The Magic of JELL-O

Disclosure of material connection-  I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book

Over 100 years and it's still jiggling and wiggling and creating fun for all ages!The 100 recipes in this unique cookbook celebrate all thing JELL-O®. All tested in the offical JELL-O® kitchens and accompanied with tempting photos. Because everyone loves JELL-O, there's something here for every taste. A special section for kids has cool things like Slushies, Chocolate Pudding Cats, Dirt Cups, and Lollipop Jiggles. Light Delights cater to today's health-conscious eater who appreciates the chance to indulge in a yummy dessert that's also fat-free and low-calorie. In a rush? Quick and Easy Razzle Dazzle Berry Mousse and Citrus Meringue take very little time and work--but provide plenty of pleasure. And of course there are special recipes for holidays and other occasions, like a Halloween Worm Cake and a Traditional Fruit Trifle.

My thoughts-

I think if you asked anybody to look back on their childhood and name a cherished dessert, JELL-O will have been involved 9 times out of 10. I remember at our house that my mom was a busy working woman so when we would have JELL-O it was usually just plain and cut up into squares but we loved it that way. It was a real treat the times that she thought to cut up bananas and place them inside of the JELL-O mold! That was definitely one of my favorite treats as a kid. The Magic of JELL-O has a wide array of recipes. There are easy recipes for the novice cook or too busy to cook person and intricate recipes that look fabulous for the person who loves to be in the kitchen and show off their beautiful work. There are healthier recipes and more indulgent recipes. There is truly something for everyone. I can't wait to try to make some of these things to put in my kids' lunchboxes or surprise them with after school as an indulgent treat. I think they would especially enjoy the chocolate pudding cats and lollipop jiggles. I recommend this book to anyone with a sense of nostalgia or who just enjoys JELL-O recipes!

Chloe's Vegan Desserts by Chloe Coscarelli Book Review

Before I even start this review, I need to mention that I am not vegan. I am working on hard on leaning more in that direction, but that has been difficult for me because of my love of cheese, but that doesn't have much to do with dessert does it? haha! So I thought "Well, I love dessert, I wonder if these recipes will be any good? I might as well give it a try!" And boy am I glad I did!

I have tried several recipes from this cookbook and they were all pretty knock your socks off amazing. And that is not just coming from me, my meat loving, kind of anti-vegan husband tried every recipe I created and thought they were awesome. He was especially impressed by the vegan brownie recipe! My favorite recipe I tried out of this book were for cupcakes with a sea salted caramel frosting. Those were so good, I decided I would send some to the Emergency Room for my husband's co-workers. They loved them! I bake for the ER quite often and one of my husband's good friends at work takes some home often for her 11 year old daughter. She said that these cupcakes were BY FAR her daughter's favorite dessert I have made. That says something about Chloe's talent as a vegan chef and about vegan baking in general. It is definitely possible to have delicious desserts without using dairy products or eggs. This recipe book is proof of that. 

Some other favorite recipes that we tried or are looking forward to trying are:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sourdough French Toast

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Lemon Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Chloe O's

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Mint Cookies 'n' Cream Cupcakes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Bollywood Cupcakes

...and many more. Honestly I could have pretty much listed out the entire book because I would try anything in it!

Another cool thing about this book is with a tiny tweaks to the recipes (which are noted at the end of the recipes) these can also be gluten free desserts. This is a huge win for people on a gluten free diet! This is probably my favorite recipe book I have had the pleasure of reviewing, traditional or vegan. Hands down, these are delicious recipes that even a person very skeptical of  the vegan diet will enjoy!

Chloe's Vegan Desserts comes out TOMORROW! You can still pre-order on Amazon.com and get this book for less than $13! That's a steal. I will definitely be ordering a copy to add to my cookbook collection. I may not be vegan (yet), but I know a good cook when I see one. This is the first cookbook of Chloe Coscarelli's that I have had the pleasure of looking in, but you can bet it won't be my last!

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Disclosure- I received a free advanced reader's e-copy of this above mentioned book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Add New Flavor to Desserts with Torani Syrups

Last year when I joined the SheSpeaks community the very first campaign I got to participate in was for Torani syrups and I fell in love immediately! So when I saw that SheSpeaks would once again be offering up Torani syrups for review, I did not hesitate to sign up.

This time I got a fun fall flavor- pumpkin pie and a classic flavor- vanilla bean. I have been expirementing almost daily to come up with great recipes for both and I think I have come up with some pretty fantastic ideas!

For the Vanilla Bean Torani, I made a cinnamon-vanilla glaze to drizzle over pumpkin pancakes for a decadent fall treat. The recipe is as follows:

Cinnamon-Vanilla Glaze

1 cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Bean Torani syrup
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (or to taste)
3-4 tablespoons of milk

Mix and enjoy over your favorite pancakes!!


Since pumpkin is pretty much my favorite flavor of all time, I knew I would have to do something a little more special with the Pumpkin Pie Torani. I tried several things and enjoyed almost all of them (the only major fail was when I tried to make pumpkin pie marshmallows, the flavor was just too strong.) I enjoyed drizzling a bit of the Pumpkin Pie Torani over my ice cream and even adding a tad to the milk in my cereal for a little change of pace. I also added a little pumpkin pie syrup to some milk and Irish cream liquor and it was fantastic, but the recipe I am going to share with you I am REALLY excited about! Over the past year, I have been really into the whole trend of using wonton wrappers to create appetizers, mini foods and desserts. The instant my Torani syrups arrived on my doorstep, I had this idea that I *HAD* to make pumpkin cream cheese wontons and that's what I did. The results were amazing.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Wonton Triangles-

1 package of cream cheese
2 cups of powdered sugar
3/4-teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Torani
3 tablespoons of milk
48 wonton wrappers (there are an abundance in each package, much more than 48!)

Mix together all of the wet ingredients. Then spoon a bit of the mixture on to each wonton and seal the edges with water, a fork and your fingers. I deep fried mine on medium in batches of 4-5, but I have a small deep fryer, you may be able to fit more in yours. Keep an eye on them and take them out when they are golden brown. Drizzle chocolate syrup over them for a finishing touch.

If you are a pumpkin fan, you will love this dessert. It was pretty easy too, just took a few minutes!

Torani has many, many more syrup flavors to choose from. Not only can you make coffee shop quality drinks at home, now you can take your desserts to a whole new level!

Love creating recipes? Enter the Torani Cheers contest! This is the last week and you could win fantastic prizes from Mr. Coffee!

*Disclosure- I received one or more of the above mentioned products for free from SheSpeaks & Torani. All opinions stated are 100% my own.