Though this isn’t a ground breaking recipe, it’d consider it a worthy staple. I never get around to making homemade margaritas, primarily because I always find it much easier to buy margarita mix for large parties.

However, my apartment was overflowing with limes, so I thought it the perfect opportunity to whip up a margarita (instead of using the limes to bake something fattening, which I would normally do).

For the non-drinkers out there, I would still enjoy this drink without the tequila, as it was sweet and refreshing. I added a bit of lime zest to give the drink an extra burst of flavor.

continue reading ››

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2036748/sweet-carolines-cooking?claim=9mskcnrpu92″>Follow my blog with bloglovin</a>

My parents hosted a dinner party this weekend, so I helped cook, bake and decorate all day before the party. I made two kinds of hummus—regular and sun-dried tomato—as well as a dessert. I wanted to make something bite-size, since I figured people would be stuffed after munching on the plethora of appetizers all evening.

I browsed the Food Network website and came across Paula Deen’s key lime tarts. The recipe received five stars and positive comments, so I decided to try it out. After all, dessert and Paula Deen go hand in hand.

Making these desserts turned into a much more tedious process than expected. The recipe calls for Key Lime Cooler cookies, however, I was not able to find these at the market. I imagine I might have found them at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, but did not have time to visit a different store. Therefore, I took one of the suggestions and made a homemade graham cracker crust for the bottom of the tarts.

The desserts had the perfect amount of tart flavor—enough to make your lips pucker, but not enough to make you contort your face in discomfort.

The tarts won me over in flavor, but were way too delicate in texture after only chilling for an hour. The recipe calls to bake the tarts in mini muffin liners (sprayed before filling), and to then remove them after baking. Removing the liners was a difficult process since the tarts were so fragile, causing a few of the desserts to break in half.

To try to remedy the situation, I chilled some of the tarts for a few more hours. After refrigerating, I was finally able to remove the rest of the liners. Although the desserts did not look as presentable as I’d hoped, they were still gobbled up at the party.

continue reading ››

After the first time I made my lemon bars, I knew they would be my go-to dessert for any party or get-together. I almost feel guilty when I get multiple compliments on the bars, since they are so easy to make.

There’s no doubt that my friend has been their biggest fan from the beginning. She will often ask me if I can bake them for her just because they sound good at the time—I’ve gotten pleads via text and phone call…and definitely in person.  She made a request the other day, but suggested that I make lime bars instead of lemon. I figured that lime would be just as tasty, so I gave it a shot.

When I tried the lime filling, I almost couldn’t tell that it wasn’t lemon, but still decided to bake the bars. After 40 minutes of curious anticipation, I took the bars out of the oven to let them cool. Although the bars didn’t have as strong of a lime taste as I had hoped, they were still delicious and had the citrus flavor. Next time, I would add more lime juice and add lime zest to give them that tart pop.

Apparently the dessert bars were still a hit, though, since the batches I gave to my friend and left for my brother last night are almost gone!

continue reading ››