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Say hello to my go-to beer cheese dip! ♡

This simple dip is quick and easy to make and pretty much guaranteed to steal the spotlight at any gathering. Nothing quite beats serving it up fresh off the stove with a hot batch of buttery soft pretzel bites. But it’s just as amazing paired with crunchy chips, crusty bread, veggie sticks, apple slices and beyond.

I’m partial to this specific beer cheese dip recipe because you can whip it up in just 15 minutes with whatever combination of beer and cheese that you love best. (Feel free to opt for a non-alcoholic beer if you prefer!) And if you feel like jazzing things up a bit, you can play around with adding in some Ro*Tel for a zesty kick, hot sauce for some heat, or bacon, scallions or caramelized onions for extra layers of savory flavor. There are so many ways to enjoy this beer cheese dip.

So the next time you have a cheesy craving, grab a bottle of beer and let’s cook up a quick batch of this dip!

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So many of you have made and loved my homemade pretzel recipe over the years. But as much as I love traditionally-shaped pretzels, I have to say that these cute little pretzel bites are what I tend to make most often in my kitchen! ♡

This bite-sized version of the recipe is even quicker and easier to make, with all of the same, buttery, crispy goodness in each bite. They have the perfect ratio of crispy golden exterior to soft and chewy center. They’re perfect for sharing and snacking. And best of all, this recipe comes together easily in about an hour with basic pantry staples — no stand mixer required!

Here in our house, we’re partial to traditional buttery pretzels sprinkled with chunky pretzel salt and paired with my favorite beer cheese dip, but feel free to customize your batch however you’d like! You could top the pretzels with everything from cinnamon sugar to everything bagel seasoning, asiago cheese or herbs. You could dip them in everything from ranch dip to honey mustard, white queso, marinara or garlic butter. There are endless ways to enjoy these pretzel bites, so have fun experimenting with your favorite combinations!

So whether you’re planning a game day spread, need an easy party appetizer, or you’re just craving a fun homemade snack, these buttery soft pretzel bites are guaranteed to hit the spot. Let’s start baking!

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Honestly, life is just better with buttery garlic knots fresh out of the oven. ♡

I’ve always used my trusty 1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls recipe to make garlic knots, brushing them with an extra round of garlic butter just before serving and finishing each knots with a sprinkle of Parmesan and flaky sea salt. And when I say that friends always love these rolls, I mean people truly LOVE THESE ROLLS. They always have a way of stealing the show, whether you serve them up for a Thanksgiving feast, alongside soup or salad for a simple weeknight dinner, or with marinara for dipping on game day — you name it. These rolls are perfect for just about any occasion and are pretty much guaranteed to disappear before you know it.

That said, my favorite thing about this recipe in particular is that it’s easy to make with no hours-long rise times required. All you need are a few basic ingredients and you’ll be ready to go. So the next time you’re craving a fluffy, buttery batch of homemade garlic knots, give this recipe a try!

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This summer, we spent a month back in Barcelona catching up with friends, soaking up the Spanish sunshine, walking everywhere and reveling in good public transport, and of course, hitting up all of our old favorite markets and restaurants. But I have to say that one of the random foods I was most happy to see again was the hummus con guisantes con menta — mint pea hummus — from my favorite grocery store. ♡

This lovely green hummus used to be a weekly (at least!) purchase for us back when we were living there. The mint and peas add a refreshing hint of sweetness and fresh aromatic flavor to the hummus. And when perfectly balanced with the rich sesame flavor of tahini, hearty chickpeas, a tangy squeeze of lemon juice, garlic and cumin, this hummus is just so delightful. We most often just served ours with pita or crackers and veggie sticks for dipping, but it also tastes wonderful in sandwiches, grain bowls, burgers, wraps, you name it. As a bonus, it was also a great way to get extra veggies into our toddler too!

Anyway, being back in Barcelona reminded us how much we missed having green hummus around. So I snapped a picture of the ingredient label while we were there and set about trying to recreate the recipe once we landed back in Kansas City. And I have to say, I’m very pleased with where this recipe landed!

