Cookie Dough Egg Rolls

I know, I’ve been missing a few posts recently. It’s been a busy time here in the Wilde household and lab. Deadlines abound at work this month and I’ve been spending weekends in the city, thereby cutting down on my cooking time. Don’t worry, I’ve brought you something extra special today. Thanks for waiting!


I have so many great memories from my five years in Madison and so many places that I miss. I wish that I could head to the terrace after work to enjoy a brat. The Dunkin Donuts are barely donuts in comparison to the heavenly pieces of deliciousness you can get at Greenbush Bakery. Connecticut pizza can’t hold a candle to the Southwest pizza at Glass Nickel. And no other restaurants dessert menu has the creative crazy choices as Bluephies.

What's hiding in there?  What's with the ice cream?

I was originally introduced to Bluephies at the Taste of Madison. It was my first summer in the city and also my first summer away from home. Boyfriend was visiting for the week and we went to the Capitol square for the annual Taste of Madison. The plan was to hunt around the vendors and find some great new places to eat around town. With over 80 local restaurants represented, we had many options for eating. What we weren’t counting on, were the bees.

Yep, bees. Lots of them. Madison, Wisconsin is lousy with bees. Something about the perfect combination of water, heat and flowers? Maybe, I actually just made that up. All I know is there were a ridiculous number of bees at the Taste of Madison. And do you know who has an irrational fear of bees? Boyfriend. He’s not deathly allergic or anything, he just had a traumatic bee episode as a child. Now he runs around erratically when there are bees in the air. There were lots of bees at the Taste, so there was lots of running.

Once we discerned that the bees liked to congregate around the trash bins we were okay. Just avoid the trash and we’ll be mostly bee free. Thankfully we figured this out, otherwise boyfriend might have sprinted right past the Bluephies tent. I might have never known the amazingness of their chocolate chip cookie dough egg roll.

It's filled with gooey, melty cookie dough!

Yup, you heard me right. Cookie Dough Egg Roll. It is seriously the most delicious and simple dessert I have ever had. You take some cookie dough, roll it up in an egg roll wrapper and fry it to crispness. Then add some ice cream for good measure, maybe some chocolate sauce too. If you are ever in Madison, be sure to stop by Bluephies for dessert. Their lunch and dinner menus are also pretty amazing. Most of you will never get the chance to visit Bluephies, but here’s your chance to enjoy their signature dish.

Chocolate-covered Cherry Fondants

In the washing machine, on top of the stuffed deer head, behind the mint green ball gown. What do all of these places have in common? They sound like a pretty random series of locations, but they have one very important thing in common. The Easter Bunny thought they would make pretty good places to hide my basket of chocolate.

These are the hiding places that I remember best, because it took forever to find my Easter basket those particular years. The Easter bunny is crazy sneaky, even hiding my brothers basket in his room while he slept. It took him hours to find it, even though his whole room smelled of chocolate.

Sneaky sneaky Easter Bunny, always hiding my candy. Well, except the year you hid it in the fridge. That was silly. A girl wakes up in the morning and what’s the first thing she’s going to do? Get a bowl of Lucky Charms! Ta-da! Basket full of candy in the fridge! Who needs cereal, I’ve got candy now! That was a very hyper Easter Sunday.

Now that I no longer live in my parents’ house, the Easter bunny has resorted to using the U.S. postal service. It’s a surprise in a big brown box! It’s just waiting in my mailbox, full of deliciousness and wanting to be opened and eaten. I know there is a Easter box on its way to me soon, but until then I will have to make my own candy.

I know, two candy posts in a row, but it’s Easter time! To me, that means pastel candies and daffodils. These cherry fondants are smooth and creamy. The chocolate coating gives them a great crunch and makes them look extra pretty!

Did the Easter bunny use to stop by your house and hide your basket?  Where was the craziest place the bunny hid your treats?  I love a good, basket in the oven story!

Banana Mallow Cups

In the words of Rachel Zoe, these mallow cups are totally bananas. I mean, I die.


I’ve been having a ball making candies this year during my Candy Challenge. Originally I started off with simple things, taffy, truffles, marshmallows. After several successful batches of candy I’ve gotten the confidence to try more and more complicated things. These mallow cups are pretty complicated, but worth the time you put into them.

The original mallow cup is something that I don’t see everywhere. It’s a milk chocolate cup, filled with creamy marshmallow and a slightly crunchy top. I’m not really sure what that crunchy top comes from, but it’s delicious. When I decided to take on the mallow cup I wanted to do something a little different, hence the bananas!

I brought these bad boys into work and put them in our break room without a note. Before I could send out an e-mail, a good portion of them were already gone and my coworkers were confused. “What was in those chocolate things?” They asked me. My answer? “Bananas! Or Bananas and peanut butter.” I had decided to take half of the batch and fill them with banana fluff and creamy peanut butter, but I neglected to label them differently. Two coworkers, who got two different fillings, were arguing about what was in the cups. Both of them were right.

Either way, these mallow cups were bananas. In such a good way! Whether you decide to keep them simple and fill them with just banana fluff, or you take a hint from Elvis and add in some peanut butter, they won’t last long. Personally, I ate at least a quarter of the batch.