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Just when I was getting used to the idea of spring, it was positively summer in NYC yesterday. We're talking 90 degrees. While it looks like there's relief in sight, it made me realize that I am not ready for summer. Let's hold on to spring for a while longer, okay? If we have to have warm days, then we can take relief in this tart. The tart and sweet flavors of strawberry lemonade are baked in
As many of you know, I lived in Mississippi my entire life until we moved to NYC in 2010. While I do so love living here, one thing is just not the same. Biscuits! Honestly, biscuits are so ubiquitous in the South, that I never really bothered making them that often. If I had a hankering, we'd just go get breakfast in a restaurant or pick up a sausage or chicken biscuit at any available place.
As much as it baffles me to think about it, it's not long until Memorial Day. And with that day, we begin the season for barbecues, backyard parties, rooftop get-togethers, and all sorts of outdoor parties. If you're anything like me, you'll have dessert delegated to you more often than not. When you think about warm weather desserts, it's easy to think immediately of icebox pies and mini chees
During my time at King Arthur Flour's Blog & Bake™, I found a new love. Now, don't worry. Quinn is not going anywhere. I found a new baking love - white whole wheat flour. Sure, I'd seen it before, but I always kind of discounted it and went with traditional wheat flour when needed. But, I found out that white whole wheat flour has all the benefits of whole wheat flour, but it produces lig
As that collection of recipes last Friday hopefully conveyed, I love baking with berries. I love all kinds of berries, but if I have to pick a favorite berry, I would likely choose blueberries. And, one of my favorite uses for blueberries is muffins. Just to make these blueberry muffins even better, I used one of my favorite baking ingredients - sour cream. I love the texture and flavor that it
As I was making that lovely Raspberry Almond Crumb Tart earlier this week, I began thinking about some of my favorite baking recipes that use berries. These days, berries are available pretty much year-round, but there's just something about fresh local berries that is extra exciting. As we head into berry season, it seems like a good time to start thinking about what to bake with all the berries
As a child, I disliked the texture of berries. I loved the flavors, but the texture was just weird to me. I'm happy to say I've gotten over that. I still don't like to bite into a big strawberry, but cut those up and I'm good. No idea what that's all about. In any case, I now happily embrace berries and love to use them in baking. For my taste, I prefer to use them in a way that lets the flavor
My baking habits and tastes have changed over the years, but longtime favorites still endure. Chocolate, pecans, and shortbread are always winners for me. When I find a recipe that combines all three, how can I not make it? I happened upon the recipe for these brownies when browsing through Fat Witch Brownies. Fat Witch is a delicious little brownie shop in New York's Chelsea Market. When we li
Happy Friday, my baking friends! I'm not sure where this week has gone, but I imagine it's mired somewhere in all the baking I've done this week. I've lost count of the pounds of butter and flour I've gone through in the last few days. In addition to my regular amount of baking, I am also baking many, many cookies for the NYC Bake Sale that's happening at Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene this Satur
I love recipes that take a well-known, well-loved baked good and present it in an entirely different way. I also love baked goods that are just as good for breakfast as they are for dessert. So, you can imagine that this Cinnamon Roll Cake makes me very happy. The cake itself is a lovely yellow cake made with one of my favorite cake ingredients - sour cream. A little cinnamon sugar gets partial
Quinn has been after me for ages to bake more with chocolate and coffee. The problem, you see, is that I don't like coffee. Love to smell it, don't love to drink it. Does anyone else have this problem? It's no secret that chocolate and coffee are a brilliant pairing. They just seem to enhance each other naturally. Even I have a hard time arguing with that.
