Random Sweets

09/07/2026

If you’re in the area, spend a little time with my friend Sarah Vintage Dish and Tell.

Join author Sarah Peterson for an afternoon celebrating food, memory, and community as she discusses how family recipes connect generations.

09/07/2026

Do you need a new football watch party snack this season? Taco cheesecake is a hit in our family! Serve it with tortilla chips and crackers—Wheat Thins are one of our favorites.

If you don’t want to bake the cheesecake in a springform pan, bake it in a 9x9 and cut it into small squares. Freeze some and you’ll have savory cheesecake for a few football games.

Everyone will be asking you for the recipe when you bring taco cheesecake to a party. Serve it as an appetizer with an assortment of crackers, crusty breads, bagels, nut, pretzels, pita bread, cucumbers and carrots.

09/06/2026

🎡🎪 It’s state fair season but if you can’t get there, you can make Judy’s cinnamon sugar doughnuts at home with just a tube of biscuit dough, cinnamon and sugar, and oil for frying.

https://randomsweets.com/morning-donuts-in-a-teensy-minnesota-town-blessings-of-life-and-making-cinnamon-sugar-donut-holes-at-home/

When you can't get mini doughnuts at the fair, make your own cinnamon sugar version at home using refrigerated biscuit dough.

09/05/2026

What if a family recipe could make a college student feel a little more at home?

That’s the heart of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Recipes From Home program. First-year students—including international students—can submit recipes that are meaningful to them and their families. Then the UW–La Crosse dining team recreates those recipes and serves them in the campus dining room.

And they aren’t cooking for a family of four—the dining team may prepare a recipe for 1,200 to 1,500 students!

For the latest episode of Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens, I learned how these cherished recipes make the journey from family kitchens to a college dining hall.

I’m also sharing three student recipes from the program on the blog:
🍗 Gluten-Free Chicken Alfredo Bake
🍜 Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles)
🍰 Tres Leches Cake

It’s a delicious reminder that sometimes food is about much more than eating. Sometimes, it’s about feeling at home.

Read the story and get the recipes at:

Discover UW–La Crosse’s Recipes From Home program, where family recipes bring comfort, connection and a taste of home to first-year students.

09/04/2026

We took three apple desserts that usually take a lot of time and fuss and made them no-bake and single-serve. Watch on KELOLAND Living below.
🍎 Caramel Apples with Toppings
🍎 Snickers Apple Salad
🍎 Caramel Apple Cheesecake in Mini Waffle Bowls

It’s apple season, so today we whipped up three desserts that you’re probably going to recognize: caramel apples, caramel apple cheesecake, and Snickers apple salad.Here today to share …

09/03/2026

🍎 🍏 3 single-serve apple desserts today on

08/28/2026

Are your green beans growing like crazy right now? How do you like to cook them?

I was thinking about the green beans Lauren Schroeder liked to make when she was in high school.

Recipe: https://randomsweets.com/harvesting-hope-iowa-teens-7000-pound-garden-bounty-feeds-thousands-aims-to-triple-impact-by-2025/

08/24/2026

What do fried cranberry pies, a dusty laptop and a fictional Kentucky town have in common?

They're all part of the story of how Shelia Stovall became an author.

Shelia is the author of the three Weldon novels I've come to love: Every Window Filled with Light, Every Day Filled with Hope and Every Life Filled with Purpose. My friend Tracey Brown Deatherage was the person who first introduced me to her books, and I'm so glad she did.

Shelia admits she doesn't particularly enjoy writing. But she says God put this story on her heart—and eventually, Weldon and its characters began to take shape.

In my newest Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens podcast episode, Shelia tells me that story, introduces us to some of the people of Weldon, shares her advice for aspiring authors, talks about her seven mission trips to Africa, and tells some hilarious stories about her adventures in the Midwest—including the origin of her "Nebraska Coat."

And then there's the food.

Ovaletta's fried cranberry pies appear throughout the Weldon novels, and Shelia shares the story behind them and the recipe.

I put everything together in today's companion post, including the Weldon reading order, links to Shelia's books and free e-books, her book recommendations, and the recipe for those cranberry pies.

Read the post: https://randomsweets.com/shelia-stovall-weldon-novels/

And if you haven't listened to our conversation yet, you'll find the podcast episode there, too. I have a feeling you'll want to visit Weldon after you hear this one.

Meet author Shelia Stovall, creator of the Weldon novels, and hear the story behind her books, faith, and Ovalita’s fried cranberry pies.

08/15/2026

🍯🐝 Happy World Honey Bee Day!

Honey is one of those foods that seems simple—until you learn the story behind what’s in the jar.

A couple of summers ago, I sat down with the Adee Honey Farms family and learn about the generations of beekeeping, the thousands of miles their bees travel, and how this South Dakota family business is bringing honey to consumers in all kinds of delicious ways.

And, of course, we talked about eating it! Honey can do so much more than sweeten your tea. We talked about baking with different varieties of honey, using it in place of other sweeteners, honey fudge sauce, mojito mocktails and Great Grandma Mae Adee’s apple crisp.

🐝 Read the story, listen to the podcast episode and meet the family behind the honey:
👉
And if you have a jar of local honey in your kitchen, today seems like a pretty good day to use it. 🍯

https://randomsweets.com/hive-to-jar-the-sweet-story-of-adee-honey-farms/

Marla and Sarah share recipes for mocktails with honey simple syrup, fudge sauce, and Great Grandma Mae Adee's delicious apple crisp.