezy zucchini muffins are simple to make and easy to prepare ahead. Chelsea did an amazing job coming up with the base ratio! Just make sure you leave time for the shredded zucchini to drain a bit, it helps keep the moisture ratio right when you go to make the batter!

1 cup and 1/2 oat flour blended oats** (You can also do 3/4 cup oat flour plus 3/4 cup all purpose flour if you need)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
1/3 cup coconut oil measured when melted
3 tablespoons very ripe banana ~1/2 large
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light brown sugar lightly packed*
1 1/2 cups lightly packed grated zucchini, drained on paper towels for at least 10 minutes
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup shredded coconut

What You Will Do

1. Preheat an oven to 350; grease a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Whisk together oat flour, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together egg, vanilla, yogurt, coconut oil, banana and brown sugar until combined.

4. Stir in zucchini, cranberries, and coconut.

5. Pour batter evenly (about 1/4 cup at a time) into greased muffin tin.

6. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a knife inserted into muffins comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool for a few minutes, then gently move them to a wire rack to cool.

**To make oat flour, all I did was pour a heap of oats into the Vitamix and pulse on high until it looked like flour. I am almost positive you could do this in a food processor too!

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My Life-changing Leftovers Tip + Sweet Corn Pizza with Chorizo

It’s July, and I KNOW you have some leftover produce hanging around in your fridge that you don’t know what to do with.

Maybe it’s not even the whole vegetables! Maybe it’s the garlic skins you rubbed off while you were prepping that stir fry on Monday, or the onion skins that were peeled away for that summer tomato pie on Thursday. What do you do with those leftovers?

You BRING THE **FUN** BACK TO THOSE VEGGIES, that’s what! If it’s good enough for Justin Timberlake, then I think it’s great for us. This week I will share with you, my amazing readers, the #1 use-up-your-leftovers tip I EVER learned. As in, your life may not ever be the same and you will most likely feel about as accomplished as Alice Waters from here on out.

The broth bag!! I know, genius right? I first heard about this technique while listening to (hearts) Lynn Rosetto Casper on the Splendid Table, interviewing a brilliant 90-year old woman whose claim to life-long health revolved around bone broth. And her key to great bone broth was not letting all of your leftover veggie scraps go to waste, but instead stockpiling them in a freezer bag.

Food people are the BEST people.

But I also know that you have more than your leftover veggie scraps lying around- you probably also have TWO more things I normally cram into my refrigerator:

Hummus– Hummus is not only an amazing snack, but there are some super cool things you can do with it outside of pita chip dipping’! Hummus chicken, pasta sauce, VEGAN QUESO *all the hearts**

Leftover pickle juice– There are a myriad of things you can do with leftover pickle juice. From adding it to potato salad and marinating meats to simply throwing your leftover veggies straight into the brine to make your own version of pickles, get creative! This list of the 15 Ways To Use Leftover Pickles by Bon Appetit is super-inspiring.

And of course, since this month’s focus is corn, so I’m pumped to share this awesome spicy corn and chorizo pizza we shot for Birmingham magazine. Pizza is a PERFECT vehicle for leftover summer produce!

So this weekend, let’s relax, make an easy bowl of hummus pasta, and throw whatever leftover veggies you have in pickle juice or the broth bag. Like 90-year-old Louise Hay says in her book Loving Yourself to Great Health, “Your body will love you for continuing to nourish it in this manner!”

Sweet Corn Pizza with Monterey Jack and Chorizo

This corn pizza is perfect- and easy enough- for summertime! Just grab some fresh summer corn, spicy chorizo, and melty cheese and you are ready to create a hearty appetizer or fun main course. Try substituting the chorizo for ground beef or turkey with taco seasoning if good quality chorizo is hard to come by.