So the next time you’re craving hummus, grab a bag of frozen peas and some mint and give this one a try. I hope you’ll love it as much as we do!

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Tomato season means…time to make tomato bruschetta! ♡

I’ve long been a big fan of this classic Italian appetizer. But a few years ago during our trip to Rome, my husband and I had the opportunity to take a cooking class on the art of making traditional tomato basil bruschetta and learned a few tips and techniques we found helpful. So I figured that tomato season would be a good time to pop in here and share a bit of what we learned!

First, a quick note about pronunciation. Americans often pronounce bruschetta with an “sh” sound, but the Italian ch is actually pronounced like an English “k”, so it should sound more like broo-skeh-tah. (By the way, the plural of bruschetta is bruschette — broo-skeh-teh.) Its name is derived from the Roman verb meaning “to toast” or “to roast over coals,” which makes sense because bruschetta is commonly regarded as one of the best uses for leftover bread.

Tomato bruschetta been a popular dish in Italy since the 16th century, back when tomatoes first arrived on the scene in Europe. And as with most classic Italian dishes, the components of tomato bruschetta are intentionally kept simple so that the vibrant, fresh flavor of each ingredient can each really shine through. All you need are ripe tomatoes, good-quality olive oil, fresh basil, garlic, oregano, sea salt and crusty bread to make an excellent batch of bruschette al pomodoro. It’s a quick and easy appetizer to assemble. And, if you’d like, you can even prep the crostini and tomato basil topping hours in advance and assemble just before serving, making bruschetta a terrific option for easy entertaining.

The most important thing that our instructor stressed again and again is that amazing tomatoes make for amazing bruschetta. So let’s make the most of tomato season and whip up a quick batch of bruschetta!

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One essential technique that I highly recommend memorizing for easy entertaining — how to make crostini! ♡

These classic little toasts are the perfect appetizer or snack to serve a crowd and always taste a million times fresher when made homemade versus store-bought. And, since it’s so easy to whip up a batch in 20 minutes with just 3 basic ingredients, I’m convinced a homemade batch is always worth the extra effort!

They’re the perfectly crisp and versatile little vehicles to host any number of delicious toppings. So whether you’re craving classic tomato basil bruschetta, a spread of goat cheese drizzled with honey, fig jam layered with prosciutto and arugula, brie topped with apple slices, a scoop of pimento cheese or spinach artichoke dip — I could go on and on, the options really are limitless — a fresh batch of homemade crostini is pretty much guaranteed to make everything better.

Here are all of my best tips and tricks for how to make a quick batch of crostini, plus tons of ideas for fun seasonings and toppings to try!

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Bacon-wrapped dates. ♡

I’ve made this 3-ingredient easy appetizer more times than I can count for happy hours, dinner parties, holiday gatherings…you name it. It’s one of those recipes that magically works for just about any occasion and is always guaranteed to be a crowd favorite. And I personally just find that sweet-savory-smoky flavor combo to be perfection. That said, I’ve developed a few opinions over the years about what takes a bacon-wrapped dates recipe from good to GREAT. So today I thought I would pop back in and give my decade-old recipe here a few modern updates!

First off, we’ve all officially gotta commit from now on to taking an extra 10 minutes to pre-cook the bacon before wrapping it around the dates. Otherwise, the bacon never has time to fully cook and crisp up while baking wrapped around the dates (or you end up having to bake the dates so long that the cheese burns or oozes out), which is a tragedy that can easily be avoided. Simply pre-cook the bacon in the oven, or you can cheat and buy that pre-cooked soft bacon that’s available in most stores nowadays.

Second, continuing on with the crispy bacon soapbox, the stuffed dates must be flipped halfway through baking so that each side can get evenly cooked. I’ve experimented with a number of flipping methods over the years and have found it’s simply easiest to poke the toothpick all the way through the date, which makes it easy to grab and quickly turn over.

Third, use a good-quality cheese. You only need a small amount for this recipe, but a richly-flavored cheese makes such a difference in balancing out the flavor of the smoky bacon and sweet dates. I’m partial to a punchy gorgonzola or a tangy goat cheese, but a good feta, Manchego, or even an aged cheddar are also great options here.

