15+ Recipes to “Go Pink” for October

October is national Breast Cancer Awareness month; local runs, races and fundraisers have been taking place all over the U.S. over the past few weeks and will continue throughout the month.  Tomorrow racers will crowd the streets of downtown Little Rock, sporting pink from head to toe, all for the same cause, to “Race for the Cure”.  This week I’ve been posting pink recipes in order to get amped up and in the racing spirit. To wrap the week up in full PINK force, I decided to do a round-up of all recipes that include pink.  I hope you enjoy reading through these mouthwatering recipes as much as I enjoyed gathering them! 

What are you doing to help raise awareness?  I’m sporting my pink today and all of this months blog revenue are going to Susan Komen to help fund research. 

 Cherry Cupcakes- Cupcakes put a smile on everyone’s face; big or small, young or old.  There’s just something magical about a cupcake.  Now a cupcake with fluffy pink frosting, well that just takes the happiness meter to a whole new level.  These cherry cupcakes from Organized Island are just the ticket to put a smile on someone’s face and to frost the town pink!

Cherry Ricotta Ice Cream- As if homemade ice cream isn’t enough, Nicole over at Wonky Wonderful, made homemade ice cream that used some of her homemade ricotta!  Talk about impressive.  This picture alone makes me want to dive, face first into a vat of this light pink ice cream studded with chunks of juicy cherries.  It may be October but I see this ice cream in my near future. 

Cherry White Chocolate Pudding Cookies-pudding cookies are one of my new favorite cookies.  Pudding mix is a great way to add a little extra or different flavor to you cookies.  Joan over at Chocolate, Chocolate and More not only used pudding mix in these cookies but she also used a little Jell-O in them to help amp up that flavor even more.  After all the mixing, she came up with these cherry white chocolate pudding cookies!

Chocolate Cupcakes Raspberry Buttercream- Moist chocolate cupcakes topped with buttery and slightly tart raspberry buttercream.  This combination is a match made in heaven.  These cupcakes look divine and I could literally eat like a dozen of them.  The fluffy pink buttercream serves as the perfect pedastal for fresh raspberries to rest on. 

Creamy Cranberry Dijon Dipping Sauce– This stuff looks and sounds amazing.  I believe after Thanksgiving we are all looking for ways to utilize all those leftovers.  Enter this dip.  This creamy cranberry dijon dip takes that leftover cranberry sauce and combines it with dijon mustard, a little mayonnaise, a little Greek yogurt and a touch of salt.  A quick and easy dip that is great not only to dip delicious sweet potatoe fries in, but would also be great as a spread on sandwiches. 

Easy Strawberry Lemonade Cookies- Carrie over at Frugal Foodie Mama has taken one of mine and Tucker’s favorite drinks, strawberry lemonade, and make it into cookies.  Um, yum.  One look at those light fluffy lemonade cookies with clouds of strawberry buttercream frosting has my mouth watering. 

Neopolitan Fudge-I have been eyeing this fudge everyday since Jocelyn posted it.  Not only is the picture beautifule and the colors really pop, but what’s not to love about fudge?  Plus, just looking at the colors takes me back to my childhood; my Grandma always had a tub or two of ice cream in the freezer and Neopolitan was always one of those flavors.  Okay, so back to the fudge.  This particular fudge is different in that it has a chocolate cookie crust!  So, on top of that chocolate cookie crust is a layer of white chocolate fudge and that is topped with a layer of strawberry fudge.  Um, yum.  This is definitely a dessert that will give you that pick-me-up you need in the middle of the day, or will transport you back to scooping out the biggest spoonful of ice cream you possibly could and then trying to fit it into your mouth, or end the perfect meal with a little sweetness. 

Pink Ribbon Cake Pops- I had the pleasure of meeting Karyn last year at MixedCon and she’s just as sweet and caring as she seems on her blog.  She’s uber talented and a master of the cake pop.  She created these Pink Ribbon Pops for one of her friends that did the Avon walk this year and she generously allowed me to share with all of you in my “Pink Week” round-up.  These pops are super cute and a great way to raise awareness, but be sure to check out her other cute and creative pops over at The Pint Sized Baker.

Pomegranate Cupcakes- Pomegranates are one of my favorite fruits but I think they get pushed to the side most of the time because they are kind of a tedious fruit to eat.  A small seed enclosed is a skin with some perfectly tart juice.  Some people just don’t want to fool with them.  But me, well, gosh I love those things!  So I was so excited to come across pomegranate cupcakes on Will Cook For Smiles.  These cupcakes are filled with delicious pomegranate juice and then topped with a subtly sweet whipped frosting. 

