Forget about leftovers with this recipe for German Apple Pancakes. You won’t believe how easy it is to make such a scrumptious breakfast treat.

German Pancakes with Apples

I added apples to a batch of these pancakes for the first time over ten years ago and my family went absolutely crazy over them. I made this recipe one morning a couple of weeks ago to reshoot the photos and fell in love with these pancakes all over again.

I enjoyed the German apple pancakes so much that I’ve already made them again for family dinner. Whether it’s my grandmother’s traditional recipe or a grain and gluten free variation, we just plain love German pancakes.

For a fun change, try making miniature German pancakes in a muffin tin or these cranberry almond German pancakes during the holidays. (You know I can never have enough cranberry recipes!) However you make them, they are always delicious.

My grandmother handed down a recipe for sweet orange sauce that has become traditional in my family when eating German pancakes. I love that sauce, both because it is delicious, and because it reminds me of her.

But, honestly, I like these German pancakes with apples best on their own. Sweet enough from the apples, all the finished pancake required was a light dusting of powdered sugar. (My kids sure do like them with a drizzle of maple syrup though.)

A word of warning when you’re making the apples for these pancakes, you may want to make extra. It’s hard to resist tasting a few straight from the saucepan–just try not to eat them all before you can bake the pancakes!

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The ever-popular and timeless Rainbow Fruit Salad combines a variety of bright and colorful fresh fruits with a tangy honey lime dressing to create a crave-worthy summer side dish.

Rainbow Fruit Salad

Fresh pineapple, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, oranges, kiwis, and blackberries come together fabulously in this flavor-filled Rainbow Fruit Salad.

Any combination of fruits will work nicely in this recipe. You’ll need a total of 8 cups worth of chopped fruits. When prepping the fruits, I like to use this simple homemade fruit wash.

The fruits are then tossed with fresh lime juice, honey, and a sprinkling of poppy seeds to create a side dish worthy of any occasion.

This fruit salad can be arranged on a tray for a stunning fruit tray rainbow, layered into rainbow fruit cups for individual portions, or tossed and served in a large bowl to deliver a rainbow of fruit colors in every spoonful.

I’ve served this all three ways, but my go-to option for family meals is a large bowl simply for the ease of preparation and serving.

Honey Lime Fruit Salad

The simple honey and lime dressing brightens the fruit flavors nicely. I’ve used this dressing combination in several fruit salads and it’s become a favorite way to dress up a bowl of fruit for snacking or for dessert.

The Winter Fruit Salad and the Summer Fruit Salad are seasonal favorites. And this Rainbow Fruit Salad is everything I love about both of these, plus even more colors and flavors.

Rainbow Fruits 

You’ll need the following fruits for this fruit salad:

• pineapple or mango
• strawberry
• red grapes
• blueberries
• oranges
• kiwis
• blackberries

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Creamy and cheesy, with wonderful lingering heat, this green chile mac and cheese is a keeper, transforming the quintessential comfort food into a dish that is positively irresistible.

Macaroni and Cheese with Green Chiles

Did you know that you can make creamy, rich, and saucy stovetop macaroni and cheese with green chiles, from scratch in about the same amount of time it takes to cook a box of store-bought mac and cheese?

This easy stovetop recipe for mac and cheese gets made at least a couple of times a month in our house. So, it is past time for me to share a green chile variation.

Four years ago, I took my oldest son out to Rusconi’s restaurant (home of our beloved truffle mac and cheese) for a fancy dinner to celebrate submitting the last photos for my third cookbook. That night, he tried their green chile macaroni and cheese and has been hounding me to make a version of it ever since.

Side note: Are you wondering why I took just one kid out for dinner to celebrate? That would be because he washed every single one of the approximately 42,719 dishes that were used in the recipe testing and photographing of The Weeknight Dessert Cookbook. He was a rockstar of an assistant in the kitchen that year.

Green Chile Mac and Cheese

Famous love songs have been written based on my relationship with green chile. Not really

Always Soft Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Recipe

When the cookie dough is making you drool you know you’ve found yourself a winner. We cannot stop making this white chocolate lemon cheesecake cookie recipe now! The smell of the dough was eye rolling-ly good!