Finally, don’t forget to season the dates! I always add a few generous twists of freshly-ground black pepper, and also love sprinkling each date with a tiny a pinch of flaky sea salt for crunch. The perfect finish.

Sound good? Let’s stuff some dates!

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Got a pickle craving? Quick — let’s make a batch of homemade pickles together! ♡

We’ve been making this refrigerator pickles recipe on repeat this summer, especially while ripe cucumbers are in season. And while I know that everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the perfect pickle, in my book, it doesn’t get any better than this simple recipe. Inspired by Grillo’s famous fresh pickles, these homemade pickles are perfectly crisp and crunchy, they’re loaded up with a fresh blend of garlicky-dill-bay seasonings, they are salty and vinegary but not overly so, and WOW are they delicious.

They are also amazingly quick and easy to make, requiring only about 5 minutes of prep time and at least a few hours to pickle. (Or if you have the patience, they’re even more delicious the next day.) They’re also naturally gluten-free and vegan. And while they are wonderful in burgers, sandwiches, salads, cocktails and more, here in our house we’re obsessed with just popping them plain as a quick snack. There’s nothing more satisfying in my book than that crisp cucumber crunch!

So gather up your ingredients and let’s make a quick batch of homemade pickles together!

Easy Refrigerator Pickles Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Homemade Pickle Ingredients

Before we get to the full homemade pickle recipe at the bottom of this post, here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need:

• Cucumbers: I’m partial to using mini Persian cucumbers in this recipe, whose extra-crisp texture and minimal seeds work well for pickles. That said, English cucumbers also work great in this recipe.
• Dill: I love packing basically as much fresh dill as possible into my jars of homemade pickles, but feel free to add however much fresh dill you prefer.
• Garlic: Likewise, feel free to add however much or little fresh garlic that you prefer. I recommend slicing the garlic cloves as thinly as possible so that its flavor can permeate the cucumbers quickly.
• Seasonings: We love making refrigerator pickles in our house with a combination of bay leaf, mustard seeds, black peppercorn, fine sea salt, and crushed red pepper flakes. But see notes below for other seasoning ideas you’re welcome to try. (If you are looking to make Grillo-style pickles, leave out the mustard seeds and crushed red pepper flakes.)
• Vinegar: I recommend either rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar in this recipe, both of which provide a mellow, clean flavor to the pickles. Apple cider vinegar would also work, but I find its flavor to be slightly too sweet for my taste.

How To Make Pickles

To make this homemade pickle recipe, simply…

1. Layer the pickles. It’s much easier to add the large ingredients (cucumbers, dill, garlic, bay leaf) to the jar before adding the brine, in order to help everything fit.
2. Mix the brine. No need to heat the brine for this recipe unless you are adding sweetener (see note below). I typically measure and stir everything together in a measuring jar, then add it to the pickle jar. But if you could alternately just mix the brine directly in the pickle jar itself.
3. Combine. Cover the jar and give it a good shake to combine all of the ingredients. Then I also recommend pressing down any cucumbers so that they are completely submerged before refrigerating the jar.
4. Refrigerate. I love this recipe best after the pickles have soaked overnight. But they will be delicious and ready to enjoy after just a few hours if you’re needing a quick pickle recipe!

 Homemade Pickle Recipe Variations

Here are a few additional ways that you’re welcome to customize this homemade pickle recipe:

• Use different fresh herbs: Add whatever other herbs you love, such as fresh basil, chives, mint, oregano, rosemary, tarragon or thyme.
• Use different spices: Add whatever other spices you love, such as celery seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, or whole cloves.
• Make pickle spears: Instead of slicing the pickles into coins, slice them lengthwise into long spears.
• Make sweet pickles: To sweeten this recipe, heat 2/3 cup of the water until it is very hot, then stir in 1 to 3 tablespoons of your preferred sweetener (such as honey, maple syrup, or granulated sugar) and stir until dissolved. Stir 2/3 cup cold water into the hot water, in order to cool it to room temperature. Then add to the recipe as directed.
• Make bread and butter pickles: Follow the steps above for making sweet pickles and also add a quarter of a small sweet onion (very thinly sliced) to the recipe.
• Make spicy pickles: Instead of adding crushed red pepper flakes, add your desired amount of sliced chile peppers (such as jalapeño, serrano, or Thai bird chiles) to the brine.