This week, I was a very lucky girl indeed. I was one of thirteen food bloggers invited to King Arthur Flour's Blog & Bake™ in Norwich, Vermont. For three days, we baked and baked and then baked some more. We also visited farms and ate some amazingly delicious food. And, all the while, I got to know a very talented and generally awesome group of people. I took literally hundreds of photos,
I'm mired pretty firmly in baking-with-berries season. I've shared both blueberry and strawberry recipes with you this month. Now, on to raspberries! Of all the interesting dessert names, I enjoy the simplicity of the name "fool." From what I understand, fools got their name because they are so simple that any fool could make them. A fool is essentially a combination of sweetened whipped cream
As I've told you before, I am a big fan of one-layer cakes. Elaborately frosted, tiered cakes are not my favorite things to make. Luckily, you don't need to make that kind of effort to make a beautiful cake. I've had Texas Sheet Cakes before, but they've always been chocolate. This one, however, is all about peanut butter. If you love peanut butter like I do, you'll be happy to know that there
It's been a busier than usual week here in the BoB kitchen. As some of you may know, I am about to spend a few days at King Arthur Flour as a guest for Blog & Bake. I am so excited for the opportunity to learn from their experts and to get to know some amazing food bloggers. To keep up with me during my days at King Arthur Flour, be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram. For today, th
I've told you before about my grandmother's green metal recipe box. It's filled with handwritten and clipped recipes for amazing desserts. Some are very familiar, and some not at all. I found not one but three recipes for strawberry pie in there recently, yet I have no memory of her making even one. Still, I felt compelled to try a version of my own. I took some things I liked about each recipe
These days, my brownie love runs the gamut from the all-chocolate varieties to the kitchen-sink varieties. Essentially, I haven't met many brownies I haven't liked. These flavor-packed brownies are no exception. The first question usually asked about brownies is whether they are cakey or fudgy. The original recipe describes them as not too much of either one. To me, they're cakey. That works ve
I bake so many cookies that I like to categorize them further in my head. Chocolate chip, oatmeal, sandwich, peanut butter.... You get the idea. Some of them overlap, and that's just fine. In fact, my favorite chocolate chip cookies have lots of oats in them. But, I digress. Recently, I shared some of my favorite oatmeal cookies with you. Next up is a collection of favorite chocolate cookies. I
Just last week, I shared my love of mini desserts with a collection of my favorites. That love lives on with these coffee cakes. Recently, The Pampered Chef sent me a big box full of good stuff to try. As soon as I spotted their new Single Servings Pan, I knew that I would put it to good use. The cups of the pan are deep and tapered, so it's perfect for making pretty individual treats that stan
Baking ideas mostly come from all the places you'd think - a dessert in a restaurant or bakery, an idea about a unique ingredient, a desire to reproduce a favorite childhood flavor. Sometimes, though, I get baking inspiration from some less than obvious places. In the case of these cookies, I was inspired by a snack I had the other day. The snack in question was a lovely combination of chocolat
I must confess that I have a weakness for miniature desserts. There's just something about tiny tarts and cupcakes and such that make me so very happy. I'm guessing that I'm not alone in my appreciation of those little desserts, so I've put together a list of some of my favorite mini dessert recipes.
Because of how much I love the glorious combination of chocolate and peanut butter, I'm always looking for new ways to use them. I've covered cookies, brownies, cheesecakes, and more. But, these little tartlets are pretty special. It all starts with the crust, which is essentially a peanut butter cookie. If you're like me, you're already sold. Then, a fudgy chocolate filling goes into the crust
Many of us likely depend upon desserts to make us feel better after a bad day. Whether you get joy from baking them or eating them or both, there is no comparable comfort. Recently, I was given a copy of Marian Keyes' Saved by Cake. I've been a fan of Marian Keyes' fiction books for many years. She has such a unique and witty voice that it's hard not to enjoy her writing. When Ms. Keyes was
I adore oatmeal cookies. Their chewiness and heartiness appeals to me in a big way. You won't see me turn down most any cookie, but oatmeal cookies just might be my favorite. My love of oatmeal cookies is sometimes hindered by the presence of raisins. I'm not a fan. Not even a little bit. But, there are many ways to enjoy oatmeal cookies without the raisins. These are a few of my favorites.
