Sometimes I like to overly complicate things. For instance, I once based an entire dessert around a Caramelized Spruce Syrup that gets brushed onto the cake layers and is made by collecting spruce tips in the spring and tenderly caramelizing them. Then I coordinated the rest of the cake around an IPA palate, frosted it twice and covered it in gold leaf, oversized gold-plated sprinkles and chocolate work. I’m low-key like that. Continue reading “Gingerbread Birdhouse Cookies”
These beauties always pop into my mind as I wait for the first snow of the year to fall. They’re sweet and crisp, crunchy and buttery, with just the right amount of orange and cardamom. And they are EASY. My friends like to say, “Oh, maybe for you that’s easy! Mine wouldn’t look like that.” But I swear to sweet baby carrots, these are the most straightforward sugar cookies you are ever going to meet. And because no snowflake is alike, variations and “mistakes” just make them more charming.
Continue reading “Orange-Cardamom Snowflake Cookies”
I have drop-cookie issues. I know they’re tasty and easy and much beloved. But I really can’t handle the uncertainty inherent in a cookie that just gets plopped onto a cookie sheet with a spoon. I need cookies to be precisely scooped or rolled or cut out, not “dropped”. Making chocolate chip cookies leaves me deeply unsatisfied. I’ve been thinking about a cookie with dried fruit and nuts but all my internet research led straight to drop cookies. So I got to work cooking up some delicious fruit-nut cookies that could be rolled out and cut into precise circles. No blobs allowed!
I made some fun Black and White Halloween Cookies this week. But when I went to take pictures they just didn’t pop. What the pics really needed was some color for the black and white to stand out against. So I revved the oven back up and baked some pumpkins from the same sugar cookie dough recipe I make all my holiday-themed cookies with. Continue reading “Sparkly Pumpkin Cookies”
I don’t usually dress up for halloween. There was a Bridezilla costume in 2014 that involved a thrift-store wedding dress, blond wig and a t-rex mask, but that’s the exception, not the rule. But I love making Halloween cookies. The kids always get really into it and it’s the project that reminds me that all the fun holiday baking is just around the corner. I usually try to keep things simple, using the same basic sugar cookie recipe I use for all of my holiday-themed cookies (like these bunnies). These don’t require any piping tips or fancy techniques, you can make them with supplies from your grocery store’s baking aisle. Continue reading “Black and White Halloween Cookies”
This frosting is the best baking idea I’ve had in like a year. I’m sort of over pumpkin honestly so when I got a hankering for a cozy fall cake, I didn’t really know where to turn. I’m not an apple gal and carrot cake is made of vegetables. And nuts. And raisins. Come on. Continue reading “Pumpkin Cake With Molasses Cream Cheese Frosting”
I used to work for a wedding photographer back in the day, before digital photography was a thing. He was very eccentric, had a lot of odd habits and some very strong opinions. He once leapt from a moving train that had gone express mid-route to avoid being late to class. He woke up the next day in the hospital with a nasty head injury then ran a marathon 3 days later. To save time while eating he would mash entire slices of bread into dense balls he called “cowboy bread” which he washed down with as much milk as he could safely drink in one sitting. He was unapologetically hostile towards new trends in photography, such as color film. He was fond of saying, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” I thought he was a curmudgeon and a bit daft at the time but it turns out that’s exactly how I feel when it comes to the almighty PUMPKIN SPICE. Continue reading “Soft Chai Snickerdoodles”
I’ve been on a quest for the perfect IPA-inspired dessert. Spoiler alert: this post is not about that dessert because I’m still mulling it over and tinkering and drinking beer for research. But I know a few things about this mythical sweet. It must have hops. It must have conifers. And it must have grapefruit. My love for lemon curd borderlines on fetish, so I thought grapefruit curd had to be even better.
I love my little weirdos. All of my three kids have special talents and hilarious quirks. My son has an insane amount of energy, charm, musical ability and dramatic flair. If the entire cast of a cruise ship musical production could be crammed into one person, that would be Simon on a slow day. My middle daughter, Ramona, is artistic, soulful and passionate. Her art teacher once told me, “She’s like a conduit, the ideas and inspiration just pour out of her.” I wish this were a kids’ art blog because she is truly gifted. Continue reading “Weezy’s Honey Cake”
