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 …
I love my Foolproof Cheater Croissant Dough and use it for many applications (including these Apple Morning Buns), but I have to say that these fried Croissant Twists are insanely good, and may be my new favorite thing to make with it. Frying anything …
Rhubarb is an important plant to all Minnesotans. Not only can it be found in nearly every neighbor’s garden and growing alongside walking paths and trails in local parks, but for those of us living in the North, it is also a symbol of winterR…
Often, when chocolate cookies are strutting around a bakery case, sending out their sexy, glossy vibes, the humble oatmeal cookie is completely overlooked. Small and round, filled with dried fruit and a handful of spices, this unassuming cookie doesn&#…
What Makes This Blueberry Muffin Recipe Different? My blueberry muffin experience started with a blue boxed mix, complete with tiny dried blueberries. My mom would often make them to accompany dinner, and we would devour them slathered in too much butt…
Shortbread has many aficionados, but like all intense passions, there is a great divide among enthusiasts about principle and purpose. Many fanatics argue over whether to work the butter into the flour toward the end of mixing, or cream butter and suga…
Almost every coffeehouse I worked at in the late 90’s made sure to offer four kinds of cookies: chocolate chip (of course), peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and the very fancy (at least for suburban Minnesota) white chocolate macadamia nut. Chocola…
These Red Velvet Pan-Banging Cookies are a variation of both the Pan-Banging Sugar Cookie and the Pan-Banging Ginger Molasses Cookie with Rum Butter Glaze, which are all also off-shoots of my Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies. These delicious cookies …
Growing up, my parents would occasionally take the whole family out to dinner on Friday night. My favorite spot had breakfast for dinner on the menu, which I always made sure to order, and pancakes were usually my item of choice. To my delight, syrup w…
Both of my children have cold weather birthdays, one in the later days of Autumn, and the other very close to Christmas. While in their early years they begged for chocolate cakes covered in sprinkles, middle school brought on new requests for birthday…