Recently, I've been on a bit of an organizing streak. I generally consider myself organized, but there are new levels of obsession around here. I think I owe some of that to living in New York. Small spaces are pure misery without some extreme organization. As I was rearranging the cabinet that passes for my baking pantry, I found some dried blueberries stuck behind a giant bag of cinnamon. So,
I've always been fascinated by the combination of peanut butter and bananas. Honestly, though, I have been a bit skeptical about that pairing. It just seemed like an odd combination. To decide once and for all if I'm a peanut butter/banana supporter, I made these bars with a big dose of each. The verdict? I'm in.
I think cake mixes are one of the best baking shortcuts we can have in our arsenal. I don't usually bake them straight from the box, but they are a great starting point for many delicious desserts. I've shared with you before that my mother was all about cake mixes. Other great bakers in my family used them, too. The only brand they would even think of using was Duncan Hines. So, I guess it's n
I have a long-standing love of cheesecake. It started in my childhood with cheesecake from a box and grew from there. It was usually my go-to dessert choice when we went out. Then, I realized how simple they are to make, and now I love them even even more. Philadelphia Cream Cheese is celebrating Easter this year with Bring Out the Silver, a virtual recipe swap among selected food bloggers who
I toyed with the idea of having this be the shortest description of a recipe I've ever written by simply writing: This is the best coffee cake ever. But, I thought maybe you'd want to know why this is the best coffee cake ever. One of the reasons for that declaration is the texture of the cake. It is so amazingly soft and light. It's one of the most easy-to-eat cakes I've ever had.
There may well be no more polarizing food than coconut. It seems you either love it or hate it. I am definitely in the former group. When I first met Quinn, I was shocked to learn that he didn't like coconut. I quizzed him mercilessly about his aversion. Is it the taste? The texture? It seems it's all of the above. For those of you who are on my side of The Great Coconut Debate, these are so
I do so love coconut. That love, however, is not proportional to the number of recipes on this blog that feature coconut. Quinn doesn't like it one bit, so I don't use it that much. But, every once in a while, I can resist no longer. Because it doesn't happen often, I like to make it count. And, these bars definitely count.
Cake mixes can be a great baking shortcut and sometimes a big life saver. It's also a sentimental thing to me. My mother was a big believer in cake mixes. Just the smell of a freshly opened mix brings back many childhood memories. If you're a cake mix believer, too, then we are about to become very good friends. I was recently asked to join Duncan Hines' Passionate Blogger program. Ten bloggers
I am fortunate to live in what many consider to be the greatest food city in the world. I know some may disagree, but I'm more than happy with what all NYC has to offer. Even before we moved here, I would always look forward to our trips so I could make as many bakery visits as possible. Now having lived here for a while, I still have a growing list of bakeries I'd like to visit. Whether yo
Do you ever find yourself wavering when faced with a choice of desserts? Do I want cookies? Do I want cheesecake? With this dessert, you can have both. Rather than a traditional graham cracker crust, I decided to up the chocolate chip ante and make a chocolate chip cookie crust. So, underneath all that cheesecake goodness, there's a big, thick layer of chocolate chip cookie.
If you're not a fan of chocolate in a big way, you might want to go find some of my other recipes today. But, if you are a fan of all things chocolate, I may have found your new favorite cookie. These amazingly chocolate cookies come to us from the incredible Momofuku Milk Bar and their cookbook. I've had the book for a while, but I just recently pulled it back off my bookshelf and became engro
If you asked me if I'm a fan of toffee, I probably wouldn't answer very enthusiastically. I'd probably say I like it but don't love it. But, as they say, actions speak louder than words. As I looked back through the archives, I found that I actually bake with toffee bits often. So, what do I like about toffee bits? They add a bit of crunch and a lot of flavor to sweet treats. They're sweet and
I've not been baking a lot of cookies lately. I seem to have been focused on cakes and bars. Variety is always good, but it felt like it was time to get back to scooping cookie dough. These cookies manage to be traditional and nontraditional at the same time. At their heart, they are a basic vanilla cookie. But, the presence of cake flour changes their consistency enough to create a soft and li
But, at the beginning of an insanely busy week, these little cookies appealed to me in a big way. I can't imagine a more simplified way to make macaroons. The handful of ingredients you'll need are ones most of us usually have on hand. You don't even need sugar. You'll get plenty from the coconut and condensed milk. They mix in mere minutes. And, on top of all that, they're really good!
