Cake Mix Strawberry Shortcakes

These easy-to-make Strawberry Shortcakes start with one of my favorite time-saving baking hacks- a boxed cake mix!

While I tend to make most of my recipes from scratch, I have also posted my fair share of recipes using one of my absolute favorite baking hacks- a simple boxed cake mix. I know that some people might consider using a boxed cake mix as "cheating", but I personally just find it to be a convenient shortcut that comes in handy if you are short on time or happen to not be the best at baking. 

For the most part, a boxed cake mix takes the guesswork out of making sure you have the right amount of flour, baking soda or baking powder (or both), salt, etc. And bonus? Cake mixes come in so many different varieties and flavors that they can easily be adapted to just about any recipe you would like to make!

I have used boxed cake mixes in everything from actual cakes (see my secret for making a boxed cake mix taste better than the bakery HERE) to pancakes and even cookies and muffins.

But today's recipe was my first time making a shortcake from a cake mix...

Irish Coffee Brownies

 Inspired by a classic Irish cocktail, these fudgy and decadent Irish Coffee Brownies are a must-bake for St. Patrick's Day (or any day of the year!)...

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Can we just chat about my love for Irish whiskey for a quick second? Because prior to about a year ago, I was absolutely not a whiskey drinker at all. I didn't like the smell of it or the taste of it, and I definitely wasn't sitting around on a Saturday night sipping it on the rocks. 

But it just turns out that I had been experiencing the wrong whiskey for pretty much my entire life. Who knew?

You see, my only experience with whiskey for most of my adult life was either the Canadian variety (ahem... Crown) or Kentucky whiskeys and bourbons. Other than a few sips of Jameson here and there, I had never really tasted Irish whiskeys before. 

Then last year I discovered what has now become my go-to whiskey- Tullamore Dew.

I have to give credit where credit is due. My boyfriend introduced me to the right kind of Irish whiskeys. Being a mixologist, he was able to pinpoint just what it was that I hadn't liked about the whiskeys I had tried before and was able to finally help me find one that I not only actually like, but that I absolutely enjoy as well.

Pina Colada Macaroons

Baking up a batch of these moist & delicious Pina Colada Macaroons is a sure-fire way to cure a case of the beach blues...

Pardon me, friends... But I happen to be going through a little bit of beach withdrawal this week. My family and I traveled to the Outer Banks with 9 other members of our family last week to take up residence in a 3 story beach house complete with a pool and hot tub for a full 7 days. If you happen to follow me on Instagram, you may have caught some of my photos from our little trip to the beach. ;)

We spent lots of time on the beach (no shark sightings or attacks for us, thank goodness!) and just hanging out together relaxing in our big ole beach house. We may have also enjoyed a frosty cocktail or two. 

Frozen pina coladas, to be exact. Once I saw that our beach house kitchen was equipped with a blender, I headed to the next little town over to seek out a liquor store. I picked up some white rum and a bottle of pina colada mix and got right to whirling away frozen and fruity concoctions for the ladies of the family. I blended up a few traditional pina coladas, and then spying the fresh fruit we had on hand I decided to make a few strawberry and banana ones as well. 

While I am glad to be home and back to the the familiar, I am missing the beach. The salty breezes, the seashell hunting, and those frosty pina coladas...

Spiced Rum Peach-Walnut Crisp

This easy Spiced Rum Peach-Walnut Crisp is the perfect marriage of summer sweet peaches and the warm spices of fall...

Sometimes recipe inspiration just hits me while standing in the produce aisle at my local grocery store.  

These huge gorgeous peaches caught my eye instantly. But I was sold when I saw the price per pound- just 99 cents!  I loaded up a bag of them, giddy with how amazing they looked and smelled.  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them right at that moment, but I knew I was going to have make something amazingly delicious with them. ;)

As I was standing in the checkout line ready to make these peaches mine to take home, it occurred to me that I had a huge bag of beautiful walnuts from my friends at California Walnuts sitting on my counter. Before I had even swiped my card, I knew what I was going to bake these peaches into- a warm and comforting crisp.

I combined sweet, juicy peaches with the some of the warm spices of fall- cinnamon and cardamom. And for good measure, I poured a little spiced rum in there. ;) Then I topped it off with a spiced golden and crunchy oat topping brimming with big pieces of California walnuts.  The perfect dessert to segue from the bright, fruity flavors of summer and the warm, spicy flavors of fall...

Chocolate Chip Waffle Cone Ice Cream

With just a few simple ingredients, you can make this creamy & dreamy Chocolate Chip Waffle Cone Ice Cream- no ice cream maker needed!

Can we talk about ice cream makers for a sec, folks?

I own one. When I first bought it, I used it religiously every time I wanted to make a batch of homemade ice cream.

Then one day a very important and necessary piece went missing. 

After a good amount of online researching (and actual searching of every nook & cranny in my kitchen), I came to find out that it would just be cheaper to buy an entirely new ice cream maker than just purchase the missing part.

I put off buying a new ice cream maker.  And the one with a missing a part went to a back corner of my kitchen cabinet to gather dust.

No homemade ice cream was enjoyed in our home for months.  

(Cue the sad violin music.)

And then one day, I was done with it. I sought out homemade ice cream recipes from some of my favorite food bloggers- ones that did not require an ice cream maker, aka no churn ice creams.

From my first batch, I was hooked and never looked back. 

I even miraculously found the missing piece to the dusty ice cream maker a couple of months ago. But yet the ice cream maker still sits, gathering dust.

The moral of the story?