Quick and Easy Piña Colada Fudge

Make this booze-free, no-cook beauty in a mixer

Craving sweets but don’t want to turn on the oven during hot summer days? We have the answer!

You can make this addictive Piña Colada Fudge in mere minutes, using just a mixer.

Unlike a real Piña Colada, this one has no rum in it. But you can always accompany it with a tipple if you wish. Because summer.

Pusser's Painkiller Cocktail

AKA the Painkiller, this Tiki drink will soothe your soul

So it’s July, and both major US political parties are staging their presidential nominating conventions. It’s been a bizarre political season. Plus, the weather is miserably hot throughout much of the country. We need a drink.

Enter Pusser’s Painkiller. This refreshing, rum-based slow-sipper is a perfect summer cocktail.

So mix yourself one. Or two – you shouldn’t suffer through this alone.

Quick Lemon-Coconut Fudge

Sure to please Easter bunnies everywhere!

One of our favorite flavors is lemon. And coconut. OK, that’s two flavors.

So why not combine them? That’s what we did in this quick and easy lemon-coconut fudge.

It’s perfect for Easter, which is this Sunday (March 27). This fudge comes together in minutes, and you can even shape the pieces into little Easter eggs if you like. Kids of all ages will be delighted.

You probably have all the ingredients for this recipe on hand, too, so you don’t need to make a special trip to the supermarket. Which will allow you to avoid all those commercial Easter candies. This year, your peeps won’t need Peeps.

Irish Potato Candy

This cinnamon-coated coconut cream candy is a Philadelphia St. Pat’s tradition

Certain cities have iconic foods associated with them. Boston? Clam chowder and baked beans. New York? Thin-crust pizza and bagels.

How about Philadelphia? You may think Philly cheese steaks, hoagies, and soft pretzels. But Irish Potato Candy? Maybe you haven’t heard of this treat.

Irish Potato Candy is a traditional Philly confection that (despite its name) did not originate in Ireland. Nor does it contain potato. But the shape of these candies and their reddish-brown coating make them look like little round spuds—hence the name.

These candies may sound a bit odd, but wait until you bite into one of these diminutive darlings. Their flavor is no small potatoes.

Crunch Drop Cookies

Coconut is the Secret Ingredient in These Crispy Delights

When I was a child, December was baking season around our house.  My mother would bake cookies almost every day, so we’d wind up with a dozen or more varieties at least.  Between Christmas and New Year’s, she’d serve up a big platter of them every night after dinner. 

I’d always beeline these Crunch Drop Cookies, made festive with a garnish of brightly colored sugar or sprinkles. 

They’re a great tasting cookie, and easy to make.  Almost every kid will like them.  And you?  Well, you may experience your second childhood.

Coconut Kisses (Macaroons)

Richer — and Simpler —  Than Traditional Macaroons

OK, technically these cookies aren’t macaroons (they don’t contain egg white).  But they look like coconut macaroons, and their flavor is remarkably similar.  So whatever you call them, your taste buds will get an exceedingly sweet treat.

Last year when I posted about Pfeffernüsse Cookies, I mentioned that for Christmas my mom would bake at least a dozen different types of cookies. The selection varied a bit from year to year, but there was always a nucleus of family favorites. One of these was Coconut Kisses, which she always baked on Christmas Eve. To make them even more festive, she’d divide the cookie dough and dye half of it red, the other half green.

These days, Mrs. Kitchen Riffs (the cookie baker in our household) skips the dye. Although I sometimes get nostalgic for the seasonal look of the red and green cookies, I must admit I prefer the way they look au naturel. Besides, that way you can serve them all year round, not just at Christmas.

A good thing too, because once you see the way kids — and adults — gobble these up, you’ll want to bake them often.

Pineapple, Coconut, and Carrot Salad

A Sweet Salad for Dinner Party or Picnic

With only 3 ingredients — canned crushed pineapple, packaged angel-flake coconut, and grated carrots — this salad is about as easy as it gets.

When I was growing up, this is a salad my mother would often serve on festive occasions.  Visually, it’s a pretty dish.  And it has a pleasant, sweet taste that almost everyone likes.  In fact, it rivals some desserts in sweetness.

If you have trouble wrapping your mind around a sweet salad, just think of it as a loose-textured relish or nonspreadable chutney.

But however you classify it, once you taste it, you’ll call it delicious.