Those of you even vaguely familiar with this blog know that I'm not much for big pretty cakes. I love them, of course, but my frosting skills are not the best. Nor is my patience level. I'll keep working on it, but in the meantime I'm sharing some of my favorite one-layer cakes. Some are frosted, and some don't need anything but the cake. These beauties are just lovely in their one-layer awesom
I feel confident that I would enjoy just about any dessert that features pecans. In the case of this cake, finely ground pecans are the star. This nutty cake is tall and delicate and really just lovely. It isn't overly sweet. That's good, because the rum frosting is sweet enough to complement it perfectly.
We are all guilty of throwing out food. Those leftovers you thought you'd eat. That mystery container well past its due date. But, I have a hard time throwing out bananas. Overripe bananas can be the beginning of far too many good things to let them go to waste. This weekend, I found myself with several super-ripe bananas and took to the internet to find something a little different to do with
I trust you've all made it through Valentine's Day with happy hearts, pretty flowers, and devoured chocolate. Last week when I shared some of my favorite Valentine's Day recipes, I unabashedly confessed that my recommendations mostly involved chocolate. As we all may be ready for a little break from chocolate, it's a good opportunity to talk about vanilla.
It's been a while since I baked anything using chocolate and peanut butter. While I do believe variety is a good thing, I also believe with absolute certainty that the combination of chocolate and peanut butter is a very, very good thing. I've made peanut butter brownies many times, but these are different from any of those. The difference? Streusel. Not just any streusel. Peanut butter streuse
I tend to become utterly engrossed in things I love. That is how I've ended up hoarding cookbooks, dreaming of Yankees season tickets, living in New York City, and, of course, writing and baking for this blog. One of my current obsessions is browned butter. I've tried not to overwhelm all of you with it, but it's been popping up on BoB rather frequently.
It's hearts and flowers time again. Quinn and I have never really celebrated Valentine's Day. Despite that, I can still get excited about one of the things associated with the big day - chocolate! If you're looking for some chocolate dessert inspiration, you've come to the right place.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that banana bread is the search term that brings more people to Bake or Break than anything else. It's a commonly searched-for recipe, and I just happen to have a long-standing love affair going on with banana bread. Recently, I received a copy of Lindsay Landis' and Taylor Hackbarth's new book, Breakfast for Dinner. I have to type that carefully, because the Souther
As much as I adore chocolate, I'm not always the biggest fan of standard chocolate cake fare. I usually find either the flavor or the texture lacking in some way. But, this rich and dense pound cake is one of my favorites. It gets its rich chocolate flavor from a big helping of cocoa powder. As I tend to do, I will now mount my Good Ingredients Soapbox. You definitely want to use the very best
Over the last couple of weeks, I baked these lovely Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars and a new favorite Italian Jam Crostata. Both of those are made with some of my favorite shortcut ingredients - jams and preserves. Jams, jellies, and preserves are a great way to bake with a little fruit when you're right in the middle of winter with limited access to fresh berries and other warm weather fruits. Of
Before we moved to New York, we lived in a small town where shopping for non-standard groceries could be a challenge. So, I understand having limited access to ingredients. Case in point: unsweetened coconut. Continue reading Raspberry Coconut Oat Bars.
Okay, go to your refrigerator and check for sour cream. Got it? Good. I know you've got chocolate, so scroll down to the recipe and start baking. These, my friends, are my new favorite brownie.
