Oscars Party: "Django Unchained" Inspired Mini Mississippi Mud Pies with Bourbon Whipped Cream

"Django. The D is Silent."

Leonardo Di Caprio's portrayal of the Mississippi plantation owner Calvin Candie in Quentin Tarantino's Oscars nominated film Django Unchained is repulsive mixed in with a bit of charisma, violent mixed in with southern politeness, and outright brilliant. I know I would be too scared to serve him anything, but being from Mississippi I hope he would appreciate these mini mud pies. They are great for serving at parties, because they are individually portioned. You can just keep them in the fridge, and serve them whenever a guest wants dessert.

Valentine's Day Sweets: Spicy Bacon Brownies with Chocolate Glaze

Few things men are guaranteed to like: chocolate, bacon, and a spicy kick. This brownie has it all! I know what you're thinking...bacon?? But hold on, you don't really taste the bacon in it. It provides a tiny bit of salt and crunch that leaves you wondering why the brownie is so good. Plus you can get cool girl points for putting bacon in everything. Be careful with the spice, you only need a little bit of it, that will get balanced out by the rich chocolate.

Valentine's Day Sweets: Brown Sugar, Pecan & Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm very spoiled when it comes to food. I eat only the tops of my muffins. The crusts of my bread. And the gooey center of my cookies. I was trying to figure out a way to maximize the amount of gooeyness I get from cookies, and I finally achieved it by baking them in this heart pan with deep cups. I have a sneaky feeling they will work well with mini muffin pans too.

Ending the year on a sweet note

I read a quote the other day by the author Judith Viorst, that said: "Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands-and then eat just one of the pieces". The truffles and orangettes I'm about to present to you require no manual labor to dive into as they are already individually portioned. However, they require a great deal of restraint to not eat the whole batch. I'm a firm believer in always ending things on a sweet note: a bad day, an amazing meal, a difficult task, a rainy afternoon, a long run, and of course the last hours of the year.

 

The Cripple Bakes Cookies