I grew up eating this dish, and it is so much easier to make than you would think! In the Hallmark Mysteries movie, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A Tale of Three Letters”, you’ll see Shane offer to make linguine with clams for Oliver as a peace offering when she tells him she broke the key to his grandfather clock. He politely turns her down, but he doesn’t know what he’s missing out on! I added white wine to the recipe to deepen the flavor a bit, and as a nod to the glass of wine Shane also offered with this dish!

Ingredients:

-1 box linguine

-2 cans good quality clams

-3 cloves of garlic

-1/2 large onion

-1/4 cup chopped parsley

-1/2 cup white wine

-olive oil

-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Add a generous amount of olive oil to a deep pan. Chop onion and sauté until translucent.

Mince garlic and add to pan. Then add parsley. Cook for one minute.

Next, drain 10% of the clam juice from the cans and add all clams plus remainder of juice to the pan. Add white wine.

Let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it starts to dry out, add olive oil.

After cooking the linguine, add small batches at a time to the clam sauce, adding a bit of the starchy pasta water. Mix it all together in the pan and top with extra parsley. Enjoy!

Growing up, my parents would always make stuffed mushrooms. It’s pretty much the only way I ate mushrooms for a long time! They are great for any occasion, casual Mondays or the holidays! I decided to make this recipe in honor of Hallmark Channel movie, “Whitewater Romance”. There is a scene where the two love interests played by Cindy Busby and Benjamin Hollingsworth are forced to forage for mushrooms in the forest to help create a big meal with some other members of their group. Also, don’t miss my episode of “Hungry For Hallmark” on my YouTube channel, where I make these with Cindy Busby!

Ingredients:

-Large mushrooms

-2 cups Italian breadcrumbs

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1 bunch Italian parsley

-Good quality olive oil

-OPTIONAL, shredded Romano- Parmesan cheese blend

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Wash mushrooms thoroughly, pat dry, and carve out the stems.

Mince the garlic and chop parsley.

In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley and olive oil until a paste forms. Keep adding olive oil until you get a paste consistency.

Fill the cavity of each mushroom with the filling, packing it in. Sprinkle cheese on top if you wish. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes until mushrooms are soft. Enjoy!

“Everything Puppies” on Hallmark Channel gave us SO much doggy fun and lots of doggy treats! While the movie was centered around a new delicious dog treat being introduced to pet stores, I decided to make my own version that I could eat!! Somewhere between a graham cracker and gingerbread cookie, this yummy human treat hits the spot!

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup honey

-1/2 teaspoon water

-splash of lemon juice

-1 3/4 cup flour

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)

-2/3 cup brown sugar

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/4 teaspoon orange extract

Directions:

In a pot, bring water, honey and lemon juice to a boil. Stir for one minute, and when it starts to have a nutty smell, remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Set in fridge for 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat room temp butter, brown sugar, vanilla and orange extracts, and cooled honey.

Slowly add flour mixture until fully combined. Refrigerate dough for two hours.

Roll dough out on a floured surface, and use dog bone shaped cookie cutters to create a dog bone shaped cookie.

Place on non stick baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

I had the pleasure of making these bars along side star of “For Love and Honey” on Hallmark Channel, Andrew Walker! We are celebrating this movie by making a honey-based snack to pay homage to the place this movie takes place in, which is Malta! Malta is known for their honey, and in my video with Andrew, you’ll learn about that and many other interesting facts surrounding “For Love and Honey”!

****Check out the video of this recipe on my YouTube Channel “Hungry For Hallmark”.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 cups honey
• a pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

First toast up the sesame seeds in a skillet on low/medium heat until they are smelling toasty and slightly darker in color. Set aside in a bowl.

Next, add honey to the skillet and let that come to a soft boil. In the meantime, go back to the bowl of sesame seeds and add salt, cinnamon and orange zest.

Once the honey has come to a boil, add the sesame seed mixture into the honey and return to a boil. Continue to boil for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring very often, until thickened.

Line a square baking dish with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and pour hot mixture in. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula and let it sit out to set over the course of 2 hours at the least.

Once bars are hardened and set, use a sharp knife to cut them into bars. Enjoy!

Summer is right around the corner, so I had to pay homage to a great Summertime movie on Hallmark Channel, “Two Tickets To Paradise” starring Ashely Williams and Ryan Paevey! A funny romance taking place in beautiful Hawaii! This recipe was inspired by a few scenes featuring some yummy looking coconut drinks, but I turned it into a pudding!

Ingrediednts:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Using a whisk, mix together there cornstarch and coconut milk until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Then pour that mixture plus all other ingredients EXCEPT milk into a pot. Stir on low heat until melted and well combined.

Add the milk and continue to stir occasionally for about 7 minutes and keep on low heat until it becomes a thicker “pudding-like” consistency.

Place in a heat safe container and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before serving. You can add more shredded coconut on top, sliced bananas, whatever your heart desires!