If you own our second cookbook, Raised in the Kitchen you know that our oldest daughter adores her delicate iced lemon cookies recipe and we all 100% agree. But late one evening I needed to bust out a lot of cookies for a friend and found myself a little short on what I needed.

My go-to chocolate chip cookies for feeding friends and family is actually a pudding recipe. I use an adapted version for our chocolate cookies as well because the flavor, texture and stability on the shelf are unbeatable. The pudding keeps the cookies so perfectly soft and chewy and also makes it a totally no-fail recipe. I mean, you literally could not mess those cookies up. Even better? They feed a huge crowd so it’s the best to bust out for a group.

While on my last batch I suddenly realized that I was out of the french vanilla pudding. I immediately grabbed for chocolate but once again, out! I always keep them on hand, how had I forgotten to replenish? Through searching I found a box of cheesecake and a box of lemon and as I use a large box I’d have no choice but to use two small boxes to get the job done.

What Do You Need for Lemon Cheesecake Cookies?

Grab a box of lemon pudding and a box of cheesecake pudding and the rest you probably already have in the house! The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. You can also save or print the recipe from there as well. Here is what you will need to make these irresistible cookies:

• Unsalted Butter – needs to be softened so it will cream together with the sugars
• Eggs – gives the cookies their structure
• Sugar – just regular white granulated sugar
• Brown Sugar – adds richness
• Vanilla Extract – use the real deal and no imitation flavoring
• Almond Extract – just the tiniest bit enhances the flavor so much
• All-Purpose Flour – make sure to measure the flour correctly
• Salt – enhances all the flavors and cuts the sweetness
• Baking Soda – make sure your baking soda is fresh, this helps give the cookies their fluffiness
• Cheesecake Pudding Mix – measure out half the powder using a kitchen scale
• Lemon Pudding Mix – measure out half the powder using a kitchen scale
• White Chocolate Chips – we love Ghirrardeli or Guittard brand

What Does Pudding Do in a Cookie Recipe?

Adding pudding in cookie recipes makes the cookies super

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m in Albuquerque this weekend for my nieces’ B’nai Mitzvah and I’m looking forward to a fun day of celebrating with them. My sister converted to Judaism many years ago and it’s always a joy to share those traditions with her family.

ON THE BLOGS this week: Did you know that you can make a restaurant-quality clam chowder in less than 30 minutes? It’s easier than you might think!

Roasted potatoes, green chile sauce, and black beans tossed with barely wilted baby spinach make a surprisingly delicious combination in this breakfast hash recipe.

Sweet, sticky, and just a little spicy, this chicken stir fry is a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Creamy chunks of avocado are combined with tender pieces of chicken in a fresh and slightly spicy dressing to make this avocado chicken salad.

Savor a delightful medley of fresh, ripe vegetables with a tangy homemade vinaigrette in this zucchini pasta salad. This is a recipe you will make more than once this summer.

Dive into this timeless combination of flavors with savory chicken, gooey mozzarella, and marinara sauce, nestled in tender-crisp squash, and topped with toasted bread crumbs. These chicken parm zucchini boats are a big hit!

These parmesan smashed potatoes are the joyous marriage of fluffy, tender insides and delightfully crispy edges. Every flavor-packed bite will have your taste buds dancing.

Dive into a bowl of strawberries and cream and you’ll see why it remains a classic. This quintessential summer combination of sweet, tangy fruit and velvety smoothness will have you reveling in each bite.

Rich banana ice cream, decadent chocolate chunks, and crunchy walnuts create a tantalizing treat you won’t soon forget. Chunky monkey ice cream is the perfect late-night indulgence.

What I’m CRAVING: These BBQ Pork Skewers with a sticky, sweet, and spicy marinade sound fantastic. I’m so ready for grilling season.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this magnetic cell phone holder. I’ve used a couple of other holders in our vehicles over the years and this style w