Baked Sunday Mornings: Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

Let’s not kid ourselves– there is very little in these Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins (from the Chocolate chapter of Baked Elements) that is actually related to a “muffin”, except the shape; they are like a slightly-less-sweet twin of black-bottom cupcakes. And when I say all this, please don’t mistake my intent– I am 100% in favor of this sort of dessert-masquerading-as-breakfast! I’m merely saying, let’s […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Candy Bar Cookies

Holy cookies, Batman. I’ve been out of commission after (another) ankle surgery for the past two weeks, and I was so happy to be back on my feet this week. I was able to bake ahead for the last couple of Baked Sundays Mornings recipes, so that I didn’t have to miss any blog posts, but I […]
Big Apple Sweetness: Pastry Crawlin’ in New York & Brooklyn (Part 1)

I’m experiencing severe New York City withdrawal. It’s been 15 months since I’ve been there, and I don’t know what to do with myself. Thankfully, the light at the end of the tunnel is near– I’m counting down the days until my visit in October! I’ll be there to celebrate the release of Matt Lewis’ […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Chocolate-Chunk Pumpkin Bread Pudding

We are one week into September, which can only mean one thing: Let the Fall pumpkin onslaught begin! I have a finite tolerance for pumpkin every year. I love it during October and November, and after Thanksgiving, I am so done. This year, I’m starting a little early due to our accelerated baking schedule for Baking […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Crunchy Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Banana recipes two weeks in a row for Baked Sunday Mornings? I’m actually okay with that. I think I’ve made my peace with bananas thanks to last week’s Chocolate Banana Tart, and I couldn’t love this recipe more! The Crunchy Peanut Butter Banana Bread from the Peanut Butter chapter of Baked Elements is my favorite banana bread to date. I’ve […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Chocolate Banana Tart

Dear Banana, We meet yet again. I have come to accept that other people eat you, enjoy you, like you, and dare I say… even LOVE you. After much soul-searching and pastry indulgence, I am pleased to report that I have arrived at a place of tolerance. I can tolerate your existence, and I can now […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Chewy Chocolate Mint Cookies

This is my 100th blog post for Stellina Sweets, which is just about to turn 2 years old! Truth be told, I was a little disappointed that this recipe would be my “epic” 100th post– I am not a peppermint person, so I was not especially excited for this one, although the alleged chocolate decadence was […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Milk Chocolate Malt Semifreddo with Chocolate Syrup

semifreddo: noun (plural semifreddi), \sĕ⋅mē⋅frĕd’⋅dō\ : a partially frozen dessert origin: Italian, from semi- ‘semi-‘ + freddo ‘cold’ I had never had semifreddo before my recent honeymoon in Italy. I had heard of it, and I knew that ‘semifreddo’ translates literally to ‘half-cold’… whatever that meant. How could something be half-cold? After doing a bit of research on the internets, […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Cinnamon Spritz Sandwich Cookies

Upon leafing through Baked Elements, this recipe for Cinnamon Spritz Sandwich Cookies in the Cinnamon chapter was not one that jumped out at me. I’ve never made “spritz” cookies before. I always think of a wine cooler-type beverage when I hear that word, but it does in fact also refer to cookies that are piped, rather than rolled or […]
Baked Sunday Mornings: Banana Caramel Pudding with Meringue Topping

Bananas… again? *sigh* Why MUST there be more bananas?? I usually cringe when I see a banana recipe coming up on our Baked Sunday Mornings schedule, but the recent ones have had bananas mashed up into cake or whoopie pie batter, which I’ve actually grown to like quite a lot (though I’m reluctant to admit it). However, […]