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How to Stop Your Cake Collapsing: Guest Post by Marie Makes

How to Stop Your Cake Collapsing: Guest Post by Marie Makes

Today is a special guest post from Marie at Marie Makes! She bakes and decorates beautiful cakes in England and today she will be sharing a few tips with us all. Look at how adorable her cakes are. Marie, we wish you lived closer so 

Chocolate Chip Cookies **gluten free**

Chocolate Chip Cookies **gluten free**

I’m baaaaaaack! Wow, it’s been a hot minute since I last posted a recipe. Thank you Steph for holding down the fort and keeping LDB alive. Seriously, you are the best! As some of you know, I stepped back from LDB to open up a 

Chocolate Pretzel Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips

Chocolate Pretzel Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips

Chocolate Pretzel Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips. Phew! What a mouthful. But I promise these cookies are worth the extra long title, especially if you’re like me and love that salty sweet flavor combo.

I got the idea for these cookies thinking about my go-to quick and easy pretzel cookies, but then combined that idea with a former #choctoberfest recipe, chocolate walnut cookies. Chocolate, pretzels and peanut butter chips…what more could you ask for!

I’ve been very into salty treats lately (blame Samin from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Have you seen how much salt she adds to everything?!) so I added sea salt to the tops of some of these. Personally I loved the extra saltiness, but even without the additional salt, the pretzel/chocolate mix is perfect.

I really love the yearly #Choctoberfest event because it forces me to get creative with chocolate and requires me to post those recipes in a timely manner. I mean, when else do you ever get two new recipes in a week?? If you haven’t already, don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win a Kitchenaid Mixer here and make sure to come back later this week, there will be a surprise with the second recipe! Then scroll to the end of the page here to see all the other chocolate recipes posted today.

Happy baking!

~Stephanie

Chocolate Pretzel Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips (recipe adapted from Double Chocolate Walnut Cookies)

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 10 tbsp butter
  • 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
  • 1 cup crushed pretzel pieces
  • Sea salt (optional)
  1. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  2. In separate mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars until smooth. Continue beating an additional two minutes. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix for 30 seconds.
  3. Add the peanut butter chips and pretzels and stir by hand.
  4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When ready, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  5. Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.
  6. Bake 15-18 minutes, until edges are set but middle is still soft.
  7. Cool on wire rack.

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#Choctoberfest 2020

#Choctoberfest 2020

Welcome the best time of year: #Choctoberfest! With everything going on in the world I think we can all agree on one thing… 2020 needs more chocolate. #Choctoberfest is our annual celebration of chocolate recipes, now in its 6th year. We teamed up with some 

Day trip to Bruges, Belgium

Day trip to Bruges, Belgium

I can’t believe this trip was 2 years ago. Nothing like procrastinating writing posts! We should have been in Italy this summer, but…we all know how that turned out. To satisfy the travel bug I’ve had fun looking through pictures and reliving these trips. If 

Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Can you believe Thanksgiving is this week?? It falls late this year, so it seems like I should be ready. But somehow here we are again, with a holiday sneaking up on me.

Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce | longdistancebaking.com

If you are hosting this year I’m sure the last thing you want is someone telling you to make yet one more thing from scratch, but hear me out: this homemade cranberry sauce is SO. EASY. It takes 20 minutes from start to finish, and you can make this a few days in advance! Meaning less cooking on the big day.

Have you had homemade cranberry sauce before? If all you know is cranberries from a can, I promise you will want to try this. As much as I love the big feast on Thanksgiving, the whole meal can feel pretty heavy. Adding a dish with fresh ingredients can really help balance the meal. I like cranberries on my turkey, stuffing, rolls, potatoes…ok fine, I eat this with a spoon. Can you blame me??

Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce | longdistancebaking.com

This sauce is only six ingredients: cranberries, oranges, sugar, ginger, lemon and lime juice. The only prep required is peeling an orange. How much easier can it get?! This was always my sister’s job on Thanksgiving, even as a kid. That’s how you know this is easy (sorry sis…). I know making this is one more thing on your to do list, but your guests (and your future self!) will thank you.

Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce | longdistancebaking.com

I’m busy making pies this week (pumpkin, apple and pecan to be specific) but I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!

~Stephanie

Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce

(recipe adapted from FoodTV)

  • 2 navel oranges
  • 12 ounce package of fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger (ground ginger works as well)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp fresh lime juice
  1. Peel orange and remove as much pith (the white parts) as possible. Cut into 4 wedges, then cut those in half.
  2. In small sauce pan, add the oranges, cranberries, ginger, sugar and water.
  3. Heat over medium until mixture boils, then lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken, stirring frequently.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in lemon and lime juice.
  5. Pour sauce into heat safe container and let cool before serving.