Homemade Pickles FAQ

Can you can this recipe? No. This is a refrigerator pickle recipe and is not designed to be canned in a hot water bath for long-term storage.

Can you re-use the pickle brine? To err on the side of safety, I recommend always creating a new brine for each batch of pickles.

How to store refrigerator pickles? They should always be stored in a cool refrigerator in a clean, sealed jar.

How long do these pickles last? As mentioned in the recipe below, for optimum food safety, we recommended that you eat these refrigerator pickles within 1 week. That said, we often keep ours for up to 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator, using a clean fork or spoon each time to remove the pickles (no double-dipping to avoid adding bacteria), and have not had any issues. But please use your best judgment.

Easy Homemade Pickles

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• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 mins
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 jar 1x

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Description

This easy homemade pickles recipe only takes about 5 minutes to prep and makes perfectly crisp and delicious pickles that you’ll LOVE!

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Ingredients

• 12 ounces Persian cucumbers,* sliced into coins or spears
• 5 to 6 large sprigs fresh dill, roughly chopped
• 4 small cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 2/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt*
• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

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Instructions

1. Layer the pickles. Add the cucumbers, dill, garlic and bay leaf to a large (about 1 quart or 1 liter) jar, layering the dill and garlic between the cucumbers if possible.
2. Mix the brine. In a measuring jar, briefly whisk together the water, vinegar, salt, peppercorns and crushed red pepper flakes until combined.
3. Combine. Pour the brine over the cucumber mixture. Then cover the jar securely with a lid and give it a good shake to combine. If needed, press the cucumbers down so that they are more or less fully submerged.
4. Refrigerate. Refrigerate for ideally at least 1 day before eating, although the pickles will be lightly brined and ready to enjoy after just a few hours if you would like. Pickles can be stored in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for 1 week.*

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Equipment

1-Liter Jar

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1-Quart Jar

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Glass Measuring Cups

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Notes

Cucumbers: Alternately, you could use 12 ounces of English cucumber (about 1 large English cucumber).

Salt: I strongly recommend using fine sea salt for this recipe instead of iodized table salt. (That said, if you only have iodized table salt on hand, please note that you will need to use half the amount.)

Storage time: For optimum food safety, we recommended that you eat these refrigerator pickles within 1 week. That said, we often keep ours for up to 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator, using a clean fork or spoon each time to remove the pickles (no double-dipping to avoid adding bacteria), and have not had any issues.

Recipe edit: This recipe was edited in July 2022. The original recipe called for one (12-ounce) English cucumber, used less vinegar (3 tablespoons), more salt (1.5 tablespoons), and no mustard seeds.

It’s my birthday today! So I’m serving up a big sheet pan of one of my all-time faves to celebrate…

…homemade nachos. ♡

My friends would be the first to tell you that I’ve had a lifelong obsession with excellent nachos. (I even wrote an entire cookbook devoted to them once upon a time!) But while I will always appreciate all sorts of fun and elaborate nacho toppings, in my book there’s nothing better than a simple sheet pan loaded up with the perfect mix of good-quality basics. Namely, the most delicious and melty queso blanco I know (that’s right, no boring shredded cheese allowed here), creamy sliced avocado, a sprinkling of fresh pico de gallo, and paper-thin slices of fresh jalapeños for a bit of a kick. This simple, classic combination is absolutely unbeatable in my opinion. And after having served up dozens upon dozens of sheet pans full of these nachos to friends over the years, I can vouch that they are a crowd favorite as well every single time.

That said, of course, the fun of making homemade nachos is getting to customize them exactly as you’d like. So give this base recipe a try, and then feel free to load them up with any additional meat, beans, salsas, olives, cremas, or any other toppings that sound good. I’ve also included some of my tried and true tips below for assembling the perfect pan of nachos, as well as recommendations for some of my favorite salsa to serve alongside them.

Alright, let’s make some nachos!

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