Desserts

Buddy The Elf Spaghetti Recipe

Buddy The Elf Spaghetti Recipe

After extensive research I found out what Buddy The Elf really puts on his breakfast spaghetti in one of the memorable food scenes in the movie,”ELF.” This recipe is from The Unofficial “Elf” Cookbook by Jackie Alpers.

Sweet and Spicy Nut Brittle

Sweet and Spicy Nut Brittle

Inspired by ingredients local to the Northwestern U.S. this crunchy, spicy, sweet mixed nut brittle is perfect for holiday gifting. Walnuts, hickory nuts, and hazelnuts are grown in Montana where the television series Yellowstone is set

Homemade Sprinkles

Homemade Sprinkles

Learn how to make homemade sprinkles in custom colors using the royal icing method. From the author of the Sprinkles cookbook.

Chocolate Dipped Frozen Banana Bites With Sprinkles

Chocolate Dipped Frozen Banana Bites With Sprinkles

We all know that rainbow sprinkles make the world-go-round and this super-easy recipe is fun, festive and good for you too. You can melt the chocolate in the microwave which makes it the perfect treat for a hot summer’s day.

Bombshell Boxed Brownie Dessert Pan Pizzas

Bombshell Boxed Brownie Dessert Pan Pizzas

These individual brownie pan pizzas are baked and served in Lodge 3.5-inch cast iron skillets. The options for different toppings are endless. Have fun experimenting with different combinations or set up a topping bar and let everyone pick their own.

Black and White Oreo Bark

Black and White Oreo Bark

Three ingredient white chocolate bark with Oreos that can be made in 30 minutes or less for a quick dessert or snack.

Mini Brownie Stack Cakes

Mini Brownie Stack Cakes

A beautiful looking stacked dessert that’s easy to make using boxed brownie mix, berries and whipped cream.

Beautiful Brownie Bites

Beautiful Brownie Bites

These rich, mini bits of extra-gooey brownies are decorated to look like fancy boxed chocolates. The topping are a great way to try out new flavor combinations and play with the contrast of the colors against the dark background of the bites.

S’mores Brownie In A Mug

S’mores Brownie In A Mug

A decadent single-serving brownie in a mug with marshmallows and a soft, melted chocolate center. Make this recipe just for yourself, day or night.

Chocolate, Coffee, Pistachio Biscotti with Sprinkles

Chocolate, Coffee, Pistachio Biscotti with Sprinkles

Biscotti means “twice baked” in Italian. First you form the crumbly dough into one stiff mass and bake it whole. Then you let it cool, slice it, and bake it again at a lower temperature. That’s what gives biscotti an almost cracker-like quality, which goes especially well with coffee. This triple-chocolate double-baked treat is dipped in a dark chocolate coating with sprinkles on top.

Sweet Corn & Cinnamon Paletas

Sweet Corn & Cinnamon Paletas

Why isn’t corn used in more desserts? It’s naturally sweet, and the kernels add a nice pop. These paletas are made with sweet corn, cinnamon and Tajin.

Chocolate Caramel Apple Pops

Chocolate Caramel Apple Pops

A cute, kid friendly recipe for slices of apples dipped in chocolate and decorated with sprinkles candy or nuts. This recipe was originally developed fro Refinery29.

Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches With Sprinkles!

Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches With Sprinkles!

This may be one of the easiest recipes ever. It was originally written for and published on Refinery29 where you can find seven more of my Oreo recipes. I literally wrote the book on sprinkles, so if you’re interested in learning more ways to cover everything in sprinkles, pick up a copy of Sprinkles!: Recipes and Ideas for Rainbowlicious Desserts.

Funfetti Layer cake

Funfetti Layer cake

Sprinkles melt away during baking leaving behind little confetti-like poufs of color in this deconstructed cake that shows off the sprinkles hidden inside.

Fleur De Sel Caramels

Fleur De Sel Caramels

Fleur de sel (flower of salt) is a hand-harvested sea salt with distinctive flavor. Look for variations that have a pink or gray tone. You’d think that something with such a fancy-sounding name might be complicated to make, but in fact these sweet and savory bite-size treats are as easy to concoct as they are to devour. Still, if you want to let your friends believe these caramels are a feat of culinary magic, your secret’s safe with me.

