Baking

Let Me Tell You How I Fell for Lotus Biscoff Cake Okay, so imagine you're craving something a bit more exciting than your usual chocolate cake. That's pretty much how I stumbled into Lotus Biscoff Cake territory. I blame my friend Mira (she's got a sweet tooth that borders on scandalous)—she brought it over once, …

So, About These Maple Bacon Bars (and My Slight Obsession) If there was ever a dessert that made my friends text me 'are you making those bacon things again?'—this is it. I stumbled over this flavor combo at a potluck (you know, one of those awkward events where someone always brings raisin salad and you …

So, I Was Going to Bake These Muffins for Sunday Brunch… ...and then I remembered this story from last winter. My niece, bless her cheeky heart, insisted we had to use “the squishy bananas only.” She was totally right—turns out those spotted, almost-forgotten bananas stashed in your fruit bowl? Gold. The first time I made …

Let Me Tell You About These Cozy Pumpkin Pudding Cookies Alright, so here’s the honest truth—I was never the biggest pumpkin fan growing up, unless you count carving a jack-o'-lantern into oblivion (which ended up a mushy mess the morning after, by the way). But when my neighbor Wanda brought over a batch of these …

Let’s Chat About Muffins First (and Why I Make These So Much) I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: these muffins basically rescued my Sunday mornings. You know those lazy days when you roll out of bed, and you kind of want to bake something but also don’t want to mess up every …

Let's Talk About These Cozy Molasses Cookies I’ve baked a lot of cookies. Like, seriously, way too many if you ask the people forced to sample things gone slightly awry (thanks, Steve, for being my designated taste-tester). Molasses cookies are my cold weather go-to. The combo of deep, almost mysterious molasses flavor plus a big …

Seriously, You Need to Try This Banana Bread Brownie Situation I know it's a mouthful (the name, I mean, though the brownies too). So, full disclosure: I first made these banana bread brownies with brown butter frosting by accident. I'd honestly intended regular banana bread (the sad brown bananas on the counter were basically shouting …

Let Me Tell You About These Cornbread Waffle Bites The first time I made these Cornbread Waffle Bites with Smoked Gouda and Honey, I was trying to impress my cousin Grace at our annual fall potluck. (Plot twist: she still talks about them, but honestly, I mostly remember how I nearly burnt the first batch …

Let Me Tell You About This Maple Bourbon Cheesecake If you ever came over to my house in November, chances are I’d make you try this no bake maple bourbon cheesecake before your coat was off. I still remember the first time I made it—my brother joked I was trying to sneak breakfast into dessert …

Let Me Tell You About These Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Rolls If you’ve ever found yourself daydreaming about marrying two desserts (especially if it’s a Sunday morning and the kitchen’s a mess), say, like, cinnamon rolls and peach cobbler—well, hi, it’s like you’re reading my diary. The first time I made these was after I got …

So, Let Me Tell You About This Tart (Grab a Mug!) Okay. Let me just set the scene: It’s a slightly rainy afternoon, I’ve got a half-hearted cup of tea (the second one — first went cold while I dug for the tart tin), and rhubarb’s peeking at me from the fridge in that sassy …

Let Me Tell You About These White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles Alright, friend, pull up a chair because I've got a story (wait—don’t click away, it’s got cookies at the end!). The very first time I made these White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, I had this tiny can of pumpkin puree leftover from Thanksgiving, and, to be …

So... About This Baked Chicken Stroganoff I only started making creamy baked chicken stroganoff after a cold, drizzly Tuesday when I realized I'd run out of clean pans, and the pile was so big it teetered like a Jenga tower. (Don’t ask what was under it, I’m still scared.) This dish became my answer to …

So, Here's the Story Behind These Rolls Alright, confession time: I first made Peanut Butter Banana Cinnamon Rolls after a Sunday morning disaster involving a blender and (I swear) a rogue banana. That banana was destined for a smoothie, but fate—or maybe my clumsiness—had other plans. Next thing you know, I was improvising with peanut …

Let Me Tell You About These Flapjacks Okay, so banana cottage cheese pancakes — hear me out. The first time I ever made these, I was trying to use up cottage cheese before it went off (yes, a truly glamorous beginning). I tossed in some bananas that were a tad too mushy for my usual …

Oh Man, Apple Biscuits With Honey Butter Glaze—Let’s Talk If you know me, you know I rarely measure flour precisely and I tend to add apples to just about anything (pancakes? sure. granola? why not). But these apple biscuits with honey butter glaze, I actually learned to make as a riff on my Nana’s old …

Alright, you know those Saturday mornings when you want to eat something fancy but also, let’s be honest, hardly feel like getting out of your pajamas—let alone whisking, frying, or doing anything resembling hard work before noon? That’s where this Overnight Crème Brûlée French Toast slides in like a hero. I think I first made …

Okay, friend, so let’s cut to the chase — I’ve battled my fair share of dry cupcakes over the years. In fact, there’s a sad photo floating around of my son’s 6th birthday cake, where everyone is holding a cup of milk as if they’re bracing for something. (Honestly, that whole thing still haunts me; …

A Muffin Memory (and a Little Fall Chaos) You know those recipes that somehow become a bit of a tradition, even if you didn’t really mean for it to happen? For me, these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are that recipe. I sort of stumbled onto them when searching for a snack my kids wouldn’t totally …

Let Me Tell You About This Vegan Coconut Pie… Alright, so let’s chat coconut pie. Years ago, I tried to veganize my nana’s coconut custard pie for a friend (hi, Jess!), and honestly, I was a bit skeptical at first—the coconut cream was eyeing me funny from across the counter. Fast forward to now, it’s …

