Baked Sunday Mornings: Nanaimo Ice Cream Bars
Oh, America. We really need to get out more. Just beyond the northern border is a wide, wonderful world called CANADA, and they make excellent desserts too. I think it’s safe to say that Americans know about maple syrup and things that you can make from maple syrup, but one thing I definitely *didn’t* know […]
Have Yourself a Boozy Little Xmas: Whiskey & Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
I cannot remember the last time I made chocolate chip cookies. I seriously have no idea. I’ve been so consumed with learning advanced pastry skills over the past several years that I have rarely stopped to revisit that all-time icon of home baking. For shame! Sometimes you need to throw back to a simpler time when cookies solved all of […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Peanut Butter & Jelly Crumb Morning Muffins
Friends, as I look around and take stock of my life, I am happy to report that there is presently… a hell of a lot of peanut butter and jelly happening! There was a dark time when I could not say this. In fact, for most of my life I did not know the joy of PB&J; […]
My (Bitter)Sweet & Salty Muse: Walnut Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Caramel Cream
Apparently I’ve been living under a large rock for quite some time, because even throughout my many pastry “research” excursions in San Francisco, I had only recently become familiar with Yigit Pura and his magnificent pastry shop, Tout Sweet. I first sampled his fabulous French macarons and other creations at the SF Ferry Building Farmers’ Market, […]
Coconut Remix: Salted Sesame Caramel Macaroons
As I said last week, I wasn’t planning to bake for Passover this year because I wasn’t going to or hosting a Seder. But then Robicelli’s Tiramatzu came into my life, so I had to try a homemade version. So that was it, right? Well… There I was, minding my own business, when the new issue of […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
After quite a stretch without much chocolate in my life (wha?!), sanity has returned this week. I really have no rational explanation for the two months or so that I wasn’t craving chocolate—basically since the holidays. The exorbitant doses that I consumed from October-December may have caused me to reach some sort of hitherto unknown […]
Champagne Wishes, Caramel Dreams: Butterscotch Blondie Bars with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel
Happy New Year, friends! As 2015 begins, I’m sure many of us are reflecting on the past year and forming hopes and dreams for the upcoming one. I, for one, always strive to grow in my baking and pastry arts each year by trying new things and bettering my old favorites. In reading through some of […]
Autumn’s Last Stand: Salted Apple Bread with Brown Butter & Hazelnuts
Oh Autumn, you are ever fair and fleeting; I am not inclined to give you up after such a brief encounter. Even here in California, where the seasons quietly and seamlessly blend into one another, you are trying your hardest to chill the air and flaunt your stunning colors… And so, I shall prolong your loveliness just a […]
Jagged Little Thrill: Peanut Brittle with Vanilla Fleur de Sel
We are now a month into 2014, and I am still breathlessly trying to catch up from the holidays! In my mind, I fancy myself an organized, efficient, task-oriented, domestic goddess…. In reality, I am an inefficient, oft-frazzled, multi-tasking nightmare. At any given time, I am imagining a number of creative projects that I would […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Chocolate Velvet Walnut Fudge with Olive Oil & Fleur de Sel
I never thought I’d find myself asking, “Do you want your fudge with or without olive oil?” Yet, any time I eat or serve fudge in the future, it is a question that I will surely be asking. It seems like an odd addition at first, but once you try it, you will wonder how you […]
