Marshmallow Popcorn Treat Yogurt Parfait Recipe (+ Giveaway)

479° Popcorn is my favorite snack of the moment. The packaging is fun and creative and needless to say this gourmet organic popcorn is awesome. I could finish an entire bag on my own. 479° Popcorn is a San Francisco company that features a very interesting array of flavors such as Fleur de Sel Caramel, Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt, Black Truffle, Chipotle Caramel + Almonds, Ginger Sesame Caramel, Madras Curry Coconut + Cashews, Pimenton de la Vera and Vietnamese Cinnamon Sugar. The design is so original it makes the perfect holiday gift box. One of my husband's little sisters is obsessed with popcorn, and her birthday is coming up in a few weeks, so we're planning on buying her weight in 479° popcorn as a present. OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration!


I love experimenting with just about anything, so I created marshmallow treats with their Vietnamese Cinnamon Sugar-flavored popcorn. I made a yogurt parfait and incorporated the sweet treats as a substitute for granola. This recipe is flavored according to the season; I used mandarin wedges and orange and cranberry sauce. You could adapt it with what you like of course. You don't have to create these cups for breakfast or dessert (or whenever you eat parfaits); just savoring 479° Popcorn by itself is perfectly reasonable.

Make sure you're a fan of PhamFatale Facebook fan page and 479° Popcorn, or follow @Phamfatalecom and tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy, you can just copy and paste this tweet if you’d like: "Sweet Tooth Gift Pack #Giveaway from @Phamfatalecom and @479Popcorn: http://bit.ly/sp4V7y".

Vietnamese Cinnamon Sugar flavored popcorn.

Citrus Chocolate Cookie Recipe

Sugar cookies are synonymous with the holidays. It seems as though I find myself making a batch every couple of days around this time of year. To speed up the process I keep dough frozen for quick use when the family needs a sugar cookie fix. This particular version is flavored with citrus and chocolate. I paired the cookies with a simple orange icing and decorated them with edible Pham Fatale peel-&-press stickers from Ticings. I completed the decorations by sprinkling crystallized rose-petal sugar. The pink color from the sugar matched our custom-made PhamFatale logos. Adorable, no?

I’ve used cute Ticings baking decorations several times over the past couple of months. I’m not very good with piping bags, so these decorations come in really handy. If you’d like to get your own on Ticings® decorations, the awesome folks at Ticings have agreed to be a part of our 25 Days of Giveaways, so you can add holiday art to your classic baking. Just enter today on the Pham Fatale 25 Days of Giveaways page. And if you don’t end up winning, don’t despair! Ticings is offering free shipping to Pham Fatale readers. Just use the promo code “PHAM” on your order.

Make sure you're a fan of PhamFatale Facebook fan page and Ticings, or follow @Phamfatalecom and tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy, you can just copy and paste this tweet if you’d like: "Ticings edible dessert toppers $30 value #Giveaway from @Phamfatalecom and @ticing: http://bit.ly/sp4V7y". Good luck everyone!

Madeleine Cookie Recipe (+Giveaway)

Whenever I have time, I prepare breakfast in bed for my husband. And since madeleine cookies are his favorite, I prepared the batter the day before and stored it in the refrigerator to surprise him today. It took me less than 15 minutes to bake them the next morning and I was able to serve hot, straight from the oven vanilla-flavored madeleines to Lulu. If you're planning to serve breakfast, keep these French cookies in mind; they're absolutely delicious and not that difficult to make. Just read my secret to the characteristic bump for an authentic version of madeleine cookies and these cookies are guaranteed to turn out well.

Vanilla is a great flavoring in general, and I think it adds another dimension to madeleines. I can't imagine a home baker's pantry not having a bottle of vanilla extract around the holidays. I used Nielsen Massey vanilla extract in this recipe. In case you’re not familiar, Nielsen Massey vanillas are full flavored and there are distinct differences between the varieties. It may be vanilla, but it's definitely not plain! The folks at Nielsen Massey were kind enough to provide one (two-ounce) bottle of each Tahitian, Mexican & Madagascar vanilla extract and "A Century of Flavor" cookbook as today’s giveaway. Be sure to enter for a chance to win (click on the link).

Make sure you're a fan of PhamFatale Facebook fan page and Nielsen-Massey Vanillas or follow @Phamfatalecom and tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy, you can just copy and paste this tweet if you’d like: "Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extracts #Giveaway from @Phamfatalecom: http://bit.ly/uiJfq9". Good luck everyone!

Thanksgiving Cupcakes

Cupcakes are a convenient way to serve dessert when you have a large crowd to entertain, say for Thanksgiving. Instead of making traditional Thanksgiving pies, consider preparing cupcakes flavored with pumpkin and chocolate. I frosted these cupcakes with pumpkin buttercream and topped them with cute turkey-themed peel-&-press edible frosting stickers.

I received the stickers from Ticings®. If you’d like to get your hands on some of their holiday-themed decorations to spruce up your baked goods, check out www.ticings.com. We’ll also be giving away Ticings® decorations, along with more than $1,000-worth of merchandise from other companies to PhamFatale readers during our 25 Days of Giveaways in December. Be sure to check back daily to participate!

Che Bap Recipe (Vietnamese Sweet Corn Pudding)

Chè is difficult to describe. It's a sweet, soupy pudding served in a small bowl. As I've mentioned before, Vietnamese desserts are mildly sweet and don't always have the most appealing presentation. Chè definitely fits this description. As a child, Maman used to make it very often, especially for the Buddhist prayer rituals (cúng). This version of chè is made with corn and coconut milk; it's called chè bắp in Vietnamese. It can be eaten warm or cold. This dessert can be made all year round; during the summer, I use fresh corn off the cob. When the weather gets cold, as it has over the past few days, canned corn kernels work just fine.

Chè bắp is generally topped witt a thick, syrupy coconut sauce and slightly toasted white sesame seeds. This is probably one of my favorite Asian sweets.