Nutmeg has been my spice of choice this last year. (If you are not a nutmeg fan, no worries! This cake still tastes delicious without it, just omit it.) This spice has been showing up in a lot of my recipe testing, and I can’t seem to get enough …
This post is sponsored by Nordic Ware. I often put things off until the last minute (I can be a chronic procrastinator) but holiday cookie baking is always something I prepare for well in advance. It appears many of you do as well, as making cookie dou…
I didn’t grow up eating Snickerdoodles. In fact, the first time I ever tried one was in my twenties; a colleague had made them for a work meeting, and I was instantly smitten with their crackly, spiced tops and chewy centers. The most traditional…
It has been awhile since I have made a peanut butter cookie, and I have found myself craving them, per usual, at the beginning of September, when school is back in session. It’s probably due to peanut butter sandwich nostalgia (because wow, I ate…
After making my Creamy Jammy Coffee Cakes and then Creamy Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cakes, I decided to experiment with banana bread as the base. I have been faithfully using this banana bread recipe for decades, but switched things up in 100 Morning Tre…
There are two sour cherries trees in our front yard, and the last two weeks it all came to fruition: the cherries gleaming ruby red, then picked, and pitted, and frozen. I was able to get one large batch picked before the blue jays decided they would s…
I forgot they were in my freezer. Door County cherries, tucked underneath bags and bags of raspberries the kids and I had gathered every summer afternoon from our backyard bushes. I had to dig through those berries and move them around and curse slight…
I have chocolate cake in many forms on this website: The Chocolate Cake and my Easy One-Layer Afternoon Cake, just to name a few. However, we all know that there is always room for yet another chocolate cake recipe, so here is another one, this time in…
Carrot cake was my go-to cake in college when I was trying to make a good impression. I made several for my husband while we were dating and brought one to every wedding shower I hosted. Throughout my childhood we only made boxed chocolate cakes, so ca…
As you may have picked up on, I love toasted sesame oil, and use it frequently in my baking. Mostly I have used it in cookies, such as my Chewy Brown Sugar Toasted Sesame Cookies and my Sesame Chocolate Chip Pan-Banging Cookies, but today I have incorp…
About this recipe: I was in my early twenties and had never eaten a proper scone. My initial encounters had all been tasteless affairs: coffee-chain-store scones that crumbled all over my lap when I bit into them and left me frantically guzzling down c…
Orange buns: so unassuming at first glance! But don’t let them fool you. These small buns are light and sweet throughout, with some caramelization on their bottoms from the orange-sugar filling. Then they are topped with even more orange in the f…
This snack cake started out as a cross between two of my recipes: blondies, and the Apple Brandy Bread from my 100 Morning Treats cookbook. I wanted something plump full of apple flavor, but also rich and winter-y. Using the blondie base (minus the cof…
I am excited to be sharing a recipe with you from Zoë François’ new book, Zoë Bakes Cookies, a follow-up to her incredible Zoë Bakes Cakes book. If you aren’t familiar with Zoë’s work, the short answer is that she is a pastry chef extraordinaire,…
I decided to come up with a shortbread version of these Neapolitan cookies for a few reasons, since they always find their way into my holiday cookie boxes. The main reason being they are slightly less tedious to put together than the sugar cookie vers…
I have been making some version of these chocolate sugar cookies with cardamom for twenty years, and the recipe has made it’s way, with various tweaks, into two of my cookbooks. In this recipe, the chocolate dough balls are rolled in granulated s…
Why I Love Single Layer Cakes Over the past year or so I have found myself gravitating towards single layer cakes (vs the traditional double). Don’t get me wrong, I do like a towering layer cake in all its glory (for instance, my favorite birthda…
I make scones for every possible occasion and in every possible flavor (like pumpkin, panettone, ginger chocolate, and sprinkle) and I especially love them around the holidays, as the can be shaped ahead of time and frozen, then pulled out and baked as…
I am a big fan of anything apple in the Fall months, and while I love something elaborate like my Apple Morning Buns and Apple Pull-Apart Bread, a flaky apple turnover might be number one on my list of favorites. This recipe does involve a few steps, b…
My children are the reason for this cake: Both prefer a plain, unfrosted, single-layer yellow cake over any other kind – their ideal after-school snack. And after tasting this cake, warm to the touch with just a simple dusting of confectioners…
I am sharing today another new recipe from 100 Afternoon Sweets! This might just be my favorite recipe from the new book. I do know that my family is addicted to them, and I fear you will be, too. They combine the perfect crunch and peanut butter flavo…
Minnesota has found itself in the news this past week and a half, as our very own governor is now on the campaign trail. I thought it might be fitting to post a recipe from my next book, 100 Afternoon Sweets (signed copies are now available), in honor …
Over the years I have made hundreds upon hundreds of scones, and have slowly evolved my working recipe. I have settled on a buttery scone, with crème fraiche and an extra egg yolk for rich flavor and a tender base, and gently folded layers to keep the …
This is a joyful little cake, bursting with color. It is an obvious choice for a birthday, of course, but also is a perfect cake for other occasions as well: back-to-school afternoons, Easter gatherings, or, just because on a summer day. What Makes A D…
Recipes for cookies without chocolate chips are nothing new, of course, but when I posted a picture of my “un”-chocolate chip cookie on Instagram two weeks ago I had quite a few people asking for the recipe, so I thought a blog post was in …
