For a lot of people, Valentine’s Day means chocolate. Not surprisingly, Valentine’s Day is responsible for a spike in chocolate sales each year, although Easter and Halloween bring even higher figures. Still, 50-60 million pounds of Valentine’s Day chocolate is nothing to scoff at! While I love chocolate as much as the next person, I felt that St. Valentine and Cupid might like a change of pace – ...
Dessert
Pineapple Macadamia Nut Cake with Key Lime Curd
Typically, I refer to the things I bake in mini loaf pans as “bread” – banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, etc. Let’s be clear, though. This is cake, not bread. Deb of Smitten Kitchen recently discussed the fine line between, as she put it, “Acceptable for Breakfast” and “Nope, This Is Dessert,” and I defer to her judgment, especially in this case, given that this bread cake (ugh! I keep ...
Grapefruit Pistachio French Macarons
Confession: it wasn’t until several months after I started making French macarons that I actually ate a French macaron from a bakery (and I still have yet to try one made in France!), so I can’t say that it was due to a craving that I decided to try making them. Well, I suppose it was a craving of sorts. A craving for a challenge, that is. ...
Hazelnut Coconut Shortbread Cookies
In my family, it is not uncommon for most of the Christmas baking to take place…after Christmas. Before Christmas, various members of the family are often busy shopping, decorating, travelling, taking final exams and writing papers, getting over colds caught at Thanksgiving gatherings, etc. This year was no exception. My brother and sister-in-law didn’t even arrive until the day after Christmas, ...
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cranberry Streusel
Today I baked these cupcakes to give away to some of my parents’ neighbors, and because filling the house with the fragrant scent of gingerbread seemed like a great way to get more into the holiday spirit – I only finished my work for the semester yesterday, and it’s always difficult for me to be fully in holiday mode while I’m still writing papers and such. ...
Cranberry Brie “Ravioli” Pastries
Surprise – it’s another recipe with cranberries! I may have been a tad overzealous when I was buying cranberries at the grocery store before Thanksgiving, but their color was so vibrant and tantalizing that I couldn't resist. Plus, cranberries have lots of antioxidants, so they’re really healthy for you (possibly less so when surrounded by cheese and buttery crust, but let’s not dwell on that). ...
Cranberry Cheesecake Part II: Cheesecake Bars
As I mentioned in the previous post, I had signed up to bring cheesecake bars to our graduate student Thanksgiving potluck dinner. I used the same recipe, tweaking only a few things, and was really pleased with how they turned out! (2016 edit: you can get the full cheesecake bar recipe as well as updated photos here) ...
National Cake Day: Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Cheesecake
In my opinion, the hardest part of making this cheesecake is waiting three or more hours for it to chill properly in the refrigerator before serving. It’s worth the wait, though, and believe me, I have been waiting quite a while for this cheesecake. Several weeks, in fact. ...
Elderberry Linzer Bars
Towards the end of the summer, my uncle sent me a jar of his homemade elderberry jam. Without any clear memory of having tried it before, I was a little unsure when he told me that elderberries have a distinctive flavor and that it’s not for everyone. I really like it, though! The jam isn’t overpoweringly sweet like many store-bought fruit jams, and it has a nice sort of wholesomeness that ...
Mini Poppy Seed Chai Pumpkin Muffins
Although I’m always reluctant to let go of summer, I’m pleasantly surprised each year when I am reminded of how beautiful fall can be. Having spent my college years in southern California where seasons have all but ceased to exist, I was awestruck by the brilliance of fall colors the first year I spent on the east coast. For me, there’s something so powerful about those crisp, clear days when the ...