Author name: Jeanine Donofrio

Spritz Cookies

This spritz cookie recipe comes straight from my mom’s recipe box! My family has been making it every Christmas for over 40 years—my first kitchen memory is of baking these spritz cookies with my mom and sister for the holidays. Made with a 6-ing…

Top 10 Kitchen Gadget Gifts

Good things come in little packages, and these kitchen gadget gifts are here to prove it! They include unique gifts for vegetable lovers, bakers, and home cooks of all kinds. Though they all clock in under $50, they’re some of the most-used items…

Creamy Potato Soup

This potato soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food for a cold day! It’s like a loaded baked potato in soup form—the thick, creamy, savory soup is piled high with toppings like sour cream, shredded cheese, and green onions or chives. Jack loves …

The Best Holiday Gifts for Cooks

Our 2025 holiday gift guide is here! If you’re looking for gifts for the cooks in your life, you’ll find some amazing options in this post. I’ve included my favorite pots and pans, the BEST storage containers, an unbeatable immersion …

Stuffed Mushrooms

This stuffed mushrooms recipe is one of my favorite party appetizers, especially for the holidays. Instead of making a typical cream cheese filling, I stuff the tender mushroom caps with a crispy, garlicky breadcrumb mixture. Sun-dried tomatoes and Par…

50 Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Can we agree that Thanksgiving side dishes are the best part of the holiday meal? No offense to roast turkey and pumpkin pie, but the stuffing, mashed potatoes, and other sides are what I look forward to most. I’m sharing 50 of my favorite Thanksgiving…

Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole is always on my family’s Thanksgiving menu. We, like many folks, made the classic version with Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, french fried onions, and canned green beans for years…until I set myself the task o…

Cranberry Orange Bread

I love keeping this cranberry orange bread around the house during the holidays. Packed with tart, juicy cranberries, this loaf is perfectly moist and tender. Orange juice and zest give it a lovely bright flavor, and a simple orange glaze takes it over…

Cranberry Margarita

Cranberry margarita, anyone?! This 4-ingredient cocktail is a holiday twist on my classic margarita recipe. I keep the tequila, orange liqueur, and lime, but I replace the simple syrup with cranberry juice. It’s sweet and tart, fruity and refresh…

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Have you ever cooked fingerling potatoes? These oblong, finger-shaped potatoes are small and waxy. They have thin skins and firm, buttery flesh that almost reminds me of chestnuts. I love to make roasted fingerling potatoes for special occasions. With …

Puff Pastry Brie Bites

This post is in partnership with DeLallo. I’ll be making these brie bites for every party this holiday season! Easy to make with 5 ingredients (and easy to eat with your fingers), they’re the perfect festive appetizer. A delicate shell of p…

Cranberry Sauce

Meet my best cranberry sauce recipe! Easy to make with 5 ingredients in under 15 minutes, it’s delectably tart, not too sweet, and studded with whole cranberries. I’m not a turkey eater, and I still spoon this sauce all over my Thanksgiving…

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed acorn squash is one of my favorite fall dinners. I often make it after trips to the farmers market, when I come home with more squash than I know what to do with. It’s also my go-to vegetarian main course for Thanksgiving. Loaded with a f…

Pumpkin Tiramisu

This pumpkin tiramisu recipe is a show-stopping fall dessert! No offense to pumpkin pie, but it might just steal the spotlight on your Thanksgiving dessert table. It features luxe layers of pumpkin cream, chai-soaked ladyfingers, and a gorgeous dusting…

Classic Martini

This classic martini recipe was one of the first cocktails Jack learned to make at home. It entered our rotation years ago, back when we had regular poker nights with a group of friends. I would always lose, but I still joined in every time for the com…

Creamy Gnocchi Soup

Trust me, you want this gnocchi soup recipe in your weeknight rotation. Ready in just 30 minutes, it’s quick and cozy. The tender, pillowy gnocchi float in a rich, creamy broth that’s seasoned with aromatic veggies, fragrant herbs, and a to…

Apple Cider Sangria

This apple cider sangria recipe is my new favorite cocktail for fall entertaining! It’s my family’s favorite too—they liked it so much the first time I served it that I made it again for another family gathering the next weekend. It’s…

Easy Sugar Cookies

Hands up if you love soft and chewy sugar cookies! If you have your hand raised, this sugar cookie recipe is for you. Adapted from my snickerdoodle recipe, it yields sugar cookies with perfect chewy middles, lightly crisp edges, and a warm, buttery fla…

Whiskey Sour

A whiskey sour is one of Jack’s favorite cocktails to order when we go out to dinner. Made with bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, and optional egg white, it’s brighter than most whiskey drinks, which Jack thinks makes it the perfect start…

How to Cook Turnips

Turnips are one of the vegetables I buy most often in the fall. I can never resist them at the farmers market—bright white, pink, or tinged with purple, with lush green tops attached. They often look more humble in the grocery store, but they’re …

Easy Pumpkin Cake

This pumpkin cake recipe is my family’s new favorite fall dessert. I made it for my mom and my sister’s family when we all got together a few weeks ago, and it disappeared within minutes of me setting it on the table. The adults kept raving…

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

If you love cozy fall flavors, you need this pumpkin baked oatmeal in your breakfast rotation! I’d be happy eating it every morning in October. It’s hearty, filling, and packed with pumpkin, warm spices, and pecans. It has a lightly crisp b…

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are the perfect fall treat. They’re incredibly moist, warmly spiced, and studded with melty, gooey chocolate chips. To give you an idea of how much I love them, I’ve already made them 3 times this fall, …

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Let’s make roasted pumpkin seeds! Instead of tossing the seeds from your Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns this year, save them to make this roasted pumpkin seeds recipe. It’s a delicious fall snack or salad topper—the seeds come out nice and crunc…

Apple Cider Cocktail

Jack and I love making this apple cider cocktail recipe for cozy fall nights in. It combines some of his favorite cocktail ingredients (bourbon and Angostura bitters—this man loves an old fashioned!) with some of mine (ginger beer and a squeeze of lemo…

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