Category: dessert
Cocoa Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies
Back in November, I told myself that this would be the holiday season where I went back to my old ways of baking a ton of deliciousness and giving it to family and friends. Then I woke up one day and it was ten days until Christmas … well, not really, but it sure felt [...]
Chocolate Peppermint Cake in a Jar
Chocolate + Peppermint = Big, Mega, Super Love for me. Maybe that’s why I use the combination in everything from truffles to pretzels to cookies during the holiday season. Actually, let’s be real. That’s definitely why. Still, despite one attempt at putting it in a cake (it was okay, but not good enough for the [...]
Easy Cocoa Crackers
This tiny heart-shaped cracker? It’s for you. And for my kids. And for my family. And for my dear friends who amaze me with their kindness, generosity and willingness to go above and beyond. It’s for those bleak moments made better by a kind word or a thoughtful gesture. It’s for everyday reminders that you [...]
Chocolate Pretzel Cookies
When Will and Paige tried these cookies, it was supposed to be a single cookie for dessert one evening. But then Will finished his and looked wistfully at the other cookies sitting on the table. I saw him, but didn’t let on. Then he made his eyes big as saucers and wildly licked his lips. [...]
Playdate Pretzels
Growing up, I was always taught that when invited to someone’s house, you should never show up empty handed. It’s good manners, and a way to show gratitude. When I was a child, my grandmother and I would stop at a certain little family-owned bakery to pick up something to take when we visited my [...]
Dark Chocolate Coconut Shortbread Cookies
This morning, all I could think of was homemade cookies. All that time without power has sent me head first back into the kitchen — a good thing, no doubt. But I’ve also been busy with work, making sure that all my proverbial balls remained in the air throughout. So it was late afternoon before [...]
Iced Pumpkin Bundt Cake
The day that I heard there was going to be another pumpkin shortage this season, I ran to the grocery store and bought several cans of pumpkin to cook with. Call me crazy, but I couldn’t beat the thought of not working with pumpkin this season. It’s one of my favorite things to eat in [...]
Fresh Fig Tart with Marmalade and Brie
Hey fig. Yeah you. Hey fig figgy fig fig fig. (Apologies to Nine Inch Nails. I just couldn’t help myself.) When my shipment of figs arrived last week, I quickly got to work eating, preparing and cooking them. Figs have a ridiculously short lifespan, so I had to while they were fresh. My first recipe [...]
Rich Chocolate Toffee Brownies
When I first started freelancing, Will was an infant — one who didn’t cry a lot but who was still vocal. Very vocal. Back then, I freelanced mostly for a local newspaper and my work required me to conduct phone interviews often with Will playing in a baby gym or Exersaucer nearby. Sometimes, I took [...]
Agnes’ Fudgy Brownies
Oh, brownies … served warm or cold, with ice cream or not, they are such a super treat. These ones, from an old family recipe, are thin but super fudgy brownies with a light, crackly top. Heavenly! This recipe, called Agnes’ Brownies, is adapted very slightly from my handwritten and bound family cookbook. Agnes wasn’t [...]
