EpiCurious Generations

Inspiration:  Thanks to Little Spice Jar for this one! When a family member loves Nutella and it's their birthday and the universe puts a picture of this fabulous recipe on your Pinterest feed,  you really have to go with it! Turns out this was a great hit and really easy to make.   Check out this fabulous recipe for a giant Nutella Stuffed Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie at  Little Spice Jar !  Great alternative to a birthday cake and so very good.

Inspiration:  This amazing Pecan Pumpkin Butter at Williams Sonoma

Inspiration:  Smores and toasted marshmallows by the fire Ahhhh marshmallows!  I love them.  I love them plain and can eat quite a few but really, for me,  they are best when toasted over the fire, slightly burnt, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. 

Inspiration:  Pets de soeur - a French Canadian treat. I have an old binder that is filled with recipes that I have collected over the years. Some have been torn out of magazines and some have been generously shared by friends and family.  Every once in a while I will pull out to take a look and, although some of the recipes date back over 20 years, they always serve as great inspiration. This recipe for cinnamon swirls or "pets de soeurs" as they are known in French, was given to me and even though I can't be certain of whose recipe it was, I'm pretty sure it was a family member.  Originally created using the leftover trimmings of pie crust dough, they became a staple in the French Canadian culture during the Holidays when tourtières (meat pies) were being prepared.     

Inspiration :  Dinner and a shared desert with some of my wonderful girlfriends at Ottavio .   Some of life's greatest pleasures  =  girlfriends, desert and dinner - in that order. This is basically a choux pastry batter that is deep fried instead of baked.  The result is a surprisingly light beignet style desert .  I decided to dust them with maple sugar after blotting them a bit post frying (it's maple syrup time in Quebec), but you can sprinkle them with regular sugar, icing sugar or leave them as is.  Paired with this intense vanilla pastry cream, it is really hard to stop at only one.  

This is a recipe I used to make a long time ago and pull out every once in a while when I am in the mood for a delicious, not too sweet, buttery scone.  It brings back memories of the wonderful scones we ate when in Dublin and as St-Patrick's day is just around the corner, I was inspired to make a quick batch.   Orange and chocolate is one of my favourite flavour combinations (I love dark chocolate covered candied orange rind).  They puff up very nicely and are crisp on the outside and fluffy and tender on the inside.   You can sprinkle them with icing sugar or drizzle extra dark chocolate on top to finish.  I hope you enjoy! The chocolate and orange can easily be replaced in this recipe with flavours you love - just keep the liquid to 1 cup total.  You can also try  lemon, cranberry scones . Chocolate Orange Scones:  For 18 round 3'' (7.5cm) scones - they can be frozen once baked 4 cups (600g) of all purpose flour ...

Inspiration:  Pannekoeken (Dutch pancakes) and Yorkshire Pudding It took me three tries to get these right.  Sometimes, what seems like the easiest recipes can be the most difficult to perfect. Time:  Active time: 10 minutes, cooking time:  20 minutes