Sauce can be made several days in advance. Cover and refrigerate sauce until ready to use.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Every now and then you need a relatively simple dessert. You need something that comes together quickly, without any fancy ingredients and that everyone will love. And if you need this recipe in the fall…you obviously need it to be pumpkin. While my pumpkin spice 

Cookies & Cream Oreo Pop Tarts

Cookies & Cream Oreo Pop Tarts

Growing up, our parents didn’t buy us many prepackaged treats. Fruit by the foot, gogurt, dunkaroos…we never had those. I still remember going to a friend’s house that had MULTIPLE flavors of goldfish crackers and pringles. Another friend had an entire closet in the basement 

#Choctoberfest 2019

#Choctoberfest 2019

Welcome to #Choctoberfest 2019! If you don’t remember from years past, this is a week full of everything chocolate. Plus a great big prize pack for one of you to win! This year, over 70 bloggers are joining together for a week full of chocolate cakes, pies, cookies, candies and more. You can follow along by searching for the hashtag #Choctoberfest on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Or, simply follow any of the participating bloggers listed at the end of the post.

Let’s revisit our previous #Choctoberfest recipes, shall we? I love this event because it is a great opportunity to get creative with chocolate recipes we haven’t made before. And also I get to eat a lot of chocolate.

Double Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Double Chocolate Walnut Cookies | longdistancebaking.com

Fudgy Chocolate Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

Fudgy Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies | longdistancebaking.com

Nutella Pie

Nutella Pie with Barleans | longdistancebaking.com

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins for #Choctoberfest 2017 | longdistancebaking.com

Peanut Butter Chocolate Sauce Brownies

We also have some awesome sponsors, who make #Choctoberfest possible every year. Our sponsors have banded together to put together a delicious prize pack worth over $400! Here’s what you get if you win! (Scroll down to enter.)

  • Candy Gift Pack from blog host Triple Chocolate Kitchen, which includes 180-pack of Lindt LINDOR Chocolate Truffles (dark, milk, and white). Triple Chocolate Kitchen organizes #Choctoberfest, as well as posting chocolate recipes throughout the year.
  • Chocolate and Cocoa Gift Pack from Divine Chocolate, which includes a variety of high-quality fair trade chocolate bars, cocoa powder, and Divine Chocolate swag. Divine Chocolate’s baking line consists of three premium quality flavors ranging from 55% to 100% cocoa for a wide variety of delicious desserts. Their chocolate products are made with 100% cocoa butter and are non-GMO and Vegan Society Certified.
  • $100 Nordic Ware Gift Card and 40 Pounds of Granulated Sugar from Imperial Sugar. They are currently hosting their annual Scary Scramble, featuring delicious fall-inspired recipes using Imperial Sugar’s high-quality sweeteners. Imperial Sugar has been a kitchen staple for over 175 years!
  • Collagen Fuel™ Drink Mix Gift Pack from Primal Kitchen. The ingredients in these drink mixes help support hair, skin, and nails. Their chocolate version has organic, fair-trade cocoa and coconut milk powders, with no wheat, soy, or dairy ingredients.
  • Cracker Gift Pack from Mary’s Gone Crackers. The lucky winner will get to try a variety of crackers, many of which pair well with chocolate (check their recipe page for ideas!). Mary’s products are vegan, cruelty-free, and organic.
  • Fig Spread Gift Pack from Dalmatia Spreads. With flavors like sour cherry, plum, blackberry, and orange, you’ll find that several of Dalmatia’s fig-based spreads work well in chocolate recipes. Use as a filling for crépes, serve warm over ice cream, or spread onto toast. They even have a fig cocoa spread that uses fair trade cocoa.
  • Alkaline Water Pack from Perfect Hydration. Wash down all those delicious chocolate desserts with Perfect Hydration water. This 9.5+ pH alkaline water helps to effectively restore and rebalance the body to optimum pH levels. This water goes through a 9-stage filtration process, has no added sodium, chlorine, or fluoride, and is packaged in recyclable BPA-free bottles.
  • Kitchen Conversions Chart and Etsy Gift Card from Moonflower Mountain. Winner chooses the colors for this flower-adorned conversion chart, which makes it easy to double any recipe or convert from cups to tablespoons.

This is a prize pack worth over $400 and couldn’t be easier to enter! Simply follow our sponsors below and follow more of the participating bloggers for even more entries! If you’re already following us on Instagram (you are, aren’t you??) you already have an extra entry. Open worldwide, except where prohibited. Must be 18+ to enter (21+ in some locations). One lucky winner will be drawn randomly on October 20, 2019 and contacted via email. See terms and conditions for more details. Enter the giveaway now:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Entries from spam or inactive accounts are invalid. #Choctoberfest bloggers, sponsors, and their immediate families/households are not eligible to win. This giveaway is not affiliated with or sponsored by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.

I can’t wait to share our newest chocolate creations with you! Make sure you check out these other participating bloggers to see #Choctoberfest recipes all throughout the week and good luck in the giveaway.

~Stephanie & Kelly

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Huckleberry Ice Cream

Huckleberry Ice Cream

It’s Friday evening before a holiday weekend and our AC stops working. It’s 95 all weekend. We found more ants in our cupboards, this time they found their way INSIDE the honey jar. Can summer be over now??? I know, I know. Unpopular opinion. But