I love branching out and making things I’ve never made before, and also loved the movie “Branching Out” on Hallmark Channel! It was a sweet story of a sweet little girl, Ruby, who decides to find her biological father for a family tree school project. The inspiration for these baby churros came from Ruby’s love of cinnamon and the Hispanic heritage she discovered! Oh and did I mention that I decided to air fry these? So much easier, and taste just as yummy as the traditional deep fried!

Ingredients:

-1/3 cup unsalted butter

-1 cup water

-2 tablespoons sugar

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 cup flour

-2 eggs

-1.5 teaspoons almond extract

EXTRA SUGAR and CINNAMON for rolling at the end

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, combine water, sugar, butter, salt and cinnamon. Bring it to a boil, then add flour. Turn off heat and stir quickly until a ball forms. Take off heat and let cool a bit.

In a large mixing bowl, transfer the dough, and add eggs and almond extract. Use an electric mixture to combine all ingredients until a yellow-ish dough forms.

Using a large star tip and pastry bag (Or ziplock gallon size bag), pipe baby churros onto a non stick silicone baking mat. Cool in refrigerator for 20 minutes before air frying.

Set air fryer to 370 degrees. Carefully place each chilled churro in air fryer basket and spray with non stick spray. Air fry for about 10 minutes.

Combine desired amount of sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and roll hot churros in this mixture immediately after removing from air fryer. Serve warm with ice cream, Nutella, strawberry sauce, etc.

It’s time for another “Curious Caterer” mystery! This time, Goldy Berry is making scones for a Medieval party where something sinister occurs. I decided on creating a savory and spicy scone because lets face it, things between Goldy and Detective Shultz are starting to spice up!

Ingredients:

•  2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder
• 6 tablespoons COLD unsalted butter (cut into tabs)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups cubed Colby Jack cheese
• One package spicy pepperoni
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 small bunch chives

Directions:

Mix together all dry ingredients. Then add cold butter and break it into flour mixture with a pastry blender or fork until it forms pea sized pieces of dough.

Add buttermilk and liquid smoke. Stir until a sticky dough is formed.

Add chopped pepperoni, cheese cubes and chives. Add some extra flour to knead into a dough ball.

Place on a non stick baking mat and form a round circle. Score 6-8 slices (like a pizza) before baking. Baste on a little extra buttermilk and bake at 400 for 20- 25 min. I like to dollop a bit of sour cream on top, but you can enjoy as is!

In the intro scene of “Falling in Love With Niagra” on Hallmark Channel, we were getting a glimpse into the main character Madelines morning, and what her daily routine looks like. As a very regimented person with a mapped out schedule for everything, she had her breakfast omelet recipe down pat! That most definitely got my taste buds itching to make my own version! Mine however, is a more of a frittata and baked in the oven for optimal fluffiness!

Ingredients:

-8 eggs

-1/2 cup milk

-1/2 cup ricotta

-1 teaspoon oregano

-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

-salt and pepper to taste

-5 slices Canadian bacon

-1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

-A mix of mushrooms, asparagus and red onion

-1 cup of shredded Italian 6 cheese blend

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Start by adding some butter to a hot skillet and saute your veggies until soft. Add the chopped Canadian bacon for an extra 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, ricotta and all the spices. Next add cooled veggies/Canadian bacon, and sun dried tomatoes.

Spray a square baking dish with non stick spray and pour entire mixture in. Sprinkle the Italian cheese blend all over top. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. Enjoy!

Have you read the “The Secret Ingredient” by Nancy Naigle and watched the movie on “Hallmark Channel”? It’s a must read and watch! The main characters, Kelly and Andrew come together to create a delicious honey-almond almond cake in a baking competition. It was the star of the show! So, to celebrate the second edition of this lovely book, which has a beautiful photo of cupcakes on the cover, I’m re-creating this recipe in cupcake form!

Ingredients:

FOR CAKE

-One cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

-2 1/4 cup sugar

-6 eggs

-1 tablespoon vanilla extract

-2 teaspoons almond extract

-2 1/4 cup flour

-1 cup almond flour

-1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil

GLAZE

-2 tablespoons honey

-2 tablespoons buttermilk

FROSTING

-16 oz container mascarpone

-1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)

-1 cup powdered sugar

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1/4 teaspoon almond extract

-3 tablespoon milk

Directions:

In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, combine buttermilk, sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts.

In a separate bowl combine flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add this mixture into the the mixing bowl with wet ingredients. Add oil at the end.

Scoop into cupcake tin and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, poke holes with a fork on top.

Mix the honey and buttermilk glaze together and baste on top of the warm cupcakes. Let them cool completely!

To make the frosting, in a mixing bowl, mix room temp butter first to soften. Add powdered sugar, mascarpone, vanilla, almond extract and milk. Add more milk to thin or more powdered sugar to thicken.

Lightly toast the almonds on low heat and set aside.

Pipe your frosting onto cooled cupcakes and top with toasted almonds and strawberries. Enjoy!