Rhubarb Cheesecake Squares- Rhubarb? Check. Cheesecake? Check. Bars? Check. I love all of these things and the fact that Jenny over at The Brunette Baker combined the three of these to make the ultimate dessert is sheer genius.  A sweet flaky shortbread crust topped with a layer of smooth, creamy cheesecake all topped with pink flecks of rhubarb and bits of delicious crumble.  Now this is a bar that is decadence. 

 Roasted Strawberry Lemon Ice Cream-This ice cream combines two of my favorite flavors, strawberries and lemons.  The difference with this strawberry ice cream is that the strawberries are actually roasted before they are added to the ice cream mixture.  The end result is a sweet ice cream with hints of tartness from the lemons.

Strawberries and Cream Bundt Cake- A cake from Chocolate, Chocolate and More that is delicious as it is pretty.  Vanilla cake swirled with strawberry jello batter, baked to perfection.  Then it’s given a heafty drizzle of vanilla frosting that’s intertwined with strawberry frosting, again flavored with strawberry jello.  This cake is a definite showstopper.

 Strawberry Banana Bread- I love classic banana bread and this strawberry banana bread from Confessions of a Baking Queen looks like a delicious twist on a traditional banana bread.  Classic, sweet banana bread studded with chunks of fresh, sweet strawberries.  Not only would this be a delicious bread to serve at breakfast, or even make muffins, but it would be a perfect afternoon snack or could even pass for a dessert!

Strawberry Lime Poppyseed Vinaigrette- I am a huge salad lover and I’m always looking for new dressings and vinaigrettes to drizzle over my piled high mountain of lettuce.  I love poppyseed dressings and this strawberry lime poppyseed vinaigrette from Cupcakes and Kale Chips looks like a fun, and colorful, twist on my beloved poppyseed dressing.  Made with fresh juicy strawberries, freshly squeezed lime juice, olive oil, a little honey for sweetness and some salt and pepper to spice it up a bit, and then poppyseeds to add a dash of color as well as some texture.  This dressing looks amazing. 

Strawberry Malted Milk-Chocolate milk is the classic All-American drink of choice for kids.  It seems as time has evolved more flavors of “chocolate” milk have been introduced; strawberry milk, banana milk and I’m sure there are several other options out there.  Nicole of Wonky Wonderful has taken that childhood favorite and made a more sophisticated version with her Strawberry Malted Milk.  This milk is a mixture of fresh strawberries, malted milk powder, vanilla paste and the milk of your choice.  A quick spin in the blender and you’ve got a delicious and natural flavored milk!

Strawberry Raspberry Popsicles- to me, eating a popsicle brings a sense of nostalgia.  As a kid there was nothing better than getting an ice cold popsicle out of the freezer and going outside and sitting in the hot summer sun and enjoying that popsicle.  Almost having a race with the sun’s heat; who would get to the popsile first, the heat or me?  Well, in the end I would always win…even if I did have colorful sticky hands and streaks running down my arm.  That just added to the fun of having popsicles.  I’ll still enjoy a popsicle or two today, but the difference is I enjoy making them.  These homemade sicles from Je Suis Ali Mentageuse look amazing and pair fresh strawberries and fresh raspberries to make a beautiful red popsicle that would please kids of all ages! 

 Strawberry Rhubarb Cake– Strawberries and rhubarb.  Two flavors that work together and compliment each other so well.  The sweet juicy strawberries compliment the slightly tart rhubarb so well.  It’s no wonder that Christie at Food Done Light combined those two in this beautiful cake with a light pink strawberry glaze.  It looks too pretty to eat, but I don’t think you’d have to twist my arm too hard to enjoy a slice!

Watermelon Margarita Cocktail ‘Cakes– Lisa over at Cooking with Curls has just the treat to get everyone in the race spirit.  Spiked cupcakes!  These margarita cupcakes are absolutely precious and the perfect thing to snack on the night before the race.  They spiked, but not just once, twice.  The cupcake batter is given a heafty does of watermelon Pucker, tequila and orange liqueur and then baked to perfection.  But Lisa didn’t stop there, she also gave the frosting another dose of the trio and then whipped until fluffy.  Top really seal the deal, she coated the “rim” of the cupcakes in sugar and added a straw.  How fun!  Need even more spiked goodies, head on over to Cooking With Curls where she has two other spiked sweet treats that look evenly amazing.