The Tale of Saturday Morning Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal So I’ll just say it—sometimes I like breakfast to taste like dessert. Especially if it means I don’t have to stand at the stove flipping pancakes for an hour while my coffee gets cold. This Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal is what I make when I want …

Let Me Tell Ya Why Carrot Cake Cheesecake Is a Thing at My Place So, here’s the story: first time I attempted a carrot cake cheesecake, I was partially distracted corralling my nephew (who, honestly, seemed way more interested in licking the spatula than helping). I didn’t even plan on making it, but I had …

Let Me Tell You About These Cakes... You know that feeling when you taste something and it just zings? These Orange Ginger Honey Cakes do that for me. First time I made them, it was a rainy Tuesday and my kitchen looked like I'd tried to fight a bag of flour (kitchen one, me zero). …

So Here's the Story With These Brownies... You know how some memories just stick to you, like chocolate to a spoon? These Chocolate Ganache Brownies are one of those for me—never mind my ongoing internal debate over whether brownies should be fudgy or cakey (spoiler: I usually fudge it). The first time I made these …

These Cookies Are My Autumn Superpower You know those recipes that seem to sneak their way into your family’s folklore? Well, these pumpkin spice cookies pretty much did that by sheer force. I started making them one October when I couldn't find my usual banana bread recipe (long story involving a jam jar, a dog, …

Let Me Tell You About My Pumpkin Swirl Muffins Fumble (They’re Still Delicious!) Ever tried buying just one can of pumpkin puree, but somehow ended up with a mini mountain of them after autumn sales? Yeah, me too. That’s actually how my Pumpkin Swirl Muffin phase started. Honestly, I only meant to make them once …

Let’s Chat About This Mini Cinnamon Apple Fritters Recipe You know those rainy Saturdays when you’re not quite motivated, but you still crave something cozy–like, the sort of treat you’d eat standing over the stove because you can’t wait for it to cool off? That’s basically how these mini cinnamon apple fritters became a thing …

Alright, here’s my not-so-secret Strawberry Honeybun Cake tale You know, whenever I think of this Strawberry Honeybun Cake with Creamy Strawberry Icing, I actually hear my cousin—Sarah, the one who can make toast fancy—hollering from the porch, "You bringin’ that pink cake again?" Like I’d dare show up without it. There’s something about the smell …

Let Me Tell You About These Brown Sugar Butter Cookies… Okay, so here's the deal—I’ve baked a ridiculous number of cookies over the years, but these brown sugar butter cookies? They’re the ones my crew actually requests. I mean, I’ve tried all the fancy recipes with 27 ingredients and a pinch of unicorn dust, but …

Let Me Tell You About These Zucchini Breadsticks... Alright, so if you’re anything like me, you have that one veg in your fridge that turns up in basically every other dinner—zucchini, right? I swear sometimes I buy too many and then just…they haunt me from the veggie drawer (in a nice way). The first time …

A Little Cake Story: Bananas and Mini Disasters Okay… so I’m going to come clean and say I didn’t set out to create some legendary banana walnut cream cake or whatever. Honestly, the first time I made this it was because I had bananas going gross-fast and half a bag of walnuts languishing in my …

Banana Blueberry Muffins: My Kind of Weekend Magic So, picture this: It’s Sunday morning, the house smells like the socks my kids left lying around, and all I want is a little treat with my coffee that isn’t just a dry cracker (or a leftover fish finger). That’s when I reach for this banana blueberry …

Let's Talk Apple Cider Pound Cake (with a Side of Autumn Memories!) Alright, so picture this: it's October, my socks don't match, and I've got exactly one apple left rolling around in the fruit bowl—yep, that's my annual cue to whip up my Fall Dessert Apple Cider Pound Cake. The first time I made it, …

Strawberry Banana Bread: The Cosy Treat I Can't Resist I can honestly say I've baked more loaves of this strawberry banana bread than I care to count. The first one happened on a rainy Saturday (kids were cranky, bananas were going spooky). Anyway, ever since then, strawberry banana bread is my go-to for using up …

First things first, can I tell you about the first time I made these? So here's the deal—I started making these Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars on a rainy Saturday, thinking they'd be a one-off. My little nephew had just started saying "caramel" (which, okay, still sounds more like "carmull"—adorable), and he’d begged for …

Let Me Tell You About These Gingerbread White Chocolate Cookies Alright, pull up a chair—this is probably my most wintery-scented kitchen story. I first made these bakery gingerbread white chocolate cookies when my nephew decided gingerbread men were too scary (don't ask me). And, you know, most ginger cookies just weren't giving me that last …

This Pecan Pie Bars Recipe Always Brings a Crowd So, I have to tell you upfront—Pecan Pie Bars are kind of my secret party weapon. For years, I was the person who'd show up to family get-togethers with something half-burnt or mysteriously undercooked (I still swear the oven was lying that time). But these bars? …

Let Me Tell You About This Cheddar Bay Biscuit Seafood Pot Pie Okay, so I have to start by telling you: I only made this because I accidentally bought double the seafood mix I needed (classic me!) and had one of those Red Lobster biscuit mix boxes floating around from a BOGO deal. My cousin …

Well, Here's the Scoop on My Flourless Pumpkin Muffins Okay, so let me just say right off the bat: I'm not the world’s tidiest baker (are any of us, really?), and flourless things always sounded a bit... suspicious to me. Like, who’s hiding the flour and why? But one chilly morning, after a complete pantry …

Nothing Beats a Batch of Brownie Sundae Cookies (Trust Me!) You know that rare moment everyone gets quiet at the table because they’re just too busy devouring dessert? Yeah, that happened the first time I slapped a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of these warm, fudgy Brownie Sundae Cookies. Honest truth—I almost hid …