Mini German Pancakes

Mini German Pancakes

These healthier German pancakes are topped with fat-free Greek yogurt and fresh fruit, reducing the sugar content. I added a little spreadable fruit and garnished them with confectioners’ sugar so they still taste sweet.

Savarin Chantilly – French Bundt Cake with Apricot Glaze

Savarin Chantilly – French Bundt Cake with Apricot Glaze

My niece got married in a field in Oskaloosa, Kansas last weekend. Afterwards we had lunch under a tent. My mother-in-law made all of the desserts including this Savarin, a rich airy cake soaked in a simple syrup and topped with apricot glaze and whipped cream. It’s traditionally served as a feast-day dessert in France. This is her recipe. It’s a little more complicated than the recipes I usually post, but I think it’s worth the effort.

Mini Fudge Puppies

Mini Fudge Puppies

Covered in chocolate, whipped cream, and all your favorite toppings, Fudge Puppies are a carnival and state fair food classic. Here’s how to make them at home.

Sprinkles Fairy Bread Sandwiches

Sprinkles Fairy Bread Sandwiches

Make any day a celebration! Just barely sweet, these sparkly sandwiches make a fun breakfast surprise, after-school snack, or party food.

Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem “Fairy Bread” from A Child’s Garden of Verses, fairy bread is a popular treat at children’s parties in Australia, New Zealand, and other little pockets of the world.

This recipe is from my book Sprinkles!: Recipes and Ideas for Rainbowlicious Desserts. The photograph is previously unpublished

Hand Painted Flower Cookies

Hand Painted Flower Cookies

Celebrate spring with hand-painted watercolor flower cookies. Herbs, fruit juice and plant dyes can all be used as food coloring.

Christmas Cookie Season

It’s christmas cookie season, and while biscotti isn’t technically a cookie per-se, they often find their way onto the plethora of platters that mark the season. From cookie swaps to office parties, to host/hostess gifts, cookies are part of what defines the winter holidays.This chocolate/coffee pistachio biscotti recipe is excerpted from my book Sprinkles!: Recipes and Ideas for Rainbowlicious Desserts.

Chocolate Pots de Crème with Sprinkles

Chocolate Pots de Crème with Sprinkles

A healthy, frozen, chocolate treat that’s high protein, and low in calories, fat and sugar. What more could you want? Oh yeah, it has sprinkles! Lots of them in pretty summer colors that are perfect for a hot pre-holiday weekend.

I Want Some Figgy Pudding!

I Want Some Figgy Pudding!

I want some figgy pudding! How could I not after hearing that song year after year. So, I came up with this recipe for Chocolate & Coffee Figgy Pudding. Make your Christmas past a Christmas present. 

Pretty in Pink: Candied Lady Apples

Pretty in Pink: Candied Lady Apples

These easy candied apples are a healthy, sweet treat that are fun for kids to make. I used Lady Apples, which are stunning, tiny, sweet apples that resemble crab apples. Also called Christmas Apples, they are generally available in stores starting in mid-October.  The candy melts are small discs that come in a variety of colors and are available at Michael’s and other craft stores as well as some supermarkets. I chose pink because I thought it looked nice with the red apples, but it’s fun to play around and find the colors you like best.

Mini Pumpkin Goat Cheese Cheesecakes

Mini Pumpkin Goat Cheese Cheesecakes

A can of pumpkin’s been staring at me from the counter top for two weeks now.The internet recipe sites are all screaming at me that it’s pumpkin season, and I am indeed ready for fall. So today I finally got to work and invented something to celebrate the beginning of my favorite time of the year.

The Calypso Cooler

The Calypso Cooler

Recipe for a boozy, beautiful blue ice cream soda for adults made with fozen grapes muddled with wine coolers and ice cream.

Order Jackie's Cookbooks

The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook Cover
cover of The Unofficial Elf Cookbook by Jackie Alpers. Treat every day like Christmas with recipes inspired by the classic film "Elf".
The Unofficial Elf Cookbook by Jackie Alpers
About Jackie Alpers
Jackie Alpers International Photography Awards Honorable Mention
International color awards nominee medal