I learned many years ago that tomatoes are technically classified as a fruit, but only recently that pumpkins and zucchini fall into the same category. A few weeks ago, the husband and I were at a party, and an acquaintance informed us that the French don’t consider corn a vegetable—that they view it solely as a source of carbohydrates, like bread or pasta. ...
Dessert
Lemon Basil Cake with Berries + Fifth Blogiversary!
Five years ago, after completing my first year in grad school, I flew home to visit my parents, and it was then that I photographed, wrote, and published my very first blog post! Shortly thereafter, I shared the story behind the silly name of the blog, but I’ve never really talked much about why I started a blog in the first place. ...
Chocolate Irish Cream Poke Cake
Hi friends! It’s time to put on your cake pants—or cake shorts, since summer has officially arrived—because I’ve got a new cake recipe that you won’t want to miss! But before I get to that, let’s catch up for a minute. Things have been pretty topsy-turvy in the Cake Pants household, but in a good way! ...
Almond Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies
People say that change is the only constant in life, and I’m not going to lie: most of the time, change and the uncertainty that it often involves scare me. I’m the type of person who likes to have an hour-by-hour outline of my activities (plus an idea of what’s for dinner!) for the following day before I go to bed each night. These next few weeks will introduce an entirely new chapter in my life: ...
Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Given that this year’s Thanksgiving fell relatively early, I managed to recover from my food coma in time to hit the ground running with all things Christmas by the first day of December. The apartment is decorated, the shopping is well under way, and the first batch of Christmas cookies is, uh, almost gone. ...
Pumpkin Spice Tiramisu Parfaits
You know that saying that most things worth doing are difficult? Well, that does not apply in the case of these pumpkin spice tiramisu parfaits—they’re super quick, no-bake, and no-cook. In a word, they're no-fuss! Life has been incredibly busy lately—but then again, I feel like fall is the season of busy, wouldn’t you agree? ...
Peanut Butter Butterscotch Blondies
For weeks, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the official start of fall, since after that point, no one can really argue that it’s too early for pumpkins, doughnuts, scarves, and sweaters. No one, that is, except Mother Nature. The temperatures in Michigan have been hovering around 90 for several days and the only thing even approaching autumnal is my kitchen table, which is covered in decorative ...
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies
This summer, I’ve been relying heavily on a few things to keep me from turning into a total stress case: late night leisure reading, snuggles with my favorite fuzz nugget, and regular doses of chocolate and peanut butter. The first two, however, are somewhat less reliable. ...
Coffee Toffee Caramel Cupcakes + Fourth Blogiversary!
You know what’s crazy? This week marks the four year anniversary of when I started writing this blog. You know what’s even crazier?! I actually got my act together this year and made something celebratory to share with you for the occasion, unlike in past years, when I tried to pass off things like salad or breakfast tacos as blogiversary-worthy treats. ...
Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
My grandma has long practiced what we call “cookie diplomacy.” She keeps a regular supply of home-baked cookies on hand so that she can gift them to her hairstylist, her doctor, her butcher, etc.* While I have yet to reach a first-name basis with anyone at the grocery store, I do share with my grandma a firm belief in the power of cookies to say “thank you.” ...