What You Will Need:

Yield: 1 pizza

1 pound ground chorizo
4 fresh ears sweet corn, shucked and kernels removed for cooking
1/2 cup diced Vidalia onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 (13.9-ounce) can pizza crust
1 jalapeno, sliced
4 ounces Mexican blend shredded cheese
Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving
Hot sauce, for serving

What You Will Do

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium saute pan, cook chorizo over medium heat, breaking up large pieces with a spoon. Once cooked through, remove to plate.
Add corn kernels, onion, cumin, and taco seasoning to pan. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until onion softens and corn is crisp tender, about five minutes.
Remove corn mixture from heat.
Cover a large surface with parchment paper. On it, roll out pizza dough into a large circle.
Move dough to parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes.
Remove crust from oven, then top with cooked chorizo, corn/onion mixture, cheese, and sliced jalapenos.
Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted and crust is crispy, about 10 minutes more.
Top with cilantro leaves and serve immediately with hot sauce.

Inspiring Avocado Recipes + How To Pick The Best Avocados

MAJOR avocado inspiration about to head your way! Watch out, because huge avocados with pits could potentially take out your eyeballs.

I KID!

No, instead of dodging actual avocados, it’s time for this month’s recipe round up of all of the fantastic and delicious avocado recipes I found on the internet. And yes, my mouth did water as I was looking these up and I was overcome with avocado-inspired, voracious hunger.

And speaking of cooking with avocados, how do you actually pick out the best avocados? Check out this week’s video to learn some great tips and tricks (and watch Bigsby feign exhaustion):

Here we go, drumroll, THESE PEOPLE ARE AVOCADO BRILLIANT AKA MY FAVE AVOCADO RECIPES THIS MONTH!

Avocado Hummus by Cooking Classy Umm, tahini + avocado + chick peas = SUCCESS

Avocado Bacon and Eggs by Lil’ Luna Please someone make this for my breakfast tomorrow?

Honey Mustard Chicken, Avocado + Bacon Salad by Cafe Delights The dressing is also the marinade, GENIUS!

Cucumber and Avocado Sandwich by Two Peas & Their Pod Avocado + cucumber + sprouts + HERBED GOAT CHEESE OH MY GRACIOUS!

Paleo Chocolate Pudding by Wicked Spatula My husband can tell you that I can NOT get enough of avocado pudding and will eat every drop of it if you get close I promise I will stab you with. my spoon.

Avocado Coconut Truffles with Dark Chocolate by Wild Blend Umm, this chick is INCREDIBLE and her food brain is so, so smart. Well done Wonder Woman, well done.

Blueberry Avocado Muffins by Gimme Some Oven Genius!! Using avocado as the oil in these muffins totally ups the blueberry muffin game into the baking stratosphere. Genius! Wait, how many times have I said genius?

Avocado Salsa Verde by Joyful Healthy Eats This is one of my FAVORITE ways to eat avocado. Plus a homemade salsa verde oh my GEEZ LOUISE!

And finally, the Tuna Poke Bowl by bon appetit This is one of those recipes you see, your mouth waters, and you think “I’d be willing to spend $100 on tuna right now.” Then you look in your bank account and realize that yes, dreaming about avocados IS a positive, yet not so lucrative, past time.

Here’s to a weekend full of avocado-inspired joy and great food!

Much luv y’all– C

Luv Cooks Fourth of July FAVES!

Hi lovely Luv Cooks foodies!

In honor of this very special holiday weekend, where we get to celebrate the beauty and freedom of America, and American cuisine, I wanted to give you guys a special round-up of all of the recipes that are SURE to bring a smile to the ones you love this Fourth of July.

This post is all about my favorite summertime recipes that not only taste delicious, but are a great way to bring some fun and love to those outdoor BBQ’s.

Without further ado…

White BBQ Sauce This recipe, adapted from Southern Living’s version, is a huge crowd pleaser! Use it to top smoked chicken, burgers, even stir it into coleslaw!

Grilled Greek Pizza with Steak Two words: GREEK DRESSING! This post features my favorite homemade Greek dressing of all time and the fabulous The Style Gathering– plus steak tips!

Grilled Tomato Salsa: I adore salsa, and grilling the tomatoes in this recipe gives even more depth of flavor to already fantastic Southern tomatoes.

Strawberry Honey Lemonade This lemonade is one of my favorites I’ve ever made, plus it uses honey and only a bit of sugar for sweetness. And, it involves summertime strawberries- deal!

Gluten Free Peach Cobbler Ice Cream

This recipe is soooo tasty and even uses gluten-free pie crust in the ice cream. YES!